Hi guys
With Bachmann making a few Dawn of trains, model trains. but no freight stock of the same period.
I wonder does any one actually model that far back and if they do what they use for freight stock.
Why is the freight stock not manufactured?? or is it and its obscure manufacturers making it.
regards John
PS this was prompted by a discussion on another forum bemoaning the lack of UK trains of that Dawn period.
My general theory is that most modelers gravitate towards the trains they remember growing up. Then there are those who model a specific feature - logging, mining, "Wild West", etc. Modeling "Dawn Era" (and I guess I would date that between 1827 and 1860) is a very specialized area. Tiny equipment, more or less odd-ball locos, virtually no stardardization, a lot of railroads no one has ever heard of any more. The recently re-released Bachmann "Pegasus" is a help for those modeling in that era. The
4-2-0 "One-armed Billy" became a pretty common design in the 1830's. The Lafayette in the B&O Museum is a great example. Note that this loco co-starred as the Yonah in Disney's film, "The Great Locomotive Chase". Some of the kits that BTS is making in their Civil War rolling stock series could be used for the later part of that era. Otherwise, though, you're looking at a lot of scratch-building.