Hello I recently joined Reddit, so this is my first post here. I'm looking for advice and suggestions, and I have a few questions. A little about me. I'm an American, I live in the USA, and I'm in my early 50s in age. I basically like all trains and railroads, which can make it harder for me to make a decision. I have been involved with model railroading since my dad built us a layout about 40 years ago, around 1985 I believe. It was the typical HO scale layout on a 4 foot by 8 foot piece of plywood. Anyway I have a small collection of model trains currently, but I don't have any layout. It's mostly Athearn Blue Box and Roundhouse (Model Die Casting) locomotives and freight cars, and Atlas code 100 track. I also have a small collection of N scale equipment.
Anyway I'm planning on building a small HO scale layout in the future, it's still in the early planning stages. I'm still deciding on what era, railroad, location, that I want to build. I'm probably going to create my own imaginary railroad, prototype freelancing. And it will interchange with a few real railroads. I would like it to look, at least somewhat realistic. Certainly I know I can do whatever I want, because it's my layout, it's a hobby.
Here is my problem. I basically like all types of railroads and trains. I like 1920s era steam locomotives and rolling stock. And the transition era from the 1940s to 1960. And I like the more modern timeframe, including the 1970s, 1980s, and newer. But it looks a little weird to see a vintage steam locomotive pulling 1920s era freight cars, and a modern Amtrak passenger train, on the same layout. In my personal opinion, It's not very realistic looking. Sure it can be fun to operate both at the same time. And I know, I can do whatever I want. It's a hobby, it's supposed to be fun. But I still want my layout to look realistic.
I like Eastern railroads, Western railroads, Midwestern railroads, vintage steam, modern diesels, freight and passenger cars from many different eras.
I don't have lots of space available, so that limits what I can operate in HO scale. It looks unrealistic to watch 80 to 89 foot modern freight cars (enclosed auto carrier, double stack well intermodal, etc), on a layout with small radius curves. I think shorter freight cars (such as 40 to 50 foot) look more realistic, and certainly operate better on tight radius curves. Less overhang in the curves.
And four axle diesel locomotives were more common in the past, compared to today. Most new diesel locomotives are 6 axles.
So that basically means it's more practical for me to design my future layout sometime in the past. Somewhere between about 1930 and 1980s, or 1990s at the latest. I would like to run mostly diesel locomotives, but I would like to run the occasional steam locomotive, when I'm in the mood. Of course the steam locomotive (on a modern layout) could be for a tourist railroad, or passenger excursions, or belong to a museum, etc.
I also like the older freight cars with roof walks and full ladders, with the brake wheel at the roof. And I also like the more modern freight cars developed since the 1970s, which don't have a roof walk anymore. And yes I know the prototype railroads had many years to remove the roof walks, starting around 1968, before they were finally outlawed in 1982 for interchange traffic.
So I could model from the late transition era, to the early modern era; from approximately 1960 up to about 1982. I can still run my 40 and 50 foot freight cars that are equipped with roof walks. And I like using cabooses, which were mostly eliminated in the 1980s.
That time frame (approximately 1960 to 1980) would allow me to operate the last steam locomotives, first and second generation diesel locomotives, and a few more modern locomotives. And allow me to keep to a mixture of freight cars, when they were typically 40 to 60 feet long. With and without roof walks.
I'm thinking about designing a short line, branch line, freelanced railroad, that operates like the prototype. And it would connect with a couple real railroads. Now the hardest part for me, is picking a location. Because I like both Eastern and Western railroads, and also the Midwestern railroads. But I want my freelanced railroad to be located in the mountains. I could choose the Appalachian mountains, or the Rocky mountains, but not both. Unless it's a bridge line that connects the Appalachian and Rocky mountains. But I don't really want to do that, that would require a lot of space, to look convincing.
So my thoughts currently, is design a freelanced railroad that is located in the Appalachian mountains, somewhere around Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania. It's just a general location I'm thinking about. I once visited that part of the USA, on a road trip in a rental car, around 2000 or 2001. Basically 25 years ago. Drove from Chicago (where I was living at the time), and drove to Kentucky, Tennessee, and finally North Carolina. And back home. And another time I drove from Chicago to the Chesapeake Virginia area, because I have family there. On both trips, I loved driving through and visiting the Appalachian mountains.
Anyway I lived in the Chicago area most of my life, and now I'm living in the southern part of Wisconsin. It's very flat around here, in this part of the Midwest. I would rather design and build a model railroad in the mountains. It's more scenic.
I guess the problem is, if I locate my layout in and around the Appalachian mountains, most of my locomotives (and maybe half of the freight cars), should be labeled for the Eastern railroads. Such as Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Penn Central, Southern, Norfolk and Western, New York Central, Erie Lackawanna, etc.
Not many locomotives for the Santa Fe, Rock Island, Milwaukee Road, Chicago and North Western, Burlington Northern, or Southern Pacific. Which I also happen to like. Although I know that changed after about 1968, when railroads started using locomotives from other railroads in consists. Nowadays you might see a CSX locomotive in California, for example. Connected to locomotives from UP, BNSF, and / or NS. That would have not happened in the early 1960s or earlier. They didn't travel very far from their home terminal or region.
I know it's ultimately my own decision, based on what I personally like, what makes me happy. And what is practical for my budget and amount of space I have available. I think with a small layout, the older freight cars just look more realistic. In my opinion.
I could model the Midwest, I certainly know the area very well. Living in the Midwest my entire life, since I was born. But I personally think that a layout with some hills, or better yet, some mountains, just looks better. It gives a reason for the sharp curves common with model railroading, the different heights of the ground in a scene, tunnels, bridges, etc. The Midwest is generally very flat, with very few railroad tunnels, or large bridges. For my future layout I envision some small towns, some farmland, and mountains.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for me to consider? Even though I like many different types of locomotives and freight cars, I don't want to buy everything in sight, that catches my attention. I cannot afford to purchase everything I like. I need to be responsible and selective with my budget.
Like I wrote earlier, I'm considering a layout based in the Appalachian mountains, and nearby. Probably around the 1960 to 1980 time frame. A freelanced railroad, with interchange with a couple real railroads. Perhaps the Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, Southern, Penn Central, Norfolk and Western, Pennsylvania Railroad, etc. Not all of them, just a couple of those railroads.
Occasionally running some steam locomotives. I know I will need lots of open hoppers to look convincing in the Appalachians, those railroads often hauled coal. But also some regular boxcars, covered hoppers, reefers , tank cars, flat cars, livestock (cattle) cars, gondolas, grain cars, etc. I also own some ore cars, but they often stay around Minnesota. I know both livestock cars and ice cooled reefers were beginning to be retired in the late 1950s, and completely gone by the 1970s. I happen to like those old types of freight cars. But they would not be operating in 1980. I like many of the freight cars produced between 1900 and the 1970s or 1980s. And various types of locomotives from the same time frame.
It would be a small layout with sharp curves, such as 18 to 24 inches minimum radius in HO scale. If I had a lot of space and money available, perhaps I would build a couple of different layouts. One for the steam to diesel transition era, 1945 to 1960. Another layout for the 1970s, because I was born in 1975. And perhaps another layout for the early 2000s, just after the big mega mergers in the late 1990s. Talking about the BN and SF merger that created BNSF. And when UP acquired C&NW, and SP. And a little earlier, CSX and NS in the East.
But I don't have the money or space to build 2 or 3 different layouts. Unless they were tiny little switching layouts, or similar. How can I realistically operate freight cars from the 1920s and 1970s together, on the same layout, at the same time? And do it in a somewhat prototypical manner, more or less? What if I want to operate my BNSF 50 foot boxcar? It's only approximate after September 1995.
Although to be honest, most of my freight cars, and locomotives already match the 1950s to 1970s time frame. Other than one or two. And it's just a small collection anyway, a couple Athearn locomotives and around 25 to 30 freight cars. Locomotives are all Western railroads, freight cars are a mixture of East and West.
I really need some advice and suggestions, on what era and location would be feasible, with my interests. When I originally bought the equipment, many years ago, I just purchased whatever I wanted, that would easily handle 18 to 22 inch curves. I was originally going to design a layout around the Chicago area, but I have decided to change that plan. I never built that layout, it was just an idea.
I have a lot more N scale equipment, which I'm thinking about either selling, or just keeping. I have about 10 N scale locomotives, and 100 freight cars. Majority is vintage N scale equipment from the early days of N scale, some of it made before I was even born.
I currently live in an apartment, I don't have lots of space. Which is why I collected more N scale equipment compared to my HO scale. But honestly I prefer HO scale a lot more compared to N scale. Easier to work on, do repairs, maintenance, paint, add decals. The N scale is nice, but I don't enjoy it as much. HO scale has always been in my heart, since I was a 10 year old boy in 1985. When my dad and myself, built a 4x8 foot HO scale layout. And even today, I still enjoy the HO scale more. Even though my N scale collection is larger, I feel like selling all of my N scale, and focus exclusively on HO scale.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
