Road names, Are you selective or like em all?

I am very selective.  

 

All locomotives and way cars are Santa Fe early 1950's, the only exceptions being one SP Baldwin AS-616 and a T&NO caboose.

 

Passenger cars are all Santa Fe except for some foreign line head-end cars for the mail train and the Grand Canyon.

 

Freight cars are from a variety of roads, but I have intentionally included roads, such as GN, PRR, NYC, which were friendly connections to Santa Fe.

I've tried...I swear I really have tried ..  But as so many others have noted, along comes an eye-catching road name like a Morristown & Erie, or Texas & Pacific or Minneapolis & St. Louis, Pittsburgh & Shawmut, and all will power and resolve goes flying out the window!  

 

- Mike

No, if the engine or passenger cars look cool, that's enough for me. My road names are all over the country.

I am not picky. As long as they are erie, Lackawanna,erie lackawanna, or Long Island. And Not Santa fe or union pacific

I have mainly east coast as for engines at this point being NYC, PRR and a Reading  

But I do have others, DT&I, Burlington, As far as cars go I have cars from all railroads as it was back in the day a train might have a PRR engine but back then when a car was loaded it stayed with its load from one coast to another now days it's real rare if ever you see a car from the opposite coast. So some where it's getting unloaded and reloaded to go on.  

One road specific; no, actually two:  Milwaukee Road and some C&NW.  But 99% of the time, I will be running my MR engines and trains.  Once in a great while I'll haul out some of the C&NW power and operate it.

 

Also, nothing newer than 1950.  That's the era that my layout represents.  So power becomes the last years of steam and the first generation of diesels.  (None of the huge new diesels on my layout)  And only Milwaukee, some Northwestern.

 

But, there is an advantage to being that specific:  It helps with the budget!  If the locos, cars, passenger trains, vehicles, buildings, etc. don't fall within those two guidelines,  I'm not tempted to buy them.  So being specific is the economical way.

 

Paul Fischer

I'm a Milwaukee Road fan through and through, but I have added two other road names for specific reasons.

#1 Canadian National: Freight only, My wife's son is an engineer for them.

#2 Lackawanna Passenger: ABA with 7 cars, Who couldn't love a name like that on their layout? (Besides, I think the color scheme, gray, burgundy and yellow is great looking!)

I try to go with what is/ was local. Includes N/S etal, CSX etal. Also have a few others that I bought from a friend many years ago.

If I really like something, I will buy it but the selection from what ran here is pretty broad.

I've limited my interest to the Pennsylvania (most of my trains) and a few railroads that directly interchanged with it (mostly Southern).  The original intent was to limit my purchases since I found I liked all trains.  However, since the Pennsylvania is rather boring color wise, I have purchased a few passenger trains that ran on or interchanged with the Pennsylvania in 1949, the era of my layout.  These include the Freedom Train (Lionel), Golden State (K-line), and Train of Tomorrow (GGD).   

I run mostly postwar, but when my father and I started buying K-line, one of the first purchases was a KCC GG1, so our new purchases from then on started to focus on PRR.  Other stuff found it's way into the mix either because I really really wanted it like the postwar Santa Fe AB and LL 2500 series passenger cars, or I got a good deal like the random Rock Island MP-15 switcher.

Other randoms:

sold off a UP MP-15 last year

K-line Army set

Hogwarts Express set

Lionel MPC Amtrack set (will probably sell)

 

and rolling stock is whatever looks good.  I do have a set of scale PRR boxcars to run behind my PRR Mikado, but other stuff is whatever gets the job done

 

Although, being from the Boston area and now living in CT, I think i'd like to look into picking up some B&M stuff and maybe even some New Haven

Selective .... only one roadname. But, I've had much smaller layouts than many folks here.

 

That roadname has changed through the years/scales. Presently ... putting together a CNJ thing.

On page one of this thread I said I only have two road names, I have to add one more.

This line services major companies in southern Michigan. Like lumber, chemicals & plastics for the automotive industry. They have plans to add a passenger trains, from the Amtrak stations.

 

Does it have flanges? It's good enough for me.

I tend to be drawn to northern railroads. More "earthy" colors maybe?

Out west Santa Fe all the way.

UP has the best logo, great engines, and history. But I don't care for the colors.

 

It's easy to focus on one roadname when you model narrow-gauge RRs that never interchanged with anyone else.

But if I ever modeled standard gauge, I'd be tempted to go with Milwaukee Road (as I live with 1/4 mile of the long abandoned main line to the Pacific Ocean).

When I was much younger, i noticed all the RR magazines and many books seemed dominated by the Northeast RRs. To this day, I have very little interest or enthusiasm for, say, the PRR or the NYC. That's all i ever seemed to see in print for years and I got so sick of that I never recovered...

Wow, what a Great Question? The name of my model railroad says it all, Leapin Larry's Looney Lines RR, Therefore, I try very hard to buy what I like, However, do to the escalating Prices, I stick with, SANTE FE, UP, CSX, KCS, PA, NYC, L&N, NKP, Norfolk and Western, Western Maryland, Chicago and North Western, Southern Pacific, Western Pacific and Last but not Least, Lionel Lines, Jersey Central, and More.....Its an Addiction....If I like the Color Combination, I try to add it to the collection....Again, thanks for this Question, its Just a Fun Hobby...Happy Railroading.

My main road name started with Southern but you can't have Southern without having Norfolk Southern too and, you can't Norfolk & Southern without having Norfolk & Western. Oh did mention that I have A Southern Pacific PA ABA set....well it did have the name Southern in it. I bought some CSX autoracks only because Lionel didn't have any NS autoracks....so it's Lionel fault that I bought the CSX ES44 to pull them with. You know, if they didn't have all those nice catalogs I might know where it's going to end. 

  Given a choice, I would have choose a straight U.P. roster over having LIONEL LINES plastered on my tenders, and cars (and been quite happy).

 

This line could become one of my favorite Michigan road names. MDOT

 Click photo to enlarge.

I'm reminded of a guy I know who has a small HO layout, of a fictional railroad that took over EVERY other RR in the nation. He has been building 'heritage' locomotives for RRs that no longer exist in his concept's reality. So funny to see NS, UP and BNSF 'heritage' units...

For the most part I limit my diesels to Santa Fe and my steam engines to UP, SP, and Santa Fe.

I try to anyways, sometimes I get an odd ball in there.

In order of most importance:

Western Maryland

Maryland Midland

CSX

Reading

CVRR(Cumberland Valley Railroad. At this time, no O scale models exist to my knowledge)

PRR(Steam only)

Chessie System(C&O/B&O/WM)

Conrail

Norfolk Southern

BNSF(because I see a lot around my area)

I buy what I like and have several road names.  

Pennsylvania

Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee

Luxury Lines

Union Pacific

Southern Pacific

Pacific Electric

 

There were places like Englewood Union Station in Chicago where you would find the Pennsylvania, New York Central, Rock Island and Nickel Plate all together.  Up 63rd Street 3/4 of a mile there was Little Englewood Station with the Chicago & Western Indiana, Monon, Erie, C. I & R. Railway, and the Chicago & Eastern Illinois. Today both locations are dangerous places and the classic railroad names are long gone.

 

 

I am selective and favor railroads on the eastern side of the Mississippi River. I must admit that I have a few trains that spent their lives on the other side of the Mississippi River such as the Rio Grande Ski Train, The Texas Special and the Santa Fe Chief.

 

My favorite Railroad is the one I grew up near, the Long Island Rail Road.

I used to like and buy Union Pacific years ago, until Union Pacific Railroad started charging Model and Toy Train Co.s for the use of their heralds. I thought that was pretty petty and the Union Pacific lost its "luster" after that fiasco!! I now like Santa Fe, CSX, B.O., Lehigh Valley, Virginian. My favorite color is yellow so many lines with a

predominate yellow scheme is nice!!

According to Gramps, If it wasn't for U.P. sleepers, I wouldn't exist . My cousins must give KATY props.(war visits)

I was only selective when I was in the service, or, perhaps, it was the other way around  

My favorite road names are New York Central  and Pennsylvania. I have never limited my purchases to those roads, there are many other nice paint schemes too.

All. Hence my signature

My main road is Pennsylvania. I did venture into ConRail, CSX and Norfolk Southern. I also collect boxed sets and love passenger trains of all roads. I have quite a few complete Lionel sets including the elusive SS Diners. Alas, all of my trains are stored for future use. Hopefully by the end of 2015 I'll have my 20' by 60' train room / man cave.

Mark

My signature says it all.

#1 - PRR

#2 - NYC

#3 - Chessie

#4 - PC

#5 - SP (Daylight)

I usually buy what liveries I like and of what ever roads I happen see as run through power on the BNSF or PSAP.  If my memory serves me correctly, I have the following roads:

 

Post war-

Minneapolis & St. Louis

Northern Pacific

 

Modern-

BNSF

NS

UP

IAIS

CSX

Amtrak

Ferromex

CP

CN

SP

Milwaukee Road

FEC

Arizona & California

 

Larry

 

 

I'm not selective. I have more Long Island Railroad trains than any other railroad. Also have NYC, Santa Fe, Pennsylvania, Amtrak, C&O, Lackawanna and some others.

I've decided to keep to what motive power will work on my small layout and what I've seen around New York City: NYC, New Haven, LIRR with a smattering of NYO&W, E-L and D&H. Also Conrail and Amtrak when I shift time frames. With rolling stock, anything goes, but mostly regional.

although no where near MR. Miller or Carl (moonman)

                         but you asked a  ?  I answered.

 Ahhhh. I just want them all!! MINE!!! ALL MINE!!

Not any particular ones. Maybe just what I like, or see.... or have seen.... or can get my hands on...

Aaaa. I haven't seen many that I don't like.

+1 on Westinghouse - my #1 choice followed by EMD demo's and then Ge Demo's

this and Maersk - great color schemes!