OGR Magazine editor Allan Miller wrote an interesting article in Run 257 (June/July 2012) titled Theme Modeling, with a focus on the following, either singly or in combination: Type of railroading activity (passenger or freight), primary industry or commodity served, era to be modeled, favorite railroad, geographic location, and season of the year. What's the theme on your model railroad?
I stick with road names Erie, Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio and A.C.&Y. during the late 1950s because they were the main railroads that operated through Akron, Ohio when I was a kid fascinated with trains. I grew up alongside the Erie RR mainline in suburban Tallmadge, Ohio and watched from our dinette picture window the countless freight and passenger trains that sped by our home daily. The Erie, PRR, and B&O tracks converged north of Akron and ran adjacent to each other through the city center. Akron was once a huge manufacturing center (Goodyear, Firestone, Goodrich, Mohawk, Seiberling) so it was a busy time and place for the railroads.
Added note: I am not a hi-railer. I stick with this theme because it disciplines me on purchases! Mine is a toy train layout that I enjoy as much as the grandkids do. My Erie, PRR, and B&O trains take me back to my youth.
Bill (& Zephyr)