CNJ, the line came through Wilkes-Barre just down the street from my house. The guy in the gate tower would let us come up and pump down the gates when a train was approaching.
Don
#1: New York Central. No, I didn't grow up in the Northeast or the Midwest; I have no warm personal memories of the Central; no family connection; nada. It was the steamers, specifically you-know-who made by you-know-who. Nothing unique about that story. It was the look of the Central that did it also. Reserved. Gray. ("The Great Gray Central" I head it described once.) Manhattan (been there a time or two). Grand Central (never been there). One can get attached and not live "online", but the attachment is then more intellectual than emotional. The Central in the diesel era was...not the same. Didn't even have any really interesting locomotives, or few, anyway. No 6-axle road switchers like RSD-15's or SD-9's. Meh. But the Hudson and the Niagara (and the Mohawk) did it for me, all over. That Niagara... Loved the streamlining, also.
The Other #1: Gulf, Mobile and Ohio. Former employer; headquartered in its namesake city of Mobile, my home town. Interesting history. First owner of Alco FA diesels (including the original demonstrators); the NYC was the second owner of the FA, BTW. Home town hero; medium-sized road (2700 mi) by the standards of the time. Merged with the Illinois Central in 1972, forming the Illinois Central Gulf, while I worked there. Really, that wasn't my fault.
BNSF - I like the color scheme, current one is the best, IMO. And also we have lived by the tracks since the early 1970s so it's mostly all I see these days.
There are several other railroads I also really like the colors of, but only have one engine and a few cars from one of them, the Interstate RR. I also have one UP engine and a UP few cars. I see quite a few of those around here as well.
Chessie System
i like the logo and paint scheme plus my mom gave me a ton of lionel chessie stuff before she died that i don't have anymore because my dad hates me having anything to do with trains
Santa Fe - the kodachromes and the warbonnets
Grandad from Roanoke, worked for N& W, moved to Suffolk & traffic manager for Planters Peanuts shipping on N & W.
Mom & Dad from Suffolk. He went to college at VPI, worked in Bluefield, W Va selling insurance to coal mine accounts... N&W always nearby and US 460, the road between Suffolk/Bluefield is next to N&W most of the way. Moved to Suffolk, house one block from tracks in 1957... still steam.
I went to Va Tech, born in Bluefield, followed U S 460/N & W all my life.
Have had trains since my first Christmas. What else could there be but N&W/NS?
Well, actually, Virginian, Seaboard, N,F,&D, Chessie, were/are coming thru Suffolk so lots of additional to include on a lesser basis.
Central railroad of New Jersey! My great grandfather worked for them til they pulled out of pa. Than worked for Lehigh valley til he retired. Also like the reading and northern
I've always had a soft spot for the "Lehigh Valley". They use to stop in my hometown of Owego, NY where they would cross over to the E-L tracks for the run to Binghamton, NY. Back around 1963 or so I made friends with that crew and rode the Lehigh several times to Binghamton and back. I was fortunate to ride in the FA's, PA's 601 and 606 and the yellow jackets. It was a dream come true for me... I loved the PA's.
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For me it would be the Illinois Terminal. The reason would be very colorful paint schemes and they would lash up anything available to pull a train. Geeps with Switchers - all Switcher lash up's, you just never knew what you were going to see.
The 980 series St. Louis Car Company bay window cabooses are still my favorite. I have fond memories of watching this little railroad go past my home running on ICG trackage rights.
Other favorites are Illinois Central, Illinois Central Gulf, Gulf Mobile & Ohio, Norfolk & Western, Pennsylvania, New York Central, Penn Central, Conrail.
I'm from Joisey ....
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Balshis posted:Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:New York Central & Pennsylvania. I'm from the NE, the short rail line(Black River & Western) here is on some of the tracks that the PRR used to own, my HO days were of the PRR, my uncle used to run the postwar S2 Turbine. My first O Scale engine was a gift from him(my uncle) and it was an old Commodore Vanderbilt 0-4-0, not sure who made it.
Very likely it was Marx. They made tons of Commodore Vanderbilts in several colors.
I still have it, sort of had some issues with a little bit of rust, bit that is what happens when you're a kid and it gets tucked in the wet basement. I did sand down the rusty bits, sort of messed some of the plaques a bit that said NYC and Commodore Vanderbilt.
Those plaques are being remanufactured and are available from several suppliers. Personally, I recommend Robert Grossman.
I spray painted the shell black. That was over 20 years ago. I will have to get it looked at as it needs some mechanical work on the engine motor. Sort of runs.
Restoring a Marx motor (assuming it is Marx) isn't difficult and there are a lot of online references to help. I recently redid two Commodore Vanderbilts myself, and they run like fine watches, now.
I am going to have to dig it up and post some pictures. I guess that would be classified as tin plate?
Southern Pacific / ATSF / Union Pacific
Why - because I grew up in Los Angeles and remember seeing them all in steam!
SP and ATSF.
SP since my grand father work for them. ATSF because of the Super Chief.
Penn Central. The PRR/PC Ft. Wayne Line was located about 1/2 mile behind our house. I had a panoramic view of the tracks looking out our family room window. The PC merger took place when I was 6 years old. Conrail was formed when I was 14. Prime years for a budding railfan. A school buddy's father managed a local grain elevator. We would go the the elevator every day during the summer and watch the local freight switch the industries in town. We spent hours watching freight trains pass through with all kinds of interesting rolling stock. I remember the odd combinations of motive power on many of the trains. I also remember the early years of Conrail, with the various locomotive paint schemes. Two years after Conrail was formed I got my driver's license and a pretty girl smiled at me.
I forgot what a train was, let alone how to spell the word.
I also want to add Amtrak. The "Bloody Nose" E8's and SDP40-F's will always have a special place in my memory.
Tom
I was going to sit this one out, as my favorite is hardly secret, and I have been enjoying reading the thread.
Like many others, I favor the railroad I grew up with. My hometown railroad (Brea, California) was Pacific Electric, but it was a light-ballast, light-rail "wooden axle" outfit, and was very pale in comparison to Santa Fe, which ran through Fullerton, 3 miles south of Brea, and well within hearing in then-rural northern Orange County.
Santa Fe's big 4-8-4's and its stainless steel rednose passenger diesels had me from the moment I first saw them. Early recollections of a stainless steel San Diegan making 100 MPH through La Mirada really thrilled me. Even though Southern Pacific and Union Pacific were only 12 miles north of Brea, their steam power was dirty looking and their passenger trains did not run 100 MPH. They were interesting, and obviously good railroads, but Santa Fe had a different style that I found very appealing. I was at trackside whenever possible in my youth, attended school with Santa Fe Third District adjoining the playground fence, worked in engine service and as an officer on Santa Fe, and now I have a Santa Fe model railroad with only one foreign line engine and caboose (Southern Pacific).
Southern Pacific, because I grew up in San Francisco with the SP. also, most of my relatives worked for the SP at one time or another. My other favorite is the Western Pacific.
Has to be BN. Home road and I loved that green.
I still like the successor BNSF, but I miss the paint.
Southern - because from their paint to their practice, they were just so classy!
B&O and Western Maryland. Grew up in the Baltimore area.I remember sitting at a railroad tracks in our family car waiting a B&O train to pass for what seemed like hours. Great history with the B&O.
I love the Western Maryland logo.
Kudos to Brianel-K Line Guy - - - who exhibited a bit of marvelous critical thinking ability, noting the OGR membership map, with heavy weighting of eastern membership/residence and a heavy response favoring the eastern roads. An obviously bright man !!
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy is my favorite railroad because of an attractive steam roster, meticulous inside and out maintenance of said power, beautiful stainless steel streamlined passenger trains, and an over-all classy look to the property. Oh, yes, I grew up along the Q, too !!
Following the Q closely are the CPR, CNR, GTW, C&NW, CMStP&P, Soo Line, CGW, D&RGW, NP, GN, CRI&P, and WM. I'll get to the 70 or so Class 1 railroads remaining, in a while !
Long Island railroad,oldest in America. It was to be a gateway from NY to Boston but found it's mark serving Long Island. Doesn't have freight service anymore but passenger service is king(petty king)thank or no thanks to Amtrak and Penn Station.
Erie. When I was growing up a half block away were 3 main tracks. We only lived 10 miles from New York City in North Jersey so there was plenty of traffic to see.
I mostly am attracted to paint schemes
I collect:
NEW YORK CENTRAL - love the grey lightning bolt
NEW HAVEN - again - nice logos paint schemes
Nickel Plate Road - just because it was my uncles favorite
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Not sure I would "collect" these but Im also after some local interest trains:
I live near Norfolk Southern operations and see their trains a lot - so I want to add some of the black locos I often see.
And I'm trying to find a S1 that I can custom repaint to match an old local line - Mercersburg - I found enough photos that I think I can send to a painter to get this custom job done.
EBT Jim posted:I'm from Joisey ....
Yeah? What Exit? (sorry, I couldn't resist)
The Pennsylvania Railroad, because that was what I saw as a kid. That said, I like them ALL, from the largest, right down to the Aberdeen and Rockfish. The first generation diesels had a pile of neat color schemes to please just about anyone's eye. Also a big fan of the New York Central and the Wild Mary. If you can't find motive power you like among those 3, you're in the wrong hobby.
Simon
Another reason I like the Reading railroad so much is that my grandfather worked for the Reading Company as a building maintenance person and got a nice retirement from the Reading RR.
Also the Philadelphia & Reading RR was the second railroad to file for operation in the state of Pennsylvania. Not 100% sure but the railroad in Strasburg PA might be the oldest railroad in Pennsylvania.
Lee
EBT Jim posted:I'm from Joisey ....
gotta' love those babyface baldwins
when I was very young, all I saw were those handsome, blue conrail engines everywhere . so, go with them
Reading & Northern for me still runs through my hometown of Hazleton, Pa.
As a kid I grew up watching the Soo Line cross the UP of Michigan. I love the hockey stick paint scheme and the giant SOO on the sides of the locos. The Soo will always be my favorite. Naturally, I add in Wisconsin Central, Green Bay & Western, Chicago Northwestern and Milwaukee Road rolling stock because those were part of the system.
Nowadays, I like Canadian National. Mostly because I see them as I live near the Manitowoc Sub and a few blocks from the main Manitowoc Yard and the Briess Yard as they call it these days, but I refer to it as the Lakeshore Yard. The local engineer and brakeman are getting to know me because I video record their movements around town, mostly between the two yards, and talk to them occasionally at the yard house. CN swaps out the switchers about every two weeks so I've seen CN, Grand Trunk, & Illinois Central power on a rotating basis.
The Pennsylvania Railroad
couldn't help but love it, with the mainline splitting my town in half. thundering freights and sleek passengers, pulled by enormous GG1s.
I "grew up" with the SP&S serving the salmon and tuna canneries in Oregon. Could hear the whistle several blocks away and made it to the tracks, crossing a four lane highway, in time to see the RS-series diesels rumble down the docks with their boxcars of fish ready for the supermarkets.
Then, on moving back east and studying a little more of railroad history I fell in love with the PRR - the granddaddy of them all.
But in the end, my multi gauge/scale collection of NYC engines won me over to this line as my favorite. For some reason explainable to me, as is indeed this whole train fascination thing, I just LOVE looking at NYC steam.
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Santa left a Lionel New York Central F3 ABA under the tree in 1954 and the NYC has been my favorite railroad ever since. I never saw the NYC in person but I grew up on Long Island so a NY railroad was easy to like. The LIRR was my local RR and my uncle worked for it so it's an honorable mention but not a favorite.
In 1994 I started working in the Hudson Valley for 3 weeks each year and saw Conrail freights running along the Hudson and fell in love with the it. In 2000 my job took me to Poughkeepsie so I saw a lot of Conrail and CSX and they became railroads I really liked.
I moved to Florida last year and often see Florida East Coast trains running and have developed an interest in this line. The locos are really attractive and I may get an engine or two in the future.
NYC still #1 by far.
Conrail and CSX second tier.
FEC growing.
LIRR honorable mention.
I grew up in Lewistown, PA at the midpoint of PRR's Middle Division.
Since the OP asked "what is your favorite railroad" as opposed to railroads; my answer is simple - PRR.
Curt
juniata guy posted:Since the OP asked "what is your favorite railroad" as opposed to railroads; my answer is simple - PRR.
Funny how few people seem to have noticed the original question was singular, but I think most people have more than one railroad they really love.
I only mentioned local railroads and why I didn't like them as a response to the majority of people who love a specific RR due to seeing it as a kid. Mine really doesn't fit that.
Grand Trunk - ran a block from my house as a kid, and next to my grade school.
South Shore - ran in my hometown, and street running was cool.
Milwaukee Road - interesting equipment, great station in Milwaukee.
Monon - Nice passenger paint schemes, and local to where I live now,
In keeping with the original poster's "Favorite RAILROAD", being singular, My first real remembrances were of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, from the mid 1940s thru the early 1950s. We then moved to the DL&W, which became my "favorite railroad" due to all the DL&W employees that befriended me and "took me under their wing", which helped begin my railroad career. Since I'm into steam locomotives, and do not remember any of the DL&W steam power, as it was gone by the time we moved there, I still have a good remembrance of CNJ steam and their very early diesel units. But, the Lackawanna will always be FIRST!
1.) Vintage EMD power (GP35-3's, GP40-3's, SD40-3's, SD40-2's and SD40T-2's). The "-3's" are rebuilds.
2.) Great colors/paint scheme.
3.) It's local. I see W&LE trains practically everyday.
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Joisey Central because it had everything, mainline operations, interesting branchlines, a variety of station types , beautiful terrain in NW Jersey & PA, and lastly - lots of smoky Alcos !
Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Coast Line and CSX... Why? As a 3rd generation railroader, that for 97 years, it suported and continues to support thru RR retirement, my family and livelihood. Very blessed to have been surrounded by great workers and bosses.
N&WRY. As a small child I visited my grandparents in Maybeury, WV. Their house was located across the hollow from the new (at the time) Elkhorn grade. I can remember trying to count the coal hoppers as the Y6's pulled and pushed the drag up the grade.
As I came back into the hobby in recent years, I have grown to admire the fact that the N&W "home built" some of the greatest steam locomotives ever.
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