Filosophy Phriday

[BATMAN]

 
 The era I like to model is the early 20th Century. Maybe it is because I am just old enough to remember the last of the giants of steam and remember the stories my Grandpa would tell me of working for CN in Winnipeg in the roundhouse. I try to stay true to time as far as how my layout appears, but find myself putting things on the layout that I just gotta have.
 
My latest wants are a couple or three of those monster 6000HP diesels I see heading to Roberts Bank superport from all points East, although I think they would look funny hauling my 100 year old freight cars. I am also fighting the urge to get some operating crossing gates and some modern rolling stock that I just can't stop thinking about. There are many things I want that just don't fit the timeline. I find my willpower to stay true to my era weakening.  
 
So am I alone in this predicament? Where do you guy's stand on the subject? Do you have the unflinching willpower to see yourselves through these times of cravings? Most of all what do you think of those of us that cheat the timeline by going too new or too old on the layout. 

 Tell us what you have on the layout that you shouldn't.

Have a great weekend

Brent

[jonklein611]

I tend to model modern stuff, and normally get itchy to buy older stuff here and there. In my mind, any older items can be put on the railroad as a "restoration" / heritage fleet / excursion trip" type thing. Doing the inverse is a bit harder of an argument (time machine? aliens? etc.). I also have models of high speed passenger trains from around the world (Japan, China, UK, Italy, etc.) my argument is that the railroad is evaluating new high speed passenger service.

Depending on the size / scope of your layout, you could put all the older stuff away, and run a set of modern. I know several clubs that do this, use TT&TO's with steamers, then take everything off, put on modern stuff and use CTC for another ops session later.

Or use rule 1, it's your railroad, run as you see fit.

[Brakie]

I like 77/78 era and some of the railroads of that era but, I also like NS,CSX, and Ohio Central so, to fill my needs my secondary era is 94/95.Now add a wild card a Seaboard System GP38-2 that I bought simply because I always thought SS had a nifty paint scheme. I use this engine in 94/95 as a untouched SS unit-well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

As for others.. They may invoke rule #1 as they deem necessary..

[kentuckysouthernrwy]

Rule #1 is the main guiding light for my railroad, hence a UP GE Big Blow and Veranda turbines on the engine tracks with home road steam, 2-8-0 to Shay to a pair of Challengers, Baldwin Centipede Demos and a flock of Alcos from FA-1 to RSD-15s. There are also SD-40-2 and SD-90s around somewhere ready to hand off the Bethgon coal hoppers the 2-6-6-2 just brought up the branch line from the coal mines. The Santa Fe El Capitan and NYC 20th Century Limited sometimes get rerouted through the area due to derailments or floods elsewhere. It's a true rivet counter's nightmare. 1960 is my target era but I have a major time warp upon occasion. Double stacks behind a Challenger? Heck yes, the UP's done it.

[Deleted]

I try to stick to the late 2000's to present day. Of course over the years I've picked up some pre-Y2K motive power like the wonderful Rapido F40's without the ditch lights or a SPSF SW1500. And then there's the Pennsy... Some days I can't quite tell if I model the Pennsy or modern day NS.

The difference is I'm probably 3 steam engines away from "completing" my collection of PRR stuff, while my GEVO collection is still woefully lacking.

[BATMAN]

I tend to keep all my out of era stuff on one or two yard tracks. I can easily remove them in short order when the spirit moves me. I am designing the layout so I can remove some modern structures, such as radio antennas and power line towers and they won't leave a void when removed. I took a great photo of my 4-4-0 once pulling a work train. I then noticed that next to the horses pulling the buckboard there was a new corvette that I had failed to remove. Back to the future indeed.

[valenciajim]

Are you sure it wasn't a De Lorean rather than a Corvette?