Steve,

The questions you ask are very broad in nature and I like Ted’s analogy of boiling the ocean. I think you have a couple of good answers, so far, but I think narrowing down areas and time frames will get you more answers. I’m quite familiar with the KC area, but not so much with St. Louis or Pueblo. Railroad operations are very fluid and can change drastically over a period of time. Pinning down an era to a span of a few years makes answering a question much easier.

Motive power is a moving target. The SD40 and SD40-2 were the main work horses of the through freight fleet in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but other models were used as necessary. The Ewing Ave. shop in St. Louis was the main location for maintenance of GE locomotives, so GE models were rather prevalent with St. Louis trains.

I think modeling the general KC area will give you the most opportunities to capture the spirit of the territory you mentioned.