These days, Railroads are in a sort of "Stealth" mode. Essential to commerce, to be sure, but they try to run in the background. Back when they were a part of the everyday fabric of life, almost the center of a town's existence, their brands were on everyone's mind. much as now you are an Apple or a PC person, back then you would have been a Pennsy or an NYC person. this 'brand awareness' dictated shipping, parcel, and travel decisions for the average American, and every business. No UPS or Fedex, so packages, freight, and people road the rails.

Yes, the services still use the rails, but the major branding is done differently. Do you miss the colorful logos and great paint schemes that we used to see as we 'counted cars' from the front seat of our Chevys or fords? We do, too.

For all of us who love color, we present the next edition of "The Way They Should Have Been". Paint schemes that reflect the heritage of the railroad represented on modern cars that they surely would have owned had they survived Merger Fever. We call it "Prototype-Speculation". You can call it whatever you want! The beauty of creating a world in miniature is that it is shape history to how you would like it to be. Your job as world builder has just become easier, thanks to the NSC's "The Way they Should Have Been" Series!