The Right Era for Your Model Railway!
Anyone building a model railway layout soon notices: not every vehicle fits every train. A modern MAN TGX next to a steam locomotive from the days of the German Empire looks just as out of place on a layout as a horse carriage next to an ICE.
To make trains, vehicles, figures and buildings fit together, modellers divide railway history into eras. In this guide I explain what lies behind Eras I to VI, how to recognise each era and which models from our range fit which period.
This Is Why Eras Exist!
The eras are defined in the European model railway standard NEM 806. Each era stands for a period of railway history with its own railway companies, liveries, lettering and vehicles. The years are guidelines, because the change from one era to the next never happened on a single day.
What applies to the railway also applies to the road beside it. Cars, trucks, buses, emergency vehicles and uniforms change over time. If you want a consistent layout, you therefore also choose vehicles and figures that match your era.
| Era | Period (approx.) | Typical for this period |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1835 to 1920 | State railways, steam, horse drawn carts |
| II | 1920 to 1949 | Deutsche Reichsbahn, standard locomotives, first trucks |
| III | 1949 to 1970 | Deutsche Bundesbahn and the DR of the GDR, reconstruction, economic miracle |
| IV | 1970 to 1990 | Computer numbers, diesel and electric locomotives, Cold War |
| V | 1990 to 2006 | Reunification, rail reform, Deutsche Bahn AG |
| VI | from 2006 | European vehicle numbers, private railways, modern technology |
Era I: The Age of the State Railways!
Era I begins with the first German railway between Nuremberg and Fürth in 1835. Each state had its own railway company, such as the Prussian, Bavarian or Saxon State Railways. Horse drawn carts dominated the roads, and cars were still a rarity.
In this early period motor vehicles hardly play a role on the layout. That makes the details around the station and goods shed all the more important, and you will find them in our scenery range. Accessories such as loading wedges fit every era, including the age of the state railways.
Era II: The Deutsche Reichsbahn!
In Era II the state railways were merged into the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Typical features are the standard steam locomotives and the uniform lettering of the wagons. On the road the truck became established, and fire brigades also received motorised fire engines.
A fine example from this period is the Mercedes-Benz L4500 LF 25 Feuerwehr vehicle, which many fire brigades kept in service long after the war.
For historic rail loading scenes of this era, Wehrmacht vehicles on flat wagons are also a good choice.
Suitable for Era II:
- Mercedes-Benz L4500 LF 25 for the fire station on the edge of town
- Wehrmacht vehicles for loading scenes at the station
Era III: Reconstruction and the Economic Miracle!
After 1949 two railways ran in Germany: the Deutsche Bundesbahn in the West and the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the GDR. The steam locomotive still had its big moment, but was gradually replaced by diesel and electric locomotives. There was a sense of a new beginning on the roads, and in 1955 and 1956 the Bundeswehr and the NVA were founded as two new armies with their own vehicles.
For an Era III layout the Ikarus 66 is a true classic. The Hungarian bus with its distinctive rear ran in many Eastern European countries and fits perfectly at a bus stop on the village square.
Suitable for Era III:
- Ikarus 66 for regular bus services in town and country
- IFA G5 as a truck of the early GDR years
- Barkas B1000 for tradesmen, post and emergency services
- Bell UH-1D helicopter, in service with the Bundeswehr from 1967
Era IV: Ocean Blue, Beige and Everyday Life in the GDR!
From about 1970 locomotives and wagons in both German states received new computer readable numbers. The Bundesbahn ran in ocean blue and beige, while the Reichsbahn of the GDR shaped the picture in the East with diesel and electric locomotives. For many modellers this is the era of their childhood, which makes it particularly popular.
The IFA W50 was everywhere on East German roads, whether as a tipper, a dropside or a garbage truck. In the West, the Leopard 1A4 and the Faun SLT 50 Elefant could be seen in barracks yards and at rail loading points.
Suitable for Era IV:
- IFA W50 in many versions for town, construction site and countryside
- Trabant 601 and Robur LO 2002 for a real GDR atmosphere
- Mercedes-Benz NG LF 16/12 for the Feuerwehr
- Leopard 1A4 for barracks and loading scenes
Era V: Reunification and Rail Reform!
A new era began with reunification in 1990. In 1994 the Bundesbahn and the Reichsbahn merged into Deutsche Bahn AG, and traffic red became the new house colour. In the East many GDR vehicles kept running for years, while more modern cars and trucks changed the street scene across the country.
It is exactly this mix that makes Era V so interesting. An old IFA W50 can stand next to a new Mercedes-Benz Vario, and in front of the station there may already be a BMW 3 Series E90 from the last years of this era.
Suitable for Era V:
- Mercedes-Benz Vario as a garbage truck or Feuerwehr vehicle
- IFA W50 and Barkas B1000 for the first years after reunification
- Ferrari F40 as an eye catcher in the car park
- Leopard 1A4 and Bell UH-1D for the Bundeswehr of the nineties
Era VI: The Modern Railway!
Since about 2006 locomotives and wagons have carried European vehicle numbers. Alongside Deutsche Bahn, many private railway companies run in colourful liveries, and modern multi system locomotives connect all of Europe. On the road you see current trucks, large construction machines and modern emergency vehicles.
If you are building a present day layout, you will find many current models in our Trucks, Trailers & Construction Vehicles category. A MAN TGS tipper at the building pit or a MAN TGX semi truck at the loading ramp is a perfect match for a modern freight yard.
Suitable for Era VI:
- MAN TGS as a tipper, skip loader or concrete mixer
- MAN TGX with container or refrigerated trailer
- Liebherr L574 as a wheel loader or timber crane
- BMW 3 Series E90 for today's road traffic
One Vehicle, Several Eras!
A vehicle does not disappear from the road on the day its production ends. A car often keeps running for another ten to fifteen years, and trucks, buses and fire engines even longer. That is why many of our models fit several eras, and that is exactly how we have assigned them.
In every category of our shop you will find an era filter. There you can tick one or more eras and immediately see all models that suit your layout. This works for example in our overview for N scale in 1:160, and just the same in TT scale, Z scale and H0 scale.
And if you prefer not to be too strict: a vintage car rally, a museum railway station or a fire brigade open day is the perfect excuse to put vehicles from different eras on the layout together.
Find Your Era!
Choosing an era is one of the most enjoyable decisions when building a model railway layout. It determines which trains run, which vehicles stand on the roads and which stories your layout tells. Whether Reichsbahn days, the economic miracle, everyday life in the GDR or modern freight traffic: with the right vehicles your layout becomes a real piece of history.
Which era runs on your layout? Use the era filter to browse our range and discover the matching models from Panzer-ShopNL.
