Train Cabinet
(left side)

This is a description of the left-side of the cabinet (as shown in the picture).   Note that the shelves have descriptions about some of the trains. 

There are 18 shelves (including the recessed shelves), from top to bottom, as follows:

1. Many of the models on this shelf were "scratch built".    These models are S-Scale (1 "model inch" = 64 "real inches", or 1:64) and larger.
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   Unless specified otherwise, the rest of the shelves below are all  HO-Scale (1 "model inch" = 87 "real inches", or 1:87). 

2. This train represents the era of the 1990's (+/- 10 years).  It's a coal-train using freight cars called "Hopper Cars".   Trains of a single commodity going from a single shipper to a single customer are commonly called "Unit Trains".   Also note that, even though the cabinet is quite long, it's not long enough to display a full-length HO-Scale freight train.   It's quite common for coal-trains to be 100+ cars long, which would be over a mile in length (60 feet in HO-Scale).  These trains can weigh well over 10,000 tons.   

3. This train, also a coal-train from the 1990's (+/- 10 years) , has a special type of hopper-car called a "rotary dump car", which has couplers that rotate allowing the entire car to be turned up-side-down without being uncoupled from the other cars.  This allow for rapid unloading.
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4. This is a container train, from the year 2000 to today, and has double-stack well cars.  This type of car was invented in 1977 by the Southern Pacific Railroad, but was adopted by other railroads west of (roughly) the Appalachian mountains.  It wasn't until clearances (mostly tunnels) were increased in height that eastern railroads were able to operate this type of car.   Container trains allow the railroads to compete with trucks over distances of (roughly) 600 miles.  

5. This is a "mixed" freight train from the 1990's.  The term "mixed" means the train having cars of mixed types, to and from various destinations.  This train has grain cars at the front, followed by flatcars with highway trailers and containers, a single car with rolled steel coils, three finished lumber cars, and boxcars containing various products.  This train will end in a classification-yard where the cars will be resorted, with some cars continuing their journey in new trains and others being delivered to their final destinations.  Prior to (roughly) the 1960's, this was the only kind of train that existed.  Now, however, more and more trains are made-up of cars with single commodities or single origination/destination pairs.
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   The next four shelves represent the pinnacle of long-distance passenger train development in the US (and the world).  This era was from (roughly) 1949 to 1959, when the US railroads, which are private companies, spent way too much money on new modern passenger equipment, while the government was simultaneously spending money to build the Interstate Highways and new airports.   Railroad management at the time didn't realize just how radically WW2 had changed the government's willingness to spend huge amounts on infrastructure.  This spending effectively made these trains, and the entire railroad industry's business model, obsolete by 1970.   These two shelves are just a very small sample of the passenger trains built during this short time.
   
   Note that this train and all the other passenger trains are actual length.

6. The Union Pacific Railroad's Domeliner, City of Portland which ran between Chicago and Portland. The term "Domeliner" was the name the Union Pacific gave to its trains when dome-cars were added to the consist, which was around 1954 or 55. 
   
   

7. The Santa Fe Super Chief with its Pleasure Dome lounge car.  This car was added to the train in 1950, and was unique - at the time - in having a private dining room named the "Turquoise Room" which was available by reservation only and could seat 12.  Eventually, the Union Pacific Railroad (never to be outdone by the Santa Fe) purchased the world's only Dome Dining Cars for their City of Los Angeles train; perhaps the ultimate dining cars ever built.
   
   Dome-cars were only used in large numbers west of Chicago.   This was primarily due to the eastern railroads having tighter clearances (height restrictions) as well as eastern railroads being the first to feel the downward spiral of revenue caused by the government investment in competing infrastructure.  
   Also see the FAQ: "Why doesn't the US have fast trains" in the "Fast Trains" page.
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8. The Burlington Railroad's California Zephyr, introduced in 1949 ran between Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Oakland (San Francisco via ferry).  This train was the first long-distance train built with dome-cars. This train had 5 dome-cars: 3 coaches, 1 lounge, and a combination sleeper-lounge-observation car as the last car of the train.  But, the model of this train is peculiar...  First-off, there are six dome-cars; so one of the first four dome-cars is extra.  Secondly, the last car is a Business Car of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, one of the three railroads that owned the train.  Normally this car wouldn't have been present and it's currently blocking the view of the 1st Class passengers sitting in the Observation Car immediately ahead (and I'm sure someone will be writing a letter of complaint to management of D&RGW RR).  Note that it took six sets of equipment to run the train daily on its 50 hour schedule.  Other railroads soon added domes to their trains, creating the "dome-car era".  The Burlington Railroad, one of the three joint owners, coined the term "Vista Dome" for its dome-cars when they built the first modern dome-car in 1945.  However, a GM automobile executive actually thought of the idea, and GM created the basic design of the dome-car.   In 1947, GM and Pullman built the first complete train with dome-cars called the: "Train of Tomorrow".  The dome-cars on this train were called "Astra-domes".

9. The Southern Pacific Railroad's Shasta Daylight, introduced in 1947 between Oakland (San Francisco via ferry) and Portland Oregon.   As the name implies, the train ran during daylight hours allowing passengers to view the spectacular scenery of the Shasta Mountains.   The train's unique dome car was added to the consist in 1955.
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10. A Union Pacific train, from the 1970's era, consisting of all mechanical Pacific Fruit Express refrigerated boxcars. These are a more modern version of the PFE  ice-cooled refrigerator car on the 1st floor.  This train might have originated in Roseville California, is currently in the middle of Nebraska, and will be in handled by the Chicago & North Western Railroad east of Omaha for the rest of the trip into Chicago.  In Chicago, some of the cars might be delivered to warehouses, and others will end-up on the trains of other railroads for delivery to various cities east of Chicago.  

11. The passenger train, also from the early 1960's era, is the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad's Prospector which ran overnight between Denver and Salt Lake City via Colorado Springs.  This was the same route taken by the California Zephyr (shelf #8), which ran during daylight hours.
    
    The freight train, from the 1970's - 1980's era, is grain Unit-Train with hopper-cars.  A Unit-Train is the opposite of the "mixed freight" on shelf #5.  About 70% of grain is moved in Unit-Trains.  Cargill was the first user of grain Unit-Trains in the US (which, when it involves freight train innovation, generally means "the world" too).
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12. A Union Pacific freight train from the 1945 - 1955 era.   Once again, the model train's length is only about about one-quarter of a real train's length.

13. This shelf represents Light-Rail cars from roughly the 1900's to the 1940's.  Light-Rail cars were then called: Interurban Cars, Street Cars, Trolley Cars, or Electric Cars.   At one time, the Electric Railroads ran everywhere that buses eventually did; even across the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge on the lower deck.
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14. A selection of Colorado Narrow Gauge trains, from roughly the 1890's to 1950's.   At one time, there were Narrow Gauge Railroads all over the US, but the last ones were in Colorado.   There's still a few left in the form of tourist railroads.

15. A Union Pacific freight train carrying military equipment.   The railroads were instrumental in allowing the US to successfully fight a two front war during WW2.
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16. A sampling of "billboard refrigerator cars" from roughly the 1920 (+/- 10 years).  At one time, there were many thousands of privately owned refrigerator cars.  The owners of the cars would paint their company logos on the car as advertising; resulting in the colorful cars shown in this display.   But in the early 1930's, the ICC - a government agency that regulated railroads - ruled that this advertising was a form of "rebate" to the large shippers who owned the cars, and the practice was (somewhat) banned.  Railroads, prior to being deregulated in the 1980's, were required by law to charge the same price to all customers regardless of how much volume the customer provided.  

17. A freight train from the 1890's (+/- 10 years).  Notice the smaller size of the cars and locomotives compared to shelf #16 (1920's) and #12 (1950's).
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18. Large scale models (exact scale not specified) of a Denver and Rio Grande narrow gauge train and a logging train used in the forests of the Sierras.