When I returned to the model railroading I had intended on a layout mainly using diesel power for the mainline and a bit of steam for a local or other secondary lines.
I had started buying Stewart diesel engines for the roster as many model railroaders recommended these engines highly. Then Athearn released their Genesis series and I wanted to compare their engines to the Stewarts. Then I encountered the Intermountain diesels engines and was very impressed with their quality and running abilities. Then I ventured into the Proto units and then I decided I should try the BLI engines.
Then I received a surprise gift a BLI steamer, I was so impressed that I bought a few more, Wanted to compare steam engines so I bought a couple of Proto Heritage steamers, thought I should check out the Spectrum line and bought a number of those engines as well.
I have now decided my ongoing layout will focus primarily on the end of steam and will only need a few diesels.
Now as I check through my roster it is plain I have accumulated far too many diesels. I guess it is time to check out e-bay. Will wait until this fall/winter when more people are getting back to their layouts. Will get rid of mainly my early Stewart diesels with the Kato drives as they are not DCC ready like the later Buler drives.
Some of those locos will have given you a good service over the years, why part from them for very little money? You will be surprised how little you will get for them - keep them, if only for memories´s sake.
Keep your old engines, even if you arent going to be using them. I still have my Southern Pacific C44-9w and Northern Pacific switcher, even though both fall outside the era I’m modeling. The latter is even a road I will likely never include in a layout.
I have to agree with you. Once you have tasted the glory of steam, it’s hard to live with the dismals anymore. Fortunately for us, there are plenty of diseased modelers out there who will be happy to take the good quality dismals off our hands for a reasonable price.
Warning - if you think steam is addictive, stay far, far away from Shays, Climaxes, Dunkirks, and Heislers. See the thread about “Talk me out of buying a Shay” (http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/158797.aspx).
True confession - I do have a hard time passing the Bachmann 45 tonner by. I guess the siderods make me weak.
loggers always enjoy yanking chains
Fred W
Chief Engineer, Wiper, Bottle Washer, and Jack of All Trades for the…
Picture Gorge & Western Railway - “…none more picturesque!”
Port Orford & Elk River Railway & Navigation Co - “Home of the Tall Cedars”
modeling foggy coastal Oregon, where it’s always 1900 - and never a dismal to be seen
I have many locomotives that I don’t use but keep them because they’ve been around for as long as I can remember. Besides you can’t have too many locomotives, it’s just not possible[swg]. On my MODERN freelance road, I have everything from F3’s to SD70mac’s in service. My yard switcher is a “genset equipped” SW-7. I have steam too, their part of the road’s steam presevation program, like the UP’s. I don’t know if your freelance or not, but if you are a little imagination and “rule” bending can make just about any locomotive fit in. If your modeling a prototype, that’s different but you can still get a display case and keep your locomotives. You changed your mind once, you might again. What happens if you’ve sold you loco’s by then? Replacing a large fleet of Stweart quality locomotives today can be rather expencive. Of course if you need the money to make progress elsewhere on your layout, or for other reasons, go ahead but keep in mind that if you decide you need more diesels you probably won’t get the ones you have now back…
If one looked at the branchlines that I’m attempting to model there were maybe only 12 lokes all told in the area-----and here I sit with a little over 80+?
Yeah right. According to some there are WWWAAAAAAAAYYY too too many on my roster!![:O]
But then again—the rosters also were changed out on occasion to service/repair the ones out there so—??
NAAH–I’ll keep my “Surplus” thank you very much[:-,]
I have now decided my ongoing layout will focus primarily on the end of steam and will only need a few diesels.
Actually by the end of steam,steam locomotives was a cherish find since most was in cold storage or at the scrapper being cut up…You’ll need to back date your time frame to the early or mid 50s when steam was still widely use.
Ya I would guess the last year where steam and diesels were roughly even in number would be around 1949-50 or so. By the mid-fifties even those roads that still had steam were probably 3/4ths or more diesel.
Keep in mind too it often took more than one diesel to replace a steam engine. An A-B set of early F’s were about equivalent to a 2-8-2, and it took an A-B-A or A-B-B-A set to match a Mallet in pulling power.
So having more diesels than steam would make sense if you’re modelling the 1950’s.
On another post it was said that an RS3/GP7 (1600-1700hp) was the equivelant of a 2-8-0. I do remember making a post about what diesels (single or sets) would replace what steamers but I don’t remember getting too many answers. This does help in general knowledge though. I lucked out in that my favorite steamers would all fit on any layout ideas I might have and are all the popular ones (Pacific’s, Mike’s, Northern’s, Con’s) so I can find them in any scale. I also lucked out most of my fav diesels are all first gens, so the are also plentyful in different scales.
The big difference was that while it may have required several diesels to match a steam engine horse for horse, the diesels exerted superior tractive effort at start up, allowing for longer, heavier (and fewer) trains. They also saved on labor, since a brace of 3 or 4 diesels could be M.U’d together, and still operated by one crew.
Not to mention the tremendous reduction in routine maintenance, minimal facilities, and extended range that diesels provided. On the Western Maryland, dieselization was complete by late 1954, and by 1960 you’d be hard pressed to tell that steam had ever existed. Coaling docks came down, roundhouses and turntable were eliminated (except Elkins and Hagerstown) and there wasn’t a water tank left on the line anywhere.
So I’d agree, if you want to have more steam than diesel, the late 1940’s will be the best era to start with.
I am sure if you let folks know what railroad(s) they are, and list your loco models, you will get some offers to buy some of them from you. Many people are trying to build model railroads on a shoestring budget and would be happy to aquire locos at a good price. Also more vendors are offering decoders or replacement PC boards to convert the older locos to DCC. John
Keep them??? What kind of advice is that… email me, and I’ll send you my mailing address where you can send them. I promise to give them a good home. [:D]
As ol’ Slick Willie used to say, “I feel your pain!” Right now I am in a similiar, if at the same time, a slightly different circumstance. Both our problems involve diesels; mine, however, involves my SD35s and SD40s and U30Cs which don’t quite fit in alongside my SD90s. With a number of SD70s coming on the market even my SD40-2s and C30-7s are shortly going to become anachronistic for a 21st Century Class 1. I don’t want to freeze myself at a particular year.
How do you make a rational decision as to what to eliminate and what to hang onto . . . . . . . . . . I have heard of “buyer’s remorse;” I wonder if there is such a thing as “thinner’s remorse?”