Mainline Railways was a British model railway brand that operated between 1976 and 1983, introduced by Palitoy, the...
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What was the Mainline Railways company?Read more -
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What is the difference between modern image and present day?
'Modern Image' is a term used by many modellers to describe a layout that portrays modern times, for most this will cover the post steam era from the late 1950s and early 60s onwards, but hang on a minute, that was over 60 years ago! can we really refer to an era so long ago as modern image?
This is where a lot of confusion lies, when the term 'modern image' was first used, the period it referred to was modern and everything made sense, now though, the term means different things to different people depending on whether they are lucky enough to remember the days of steam or were born in a time when all trains were blue.
Manufacturers have tackled this problem to some degree by using their 'era system' to split up the diesel era into descriptive categories with names like privatisation, franchising and sectorisation which unmistakably refer to specific periods within railway history, however, history is somewhat repeating itself as the latest categories are referred to as 'present day' or 'current day operations' both referring to the period 2014 onwards and are getting less present and current with every year that passes.
So to summarise, 'modern image' is no longer that modern, and 'present day' is a lot more modern but as time passes also refers to a period nearly a decade ago. You can be forgiven for being a little confused by this, but maybe we should also forgive the poor souls tasked with inventing new names for new eras, after all, what else can you call an up to date era that is recognisable through the notable twists and turns that railway history takes - when they haven't happened yet!
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