The South has been largely invisible to the US for most of US history. There's your basic issue. I've often kidded my ex-Michigan snowbird neighbors (which I think is most of them) about the maps that thy must have seen in school that designated the Southeast simply with serpents and phrases like "Here There Be Dragons".
But, to narrow it down - model RR'ing and rail fanning was never as popular in the South (where I was born, grew up and live, in/around Mobile) as it was north of the border. That the big-time RR'ing in the South went often un-photographed I blame on, one - we Southerners, who could have noticed and taken more photos, and two, the "famous" Northern rail photographers who could have simply bought some tickets to Mobile, Atlanta, N.O. and the like instead of taking yet another trip to shoot the Union Pacific. Again. (For example, how many know that the Southern Rwy had Duplex tractor steamers - like an Erie Triplex, but with 2 sets of drivers, rather than 3? Didn't think so. Or that the GM&N, later GM&O, streamlined, lightweight ACF Rebel came out right after the Burlington Zephyr? Uh-huh. I could go on.)
So Lionel and the rest didn't see us. We bought fewer trains and our profile was lower. I had a layout, but it was the only one in my solid working-class neighborhood, and none of my playmates really cared about it much at all. Cars, guns, boats, now...yeah.
But, as a Southern model RR'er, I feel that today is the Golden Age of SE road names and equipment. Still - under-represented compared to our population and other areas (do an actual model of the L&N Berkshire, for Pete's sake!).
Lots of SE equipment could be modeled and sold. Notably, an NC&StL Dixie 4-8-4 (shown double-headed in North Alabama). Fast, modern, compact and, to me, gorgeous (a skyline casing would have made it perfect). And, Lionel, your RDG T-1 4-8-4 running gear matches this loco very closely...just sayin'.
- BTW, the NdeM had essential copies built, without the stream-styling, which they called "Niagras" (that spelling is correct for the NdeM locos).
