The ages of train locomotives and cars?

Some of the better kits like those produced by Westerfield do have very good documentation. I think Branchline kits are documented and dated as well, but I don't have any of them. For the most part it's up to you to find the rosters of what was being used on your prototype during the time period your interested in. If you like the steam era here is a good place to check into freight cars

I agree that historical information and other documentation would be a great thing to see with the kits and the RTR for that mater. Bruce

passenger cars, and buildings don't tell you what time period these things were used, like the first year they were made?< For a long time manufactures figured that modeler railroaders didn't care. Now a large group do! Others call them "rivet counters" or other such names. There are many lists devoted to these people and Bruce named one for freight cars. There is also a passenger car list. Lists devoted to specific RRs, etc. For example I think the Santa Fe has at least 3 lists.

If the manufacturer has done a correct paint and lettering job on the freight cars, you should be able to read the built date, perhaps the most recent service date, and perhaps a repaint date on the car side with the other dimensional data. Gary Q

For that matter, why don't MR and other magazine reviews of large steam locos tell you the wheelbase and overall length?

A well know race horse trainer made a comment once about his clients. "Horse owners and investors are like mushrooms. Keep them in the dark and feed them manure. Maybe they think we are like mushrooms too. Bruce

German model railway manufacturers give the Era (time span) for their models. Regards, Bill.

True, and it's based entirely on German RRR history, so it's not much use when applied to other countries/companies. Even for a German themed layout, the eras are misleading. They span several decades each, and in each era there were changes in rolling stock and locomotives, so without additional knowledge you can't tell whether any two cars/locos from the same era actually ran together. There's been some attempt to rectify this by adding -a, -b subscripts to the eras, but the improvement is minimal. It's one of those "logical" ideas that turn out to be impractical. For some reason, Germans come up with more of those than anybody else. (duck)

[...]

The organization of eras in European railroading is somewhat tied to the rest of European history. For the most part, the destruction of railway equipment in wars has tended to make European equipment more uniform than American equipment has been. This isn't to say that advances weren't made with the stuff but rather that older stuff didn't stay around getting modified but rather that the stuff from the early part of an era got some upgrades towards the end of the era. With American equipment, the only way that it got out of service was to either ban it (wood framed cars for an example) or it just became uneconomical to operate (older saturated steam locos for one) and thus equipment tended to stay around for decades after it was obselete. Whe you get right down to it, the best thing is to select a date and only get equipment that fitst that date. With American equipment doing even a few years can be interestingly different as locos often got changed about over the years with different equipment and pipe routings over the life of the loco. Even cars became different with the differnt orders of cars from the car makers as they improved their offerings.

-- Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

Well, here's a list for diesels before 1989:

The only problem is that is only gives the production run dates. If you have a certain prototype and you want to know exactly when they arrived on the property, then you'll have to looks elsewhere.

Paul A. Cutler III

************* Weather Or No Go New Haven *************

Yes, Wolf, you're quite right, but the 'Era' system does give someone who's not all that clued up on German railways a bit of an idea as to where things go in time.And after all, one can always apply the 'Fat Controller' ploy. Regards, Bill.

Okay - I'll bite.

What is 'the 'Fat Controller' ploy'?

Ron

He manages the Railway on the Island of Sodor, where Thomas the Tank Engine does his Very Useful Work. The Fat Controller likes all kinds of engines, nad has assmebled a very varied sollection.

Thans Wolf. I know who he is, just didn't understand the ploy. It makes sense to me now.

Ron