I don’t know anything about Steam, but I took a trip last weekend to TravelTown in Los Angles. I was totally humbled and in awe by the sheer size of those big steamers. I climbed up inside and I was trying to imagine how it was back then. You just have to have a lot of respect for something like that. I’m ashamed that I can’t remember the names of those massive Locomotives and I’m going to have to do a Google search to find out more info on what I experienced.
I'm pushing 50, and I grew up with SP and NWP in the 60s/70s, but now I model the present day. The main thing that attracts me to it is the vitality of modern mainline railroading (the present economy notwithstanding), compared to the rather decrepit state of affairs in the 70s. Well manicured mainlines with concrete ties (and triple-tracks in Cajon), new signals that shine far into the night and keep the traffic under control, and massive equipment: stacks & racks & 18,000 ton grain trains slithering down to port. No wonder Warren Buffet invests in BNSF - no one invested in railroading in the 70s. This must be the stuff of Pennsy's heyday, but I wasn't around to experience that. Maybe I could be seduced.... To address the original question: so far I haven't seen a great correlation. Is someone going to plot this data?
Location over era I'm pushing 60 ... I model a location rather than focus on a particular time, Door and Kewanee counties, Ahnapee and Western, GBW. I can "run" any time period from about 1930 to 1968 by changing out the motive power and rolling stock. I have GBW equipment that is newer than '68, so sometimes I just have to "imagine" that the road to Sturgeon Bay was abandoned in 1968 Resp'y, Bob S.
For the most part I'm into 1950's era. Not sure why not around in the 1950's but being a History buff might be the reason I chose something befor my time. I have Southern highhoods also because my grandmother live in Alabama and I remember these going by about a mile from where she lived.That was back in the 1970's - early 1980's. No fence just stood by the tracks but not to close be cause they made a lot of noise for going so slow. Combination of scared and excited for a 10 ish year old guy.LOL So I do freelance because I never can decide what I like the most. I like to do a narrow gauge layout and was going to do a small area on the layout I'm working on now but Nn3 is to small and frustrating for me. So HOn30 might be the next small layout I do ,Maine Narrow Gauge and yes I grew up in New England area. Rick
I'm 31. Grew up and currently live in Italy. Been in California in 2004 for the first time. I model the SP in 1974, I wasn't even born. Go figure. I simply like US big diesels and the 1970s are very fascinating to me.
This my first post so bear with me. This is asubject that I have thought quite abit about. I am about to be 32 I model the late 90's BNSF. The reason I choose this time and place is for the memories. My wife and I were just married and living in alittle apartment above a bar a block from the BNSF main to Duluth. Modeling this reminds of the times before kids, morgage, etc. I think that is what we model comes down to. I also restore tractors from the 30's and 40's. I do this because itremindes me of the stuff and my Grandparents farm's. The reason we model what we model is for the memories, real or ones we didn't experience and are trying to capture. Just my 2 cents.:tb-biggrin:
I haven't picked an era yet and as a result I have rolling stock and locomotives from the early 1900s to the present, with the bulk of it suitable for the transition period. I discovered trains in the mid 60s and that definitely influences my choices. A train is not complete without a caboose. I'm also partial to the Southern and L&N, with a smattering of IC, because they were the predominant lines near me. Now I live in VA and MN and I've expanded my rolling stock to include Western Maryland, C&NW, and Minneapolis & St. Louis RRs. Since all my favorite roads are gone I guess by default I'll be heavily weighted towards the transition period. Besides, the smaller cars look better on 12" curves. For variety I'll occasionally clear off the older stuff and run CSX and NS with 90 ton hoppers, 50' box cars, and 3 bay hoppers.
I am 17 and I model the present, but slowly starting to stick to mid 2000ish, only because the railroad world is changing so much with new equipment and standards that its not what I'm used too. So yea I model what I grew up with.
Interesting question and answers. I too am pushing 50. The 80's and 90's seem to be my favorite time frame. Lots of Piggyback/Intermoal variety on the rails. The Black beauties of SCL were still roaming the rails carrying SBD initials mixed in with Family Lines, L&N and Seaboard System Grays.... U-BOATS ! I also like a lot of the aspects of Today's RRing and also the colorful 1970's and early piggyback trains.... So my Freelance can work in all eras Well, that ought to cover it ! Steven
I am 62 and I think from the age of 39 when I took my childhood trains out of the boxes and built a layout, I was trying to recapture my childhood fond memories and stay in touch with them with the hobby. Not by escaping where I was, but I had a high stress job, and going back to my little world soothed me better than any overpaid therapist could. In my observation, many of us tend to model what we saw in our youths. I loved and feared steam in the mid fifties because the track that rolled through town roared right past my house and roaming territory. The trains fascinated me and instilled fear, and even had a couple of close calls. My dad built my first Lionel layout when we moved just outside of town, and again those were the factors that planted the seed. I can see why a lot of guys model modern era, with big colorful diesels, interesting and innovative rolling stock, trains booming power and superiority at all crossings, and the fascination we all have about miniatures, scale and integrity. I had a neighbor in the early seventies who was very old, very feeble, quite blind, but his HO steamers were on display all over his condo next to mine, and I always wondered how and why he kept them. I understand now. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
I model(ed) the 60s-80s of ATSF 60s-80s because that's when I was young and first interested in trains. Plus it seems like trains were "more important" during those times. ATSF because (1) my uncle was an ATSF engineer/conductor and (2) the variety of color schemes offered.
The more I think about this and my lack of prefered era along with my childhood the more it makes sense. I was not exposed to real trains very much as a child. With a father who was an electronics design engineer and a mother who was an artist I was exposed to a wide spectrum of visual arts and literature. The first "round the tree" trains were a 0-4-0 loco with a few freight cars my father built from "Mantua" kits. My first trainset when I was 8ish was an early Geep (1960s). I do remember my father taking me for a train ride that he was very excited about. I have no idea what it was. With no binding factor and an emphasis on visual aesthetics it sorta makes sense that I seem drawn to "what looks good".
After reading all the comments, I think that you can see two main reasons for chosing an era: - the childhood experiences of the modeler - interest in the transition era, no matter the age of the modeller This means that the later eras will become more popular in the next decades, and that they will shift from 70's to 80's to 90' to '10 etc.
I'm 64 and I model the 80s and 90s. I agree that manufacturers tend to focus more on the earlier eras.
Judging by the responces, it seems the premis is mostly correct. You model what you remember or are exposed too...... Then comes me, 40 and modern diesels bore me to death. I just spent many months building and detailing an SD45 for my son's Ntrak train (something modern for him...what he see's daily) and now that it is done, it looks like every other diesel. I am modeling 47'-50' B&O and steam is what you will see on my layout. The only diesels will be cab units, E's, FT's, Sharks, and the occasional switcher.
This is another reason I DO model diesel. Evey steamer I see is ...black...just black. Oh there may be an occasional silver nose here and there...but...they are all black...and boring. On the other hand...diesels...they come in hundreds of color schemes. I like color on my layout. Even 'true' consists with all brown box cars are boring. Thats why you will see any roadname diesel locomotive and rolling stock on mine. Life is not black and white...LOL :tb-biggrin: .
I model the Erie mid-50's, even though, having just turned 40, it's way before my time. What I like about what I have chosen to model is that it gives me a chance to recreate something I wasn't able to experience. I'm a big history buff so that has something to do with it too. Sometimes the research can be just as interesting to me as the actual construction of the model. It also happens that the Erie ran through northwestern PA where I grew up, so a lot of the places (Youngstown, OH; Meadville, PA; Corry, PA; and Jamestown, NY) are all familiar to me. In a way I'm actually creating a little bit of "back home" here in Texas. I actually grew up right next to the old NKP and NYC lines along Lake Erie, but there's something about the Erie that keeps me hooked. I like modern stuff too, and those new Atlas 8-40C's are pretty sweet, but I think I'll stick with what I've got. I think another thing that drove me choice, and I don't think anyone touched on it, is the length of rolling stock. In the mid-50's there weren't a lot of cars much bigger than 50', and one of the things I wanted to have on my layout is to have trains of 35-45 cars in my trains. By having the majority of my rolling stock being 40' box cars this goal is easier to achieve. Modern equipment consisting of 60' & 85' box cars, and 89' autoracks and TOFC's, makes it harder to achieve that goal. Oh, and speaking of back home, how 'bout them Steelers!
Turned 40 back in October. Started with an interest in the UP. No specific time frame. Then, I came to my senses, and went with the Rio Grande. Time frame from maybe 1965 until maybe 1975ish. Run mainly diesel power, with a Challenger thrown in, just because! Run FT's, F3/7, GP's and SD's. Never had a major interest in steam. Although, a Cab Forward might be a possibility also! It's ugly enough to be neat! Also have a few other roads from the time frame I'm interested in.
