which era is the best for routes
- Thread starter tankbob
- Start date
I like the steam era, even though I wasn't around when steam was king, however, I was around for the British Rail days and the introduction of the Intercity High Speed Train HST125, which even today fasinates me, even though they are MTU engines, and not the great screeching Valenta's which I do miss today...
My favourite route is The Great Western route, from Castles and Kings through to HST sets, no matter what you place on that route, be it steam or diesel, the magnificent countryside reflects an awsome route, were trains look part of the scenery...
It is such a shame, that one day soon, this magnificent and most scenic route will be spoiled by electrification and dangling wires.
Joe Airtime
My favourite route is The Great Western route, from Castles and Kings through to HST sets, no matter what you place on that route, be it steam or diesel, the magnificent countryside reflects an awsome route, were trains look part of the scenery...
It is such a shame, that one day soon, this magnificent and most scenic route will be spoiled by electrification and dangling wires.
Joe Airtime
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Like Joe Airtime, I too love the steam era. I was born at the very end of it and was lucky enough to work one that was being transfered after restoration (cpr 1201). I mainly model the late 1800s due to the nostalgia of the period and the importance of railroading at that time. I have modeled the late 50s / early 60s to reflect the switch over from steam to diesel in Canada but only once since it was such a sad time as it marked the end of the magic in canadian railroading and the decline of passenger service.
Bricey
Bricey
cascaderailroad
New member
I was thinking of doing my route in the 1870's when the PRR was only double and single tracked, had light weight rails & stub switchs, and was signaled by hand lanterns & rope operated highball signals.
PereMarquette1225fan
Active member
My Favorite Railroad Eras
My favorite railroad era is not one era, but two eras. Modern day era with Burlington Northern Santa Fe operations and the era from the 1930s to the early 1970s. From the era of the Pennsylvania Railroad to the era of the Chessie System. Those are some of the best eras in railroad history. Classic steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and electric locomotives. Engines like the 4-8-4, EMD F7 or a Budd Metroliner and so on.
My favorite railroad era is not one era, but two eras. Modern day era with Burlington Northern Santa Fe operations and the era from the 1930s to the early 1970s. From the era of the Pennsylvania Railroad to the era of the Chessie System. Those are some of the best eras in railroad history. Classic steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and electric locomotives. Engines like the 4-8-4, EMD F7 or a Budd Metroliner and so on.
UnionPacificRules
NYC, PRR, UP, SP, BNSF...
1940........The threat of Nazis in WW2 pushed the american railroad to make some of the best of the best steam in the world!
If you're into the past, I'd say the 1920's-1940's for U.S. railroads. This is when electrification was going on, as well as WWII. Beginning in the 1950's, RRs began abandoning significant lines and routes.
If you wanted to model in a reasonably "modern" era, as I intend to, I would say late-80's to mid-90's.
If you wanted to model in a reasonably "modern" era, as I intend to, I would say late-80's to mid-90's.
My personal favorite is the Transition Era (the time period where early Diesel and Electric units were starting to phase out steam). The time period is a bit flexible depending on the locale and railroad being modeled, but it provides, in my opinion, the best balance in terms of motive power type on a route, as both steam and non-steam locomotives could be seen running around at the same time - plus I like a lot of those early little stubby Diesel-Electrics, like the stumpy little Alco HH600's. (For some reason most the modern Diesels aren't very aesthetically pleasing to me.) This is also the time period that steam saw many of their mega-power producers, like the Big Boy's and Challengers (their size due in part some-what to compete with Diesel's hauling power)
sadly i was born in the era of the modern stuff e.g. class 66s 67s the new 70 ect, but it did see the release of the new peppercorn a1 tornado! and apparently theres for rebuilds of uk steam trains in the future
but my fav eras are the age of steam and the br periods. but having sed i like the 1993-2004 as thats when we had class 86s on the geml in intercity, virgin and anglia livery! with the mk2 dbsos!
hmm basically i like most eras!
but my fav eras are the age of steam and the br periods. but having sed i like the 1993-2004 as thats when we had class 86s on the geml in intercity, virgin and anglia livery! with the mk2 dbsos!
hmm basically i like most eras!
we got some good locos too in the uk.....
however theres one steam train im not too keen on and thats the southern railways class Q1 boy shes ugly! but it does have character
jadebullet
might be back?
1900-1976, though the 50s are probably my favorite. 1990-1996 is also pretty cool.
MustanGrande
New member
My favorite setting is the 50s-60s, simply because it's a point where late steam and early diesels overlapped a bit.
plan for 3 eras
The route I am currently working on (getting close to "complete") is the Southern Pacific from Portland to Albany, plus the Tillamook branch to the coast. It is set in November of 1954, so steam is still around though no longer the king of the rails, as first generation diesels tend to get the important trains.
SP's Cascade is still running, hooking up with the Northern Pacific to run this train from Seattle to San Francisco. An SP local from Portland to Eugene still runs daily and makes stops at the smaller depots the Cascade bypasses (Clackamas, Oregon City, Canby, Woodburn and Fairgrounds).
Timber is still the principal industry, reflected in my two logging camps, a log dump, three sawmills, one pulp mill and two paper mills. And with us near the end of the harvest season, the silos of Woodburn and Canby are bursting at the seams, keeping boxcars running between them and the flour mill and brewery in Salem's industrial district.
Produce from California is a year-round enterprise, and Pacific Fruit Express reefer trains are a regular sight. A mix of ice-cooled and mechanical reefers will be part of this train, and an icing platform next to the fruit warehouse in the midst of Brooklyn Yard is kept relatively busy. The fruit comes north to Portland, then sent back down south to Woodburn and Salem and their two canneries.
But once I have this layout finished to my satisfaction, I plan on altering it (and saving it with a different name), moving up the timeline to November, 1975. By then, boxcars have been replaced by covered hoppers to haul grain. Passenger locals have been discontinued, so the small depots mentioned before are closed and abandoned, as are the freighthouses, as LCL traffic has shifted to trucks. Amtrak takes over the Cascade.
Logging flats will be less common, as trucks invade that industry as well. One of the sawmills will be closed, but the other two will be larger, as big entities begin to absorb the smaller mills. The icing platform will be gone, as all reefers are now mechanical.
Urban sprawl will be evident, as many of the trees that surround the Publisher's Paper mill in Oregon City get replaced by buildings, and much of the open countryside will become part of cities that are growing closer together. (The Tillamook Branch will be the exception, as many of the towns along this route shrink as outdated industries take their toll.) Interstate 5 will become a bigger presence, rather than just a curiosity. Trailers on flat cars will become the first signs of the intermodal industry.
Once that is complete, I plan on a third session, with a date that is less a lock, November 1996-present. This will allow me to run today's motive power, big Dash 8's and 9's. Sadly the SP will be gone, and UP engines will be the common sight in Brooklyn Yard. But with the pooling and lease agreements of today, I can also run engines from RRs nowhere close to my locale, such as CSX, Norfolk Southern, ConRail or Kansas City Southern.
Container yards will be the new huge industry, although the sawmills will still be in full swing. But intermodal will become a huge piece of railroading on my layout, just as they have in real life.
Some of the small depots that were closed will be moved and reopened as a new light rail electric system gets laid. Commuter trains will be constant runners in three-hour spans in both morning and evening. Many of the "Mom and Pop" stores will be replaced with superstores like Wal-Mart, Petco and others. 7-Eleven stores and modern day gas station/convenience store/fast food joint combos will become commonplace. Publishers Paper in Oregon City will now be fully engulfed by urban spread, forcing all work to nighttime duty to keep roads from being blocked during high-traffic hours. The Port of Portland, a near non-entity in '54, will be a HUGE source of rail traffic, with grain and lumber export, barite ore transfers, Japanese auto imports, and containers, containers, containers.
All three eras have something that appeal to me. For the 50's, it's the still present iron horses of steam, plus skeleton logging flats, ice-cooled reefers, declining but still alive passenger service, small towns between the big cities, and the caboose.
For the 70's: covered hoppers, second generation diesels, muscle cars, and piggyback flats (if I can ever find any on DLS)
For the 90's and beyond: Centerbeam flats, intermodal, motive power from all over, a busy Port of Portland, light rail commuter traffic
The route I am currently working on (getting close to "complete") is the Southern Pacific from Portland to Albany, plus the Tillamook branch to the coast. It is set in November of 1954, so steam is still around though no longer the king of the rails, as first generation diesels tend to get the important trains.
SP's Cascade is still running, hooking up with the Northern Pacific to run this train from Seattle to San Francisco. An SP local from Portland to Eugene still runs daily and makes stops at the smaller depots the Cascade bypasses (Clackamas, Oregon City, Canby, Woodburn and Fairgrounds).
Timber is still the principal industry, reflected in my two logging camps, a log dump, three sawmills, one pulp mill and two paper mills. And with us near the end of the harvest season, the silos of Woodburn and Canby are bursting at the seams, keeping boxcars running between them and the flour mill and brewery in Salem's industrial district.
Produce from California is a year-round enterprise, and Pacific Fruit Express reefer trains are a regular sight. A mix of ice-cooled and mechanical reefers will be part of this train, and an icing platform next to the fruit warehouse in the midst of Brooklyn Yard is kept relatively busy. The fruit comes north to Portland, then sent back down south to Woodburn and Salem and their two canneries.
But once I have this layout finished to my satisfaction, I plan on altering it (and saving it with a different name), moving up the timeline to November, 1975. By then, boxcars have been replaced by covered hoppers to haul grain. Passenger locals have been discontinued, so the small depots mentioned before are closed and abandoned, as are the freighthouses, as LCL traffic has shifted to trucks. Amtrak takes over the Cascade.
Logging flats will be less common, as trucks invade that industry as well. One of the sawmills will be closed, but the other two will be larger, as big entities begin to absorb the smaller mills. The icing platform will be gone, as all reefers are now mechanical.
Urban sprawl will be evident, as many of the trees that surround the Publisher's Paper mill in Oregon City get replaced by buildings, and much of the open countryside will become part of cities that are growing closer together. (The Tillamook Branch will be the exception, as many of the towns along this route shrink as outdated industries take their toll.) Interstate 5 will become a bigger presence, rather than just a curiosity. Trailers on flat cars will become the first signs of the intermodal industry.
Once that is complete, I plan on a third session, with a date that is less a lock, November 1996-present. This will allow me to run today's motive power, big Dash 8's and 9's. Sadly the SP will be gone, and UP engines will be the common sight in Brooklyn Yard. But with the pooling and lease agreements of today, I can also run engines from RRs nowhere close to my locale, such as CSX, Norfolk Southern, ConRail or Kansas City Southern.
Container yards will be the new huge industry, although the sawmills will still be in full swing. But intermodal will become a huge piece of railroading on my layout, just as they have in real life.
Some of the small depots that were closed will be moved and reopened as a new light rail electric system gets laid. Commuter trains will be constant runners in three-hour spans in both morning and evening. Many of the "Mom and Pop" stores will be replaced with superstores like Wal-Mart, Petco and others. 7-Eleven stores and modern day gas station/convenience store/fast food joint combos will become commonplace. Publishers Paper in Oregon City will now be fully engulfed by urban spread, forcing all work to nighttime duty to keep roads from being blocked during high-traffic hours. The Port of Portland, a near non-entity in '54, will be a HUGE source of rail traffic, with grain and lumber export, barite ore transfers, Japanese auto imports, and containers, containers, containers.
All three eras have something that appeal to me. For the 50's, it's the still present iron horses of steam, plus skeleton logging flats, ice-cooled reefers, declining but still alive passenger service, small towns between the big cities, and the caboose.
For the 70's: covered hoppers, second generation diesels, muscle cars, and piggyback flats (if I can ever find any on DLS)
For the 90's and beyond: Centerbeam flats, intermodal, motive power from all over, a busy Port of Portland, light rail commuter traffic