02-18-2014, 04:53 PM
You're right about the train make-up varying from the time when boxcaras were more prevalent, but a lot depends on the area being served and any railroad's particular way of dealing with their varied traffic. I notice general freights to be less frequent when I'm railfanning in Pennsylvania and Ohio, with many trains industry-specific. For example, solid trains of ethanol tankers, or coal, or intermodal. The latter could be all containers or all piggyback or sometimes a mix of the two. And then, of course, there are the Roadrailers. There are still regular freight trains with a mix of car types, but they seem to make up a smaller and smaller portion of the overall traffic. The could be dependent on the lines we gravitate towards, too, as trains are usually very frequent.
Around here, I tend to see more general freight trains, but there are also quite a few trains of solid autoracks or of boxcars, most likely also related to the auto industry.
The traffic mix will also vary if you're modelling a specific place or in another time period. Boxcars used to be the most commonly seen cars in many areas, but in coal country it would be hoppers. Gondolas were also very widely used, and usually second or third on the list of those most commonly seen.
Nowadays, there's a wider range of specialty cars, too, so what used to travel in a boxcar now moves in a covered hopper, or in a trailer or container on a flatcar or spine car.
As for modelling, my mix of home road cars is fairly diverse, but it's probably a bit boxcar-heavy. For foreign-road cars, there's a good mix of reefers, gondolas, hoppers, and tankcars, but the vast majority are boxcars. This is fairly typical of what would be seen in this area in the late '30s, including the fact that the interchange cars were from just about anywhere in North America.
Wayne
Around here, I tend to see more general freight trains, but there are also quite a few trains of solid autoracks or of boxcars, most likely also related to the auto industry.
The traffic mix will also vary if you're modelling a specific place or in another time period. Boxcars used to be the most commonly seen cars in many areas, but in coal country it would be hoppers. Gondolas were also very widely used, and usually second or third on the list of those most commonly seen.
Nowadays, there's a wider range of specialty cars, too, so what used to travel in a boxcar now moves in a covered hopper, or in a trailer or container on a flatcar or spine car.
As for modelling, my mix of home road cars is fairly diverse, but it's probably a bit boxcar-heavy. For foreign-road cars, there's a good mix of reefers, gondolas, hoppers, and tankcars, but the vast majority are boxcars. This is fairly typical of what would be seen in this area in the late '30s, including the fact that the interchange cars were from just about anywhere in North America.
Wayne