Model Railroading > Fact or Fiction???

Is it common for model railroading companies to produce ailiases of equipment that never existed in the place? In other words, maybe a Atlas produces a GP38-2 with the CSX, NS, UP, BNSF paint schemes that, but in real life, only CSX, NS, and UP existed.

As a digital illustrator, I do many renditions of real locations along the former B&O and Western Maryland RoWs. I can spend, typically, 100 to 200+ hours one single image, over a span of months - sometimes up to a year or more... I often find that a lot of possible references are models uploaded online and I don'l know if they really existed. However, with my "Invasive Illustration" artistic process, I heavily use photographic references because they are authentic. Any insight is much appreciated!

If you haven't seen my work, I've attached a several examples, below.

1. Doe Gully, WV
2. Randolph Tunnel of B&O's Magnolia Cutoff in WV
3. McCool, MD/"Twenty-First Bridge"

Matthew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/26 12:29 by Cumberland.

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Yes, they do produce Foobies, models that never had those paint schemes. And it's becoming more common as the manufactures are running out of new stuff to model with wide market appeal. You also see some fictional roadnames that are called freelanced railroads, who are wholly fictional with a made up storyline, but otherwise appear to be realistic.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/26 13:14 by funnelfan.

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Yes, they do produce Foobies, models that never
> had those paint schemes. And it's becoming more
> common as the manufactures are running out of new
> stuff to model with wide market appeal. You also
> see some fictional roadnames that are called
> freelanced railroads, who are wholly fictional
> with a made up storyline, but otherwise appear to
> be realistic.

Gosh, thanks, Ted! That's even worse than I thought. "Freelanced railroads?" never heard of that.

For years I was fully absorbed into model railroading, especially N Scale, until fifteen years ago when I received my Graphic Design degree. That was when I stepped back, deciding to pursue a visual arts medium that my creativity couldn't be defined by wall space. However, I wanted to create a process I knew was NOT appealing to other artists, simply because of how complex it could be. It took me well-over a decade to think of "Invasive Illustration," as an accurate title for my design process, because of how unusually complex, time-consuming, abstract but realisitic it is. Originally, I had a portfolio website, but all of the issues, surrounding AI and AI's exploitation, I decided to UNpublish it, unfortunally.

Matthew

Foobies have always been with us. Back in the Stone Age (50's and 60's) there were so few actual different models being made that the manufacturers stuck every road name they could think of on the stuff, accurate or not. And even with today's comparative bounty of models many builders still slap some questionable paint schemes on. I think the majority of model railroaders don't really care about prototype fidelity and buy what looks good to them. Makes it a little tricky for those of us who do care to not inadvertently get sucked into the vortex of foobity. One positive aspect is that those foobie sales help keep the lights on and finance more new projects. So, caveat emptor.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/26 20:27 by CPR_4000.

Matthew,
For years, the way many of us became aware of free lance model railroads was via magazines like Model Railroader or Railmodel Craftsman.  It was not unusual for them to feature a layout based on a fantasy RR with models painted that way.  One of the more famous was Dave Barrows Cat Mountain and Santa Fe by way of example.  There were many others including Tony Koesters Allegany Midland.

Cheers,
Jim Fitch

ALL fascinating stuff.

When it comes to rendering the trains themselves, producing the trucks is - by far - the most challenging aspect of creating a train. It can be soooo boring but so essential to the quality of its balance with the rest of an image. One cool educational feature I've found with this medium is that I learn the anatomy of railroad equipment to the finest detail, subsequently being able to ID exactly what type I'm looking at in real life.

Here's another task I've learned the hard way you may find interesting: replicating unpainted steel or aluminum equipment. One may think I would strictly use several shades of grey - NOT SO FAST!!! Due to the lighting conditions, I can practically find myself applying the entire color wheel of shades of colors because it is reflective. If not, viewers, including myself, will probably think "it's just not finished." I found this to be the case when designing my rendition of the then-Capitol Limited going through Gaithersburg, MD.

Matthew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/26 10:19 by Cumberland.

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These images remind me of EMD ads you'd find in Trains magazine (and elsewhere).

https://www.therailroadcollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Tom_Fawell-Painting_GM_1974-GP38-2_RC.jpg

Arved Grass
Long Beach, WA