Passenger ops?

VIA was formed in 1977, so if you plan on modeling any passenger trains you'll want to determine what side of that date you'll be on. 

Other factors - take a look at this roster of locomotives that Trains Magazine put together:

http://trn.trains.com/railroads/rosters/canadian-pacific

You won't get any Red Barns in the 70s (I think they were the last SD40 class locomotives built), and it looks like the GP38-2 purchases were in the early 80s themselves. 

Those fabulous 70s

I think the 70s are a great time to model, and I am completely unbiased. 

Randy

ACI Labels (edited)

Don't forget the ACI labels and track side readers. The requirement was phased-in starting in 1968 and by 1975 almost all locomotives and rolling stock had them.  The mandate was abandoned in 1978 (not 1968 as I orginally posted- thanks Jeff for catching the typo) as the system wasn't reliable enough in real-world use.

Louiex2

When was the ACI mandate abandoned? I'm guessing 78 or 88. 

"Anyone see flaws in my

"Anyone see flaws in my theory? Something I'm missing?"

Absolutely: You should be modeling the late 1870's. Pure and simple. < g>

"The 50s are nice but you

   I don't know about Canada but down here there was plenty of diesel choices in the 60's and still lots of road names in the freights( the mergers were just getting going).  I'd be happy modeling either the 60's or the 70's and will have to choose between them for my new layout, I'm leaning toward the early 60's due to more remaining  ice bunker reefers, if I could get S  scale 50 foot mechanical reefers I'd be more likely to move ahead to the 70's .....DaveB

Passenger ops

Likely no passenger as I am modeling a small switching layout, likely representing a branch that CP never had. Protofreelance I believe it's called? At any rate, I love the Red Barns but can do without and the GP30 and 40 have much more appeal to me than the 38-2 so I think the 70s work.

This is also when I was most active train watching while growing up in Montreal. I lived a stone's throw from the Montreal West train station so watched commuter trains, The Atlantic and The Canadian daily. I also got to see the D&H's Adirondak lead by PA-1s. Yet, I have little interest in passenger ops. I did see plenty of freights too. 

Thanks for the roster info, helpful.

ACI- Correction

Jeff- thanks for catching the typo.  

The ACI label requirements were abandoned by th AAR in 1978. The railroads found the sensors were unable to reliably scan the plates due external factors such as dirt, weathering and fading.  The accuracy rate was down to about 70% by the mid 1970's.  Dirty ACI plates were especially a problem on any car where they had to be  mounted low, such as flat cars.

Lou

Go modern young man, learning

Go modern young man, learning modern equipment is easier than transition era, etc.  Get diesel book recognition, go to some great rail fan spots, also bring along Canada's Track Side Guide and you're set to go.  A scanner would be nice to.

Options!

Greg with the type of layout you are considering, you don't have to lock yourself in...

Today I feel like running CN equipment on the FBL (Fictitious Branch Line) - Pull the Early CP diesels off the line and put out the 44 tonner!

Oh today I want early 60's CP - No Problem! pack up the 44T and out comes the S2, a GP30 and GP 9's

Wait, It's a Modern Monday! - 1972 - yay! Put away the 40' boxcars, bring out the 50 and 60 foot's and pair up that GP30 with a GP38-2 back to back for today's work!

The beauty of fiction is that you are not tied to a specific date, time or place. Once the layout is sceniced then you might want to change up a few autos from various era's to help set the mood too.

Small layout makes easier choices.

if you are doing a small layout then figure out what rolling stock you want on it.. Specifically what model locomotive or two you would run, then narrow your era from that. Keep in mind later era tend to larger rolling stock which shrinks your layout...

70's

I guess the 1970's depends on your perspective.  While I admit it was a colorful era, unfortunately a lot of that was the color red.

Pretty much all the railroads in the NE were either bankrupt or going bankrupt (PC, NH, CNJ, LV, LNE, LHR, RDG).  PC was in a full tilt tailspin dragging down the industry.  The Milwaukee and Rock were in death spirals.  The MP was just coming out of bankruptcy, the MKT and SP were challenged.  The IC's "City of New Orleans" became the poster child of industrial decline.  The term "Rust Belt' was becoming popular.  Railroad revenue was declining.  Carloading were declining.  Steel was in decline.  Coal traffic in the NE had dried up.    The whole industry was in a contraction, defensive, deferred maintenance, cost control mode.  Lines were being retired, multiple mains were being taken up.  I started modeling the LV in the early 70's, then figured out that 90% of the tonnage was on 10% of the route mileage.  Bummer.

While it was a colorful time, it wasn't necessarily the zenith of American railroading.

If I was just starting I

If I was just starting I would focus on an era and buy only equipment for that era and maybe a loco or two. I've been at this since I was a kid and have acquired a lot of equipment. Not a staggering amount but more than my small layout could handle and certainly too many locomotives. 

Having said that I like Bill's idea. It's the most accommodating idea for all my equipment and tastes. A little industry planning will have to go into it to accommodate both 40 and 50 foot cars. 

I will avoid modern though as it has little appeal for me. I do own an AC4400 (a gift from a friend). Well, I shouldn't say I don't like modern as I have a soft spot for the local short line, the NB Southern. I have a Rapido Van in NBS and plan on detailing and painting an SD40-2 in their scheme. 

I guess I will have to invoke the "It's my railroad" rule and just do as I please. But I think I will go with Bill's idea and try to keep the layout somewhat accurate, depending on what era I am operating in. Especially when I invite folks to operate with me.

The 70s I realize the 70s

The 70s

I realize the 70s were not the golden era for railroads but I think a lot of the attraction is that it is what I recall from my youth. I moved from Montreal in 1981 and after that train spotting was almost nil. Cab units were the order of the day when living in Montreal. FP7s and 9s, E8s and of course the D&H PA1. Toss in a GP9 or two and that's what I remember. Oh and of course the old 44 tonner that switched Stelco. 

A recent Railroad and Railfan article did a profile of train spotting sites in Montreal and one of them was Wellington tower. My father and I spent many an hour there and it was common to see the Turbo train there.

1970s

All good points about the state of the industry Dave.  Fortunately though, railroads don't need to be making a ton of money to be interesting modeling subjects.  Quite the opposite, in many cases.  

During the era I model, the IAIS was just starting to thrive after more than 20 years of barely scratching out an existence.  Their first refurbished Dash 2 power had arrived, but the old grimy rust buckets that had seen them through the previous two decades were still in operation as well.  Just three years later, they were financially successful, buying the first new power in their history and retiring all their older horses.  Their roster now looked like that of basically any class 1 in the nation, but it had lost the variety, history, and "texture" that added so much interest in years prior.

Tattered Paducah rebuilds, Alcos, and high-hood Geeps don't look good on a balance sheet, but for some of us, they hold far more interest as modeling subjects than shiny new power from any timeframe.  Those who make a living in railroading might understandably prefer to forget an era when the industry was in decline, but it can be a great canvas for a model railroad.

More perspective

Remember the safety appliance regulations changed in 1966.  Cars with running boards were not rare for many years after that, and many were otherwise "modern" in appearance.  If you pick say, 1972, a boxcar with a running board might only be 7 years old, or may have received a repaint the same number of years back, so could still look almost new.  Even a car from the popular mid -50s era would still be under 20 years old.

A high proportion of your house cars will be "de-roofwalked," built before 1966 but with their safety appliances modified.

Here's a train from 1978.  The first and third cars show evidence of the running boards being removed, while the fourth car still has one.  Modeling these variations can add a lot of interest.