After finally building something set in the modern age, or rather representing the present decade, I’ve started to look over my roster.
I own several old first and second generation diesels, that by now had been retired on Class 1 railroads long ago.
Shortlines – as the BC Northern – were able to keep these engines running well into this century even past 2010. But with stricter emission rules emerging in 2008 and around 2015 most regionals had to retire or remanufacture these too.
So which engines will see some use on my layout and which will have to be retired? Which sort of includes the question, which decade I plan to depict.
I am a huge fan of the Canadian National GP9rm and have four of those. I would like to keep those on the roster, but probably only for MOW service. Perhaps they will be run by smaller logging subsidiaries of the BCN.
I am also a huge fan of wide cab geeps and road-switchers and have quite a bunch of those: a GP35, a GP38-2W and a GP40-2W, as well as an SD40, two SD40-2, two SD40-2T, an SD45, an F45 and an FP40H. All of these might have been rebuild into Dash-3 variants, so I might be able to use them for yard service and branch line duty.
So the GP9rm and the other GP/SD „rebuilds“ will continue to see service on my layout. The rest will see some action in fun sessions only.
That would be a few older engines like a GE U28 and an Alco RSD 4/5, which round up the old roster. These engines will likely be retired on regional railroad like my BCN by 2008/15.
My „modern“ roster includes two GE C40-8, three GE C44-9 and one EMD SD70i with one SD70m more in parts planned to be 3D printed, which are also considered „old“ by now on a Class 1 roster.
I have recently aquired a GE ES44AC with sound and will likely continue to collect other modern diesels, like these GEVOs, in the future, with everything from the modern roster receiving sound decoders from now on. I’m starting sound with one loco per train.
I’m also okay with the details of Walthers mainline products, as – for me – part of the fun is the superdetailing process, that turns each locomotive into a unique representation of the chosen prototype.