Steam

[nkp_174]

Harry, certain cars really fit an era and certain cars really look out of place.

Here are some basics:
-wood freight cars are from the steam era
-40' and shorter freight cars fell out of vogue around the same time as steam locomotives.
-most steam era hopper cars, open or covered, had 2 bays. Most 3 bay and larger hoppers came later.
-wood cabooses are fine with steam...some steel cabooses are, some aren't.

I would suggest going to your local library and seeing if they have old issues of Trains, Model Railroader, or Railroad Model Craftsman. If so, look at the freight cars in issues from the 1930s-1950s.

Some railroads started operating diesels in the 1930s...so you can have both steam and diesel BEFORE the transition era. On the flip side, there are excursion locomotives and railroad museums today. If you have a railroad museum on your layout, any steam locomotive could be appropriate for the modern era...with some slight compromises...(after all, that museum doesn't really exist and so the locomotives in it have either been scrapped or are sitting at other museums...no big deal...since my layout isn't based on a real railroad).

On regional railroad operated a fleet of steam locomotives. The owner has since sold the railroad of a tidy some, but has kept a few diesels, his passenger cars, and his steam locomotives. He's building a 15 stall engine house in his backyard.
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I've seen the NKP 765 pull modern freight cars on many occasions...right alongside SD-45s and such.

Does it really matter to you whether the trains are from the same era or not? Is there any problem with having one train be a string of auto carriers behind SD-70s while another is a 4-4-0 pulling 50' wooden passenger cars?

If you pick up an Atlas 2-6-0 or B-man 4-4-0, it would look great with the MDC old time passenger cars or the Bachmann old time cars.