What Era, Railroads, & Locomotives are you set on?

[doctorwayne]

Do you have a time frame where you're set, time of year?

I'm modelling the mid- to late-'30s, with some more-modern rolling stock included just because I like it. It's always summer on my layout, but the exact month is variable to allow for which crops are "in season" and require shipping.

What are your railroads and what's the rolling stock consist of for deliveries/industries?

I'm modelling the Grand Valley and the Grand River & Northern Lake Erie (commonly known as the Erie Northshore), along with the Grand River Southern, a transfer operation that owns only a locomotive and caboose - all three are subsidiaries of the Elora Gorge & Eastern, which contributes most of the home-road rolling stock and, at times, a locomotive or two. These are all free-lanced roads, but I have an interchange with the TH&B (Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo - my favourite prototype and also my home-town road - I have two diesels painted and lettered for this road (both are too modern for everyday use, but have sentimental value due to being featured in Model Railroader's "Paint Shop" many years ago). I hope to one day scratchbuild one of their Gs-class Consolidations.
If I ever get around to building the second level of my layout, there'll be a modelled interchange with the CNR of my good friend Mister Nutbar. His locos often appear on my layout, although I have two CNR locos of my own and am building three or four more.

Not counting passenger and head-end cars, and MoW equipment, I have about 140 "home road" cars, all custom painted and lettered, along with about 190 "foreign" cars from prototype railroads all over North America. Most are also custom painted and lettered. CNR, TH&B, CPR, NYC AND PRR are the railroads most represented (the TH&B was jointly-owned by the CPR and NYC, so locos from those roads could also make an appearance), but cars of many roads from all over the U.S. and even Mexico can be seen.

Are Steam, Diesel, Electric or all/some of both?

Mostly steam, although the "Bee", my doodlebug, is alternately a gas-electric or diesel, as suits my whim. If I were to do another layout, I'd definitely consider an interurban as part of the interchange action.
Along with the kitbashed "Bee", the Erie Northshore uses four USRA 2-8-2s (modified Athearns), while the Grand Valley gets by with four modified Bachmann Consolidations, an IHC 2-6-0 and a brass 2-6-0 from PFM.
There are also two Bachmann Ten Wheelers under construction (I'm undecided for which of those two roads they'll be lettered), along with an old John English 4-6-2 for the Grand Valley.
The Grand River Southern's sole loco is a Bachmann USRA 2-6-6-2, currently awaiting new gears and other "rebuilding".
For the CNR, I have a brass 4-6-0 in service, along with a highly-modified Proto 0-8-0. Yet to be completed, 2 CNR 2-8-0s, a similar DW&P loco, and, possibly, a CNR Mikado.

Is it Freelance or Compressed Prototype or even exact scale replica?

The railroad is freelanced, set in southern/south western Ontario, and using real place names. Many have some personal significance, while others I just liked the sound of the name. However, their geographical relationship to one another has been "altered" and a resident of any of the real towns represented would be hard-pressed to recognise anything in my version of their home-town.
Industries are often named for family and friends, or for real industries, while others such as GERN are strictly free-lanced.
Distances are severely compressed, but I try to model most industries large enough to justify rail service.
Operations, rolling stock and locomotives, structures, and scenery are, for the most part, based on prototypical practices, although I'm not above introducing some fantasy when I feel it's appropriate. Some freight cars and locomotives are based, as closely as is practical, on photos of their prototype, while others are stand-ins that are "close-enough" for my purposes.

Wayne