Another curious question: What makes you buy that boxcar? Is it Line Name, Looks, Era, Price OR is it “The money is burning a hole in my pocket”? As always, many thanks.
The era pretty much covers it for me. I like the Pre-Postwar era, so all the roads I would go after are FFs. Pennsy is my favorite, but any of that era does it for me.
Let me emphasize that I have no more room for ANYTHING.
That having been said, I’m a sucker for any New York Central boxcar/reefer or a Railway Express Agency boxcar/reefer/express car.
I’ve also been getting into the beer reefers, but generally just beers I have a history with (or which I have a conetop or crowntainer in my small breweriana collection).
So yes, roadname rules.
Anything with a built date before 1944
Must be Scale.
I like NE roadnames but am open to any to have some variety.
Modeling the Steam Era. I like Boxcar brown cars.
For Reefers I prefer the more simple schemes for running. Although I do display some more colorful ones I’ve bought over the years.
Must be somewhat able to accept Kadee couplers without a lot of work.
I generally buy Atlas cars. I try to buy at least one version of each new release.
Price doesn’t matter as I generally pre order. All my cars get weathered so I generally stay away from limited runs that have collectability.
First Choose the appropriate Road Name
Then select the Time Period
Next choose which Boxcar Paint Scheme looks right.
If it is too expensive, then skip it or wait for a sale.
I try to wait for sales, but sales are unpredictable, because at least half the boxcars are gone by time the sale happens.
Andrew
Boxcars are my weakness (well one of them anyway). And my criteria doesn’t help much, to wit:
Date prototype built: 1915 - 1955.
Railroad: any that had boxcars built between 1915 - 1955.
Favorite Railroad: Southern Pacific
Favorite US importers: Atlas O and Lionel (after 2001)
Exceptions: boxcars with that light blue used by the Rock Island and a few other roads, Hate it!
Cause for alarm: I’ve recently taken a hankerin’ for post-1970’s boxcars (especially Hi-Cubes) after I received an EMD SD70MAC as a gift.
I’m running out of space so I’m only looking for “special” items. Right now I’m collecting the College/University series, the Railroad Art, and Lionel Catalog Art cars as they come out. I’m waiting for the financial shoe to drop when they announce matching locomotives and cabooses.
Mel Hazen; Jax, FL
I have been playing with trains for over 50 years. I still have my 54,55, 56 lionel catalogs When i was a kid you could only dream about all the neet things at lionel, in fact my first collection was cutting out the pictures of the things you would like to have. Now i can afford SOME of the things i would dream about. IT’S FUN.
For me it’s a combination of all. If it’s cheap and catches my eye I’ll buy it. I never really sought out a specific car. Being a eastern railroad dosen’t hurt ethier. I sometimes will spend a little more if it’s a Pennsy car.
Thanks to all for your replies.