How did you research into the era and location you chose to model?

I used mostly the Internet. Being outside the USA, I do not have the amount of books available to US based modellers on model railroading. I found Wikipedia was a good research tool, and I also joined some Yahoo Groups, which allowed me to tap into knowledge of modellers in the US. I also subscribe to Model Railroader magazine, and purchase other US based train magazines to increase my knowledge of US modelling and prototype trains.