American Railroad Eras

[Philip H]

In a previous thread, I asked you my fellow travelers which new freight car you'd like to see the likes of BLMA or Exactrail roll out next in N scale(http://therailwire.net/forum/index.php/topic,19443.0.html).  The resultant discussion and poll have been really fascinating - and I hope our resident manufacturing reps have been reading.

Now, in the comments to that thread, we've gotten into a little bit of a discussion about how to name eras of American railroading, and the whole issue of what is the Transition Era.  Again, it's neat to hear everyones' ideas.  But as has been noted, its hard to pin down when a locomotive or car was made or used given the "loose" nature of those definitions.

Our European frinds seem to have solved this some time ago.  Modelers there operate from this framework:

Eras 
Era Time Period Notes:
Era I Approx.1870-1920 Country & Private Railways 
Era II Approx. 1920-1945 The Period after the formation of large state railways 
Era III Approx. 1945-1970 The new organization of European railroads
Era IV Approx. 1968-1985 Standardized computer lettering on all rolling stock & locos
Era V Approx. 1985-2000 The modern era of railroading
http://www.reynaulds.com/beginner.aspx

FWIW I think they really need to add an Era VI for post-2000 trains, but that's just me.  Still, they have a neat breakdown that greatly aids purchasing and modeling.  Why do I know this?  I've been collecting era IV and Era V Spanish/RENFE N scale since I was a kid - and I may get around to modeling it on a module some day.

How would this work here?  I might propose something like this:

Era I : PRe- American Civil War railroads.
Era II: American Cvili War to 1900
Era III: 1900 until dieselization (roughly 1960?)
ERA IV 1960 - 1985
ERA V 1985- 2000
ERA VI 2000- Present.

Its not the best year by year breakdown, but it does sort of show when we adopted newer gereations of locomotive technology, I think.

Now its your turn - how would you divide our railroad heritage into discrete eras?

[wm3798]

Era I : PRe- American Civil War railroads.
If you really want to split hairs, you could break this down even further... Pre 1850 railroading was a considerably different animal than post, especially interms of architecture and motive power.  However, it was in fact the Civil War that forced many innovations that started to "standardize" railroading, so this is a logical break point.  Especially since very few modelers even bother with this era.
Era II: American Civil War to 1900
Mmmm.  Another area of murkiness.  Technologically maybe.  But from a business standpoint, which in many ways drives the technology, it might be more accurate to break things down to eras defined by the various financial panics that occurred following the war up until about 1910/WWI.  This was a period of even more upheavals, where steel was introduced as a major construction component, (which turned the steel industry into a major factor in how railroads were run!)
Era III: 1900 until dieselization (roughly 1960?)
This one's definitely too broad.  I don't think there was much evolution between the en-masse transition to steel to about 1910.  Some consolidation of trunk lines was taking place, but again, most of the significant evolution in rolling stock design and architecture would have occurred after the financial panic in the pre WWI era.  Then, in WWI, you had the introduction of the USRA, which led to a lot of advancements in locomotive design, as well as more changes in the way railroads were run.  This would have also been the high point of passenger service, with all steel fleets, major terminals, and power designed specifically that kind of work.  Post WWI was the end of the Construction Era, when railroad mileage maxed out, and service of all kinds was at its peak.
Again, the collapse of the stock market in 1929 would indicate another era, mainly in terms of operations.  Equipment wise, though, this would be a continuation of what I'd call the USRA Era, since there wasn't much money to develop anything new and exciting, other than some ill-fated attempts at light weight streamliners which again evolved out of financial hardship.  WW2 was an era unto itself in so many ways, with so many technological advances on so many fronts, but from a railroading standpoint, I think it fits tidily into the "Transition Era" box of 1940-1960.
ERA IV 1960 - 1985
No problem there.  Maybe a good name for this would be the Consolidation Era.  Lots of fallen flags, abandonments, Amtrak, mergers...
ERA V 1985- 2000
The Staggers Era? The explosion of intermodal, unit trains, specialized movements, and the spin-off of unprofitable branches to upstart short lines and regionals.
ERA VI 2000- Present.
The Douche 9 Era.  Nobody cares about this for at least 20 years, after the CSX Historical Society is formed.

So, let's see...  I'd have
Era 1:  1827-1860, broadly referred to as the Antebellum Era.
Era 2:  1860-1870, Civil War Era (Invention of Railroading as a Science)
Era 3:  1870-1915, The Expansion Era (Rise of the transcons and the robber barons)
Era 4:  1915-1940, The USRA Era (Consolidation and Standardization)
Era 5:  1940-1960, The Transition Era
Era 6:  1960-1985, The Consolidation Era (Mergers, Amtrak, Conrail, Deregulation)
Era 7:  1985-2000, Deregulation Era (Rise of the regionals, maturity of intermodal)
Era 8:  2000-present, Current Era (Waiting for the other shoe to drop...)

Perhaps the current financial crisis will give rise to yet another era...  Nationalization?  True Transcons?  What will it be?

Man.  It's almost lunchtime, now!  Thanks for the diversion!

Lee

[up1950s]

Nothing can be better than a span described by the year limits .

Any good method would be something everybody , even the folks that haven't read this thread would understand .

[VGN50]

Interesting, Phil.  At first glance my thought was ERA III is way too long.  Too much was changing in that 60 year period.  I think Lee may be closer to the mark because he attempts to define the Transition Era (and there definitely was one) which has to be a benchmark period in the history of American Railroading.

I suspect you'll get many opinions on this one.

Thanks for listening,
Mark

[C855B]

[big sigh]  :-\

This discussion is an old chestnut, and there might be little consensus other than very broad ranges. The big difference between the Europeans and us is that up until very recently the Continental railroads were run by the various governments, and major operational changes were brought on by bureaucratic fiat... if not the wars.

However, that said... I agree with Lee's breakdown. 1960 as the end of "Transition" is especially apt because the Class I's dropped the last fires in 1959 - so "transition" was finished. I would move the demarcation point between eras 6 and 7 to 1982, since that is when the UP/MP/WP/MKT/RI nonsense forever changed railroading west of the Mississippi, and pushes the demarcation slightly closer to the Conrail takeover in '76. I would also rename Era 7 to "The MBA Era", where MBA's took control of management (vs. railroaders promoted through the ranks) and shareholder returns started to dictate operational policy. However, I personally call this era "The Great Dismantlement" due to the rapacious removal of infrastructure brought on by the aforementioned MBA's.

I would also move the demarcation between 7 and 8 to 1996/1997, the consummation of the BNSF merger and the divestiture of Conrail, calling it "Post-Corporate".

Also, we are on the verge of another sea change - the "other shoe" is dropping as we speak. With California and to a lesser extent the EPA forcing the railroads' hands about motive power emissions, then add-in the recession, we are going to see a huge revamping of power fleets with vast scrappings of pre-pollution-control locomotives and the virtual disappearance of normally-aspirated diesels.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

So here's something tangentally related. Even though there was steam kicking around until the end of the 50s, I'd say that the transition really ended in the mid 50s, when the vast majority of steam was gone. I mean, in some roads cases, steam didn't even make it out of the 40s.

I've seen / heard a lot of "I model the late 50s and have a lot of steam", and then see a bunch of 50' PS1 boxcars pulled by USRA mikes. I flinch a little when I see that.

[asciibaron]

So here's something tangentally related. Even though there was steam kicking around until the end of the 50s, I'd say that the transition really ended in the mid 50s, when the vast majority of steam was gone. I mean, in some roads cases, steam didn't even make it out of the 40s.

all the N&W fans are lining up to kick you.   ;D

steam and diesel were both used from the 40's into the mid 50's sure, but many railroads still used steam in venue service in 57 and 58, so that means they still needed them since they cost so much to operate.

[wm3798]

For the record, the WM dropped the last fires in August of 1954, and most of the east end operations were dieselized well before that. 

This is sort of like defining "decades."  Arguably, the 60's didn't really begin, at least culturally, until Kennedy was abruptly removed from office.  All kinds of expectations were shattered that day, which set the stage for all the other upheaval that took place up to Nixon's re-election in 72.  After that, it was polyester and large eyeglasses that defined the era...

I approve of the move to 1982 for Era 6, and Era 7 to 1999, and the redesignation of 7 as the Corporate Suit Era.

That's settled.  Now when do we publish?

Doctor Howard

[C855B]

So here's something tangentally related. Even though there was steam kicking around until the end of the 50s, I'd say that the transition really ended in the mid 50s, when the vast majority of steam was gone. I mean, in some roads cases, steam didn't even make it out of the 40s.

all the N&W fans are lining up to kick you.   ;D

And the UP fans, too. Big Boys (and a few others) were running until mid-1959.

[wcfn100]

I think this needs to be looked at from the modeling side rather than the prototype side.

I can't speak for early steam or anything post 80's, but I do know what I've seen for the period in between.

In the mid-west, pretty much all the roads wents to a simplified paint scheme somewhere in the late 50's and you almost never see them modeled together.  Some like the complex as-delivered first generation diesels pulling a mix of steel and wood cars, others choose the simpler schemes which look more towards the future with few wood cars besides reefers or stock.  I would think there needs to be a modelers cut-off somewhere around '58.  This works well with the second generation diesels like the GP30 that were on their way.  Also, specialty freight cars were coming like the PS4000 hopper and many 50' boxes with special loaders.  And you can't leave out the 85' flats and beyond.  I would end this era in the mid-70s due to the mergers and cars getting repainted from the original owners.

The next look is at late steam.  There are, of course, those that will only do steam (at least they'll say that), but for the most part, you will see late steam mixed with early diesels.  Usually this involves F3-F7s and GP7-GP9s or another manufacturers equivelent.  With some road going late into full dieselization, this works well with a late 50's cut off.  I don't know where this era would start.  I would imagine somewhere in the 30's (again, from a modelers perspective).

Jason

[Mark5]

For the record, the WM dropped the last fires in August of 1954, and most of the east end operations were dieselized well before that. 

N&W bought it's first experimental diesel one year from then.

[ChrisNH]

I was giving this some thought.. in my part of the world (New England) I would break it down as

       -1879 Growth of Railroads
1880-1916 Consolidation/Golden Age of Steam
1917-1945 Big Steam & Big Wars
1946-1965 Transition Era/Baby Boomer Fan Period
1966-1984 Early Diesel Era/Decline of the Railroad/Death of Roof walks
1985-Now  Modern era/Death of Caboose, Rise of the FRED

Just my two cents.. I would love to model in the 1880-1916 era but gonna stick to 1960-1984 era

Chris

[bbussey]

I was under the impression that the period in question (late-1960s/1970s) was always referred to as the Period of Decline.  I didn't know there was never any official moniker associated with it.

[up1950s]

1959 was the general beginning of factory installed turbochargers , so transition ends and early diesel turbocharged begins , say 1960 . 1972 is started the -2's IIRC in a GP-38 .

Slide Valve Steam 1800 whatever to what , 1910 ?
Piston Valve Steam and early Diesel 1910 to 1948 .
Transition Steam to Diesel 1948 to 1960 .
Turbo Charged Diesels 1960 to 1972 .
2nd Generation Diesels / Dash 2,s 1972 to ?
After the above I am derailed as to ideas

[Chris333]

Transition era on the Erie was about 1947-1952, they dieselized early.