European "Epochs" For Model Eras

I've always had an interest in European models. It helps that I'm pretty good in German (my wife will confirm that when we're in Germany, people for some reason come up to me on the street and ask for directions.) I can also hack my way through French.

But one thing that's always interested me is that the Europeans see modeling eras in a different but systematic way -- in German, Epochen, which more or less comes out as "epochs" in English. Here's a link in German to an explanation of European Epochs. A 30,000-foot view would come out more or less like this:

• Epoch 1: beginning to 1920. This covers the period when European railroads were organized under pre-Versailles principles (in German-speaking countries), owned by individual German states or the royal-imperial Austrian state. In France, they were private, as they were in the UK.
• Epoch II:1920-1950. This covers the interwar period and postwar reconstruction. In post-Versailles Germany, the railroads were unified under the central German state, while in many other European countries, German equipment arrived as war reparations or as a result of WWII dislocation. In France and the UK, the railroads were variously merged and nationalized.
• Epoch III: 1950-1970. German and Austrian railroads reorganized under postwar governments. Large-scale electrification. Adoption of standardized European computer numbers for equipment by 1970. End of steam. Beeching and BR blue in the UK.

  Epoch IV: 1970-1995. New generation equipment, luxury intercity passenger trains, decline of freight, spinoffs of regional and freight operations. High speed trains in France, Italy, and Germany. Reorganization and spinoff of operation in the UK.

• Epoch V: 1995-2005. Reunification of German network. New paint schemes. Expansion of unitary international high speed services.
• Epoch VI: 2006-present. Renumbering. Further spinoffs of operation, continuing decline of freight service, concentration of passenger in high-speed or base-level service.

Dividing US rail history into similar epochs is also food for thought. In the US:

• Epoch I: beginning to 1920. "Old time" or "Early rail" to USRA.
• Epoch II: 1920-1950 "Classic steam", early diesels.
• Epoch III: 1950-1970 late steam, dieselization, colorful diesels, wide variety. End of roofwalks.
• Epoch IV: 1970-1995 Big mergers, ACI labels, COTS stencils, rise of intermodal, Amtrak. End of cabooses.
• Epoch V: 1995-2005 Even bigger mergers, CN and CP extend into US, comfort cabs, new commuter and transit. Spinoffs of important lines to short line operators.
• Epoch VI: 2005-present conspicuity stripes, eco locomotives, graffiti, large-scale resignaling finally replaces SP searchlights, PRR position lights, etc.

As the Europeans do, it's possible to subdivide and rearrange here. A fun game.