What era should I model?

If you are just starting out on your model railway adventure and are wondering which era you should model, the answer is simple: whichever makes you happy. After all, it’s your layout, and you will be spending a lot of time and money creating it and eventually playing with it (we mean operating it) so if you don’t love it then what’s the point?

However, modellers can become conflicted when their interests cover more than one era, for example, steam and diesel.

This dilemma is easy to solve as the early 1960s saw both operating in the real world at the same time. As a bonus, trains were still interesting during this period with mixed freights, various liveried coaching stock, ex-works diesels, grimy steam engines and multiple units in their rightful place as a minority.

But what if the eras that interest you don’t cross over? Maybe you have childhood memories of the big four but also have a fondness for modern-day traction, well this can be modelled also.

There are several ways to approach this predicament. Firstly the obvious which goes back to the number one rule: it’s your railway, so run what you want when you want. But if part of your enjoyment is realism then you could try to make your layout as generic as possible. Large parts of our railway network still proudly display its Victorian architecture to this day so that could be a good place to start. There are even a few rural locations dotted around  Britain that still use semaphore signals. Once you have achieved a timeless layout with no anchor points then you could simply run your steam rolling stock one day and a modern traction scene the next giving you the best of both worlds.

Another way to achieve a layout that can realistically accommodate old and new would be to model present-day. Imagine a depiction of a stripped-back, run-down, under-invested modern-day station. You could even have modern electric light signals, level crossings and graffiti on the walls if you wish. You now get to run your uber-modern rolling stock, but as in real-life, occasionally, we are treated to a heritage appearance thus you get to run your favourite steam locomotive, and what an occasion that would be. Just don’t forget to slap a battered class 47 on the back of the train!

If however only running steam engines occasionally doesn’t cut it, then think Kidderminster. Why not have a mainline interchange with a heritage line? This way you could have a modern mainline running at the back of the layout with all the functionality that kills it in real-life but offers realism on a model railway combined with a spic and span, intricately detailed world of steam in the form of a preserved railway at the front. This is a brilliant way to combine the two worlds. You have the repetitive and laborious but very real nature of the modern-day mainline while on the heritage line anything goes, and the best thing about it is that it is legitimately prototypical. Where else can you get Flying Scotsman hauling a rake of MK1s immediately followed by a class 73 running on diesel power pulling a guards van special whilst a Voyager zooms by in the background?

Whichever way you decide to present your model railway remember the three golden rules: firstly, it’s your layout, secondly, it’s your layout, and finally, it’s your layout. So enjoy.