Why do you model smaller or obscure roads?

Greg,

 

I model the Seaboard Air Line, because where I live was where it started.

 

I've wondered if other RRs had as many oddball pieces of equipment as the SAL, just about everything I have I had to make, alter, or repaint:

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there are a few nice pieces out like the 3rd Rail E7 in SAL Mint Green paint:

 

 

Atlas and MTH have made some nice freight cars and engines that are prototypical for Seaboard, they were either already painted or were easily repainted/relettered for Seaboard.

 

I don't find RRs like PRR, NYC, ATSF, or UP appealing at all, probably because they've been over done for the past 70 years.

I model the Milwaukee Road which is of course a fallen flag. I wouldn't call it a small or obscure railroad but I model it because I grew up with it. I could see modeling a smaller or obscure railroad for a few reasons. One, the types of locomotives and rolling stock would be minimal which would be easy on your budget. Two, your layout could be a specific town or yard or industrial area which would be easy and fun to model. Three, if it is an existing short line near where you live, you would have plenty of opportunities to go see how, what and why that railroad exists so that you could model it more realistically. If I didn't model the Milw. Rd., I would definitely model the Wisconsin Southern which is a well-run and money making short line in southern Wisconsin, hence the name!

What do you consider "obscure"?

I would model the Chicago Great Western but no one offers F3 sets or a caboose for them. It was swallowed up by the CNW and most of the rails were pulled up. The CGW was a midwestern regional railroad. If you're from the east or west coast, it's obscure.

I am not sure if u aware that Weaver did run custom CGW cabooses by McDonald Model some years ago. I still have it. It is maroon caboose.

Some of my ancestors came from "Up Nort" in "Da U P", so I have a few pieces of rolling stock from roads up there, such as DM&IR, Lake Superior & Ishpeming, and I even have that little Lionel Copper Range caboose, because there really was such a road in the Copper Country. I can't say that I model them, however....

Family members (father, etc.) worked for the Pittsburgh and Shawmut Railroad.





Montour RR historical presence, West Pittsburgh is interesting.

Usually it's for the same reason that I would run any other more "mainstream" engine....I like the look of the logo or color scheme.  Case in point, that Pittsburgh & Shawmut red and gold switcher pictured above.  Same goes for my Aliquippa & Southern, and Morristowmn and Erie engines.

 

- Mike

I'm a fan of shortline and regional railroads. They offer responsive, personalized service and are usually receptive to well behaved fans. Their liveries are often colorful and equipment is typically well maintained. The rosters of many shortlines and regionals feature motive power long retired from Class 1 roads. Bridgeport, NJ based SMS and its Baldwins are one such example. As a matter of fact, here's a model of an SMS unit on the roster of my HO Division:

 

 

 

     

 

I actively collect models of shortline and regional equipment.

 

Bob

I really had no reason to get involved with a Morristown and Erie locomotive other than a very atractive paint job.

For the obscure or smaller roadnames. I have always enjoyed them both as a railroad employee and a toy train person.

 

With RMT I am able to offer these 'little gems' of the railroad world to others interested in these rail lines and industrials.

 

So far RMT has offered...

 

NYA - New York & Atlantic

Ohio Central

NYS&W - Susquehanna

Rahway Valley

Raritan River

Morristown & Erie

Naval Weapon Station Earle NJ

Wharton & Northern

LS&I - Lake Superior & Ishpeming

NY City Subway

Con-Ed Power

PP&L - Pennsylvania Power & Light

PSE&G - Public Service NJ

Reading & Northern

Wheeling & Lake Erie

Hercules Powder (coming in 2013)

Vulcan Chemical - Grasselli, NJ

NJ Zinc - Palmerton. PA

Monsanto Chenical - Monsanto, TN

 

There are many more to come in the future.

 

Thanks.

 

Walter M. Matuch/RMT

 

www.readymadetoys.com

 

 

I have some of the MTH Ohio Central items.  The area, the name, the color scheme, and types of diesels are all attractive to me.

I like that MTH has produced a lot of items for the smaller roads.

I am buying New York & Atlantic items lately because it's the only freight action I see at all here on Long Island.

Up to and shortly after WWII, there were a number of shortlines still operating throughout the country.  While I don't model a specific railroad, I try to incorporate

the essence of a couple of fallen flags, the Great Western (not Chicago Great Western) and the Colorado Midland.

I did not grow up in their territory but along the tracks of the Southern far away.  I

became familiar with Colorado railroads taking my first train ride on the Silverton

line of the D&RGW narrow gauge about 1956, on family vacations.  I don't now model narrow gauge but hope to add an On3 NG subsidiary when standard gauge layout is done (if ever). 

In the '50's, MR, RMC and other mags showcased shortline layouts and branchline equipment, as did books like Beebe and Clegg's "Mixed Train Daily". Shortlines ran the kind of cars I now like, Jim Crow combines, side door, drover's, and combine cabooses, and rolling stock like gas electrics, McKeen cars, and Mack, Sykes, and more railbuses. 

Some tiny roads in the south were almost one man operations.  They were run the

way I'd run my model.  They ran assorted teakettles such as steam dummies, and decrepit Americans, Moguls, and Consolidations.  And you can actually squeeze a model of some of these roads in a basement...while Chicago and LA are pretty hopeless, even if you go down to N gauge.

Almost all of these roads interchanged with larger, often Class 1's, so those roads

cars were commonly seen.

For most people it is a personal connection. I mainly follow the Milwaukee Road, which is anything but obscure, but i dabble in Green Bay & Western because it is a small Wisconsin railroad with an interesting history and attractive graphics. Logging roads are also interesting and lend themselves to modeling on a layout. If I had room for a second layout I would model the Caspar, South Fork and Eastern in Mendocino County, CA, because it's a neat little railroad and I have some family in that part of California. 

I do model these lines.  I like the country up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, used to live there, and I worked on a railroad up there.  Probably will retire there too.  Most recently I picked up a couple of the Escanaba & Lake Superior box cars that are being offered by the Notherm Michigan RR Club.  www.nmrrc.org  See picture below.

 

But if the loco or car isn't commercially available, paint & decals will make it possible.

It's fun to do something that few others have done, and help remember these short lines.

 

John

 These are Charlie Stoia's cars, mine are the same.

 

These Copper Range cars are mine, also by Northern Mich. RR Club.

 

Walter,

 

I didn't know you had offered the Reading & Northern, is it freight cars or motive power?

A while back you did a special run for beer companies, and I bought the Reading Brewery cars.

I am interested in Reading & Northern diesel engines and even Blue Mountain & Reading if it is done.

There is one I would like to see but I doubt if it will be done, is the Carpenter Steel gondolas with the Reading Lines somewhere on the gondola, or return to Reading PA. It was a joint venture between Carpenter Steel in Reading PA and the Reading Lines division of the Reading Railroad, approximate time frame; 1967 to 1975.

 

Lee F.

There are plenty of good reasons for modeling a small, obscure, shorltine/regional RR.

Take the First Coast RR for example: 

http://www.gwrr.com/operations...first_coast_railroad

A modeler could:

1. Model a local RR.

2. Have paint schemes that are different from everybody else.

3. Its much easier to accurately model a small RR on a small layout.

4. Small RRs usually have smaller and fewer locomotives.

5. Using the above example. The FCRD operates on track shared with CSX. So you could still have large RR repsentation when you want it.

(The FCRD also interchanges with the St. Mary's RR, http://www.metrojacksonville.c...he-st-marys-railroad

Offering even more unique modeling capabilities)

 

None of the above applies to me however. I like the BNSF.

I became interested in the Ann Arbor RR because it ran directly behind my house.  As I learned more about it, my interest grew.  I have also come to like many othe Michigan railroads and many of them are small/shortlines as well.

 

I became interested in Hooker Chemical's Tacoma operations after driving past their plant.  K-Line, Lionel and MTH have all made Hooker cars and Atlas has made a bunch that fit from the 1940s through the modern era.

 

 

The Tacoma Municipal Belt Line served the plant and interchanged cars with the class one railroads that I model, the GN, NP, UP and Milwaukee.

 

The Tacoma Public Library had an extensive photo collection that is very helpful in modeling the prototype.

 

Hooker had their own in plant switchers.

 

 

 

The Hooker Board of Directors posed for this shot in 1950.

 

 

Petersen Supply was nice enough to use HOKX 711 as the number on the latest Atlas 11,000 gallon tank car.

 

I picked M&StL as a secondary railroad to model.  I liked the livery and figured that without too much effort, I could get my hands on just about every piece of rolling stock produced by Lionel/MTH.  After just a couple of years, I've tracked down most everything in M&StL markings.  I took a different approach with my main line--by choosing CSX, I had access to approximately twenty fallen flag roads from which I could pick and choose the pieces I liked best.

 

So basically a "complete set" of everything from my small road, and a "best of" from my main/large road.  It's been the perfect way to collect, for me.

PhillyReading...The R&N was a coal hopper set done about 2 years ago. Most of the production was actually purchased by the 'real' Reading & Northern's president after the R&N won Shortline/Regional Railroad of the Year. I think they have an 0 gauge railroad layout at the headquarters in Port Clinton, PA. Their purchase accounts for the scarcity of these RMT R&N coal hoppers.

 

 

At present, there are no other RMT trains that feature the Reading & Northern.

 

To keep informed about RMT production roadnames. I would suggest joining the RMT email list at www.readymadetoys.com

 

Thanks.

 

Walter M. Matuch/RMT

 

www.readymadetoys.com

John23 and Charlie Stoia...Thanks to you both and other 'yoopers', there were Lake Superior & Ishpeming ore cars produced by RMT earlier this year.

 

A good remembrance for me also as I had done a railroad trip years ago to Ontonagan, MI and Marinette, WI with my track speeder. The RMT MILWAUKEE ore car set also mentions this area. 

 

 

At your suggestion, I purchased a set of those NMRC Copper Range boxcars and they are really neat.

 

Thanks.

 

Walter M. Matuch/RMT

 

www.readymadetoys.com

For me it is because of being located in my area and I was around them all of my life. I model the Mississippi Central, Bonhomie and Hattiesburg Southern and the Fernwood, Columbia and Gulf. The FC&G is my favorite. I can remember walking the line and not be able to see a tie. The grass and soil had completely overtaken the roadbed and they ran 2 trains a day over the line. They used a SW-9 and SW-1 and  one of them would push over the roughest grades. The crews were always friendly to us as well.

 

I have a prototype photo of the cab with the conductor asleep in the chair so I had to model it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ted Hikel...RMT also recently offered a HOOKER covered Hopper set. Perhaps you missed it.

 

 

Thanks.

 

Walter M. Matuch/RMT

 

www.readymadetoys.com

Walter,

 

THANK YOU! for your interest and willingness to run equipment for short lines.

 

 

I'm just getting started, but I mainly pick the lines I like based on something that interests me from their story.  Of course, nice colors don't hurt either.

 

So for example...

Great Northern:  I was intrigued that they built a coast to coast railway without government assistance, the story of the big avalanche, the awesome goat logo, and their innovative programs to give out free starter farms along their line to reap the traffic later on.

 

Norfolk & Western:  I like their commitment to steam locos, designing and building their own engines in-house and taking steam further and sticking with it longer than anyone else did.  Doesn't hurt that the J's are dead sexy looking either.

 

There are tons of lines out there I don't know much about, so something else may grab me later.  I just found out today that MTH made an Orient Express set and now I'm wondering if I might need one of those eventually too.

For the sake of uniqueness and creativity !

I'm another Colorado person. Colorado Springs/Divide/Florissant/ and Cripple Creek area to be exact. I've got rolling stock for the Colorado Midland, The Short Line, and Colorado & Southern. The Colo. Springs area also allows me to operate some of the major's such as Santa Fe, Rio Grande, and the Rock Island, just to name a few. 

 

We have a vacation cabin near Florissant, which is why I chose this area to model.

As I was about to post this, the phone rang - and it was about a get-together of the

old f***s who used to work at the GM&O home office in Mobile - me among them...

odd timing.

 

Anyway, and firstly, I model the obscure-ish GM&O because I worked for them, it was headquartered in my home town and it's namesake city of Mobile. So, it's fate. The GM&O was considered a medium-sized road back in the day (a bit under 3000 miles), but today

that practically amounts to a short line.

 

Secondly, my favorite road esthetically, and leaving any local attachments out of it,

is the New York Central. I just like the cut of their jib, and I'm a steam guy, so, enough

said as to why. Obscure? You say? Depends on where you are - oh, the NYC is well

known around here on the Gulf Coast among train guys, but not much attention is paid to  So, the NYC is sort of "obscure" when it comes to modeling.

 

The fact that the Vanderbilts had relatives in Mobile kinda adds to the appeal, too. 

 

 

I lived in Pekin, Illinois for a spell during my HO days and a lot of TP&W and IC stuff (along with some others)  followed me home.

 

All the HO stuff left in two long afternoons twelve years ago.

EBT .... East Broad Top RR. My mother grew up in Robertsdale, Pa ..... a small coal mining village that the EBT served, mainly hauling coal from the mine (where my Italian immigrant Grandfather worked) to an interchange with the PRR, but some passenger service, too.

 

I spent many weeks during many summers there as a boy ..... surrounded by old mining and railroading equipment.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and pictures!   The reason I model the Pennsy is because it was what ran where I was born and some relatives worked on it.  Everytime I come across a smaller road - either through pictures or someone's layout I always like to google them and find out about their stories.   To me, it's nice to learn about different roads and see them remembered via layouts.

 

--Greg

  I'm a fan of the Maryland & Pennsylvania because it ran in my parent's backyard.  I also spent a day riding on Maryland & Pennsylvania 85 back in 1978.

 

  My second favorite is the Monongahela Railway because I lived in Fairmont WV, found the road's history and motive power interesting, and used to bike the old Pricketts Creek Branch(now a biking/hiking trail).

Nice work there, Brother Love!

 

John

Hey Walter, we still have a few of those Escanaba & Lake Superior blue 50 footers left, plus some Manistee & Northeastern 40 foot cars.

 

Thanks for doing those LS&I ore cars!  Hope you will consider making a set of the red and green Chicago & Northwestern ore cars.

 

John

NMRRC

LCCA

I just checked out those Northern Michigan club cars....ore cars would not get far from

home roads but those box cars could.  What other clubs might be doing short runs

of obscure railroads' cars?  Those Yooper roads are interesting.

I read an article from the 1960's which traced the movements of Copper Range boxcar #4013 - it made it all the way to Mexico....and made it back.

 

John