Why do I like the 1950s/'60s so much?

[RobertInOntario]

The '50s transition era is popular for a number of reasons but I was noting a personal fondness of it apart from the steam-to-diesel aspect.

Well, some more reasons (besides steam, which I don't model on my layout ) for why I picked Minneapolis in 1957 as my modeling locale and era:
I wanted to create a layout based on an American prototype - I had a yearning for a layout based on fairly early diesels, freight, switching. Preferably Minnesota, preferably Twin Cities, preferably late 1950s or early 60s.
Why preferably Twin Cities/Minnesota ? I wanted a US location I am somewhat familiar with and would have a fair chance to do research on. Minnesota is my "adopted" US state - the part of the US I am most familiar with, since my wife is from the Twin Cities and we visit the cities every summer. There is also an excellent history center in Saint Paul, which also has a large collection of photographs - much of it also available online.

Stein,

Your situation is sort of similar to mine. I mainly model the Somerset & Dorset Railway (S&D) in the 1950s/60s, which is in SW England. It's not that far from where my wife is from (which is Winchester, England). We visit there every 12-18 months, so that gives me a chance to study the area (not the exact area, but close to it, as well as visiting steam heritage railways). The S&D is a popular choice among UK modelers because the S&D used a wide variety of locos from all over England. So you can get away with running all sorts of locos that would normally be seen in the West Country, Midlands, South and even the northeast!

Rob