Thinking about going with 1 Roadname

Growing up on Long Island, the railroad was everywhere. The Oyster Bay branch ran through my village. So, it's only Long Island Rail Road for me. I will primarily model 1955, which was the last year of steam. However, as I've started to build my fleet, there are some offerings from other eras (still Long Island) that I can't resist.

Andy

I concentrate on three roads, the NYC, the PRR and the B&O during the 1940's and 1950's. If I had to only choose one it would have to be the NYC because of the venerable Hudson!  Bo 

You can visit my website Bo's Trains at http://www.bostrains.com

I just can't pick one roadname, growing up in Baltimore I just find it hard to have one. I started out with my dad's Penn. turbine & Seaboard NW-2. My dad first worked on the B&O and then worked on the Push, Batter & Ram RR at least the people that worked at Bethlehem Steel plant at Sparrows Point MD. called it. It's really the Patapsco & Back River RR so Bethlehem Steel is a favorite. 

Then comes the B&O, C&O, Chessie, WM and Amtrak. I also love passenger trains and their colors SP daylight, Blue Comet, Mil. Rd., GN, UP & Christmas themed. So if something really catches my eyes like the Mil. Rd. S-3 then I may add to my roster.

Only 1 choice for me, Chessie System. I have no idea why either, I've  lived near Reading, Conrail, NS tracks in northeast PA my entire life. I've never seen the real thing. My mother was pregnant with me when she and my father watched and photographed Ross Rowlands team repainting the American Freedom Train ex-Reading T-1 AFT-1 into the Chessie Steam Special 2101 in Saucon Creek roundhouse, maybe that's why. I grew up riding the BM&R T-1 2102 in the 80's and always liked the looks of the Reading's T-1 so when I decided to get into the hobby as an adult, my first purchase was MTH's Chessie T-1. With no place to run it it sat in a display case until I decided to really get into the hobby with plans for a large layout and a current fleet of 11 Chessie engines. The great thing is I can remain prototypical and use B&O, C&O, and WM units as well as Chessie left many of them in original paint, and they also had a fair assortment of different units, from Alco S switchers to EMD SD-50's.

Ben

Why limit yourself? If you like it, buy it!

I've found that regardless of having a favorite railroad, be it Santa Fe, Pennsylvania or whatever, as you do more research, you keep bumping into other railroads which can lead you pleasantly astray.

Rusty

Like many I purchased many items that just don't "fit".  That and my interests have changed.  Now I am all CNJ with some limited road names that would have been at home one their rails.  I also stopped buying things that have no place on my RR despite there appeal like the new lionel shay or the trackmobiles.  Those items would have been run once or twice and been relegated to storage.  

Wow!  I always thought that most people would be Santa Fe fans (Because of the F3s) or UP/ SP; but Pennsylvania seems to be the road name of choice!

Just an observation, I guess...

I was also surprised by the number of PC fans.

Thanks,

Mario

You CANNOT have my 2245!

Now I can see a "pure" ARR.  But most RR's do not exsist in a vacuum, unless you are in the very beginning of railroading.  To be real, you have to have some off road cars.

Even with passenger trains, you could have some cars "off line".  SP&S passenger cars from NP, GN, and the Q.  The CAL Z had cars from three railroads.  Some east coast trains and the original CRESENT ran on FOUR railroads......Then the early post war transcon sleepers....

When I got back into the hobby (the first time), I pretty much dived in and bought willy-nilly without regard to road name. Like others, I ended up with a real hodge-podge of locos and rolling stock. It finally hit me one day when I surveyed the idle rolling stock sitting around or in boxes. “Why do I have that Great Northern log car and the UP tanker and the C&O reefer?”  The bottom lime I was spending lots of money on trains I didn’t really want (or need).

I took a break from O Gauge and came back a few years ago with an interest in tinplate so, by definition, road name is not really important anymore. Most of the tinplate stuff is road name-less  and that suits me fine. I’ve also developed an interest in collecting MPC-era stuff and while those do have road names, it’s more about the era than anything else.

I’m happy.

I've always been a Milwaukee Road fan. First, because I road the passenger trains when I was a kid. Second, because they were so innovated with their passenger designs and colors and their freight cars i.e. ribbed boxcars and cabooses. Although they only lasted through the mid 80's, I model the late 40's early 50's so that doesn't matter to me. As scalerail said, it has everything a modeler would want. Steam, diesel, electric, mountains, great plains, rivers (the mighty Mississippi), cities, towns and much more!

And, the CZ carried a Pennsy 10-6 sleeper, "Silver Rapids" #8449!

Also it wasn't unusual during peak season for Pennsy Tuscan or UP Armour Yellow to appear in the CZ.

Rusty

Actully the CaL Z had cars contributed by four railroads.

Think you forgot the PRR Silver Rapids mentioned by Rusty

"Lionel Lines",I would have never guessed Frank.

Having grown up in the founding city of the L&N, I have always had a desire to model the L&N.  However, since both my wife's family roots & my family roots cover a rather large area (NM, TX, MO, IN, KY, OH, NYC, NJ, MD, Washington D.C., & VA), I have a desire to model the roads that represent those areas also.  So I have chosen to roster the following Railroads on my layout:

NY Central, Pennsy, N&W, Southern, Nickel Plate, L&N, & Santa Fe.

I'm not running a 100% prototypical period in time, but I do have a focus of a general timeline between the 1920's & 1960's.  So I'm mostly doing Big Steam & Early Diesel, however, I am also purchasing heritage diesels that represent the fallen flags.

The first TMCC loco we purchased was a New York Central Mikado from Lionel. We added an Atlas NYC P&LE diesel. We are modeling a small eastern PA town, so locomotives from the Lehigh Valley, PRR, Reading and CNJ will all be appropriate.

Rolling stock is acquired on an "if we like it we buy it" basis, regardless of roadname.

Having grown up in New England, my first preference is the B&M.  I also buy the occasional Maine Central and New Haven loco as they were connecting roads.

For my two rail layout at home I stick with CNJ and PRR circa 1953-1957.  Since the NY&LB saw little freight traffic, I don't have a lot of freight cars in two rail but I freely mix road names as one might have seen on the limited service that used the NY&LB for the CNJ Southern Division.  It keeps my costs down somewhat.

Off course I model everything when it comes to my three rail equipment I maintain for running on my club layout.  I would like to think the closest to prototype I come is 1971 Amtrak with the "City of Everywhere and Nowhere" being my major name passenger train.  When running for the public, color sells.  When running for myself, prototype fidelity sells.

Isn't this a great hobby for its diversity!

The 2245 TX SP passenger set came with three 2400 O-27 cars!