There certainly are interesting variations in construction over the years. The area I model didn't really look all that different in 1930 as in 1880...aside from the cars and hats. The biggest change was the appearance of the trains.
There certainly was quite a bit of cool architecture created in the late 19th century.
Here is a picture of the Lace House in Black Hawk, CO from hauntedcolorado.net
The same now as in the 19th century. Unfortunately (for everyone not living in the area), Gilpin County legalized gambling and after 100+ years of Central City & Black Hawk being unchanged (and gorgeous), the Casinos arrived and permanently ruined the architecture (but greatly helped the sagging economy).
It's nice to see turn of the century modeling to now be possible in N scale...with the newer offerings such as Atlas's 2-6-0. I wouldn't want to build an empire around Bachmann's old line.
Rusty Spike, that is perfectly logical. There is something to be said for modeling your local (after all, most people do!)
Unfortunately, a lot of folks including model railroading magazine editors profess to be tired of the Colorado Rockies.
I'd like to see some genuine frelance that isn't just a D&RGW layout with Rio Gordon & Franklin RR (or whatever) on the tenders.
I was initially going to model the Phantom Canyon and the F&CC, but all the negative comments about the Rockies changed my mind - I decided to go with something truly unique instead.
Of course, the same argument works for me, as well - I am tired of switching yards, coal railroads eastern freight lines and those endlessly-the-same diesel consists. Seen one, seen 'em all.
Good grief, can you imagine having to scrape and paint that gingerbread? THAT would be somewhat time consuming!
During my K-36 courting period, my free-lancish concept was to assume that the narrow gauge Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy (later DT&I) remained narrow gauge into the 20th century, with a focus on the difficult climb over Summit Hill between Bainbridge and Waverly, OH.
I figured that the K's were more or less catalog items from Baldwin / Alco, with my heavy Eastern narrow gauge road purchasing the same basic locomotive (I'd have to man up and re-detail brass engines though).
Now I got myself thinking about it again (and afterall, the trainset is still in the design phase)...
I'd agree that there is a lot of cloning going on - but the advantage that the Appalacians and Rockies offer model railroads is sinuous track routing - much easier to "sell" in a limited space. The one thing I love about modular model railroads is the room they offer for a steam locomotive to stretch it's legs.
Matt
Good grief, can you imagine having to scrape and paint that gingerbread? THAT would be somewhat time consuming!
I figured that the K27/28/36's were more or less catalog items from Baldwin / Alco, with my heavy Eastern narrow gauge road purchasing the same basic locomotive as the D&RGW. I'd have to man up and re-detail brass engines though.
I guess I've chosen the era I did as much for the autos and buildings of that time as for the actual railway part.
I guess I've chosen the era I did as much for the autos and buildings of that time as for the actual railway part.
I'll second that since we are moving into our own reasons for modelling the era we do... Not actually having experienced them, it nevertheless seems to me that the 1920s and 30s were transformative years. For me, the interesting points are:
- the beginning of the change from a rural to urban population
- transition from manual labour (horses and men) to machines ("modern" steam shovels, trucks, tractors)
- people's worlds expanding from regional to national/international through better roads, public transit, air and sea travel
- the rise of modern institutions (at all levels) that we can recognize today, from stores to international organizations ("Hollywood" is a 1920s "phenom", beginnings of United Nations-like organizations, Canadian Tire was founded in 1922 )
- the influence and rise of technology (aviation, automobiles, telephones, electricity, radio, beginnings of TV and colour photography, etc, etc)
The fact that the art deco/streamlining scheme is available in the world of locomotives is the icing on the cake!
Andrew
Beginnings of TV? Try the 40's for that one. Meanwhile, don't forget The Great Depression of the 30's.
Beginnings of TV? Try the 40's for that one. Meanwhile, don't forget The Great Depression of the 30's.
Some of the comments on this thread have caused me to think that we just might be living in a "golden age of trains" and not realize it, simply because it's so easy for us to take things for granted and not fully appreciate the trains that we see every day.
We could very well be living in a golden age of big diesels. Just look at the huge amount of freight train traffic, often hauled by 2, 3 and even 4 to 6 large diesels. Just some thoughts!
Rob
I regard the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the birth of the TV era. Yet, that wasn't the first broadcast...and radio was still king (and still is for me...I watch 9hrs of tv per week from September to the start of February...none in between)
The great depression was good for the C&S. There was an upswing of traffic which had the road even considering the purchase of mallets.
Art Deco and Streamlining certainly are wonderful draws to the era. IMO, the 1930s streamliners were way better than the later streamliners: the '38 Century, the '38 Broadway, the 4-4-2 powered Hiawatha, the Daylight...wow.