Final decision was my buddy made me do it!

I was in HO for many years, then O scale 2 rail for many years, then . . . I'm really old!    So now I move to rural Oregon and meet a guy that wants to build an ON30 layout.  OK so that is now my current passion.  We are modeling the summer of 1940 on the narrow gauge between Chama and Antonito.  It is a 20x40 triple decker.  I still have my old 'collections' that are in boxes, but the out of the box runnable stuff is now ON30.  Russ

Train Mountain is very interesting

I enjoyed your link.  I wish you well on your project.  I noticed you volunteer on the Train Mountain Railroad.  I have never heard of that Museum/Railroad before.  I was fascinating to see all that track in that scale.  Plus the preserved items are very cool.  

I ended up settling on 70's

I ended up settling on 70's era santa fe as it fit the era of my first really "good" engines I got. The era allows me to run gp7's but also have some new SD40-2's and other 2nd gen power. Not sure why Santa Fe though I just kind of like it.

1970's Era

Michael,

I've been a model railroader since about 1972, am now retired, and live about an hour north of Seattle (Mount Vernon, WA).  Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, it was easy for me to choose this area to model. Being a fan of GN, NP, Milw, SP&S, etc, it was hard for me to pick a favorite (although early on I was enthralled with SP&S).  I lived in Bellingham for a few years in the late 70's/early 80's and saw the last couple of years of the Milwaukee Road's operation in Whatcom County.

All of this, plus a visit to the county-owned Lewis & Clark Railway (Lewis County, Washington) inspired me to create my own county-owned fictional railroad, the Tabooma County Railway, which is a narrow fictional county stuck in between Skagit and Snohomish Counties.  I "imagined" a former Milwaukee branch line that ran eastwards up into the Cascade Mountains, so I created my railroad along these concepts.

I was also fascinated by the early Amtrak hodge-podge consists of passenger trains, where you'd see a veritable rainbow of colors/schemes sometimes.  So I picked the early 70's as my era. 

My era has undergone "era-creep" a bit, moving a bit more towards the mid-70's.  One reason is that I am a 1/87 vehicle enthusiast and collector and keep finding more autos/trucks that I like.  Case in point:  a few years ago, there was a 1978 AMC Pacer offered in 1/87, and of course, I just had to have one of them, being so ugly and all that. 

Al Carter

October 1974

I settled on October 1974......why?........it's the very month and year that I was born.........I figured that's as good a time as any to model.

Also with my freelanced road the Birdsboro & Reading, I focus on the old Reading Co., Wilmington & Northern branch and the Pennsylvania RR's, Schuylkill division. Both of which both ran thru my old home town of Birdsboro PA., also the Wilmington & Northern ran 20 feet from my grandparents house in Birdsboro PA.

October 1974 also keeps me from spending all kinds of money from having to model modern day items.......the newest locomotives on my roster are SD40-2's., so I can stay within first and second generation motive power.

 "I will select a prototype

That can be a hobby unto it's self. Research and planning  are just as much fun as the actual building and take less space and money :> )     Modeling your childhood or other first time railroad experiences is always a good way to go.   My latest CCT layout was chosen because it  was jointly owned by the SP, ATSF,and WP and it was a bridge line that could feature many types of freight cars without the trouble of modeling online industries to serve them. Only requiring a few engines at a time was also a big attraction......DaveB

Location settled, era not so much

I worked off and on in northern Manitoba for several years.  When I saw that the smelter in Flin Flon (yes, the town's real name) was still running rebuilt steeplecab electrics and 1920's vintage equipment in the 1990's I was sold on that as my location and main prototype.  I don't see that changing.

CN owned the line to Flin Flon and sold it to Omnitrax in 1996.  Omnitrax brought in MLW and Alco power for their operation and that initially was going to be my era.  However the more I thought about it the more I was being pulled back into the 1980's when CN ran F7, GP9 and boxcars in grain service, and the passenger trains were still steam heated.  An added bonus was significantly more freight and passenger traffic.  I'm now sitting in about 1985-86.  The shot below by Mark Perry is from that era.  What's not to like?

Marc Simpson

Yes, I struggled, too

MMainridge,

I struggled with picking a prototype and location but not so much with era as I knew I wanted to model fairly recent time because I like the modern era. The reason I struggled is because I’m fascinated by so many different railroads and how they operate. How in the world does one pick something and stick with it and avoid the inevitable temptation to be drawn to other enticing railroad subjects? 

I was able to finally settle on a railroad and location after I made a list of aspects of railroading that were most exciting and important to me: 

• Branch line operation because I like the slow pace and character of the lines
• Not a lot of paperwork; no dispatching
• I like small switchers
• Pick a prototype close to home so I could travel to take on-location pictures and research
• I wanted a wide variety of car types, so there had to be varied industries on the branch 

I decided to model the Iowa Interstate because it is a local (I live in Ames, Iowa) regional railroad with a colorful history and varied equipment. I found other modelers who were modeling the IAIS, specifically Joe Atkinson and James McNab and contacted them to get their input and suggestions. We eventually became good friends which was a plus and I’ve operated several times on both Joe and James’ railroads which helped me gather even more info on the IAIS. 

Joe suggested I look at the Milan branch which operates in the Quad Cities. After researching the branch it had everything I was looking for: a diminutive SW1200 assigned to the branch for many years, occasional GP10 power (I like the Paducah rebuilds), a 10 mile distance of operation, varied industries (steel, chemical, scrap, food, manufacturing, bulk materials). Plus the IAIS has a really cool paint scheme.

The branch also would fit well with the available room I had in my home. 

I’ve discovered over time that as I research the branch and get to know it’s operations, equipment, and location better, the more I’ve become attached to it. It’s become like an old friend that I can no longer toss aside because to do so just wouldn’t feel right. This isn’t to say that I’m not enticed by other interesting railroads, but there’s a comfort level now with the Milan branch which motivates me to keep working and developing the layout. I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but the comfort level is a good place to be because it opens up many more fun aspects of modeling the branch. 

I hope this helps as you struggle to pick a railroad to model.

Michael

In the early 70's in college I fell for the Milwaukee Road, both the Milwaukee and Chicago areas. When married in 76 we lived a few hundred feet from the Knowlton Bridges in Central Wisconsin. That cemented the relationship with the Milwaukee Road.

When retired in 2014 and we moved to So. Wisconsin I changed my era to 2005 running both the Wisconsin Central and CN because they took over the Valley Sub after the bankruptcy of the Milwaukee Road and the sale to Soo. Since I like modern trains I now model 2014 but still  the Valley Sub from Junction City to Wausau. Why? Because it's familar to me and it offers good scenic runs, (JC to the Knowlton Bridge crossing of Lake Dubay) and good switching opportunities with 2 still very active Paper Mills. There are lots of decent size manufacturing plants that do use rail. There also are some nice city scenes in Wausau. When I made the final switch to 2014, I sold off all equipment that didn't fit the year and that has made modeling the Valley Sub s much easier.

Whatever choice you make, own it fully, IMO you will enjoy it more.

TomO

When I had my last layout (in

When I had my last layout (in high school in the early 70s) I wanted to model the trans I saw every day.  Belleville, IL where I grew up was served by the IC, Southern and L&N.  Fast forward 40 years and two careers and I ended up in South Central Illinois with the IC (now CN) mainline 100 yards from my front door.  Many of the small towns around here were IC towns, laid out by the railroad on it's right of way in the 1850s and 60s.  I live 20 miles from the focal point of my layout, Centralia, Illinois which was a division point on the IC.  The Illinois, Springfield and St Louis Divisions met there and the town was also served by the CB&Q, Southern and Missouri and Illinois. The IC had a large locomotive facility there with a 48 stall roundhouse and a huge car shop where they build cars for themselves and other railroads.  I decided I would model an approximately 50 mile portion of the IC from Centralia to Effingham, IL.  This gives me easy access to the actual railroad for photographs and measurements of structures that still exist.  It also lets me run equipment from the IC, CB&Q, M&I, Southern, B&O (interchanged with the IC in Odin, IL), C&EI (crossed the IC in Kinmundy, IL and Pennsylvania (interchanged with the IC at Effingham).

I've always loved steam from the first time I ever saw it run when I was little boy and the L&N took the General on tour for the 100 year anniversary of Anderson's Raid. So I chose the transition era the year before I was born.  1955 was the last year of mainline steam all up and down the IC.  Steam reigned on the IC in Centralia until 1960. Locals and switiching still were predominately steam there with Geeps hauling the through freight after 1956.

The CB&Q still had a roundhouse in Centralia then and operated a lot of steam in that era too, although they dieselized faster then the IC. Both the CB&Q and the M&I ran motorcars for passenger service into Centralia in those days.

I picked my location, prototype and era because I love local history and it gives me the opportunity to model several railroads and operate them on the same layout.  The IC, CB&Q, Southern and the M&I (on IC tracks) ran parallel to each other through downtown Centralia.  My choice lets me model IC steam, big and small, IC GP7s and 9s, the famous IC streamliners (Panama Limited, City of New Orleans and City of Miami all made station stops in Centralia), IC SWs.  I also can run the big CB&Q steam that hauled the coal out of the southern Illinois mines along with their F units, Geeps and SD7s and 9s and their motorcar.  The M&I had RS2s and power from the parent railroad, the MOPAC and ran a small motorcar with trailer coach, and the Southern ran 5 trains a day through powered by their green F units, Geeps and Alcos.

Jeff White

Alma, IL

I appreciate the responses

Everyone,

I appreciate all the responses.  

It seems like for location, the people who have responded have chosen areas they are familiar with (i.e. either lived nearby or have visited).  That is true with me as well.  One of my criteria is I need to have been to the place I want to model and have some valuable connection.  That still leaves a lot of choices, but it helps narrow things down.

One thing I have to consider for location is what can I model convincingly in the space I have (18 x 6 feet).  I have many great memories of Dupo Yard, but I would make a mockery of it in the space I have (plus it would be very expensive).

Jeff, I have been to Centralia several times for IC Railroad days or just railfaning.   It's definitely a fun place to be.

For railroad, I am just realizing that even though I am most familiar with Union Pacific and Mopac, I must have other railroads represented because I love the variety.  This could easily be satisfied with run through or pool power.  It could be a place where multiple railroads ran through like several places on the TRRA.

For era, I found the responses very interesting.  No clear pattern here.  Like some of you mentioned, the choice of available models has affected my past choices and era creep.  Here are my pros and cons of the two eras I'm considering, maybe you will identify more.

Modern Era (2006-2010):

Pros:

• Significant research sources (lots of photos, videos, satellite views, and street views)
• Many modern era models available with excellent motors, DCC, and sound
• Many vehicles and modern building kits available
• Strong knowledge of which car types are used for which industries
• Extensive knowledge of how UP operates in the modern era
• I HAVE LOTS OF BEAUTIFUL MODELS ALREADY (Engines, cars, vehicles, scenic details etc.)

Cons:  

• Fewer railroad served industries in general (even fewer single carload industries) - I enjoy switching industries
• Graffitti on nearly every car
• Most equipment seems ill maintained (while weathering is fun, some of the equipment is downright ugly)
• Longer cars overall - more space needed for sidings and industry tracks

Early 1980's:

Pros:  

• Cabooses
• Strong affinity to the EMD and GE motive power that ran at the time 
• Mergers were just beginning but the engines weren't being repainted yet 
• A wide variety of fallen flags that I love (Mopac, ICG, SOU, NW, Chessie, Family Lines/Seaboard System, BN, Frisco)
• Increasing number of locos in that era are being released 
• More industries in the St. Louis area (I have a ZTS book for the Missouri-Illinois area for that era) 

Cons:   

• Not as many research resources (could be very expensive to acquire books, historical society publications, timetables etc.)
• Many industries have been demolished so can't get photos
• Not much knowledge on operations for the railroads mentioned
• Lots of older equipment was still around but being retired soon, and I am not sure of the correct mix of car types/details to include (i.e how often were boxcars with roof walks seen in 1984?  Did the majority of cars still display ACI labels?)
• More railroads means more expense if I try include them all (run through power, a variety of fallen flag rolling stock)

Thanks again for the responses.  I have enjoyed reading them.

Selecting an era

BR GP30 2300, Interesting you

BR GP30 2300, Interesting you picked the year you were born. Though I model 1956, I started a collection for the period of the summer of 74,

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/1974-period-collection-12199880

which has some fond memories for me. The collection is now delegated to an inglenook

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/farewell-inglenook-12199246

that is now used for displaying them.

http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/28580

Journey

Its a journey finding out what you like.

I started out with a general  4x8, then went to a freelance based on an area near to me, then went to a club that was freelanced on the area (SE Pennsylvania). 

I then looked at the PRR and decided it was too big.  Dabbled in the PC also.  Explored HOn3 in PA, but it would require too many expensie engine and everything scratch build (this is the 1970's.).  Looked at the LV, very interesting but then discovered that by the era I was interested in, pre-CR, it was pretty well bankrupt.  That sent me toward the Reading.

Looked at the Tamaqua area, then changed to the Cattasagua area.  Tamaqua was too big with too much traffic. 

Moved west, dabbled in in the MP, but I worked for them so it was too much like work, went back to the Reading.  Gradually backdated to the 1950's.  Finally got a basement, freelanced a Reading Branch sorta like the Cattasagua Br.  Moved twice more.  Decided I wanted a more prototypical setting, chose the Wilmington & Northern Branch, set it in 1948-1952, the end of steam.   Built a layout.  But didn't care for the staging to staging operation.  Wanted more of a "whole trip" feel. 

Also had always admired the work of those modeling early steam, rode the EBT and Strasburg and really liked the look of the small engines.  Got a chance to operate on Rev. Gerry McGee's  P&P, which convinced me early eras could run just as well as later ones. 

So I changed from 1950 to 1900 and kept the W&N Branch.  Moved again and kept the same era.

I only took about 35 years to get here.

Exposure

Back in the 1970s, I found myself living and working in Pocatello, Idaho, which was a major point on the Union Pacific, with a hump yard, car and locomotive shops, and the place where the old Oregon Short Line and Utah North crossed paths.

My work brought me into contact with a lot of railroaders, and my apartment was within earshot of the hump yard. Roaming around the area, I found the Montana sub and the Aberdeen branch, with busy agricultural traffic.  Before the tidal wave of SD40-2s, there was a lot of variety in the motive power, from GP7s and 9s up through the UP's double diesels. 

@Tabooma County

I grew up in MV and also fell in love with the GN & NP. Later BN was everywhere and I worked along the track by the marina in Bellingham so saw those engines working frequently. My grandparents lived on the peninsula and I was intrigued by the Milwalkee Road (Former Port Townsend Southern) line that ran from Port Townsend via boat to Port Angeles. For a while the logging bug hit hard as the Olympic Peninsula had cool 42" gage Shays and the Cascades were riddled with rail lines. Darius Kinsley's images fueled the fire. 

Latter moving to Hawaii it was interesting to track down remanents of the old railways here. A standard gage version of the HCR grew in HO scale but it wasn't getting anywhere so I ripped it out and built a couple portable layouts. Both ended up at a museum.  

What is interesting is my lifelong love of small steam engines and the plantation lines were just what the doctor ordered. The Bachmann line of On30 came at a time when I was ready and I have stuck to this scale and local. Era was based on my wife's love of horses so no automobiles will show up on this line. That puts us circa 1900. 

I bounced around

In the beginning, I didn't worry about era, location, or prototype.   I just built a layout running some stuff that appealed to me. Then the EBT became a focus for a while.  After a while I got interested in the PRR, then I changed scale to O and had no focus.   After several years where I didn't do much (kids took up time and money)  I switched to S scale and the PRR.  Then I got interested in 2 foot gauge - Sn2.  Finally, I realized that the Maryland and Pennsylvania RR had many things I liked - meandering line through the countryside, truss rod equipment, small engines.  Since S scale doesn't have a good selection of steam locomotives, I picked the early 50's when the Ma&Pa had 4 diesel switchers and 8 steam locomotives and truss rod equipment.

Paul.

Really

​Dude.  I model 1900-1905.  Researching 1980 is a piece of cake compared to my era.  Ok so some of the things are gone.  But if you look around you can find actual living people who where THERE in 1980, Plus you only can find 2 gazillion pictures compared to 1990 when you might find 3 gazillion pictures.

I suggest Memphis, TN, specifically the Kentucky St interlocking area.  CSXT, NS, ICG, BN, MP, AMTK, If you cheat little bit you can get Presidents Island with all the industry there.

And making a site visit it Memphis wouldn't be that bad.  Its a weekend trip from St Louis.

What I grew up with...

Dave, I know what you mean about research.

I'm modeling the trains I grew up with:  The Maine Two Footers.  (And before anyone comments, there were none in Maine when I was a child.)  My parents took me to Edaville every year--sometimes twice-once in the summer, once for the light show in December.)

HO scale and Maine two footers are a challenging mix, but having a little bit of two foot action interchanging with broad gauge is looking do-able.  The industry will recieve raw materials (wood) on one side, and ship out furniture from the other on standard gauge (broad gauge, to hear some two foot folks talk...)

Thankfully, the Maine two footers are covered by several books

For me it was easy to find a

For me it was easy to find a location. A short section of railroad about ten miles in length located in two towns that share a border. There were two railroads that ran through the area that are familiar to everyone, the Pennsy and B&O. There was also the Wheeling Terminal Railroad and the Wheeling and Lake Erie.The place had ten steel mills at one time. There was also lots of other industry. The big decline hit in the fifties and got worse, by the end of the eighties the rails were pulled up and the trains I watched were gone.

For me it was easy to free-lance a what if railroad that used the Ohio River Railroad to connect The Wheeling and Lake Erie via the Wheeling Terminal Railroad to The Virginian. It would create nearly end to end mergers among the lines and have a viable source of competition to the existing lines in the area as well as providing a good chance for interchange.

I could then rewrite a bit of history so prosperity could stay and there would be a need for transportation.

The end of the Virginian came not from being beaten by the competition but being bought by it. Connecting the great lakes area and the Atlantic sea board via favorable grades is a good plan and doing it while serving the Virginias, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky should produce a good revenue stream.

Some other things to recommend my choice Steam could still be hanging about till the late 50s. 2-6-6-6 locomotives were used as well as 2-8-4s. FM diesels as well as Alco and EMD units were used. Coal and steel and heavy industry was available and common during this time period.

Michael

My husband has been involved with model trains most of his life. I joined in on the fun 33 yrs ago when we married. Over the years his interests have varied to the point we have enough equipment to build a layout in O, HO, & N. Living in Pennsylvania our first interest was the PRR so we bought a lot of PRR trains. We started collecting Penn Central trains because his interests went in that direction for awhile. We started railfanning later on in our life and I really liked the Conrail & NS trains so we collected those as well. We did stick to the railroads that ran in our area but could not decide on a scale or an era. Now we have a couple of closets full of trains that we may or may not ever use. Looking back we both said if we would have picked a scale and a particular era it would have saved us a lot of money because you only buy what fits the railroad. We currently do not have a model railroad but if we were to build one we would settle on the modern era, I think 

Don't have to model a railroad or era to enjoy it

Hi Michael - Being 50, I can definitely relate to many of your dilemmas.  My primary interest has always been in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially midwestern and western roads like UP, BN, CNW, MILW, and Soo.  For many years I bounced around between prototypes, but eventually caught the Iowa Interstate bug, a transition that was made easier by the frequent UP detours they hosted.  What drew me to the IAIS was the combination of 1970s-style secondhand power, great availability of information, and friendly, helpful employees.  It allowed me an up-close daily glimpse of railroading that I never would have experienced otherwise.

I'm still occasionally tempted to backdate to the 1970s and model IAIS's predecessor, the Rock Island, due to all the UP and SP pool power of the time, and because I miss cabooses.  Or perhaps the BN or Soo?  However, someone here on MRH once wisely counseled me that I don't need to model a particular railroad or era in order to enjoy it.  I can stay the course on my current prototype, but get my fix of those other roads and timeframes through videos and the modeling work of others.  Perhaps that guidance would pertain to your situation as well?

Another thing that's helped me has been to realize that the names and paint schemes on the equipment are less important once operations begin, so there's less to be gained by jumping to a new prototype.  For example, the operations I tend to enjoy most, with rural local jobs working grain elevators, would look and operate much the same whether my layout was based on the Rock Island in 1979 or the IAIS in 2005.  Given all that, I'd suggest just focusing on a locale where you can get much of what you want and modeling that, then enjoying your other favorite prototypes and eras through videos, books, etc.

Born Too Late

Hi, Michael, I'm also close in age at 53. I've always said I was born too late, because steam locomotives are my main area of interest. My childhood generic and pathetic layout, was expanded from the ubiquitous 4' x 8' that Dad helped build, to a 12' x 24' uneven "U" shape with a longer main line run just so my balky, poor running, extremely cheap Bachmann HO steamers could attempt to make it around the layout without stalling, ( at 10 years old I didn't know about feeder wires to every track section.) Steam was long gone by the time I was watching real railroads, but I was fortunate enough to see Canadian Pacific's Royal Hudson come through my hometown on a museum special train in the late 70's, Dad pulled me out of school to see it, because when we had seen the Freedom train a couple years prior, it was parked, and we both wanted to see steam running. I chose to stick with my hometown railroad, Soo Line, which was behind the times in Northern Minnesota to still have an operating roundhouse in the 1990's, I also worked for them from 1992-97, as a locomotive engineer, before relocating to Texas to work for the U.P. I stick with 1954 so I can run steam and early diesel locomotives, and have lots of 50's era automobiles on my layout, which is another hobby I enjoy, although working as a U.P. engineer leaves little time for any hobby. As far as the research, I have bought many railroad books, and have done exhaustive internet searching to find out all I need to know about my chosen era and prototype, and of course railroad historical societies, and with todays models and DCC the steam locomotives run just as good as the diesel models, so I'll stick with the 1950's era. Jim

A huge struggle for me! Like

A huge struggle for me (and we're about the same age)! Like you I have too many memories of great railfan trips plus many trains ridden all over the world and a stint working on the prototype. My solution, for now, is to just buy the (exclusively passenger) trains I like and not worry about a layout. I run my stuff down at the club where there's an eclectic mix of trains already.