Setting the time

While I haven't yet decided what new camera I'll get myself, I had some time to read old issues of Railroad Model Craftman, kindly provided by my friend Enzo Fortuna ans think about my layout.

One RMC issue have an excellent article by Jack Burgess on setting the time on a layout, also with the aid of subtle details like cars, people, billboards... not only by rolling stock! Jack models August of 1939 on his masterpiece layout of the Yosemite Valley RR.

This led me to set a specific time on my layout. I have chosen the summer of 1974 - actually one of the reasons is because 1974 is my wife's birth year :-)

Onto the modeling/historic reasons now:

• 1974 allows me to run both SD45T-2 and SD40T-2 Tunnel Motors engines.
  
• Trains still had their romantic symbols, like "Los Angeles Manifest", "Coast Merchandise West", "Santa Maria Vegetable", and so on; instead of those awfully unpronounceable LABAF, LABRT or SFWCY things.
• in 1974 Richard Nixon resigned from the office of the presidency to avoid impeachment, a unique moment in American history so far.
• Earth's population reached 4 billion.