Mountain Man said:
I guess the obvious question at this point is:
How will the modern changes in protypical railway operations change the way modellers appraoch the hobby?
I think the biggest change for those who are not "period modelers" is that virtually all new freight locomotives built in the last 10 years are long 6 axle power units. If I want to model the 60's, 70's or even the 80's I can build a nice credable layout with 18 inch minimu radius and run Gp 40-2's, Gp50's, with some older Gp30's, Gp35's, & Gp58-2's mixed in. If I wanted to model modern railroads, I need to have Sd70's, Sd75's, Sd90's, & the various Dash 8 6 axle big GE power units. Those locomotives are probably pushing the limit when running on 22 inch radius. It just means to run modern power, the layout needs to be a lot bigger.
I think the other change is going to be less emphasis on passenger operations. Compared to the 1940's and earlier when there were more railroads and every railroad ran passenger trains, we now have fewer railroads and the only intercity passenger trains in the U.S. are now either local commuter lines, or Amtrak, and much of the country is not served by any passenger service.
The other big change that has been occuring since ww2 and which we see occuring more and more on model railroads has to do with efficiency. A train is the most efficient when pulling a lot of weight. 4000 hp locomotives pulling 100 freight cars is the most efficient way to move freight. On the other hand, the typical boxcar holds about 3-4 truck loads of product. The typical truck has 300-400 horse power. If you are delivering one boxcar load with a 4000 horse power locomotive, it will use a lot more fuel to do that job than 3 or 4 trucks. More and more we see trains operated as unit trains or intermodal trailer or container on flat car, where the train hauls the freight across the country, and the truck does the "local switching" or delivery.