I think "harassed" is a little strong choice of phrase. The overblown "terror threat to infrastructure" notion way to the side, there are real concerns for the railroads, as for any large business, with safety and liability. To say nothing of the bottom line that most of the rights-of-way are, after all, private property. And it doesn't hurt to remember that the man with the badge is just another human, trying to do his job the best he can, and not by any stretch the person making the policy.
I'm with Bob on this one, unfortunately the SP&S is an elusive beast which makes it all the better a challenge to model. much of the track remains... except in the A-line area. I chose to model the 60's over the Transition era because the only steam that truly interests me was the GS4 and daylight train, wore out the video tape we had that followed 4449 over donner. plus I like the Alco's and much of the SP&S' diesel roster was around by then. I will admit I have a couple things that are way past my time frame 5 SNC boxcars, a BN scale car, a BN exec set, a pair of '93 BN Ford Explorers(I own a real Explorer so these were a must), and something else but it escapes me at the moment. That and being born in 1994, I missed all the good stuff.
I model the CB&Q from about 1960-1968 in central Illinois. There is no pre-merger green to be found anywhere and if I decided to run any power or equipment from a more modern era, it would be painted Chinese red. There may also be an occasional run-through or temporary operating rights for other roads due to flooding or some other reason deemed plausible at my discretion.
Around here, you can still usually do so, where the RR comes in contact with the public. Such as at a road crossing, or at a (rare these days) depot. Last summer I spent some time BSing with a BNSF section crew, working at a public road crossing. Had quite an interesting chat, shared a few chuckles. Another morning, at a UP depot shooting the breeze with a gang, which turned out we had some mutual acquaintences. Good, clean fun. Unfortunately, as you noted, there have indeed been some incidents where someone RR believes their authority extends well off RR property.
In order to keep this thread on topic I have started a thread in the 'Rail-fanning' forum. Respecting Railfanning / Data Collection Limitations / Opportunities http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine...-Limitations-Oportunities&p=968994#post968994 Note: I'm not a Mod, just hoping this will help.
I did not seem my exact correct answer which is that I model the 1940s. I like steam. However more modern stuff sneaks onto my layout. I allow for a time warp.
I model transition AND modern. Love transition equipment--big steam, beautiful passenger trains, covered wagons pulling freight. And I like the big post-1990 diesels--SD-70s and GE 4400 classes--and stack trains. For whatever reason second generation diesel (say 65-90) never grabbed me. Interesting that my preferences seem to reflect the poll results--maybe others also feel transition and modern eras are characterized by particularly cool equipment. Just sayin'. Rick
I enjoy modelling the late 70s to early 80s. I'm not against running the odd excursion train with steam power though.
Sometimes 'era' is not the only factor that moves particular model railroaders. A region the modeler likes may be just as important and the railroad equipment that ran in that region would be more important than the 'era'. I have pre-1920 steam engines and 1980s+ diesels that ran over the D&RGW and connecting roads. Most of what I have... what I prefer to run and actually 'model'... does fit in the 1950' to 1960's timeframe. All other 'era' models are more-so for display or running on a layout that would be more befitting their era (specially the more modern equipment). In a related note... if I were to begin reducing my collection... the first to go would be post 1970's equipment.
My Cajon Pass layout is set in early March 1951. For modeling the setting effectively, the time of year is important: snow still on the mountains, new foliage, some water in the creek, you get the idea. 1951 because that's the last year when both ATSF and UP steam was still used on the pass in substantial numbers, although the bulk of the trains were diesel powered. As I get my hands on more steam, I may run some earlier sessions, like '46 or '47 for contrast and a change of pace. I also own the '56 El Cap and may acquire an Aerotrain, but that would be my outer limits for any acquisitions.... So the short answer would be 1946 through 1956, with focus on March 1951. Otto K.
I have a moderately wide year range, but then again I'm not very prototypically motivated. For me it's from when the first Chessie paint scheme rolled out of the shop right till before the first CSX paint scheme rolled out of the shop. So, early 1970s till 1985/6ish
Made some major changes in my thinking prior to the stroke, maybe its why I had a stroke. Still staying with the SP&S because of the power variety but decided on doing three eras. Most of the small towns and yards stayed unchanged up until the BN merger thus a lot of structures and trackage is relevant to all eras. Thus I have early steam with 4-4-2s, 4-6-0s and 2-8-0s holding down passenger and freight. Transition with Alco FAs and RS 1,2,and 3s and F-3 and 7s holding down freight and passenger. And the third era is very early BN rainbow era which lets me mix some old SP&S, NP, CB&Q, and GN diesels with a few BN green units.
I model the PRR between 1920-1956. I also dabble in the PRSL (Penns Grove branch) in the same period, but even earlier to encompass WWI traffic to and from DuPont. I also model the Great Western Railway from its Act of Parliament till nationalization in 1948. -Cody F.
I model 09-Present. Nothing too revolutionary, basically as long ago as I rekindled my interest in the hobby.
Mid 70's for me, but when I started modeling seriously in 1973, this was present day. I remember my friend and I being called modern day modelers because we put ACI labels on our stuff. Bob
