I have been hanging around the Yahoo HO Yard Sale a lot lately. As a whole I like the site, sold 2 items I did not want and bought a few things as well.
One thing I have wonder about is how many engines that are listed as test ran only. This seems odd to me, if you follow my postings I run my engines in to the ground. I do have two engines I have not taken the time to install decoders (thanks Jim) do to back yard work. My newest engine that I started running two weeks ago have 20 plus hours.
The whole idea of test running a engine seems odd to me. Could it mean, I ran it and it ran like Caboose so I am selling it?
Odd to you, but normal to the rest of us. Many people buy engines and for some reason or another do not ever run them. It may be because they are collectors, maybe they didn’t have the time, or changed their minds on that particular model. I run my engines about 45 minutes a week if I’m lucky. I’ve got 18 and try to run each a little bit. If I were to buy a used engine I would like to know if it runs OK.
However…I would certainly try to stay clear from buying any engine from YOU [:D]
All of my N scale engines are either never ran or ran only to break in and verify their working order. I Also have a few HO engines that are still never ran 12 or more years later.
Ken,I have 2 N Scale Santa Fe zebra stripe Alcos that’s been test ran only as well as 2 Southern units…I am keeping the Southerns and may sell the Santa Fes.
I have bought a number of HO engines both diesel and steam and other than breaking them in to ensure their were no problems while they were under warranty have put most of them into storage.
I started to purchase my motive power and freight and passenger cars a couple of years ago. I had a small layout at the time and no room for anything larger. I knew I would be moving in a year or so and that was when I intended to build my new larger layout. I did move two years later.
During that time I had planned several layouts, which all changed over time. I finally started my new layout about a year and a half ago. At present I have a one level 8’ x 12’ island layout and will add a second level soon.
I also had a change of mind, after collecting a number of EMD F series under the Genesis, Stewart and Intermountain brands decided to scrap my diesels and to all steam. The diesels have sat in storage since and while I had acquired some large steam engines I decided to run mainly small steam so the majority of steamers larger than 2-8-2’s are currently in storage, they will eventually run after I add the second level.
I am glad that I acquired all of the model raillroad stock I did, as I will soon be on pension and expenditures will become more limited.
Well, I have to admit that 5 of my engines have been run just enough to verify they run. 2 have been run a bit more, but less than an hour total. One has several hours on it and one has never been out of the box. 8 are still kits, one has been started and 7 others are waiting. That’s in S scale. I also have some N, HO, O, and G in kits, run, never run, lots of running. Most of these were bought with the intention of being run although I do confess to buying three of the Bachmann early train sets with no clear idea of how I would use them - so I guess those are collectibles.
At some point I should sell the what is now excess, since it is doubtful I will leave S after over 15 years. But then I tell myself, you never know when you might change scales again or maybe just have a display layout or two.
I only have the engines I can put on the the layout and run, which is about 30-35. They all get to run on a pretty regular basis. I’m not a collector, I’m a modeler or more precisely, a model builder. As I build new ones, others on the layout will come off and be passed on or sold, so my total stays about the same. I don’t have any display case or closet queens. So everything runs, maybe not quite as much or as hard as your stuff Ken! All of the drives are Atlas,Kato or Athearns with full upgrades (Mashima motors, NS wheels, etc). Many have been running for 20 years and more, with 200-300 hours on them, but most have 75-150 hours on them. I’ve only had to replace one motor in all those years. Mainline running is usually 2-4 unit consists pulling 30 to 75 weighted cars.
I have a couple engines I was going to customize to run on a club layout. I ended up moving on and joining an ops group. The engines have maybe 5-10 minutes on them.
I have a few…two reasons…I left the club three years ago and my personal layout is actually under construction and will likely be partially operational some time this summer.
Well, yes and no. Most of my fleet is very well broken in, but two weeks ago I acquired a Genesis MT-4 SP Mountain, and except for getting it around the layout a couple of times–once by itself and once with a train–it hasn’t really turned a wheel, since.
But I have an excuse–I’m relaying some track, so right now the entire layout is ‘down.’ But when it gets back ‘up’, said 4-8-2 will get a VERY healthy workout.
Test run only. Yes, I’ve got piles. Hmmm for that matter, I’ve got piles that have never even made it out of the box to the test track. Of course it would help if I actually had a layout to test things on. Most recent examples are the Walther’s New York Central 20th Century E7 ABA set, a backup Mohawk and Hudson (BLI), and then the Proto-2000 SF E6A I picked up last week on ebay. None have touched wheel to rail.
I guess it also depends on the definition of a test. I’ve got many locomotives that were purchased for a special event. They ran at that event (probably 4 hours tops) and then went back into the box. Is that a test run?
I have one: An NWSL brass USRA 0-6-0 that was once owned by Linn Westcott. It’s like my Nolan Ryan autographed ball - comfortably and safely retired, and handled only with the utmost care. Mr. Westcott has a lot to do with the way I love this hobby, so owning one of his engines is a privilege. It’s not the same as my other brass - it’s more than just a locomotive.
The smaller locos which I have been running have plenty of operating time - but there are others that were too large for any previous layout (Bo-Bo-Bo and Co-Co catenary motors) that have been run just enough to work out the bugs. Even though they are old enough to run for the Senate their total operating time can be measured in minutes - about ten minutes each.
Even worse, I have several large motors (and a couple of 2-8-2s) that are still sitting in their original boxes - unassembled kits. They were purchased in anticipation of the layout I would build ‘some day.’ The ‘some day’ layout is now under construction, but still lacks the track capacity needed to give them room (and reason) to run. There are still three major staging yards to be built, and I have yet to lay a millimeter of track on the daylight side of the tunnel portals that will separate the visible world from the netherworld.
All of those locos will be needed in regular service some day, but that day has yet to dawn.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - eventually)
That would describe pretty much every loco and piece of rolling stock I have(other than the used ones with unknown histories), but that’s mainly because the limit of running trains at the moment is about 12 linear feet (times 2 tracks), my south end staging yard. So every loco I’ve bought has had a test run, the majority over just a single piece of flex track I had hooked to my Zephyr, but that’s it. Then there’s the shelf (and overflow container) full of unbuilt kits…
Even if my layout were complete it would take me a LONG time to get up to the amount of mileage Ken’s locos have.
My two SD7dM’s have maybe 20 minutes of running on them apiece, and they are getting close to 14 months old. All other steamers and diesels have between 2 and 6 hours total running time. I also try to rotate mine, so none of them gets more than maybe 2 hours a year. I always have at least four engines on the layout.
In anticipation of a move in the next few months, I have put all but five engines away in their boxes. The layout should be coming down in the early fall.
I have a Bachmann Spectrum 3 truck Shay that has been test run only, and I’ve had it over 3 years. I also have a Spectrum 4-6-2 USRA Heavy Mountain, that hasn’t even SEEN a rail. That’s about to change however, as I just finished applying decals to it. A little weathering and it’s gonna be part of a double headed set used to haul coal.
It is time to mention the biggest benefit of test running a loco, if it is faulty you can´t return it after say, 2 years for a replacement. I have the habit of always trying all the stuff I buy, even if I am not going to use it in a great while. The same goes for kits, I always see that all the parts are included before it goes on the shelf for later use.
I also never buy a second hand loco that´s “new in the box” for the very same reason.
My own locos see quite some use actually, and even if it is only a switching layout, I do operate on it a lot.
I have a few locomotives that I bought mainly to run on a club layout and for various reasons I dropped out of the club for a while. Then I have a few locomotives that I either bought because I liked their looks or on a whim. These locomotives all have less than 1 hour of running time. If I am trying to sell a loco on E-Bay or elsewhere I honestly report whether it has been used or just sat gathering dust.
My layout right now consists of two test tracks. 4 ft. on the work bench and double track with crossover 8ft, long on a shelf. Have 4 undecorated P2K GP 18’s that are test run only. The rest of my fleet gets some running on the test tracks as I clean and test with new or rebuilt cars as I update after 20 years storage. When my skill level in painting improves I will paint these for my to be built layout.
I suspect a lot of the time, it’s a “professional” online seller, and bought the engine(s) at wholesale price and just test-ran them when they bought them. That way, they can return them to the manufacturer or wholesaler if they’re defective, and it sounds better in the posting if they can assure the potential buyer that they personally test-ran the engine and it’s OK…since the online buyer can’t try out the engine as they could in a brick-and-mortar hobby shop.
However, I’m sure some of them are people who just couldn’t stop buying stuff. I’d guess there are plenty of recent converts to the hobby who went out and bought $1000 worth of modern diesels the first week they were in the hobby, only to find out a year later that they really wanted to model 1920’s steam, or bought a lot of pretty yellow UP engines even though they really want to model New England, etc. Something along those lines.
That being said, I have to admit I’ve had an Athearn “Northstar” commuter line F59 sitting in the box unopened for several months now. I ordered the engine and 4 cars back in November, the engine came in February or March but by the time the cars were released in April, my credit card had been renewed and I didn’t think to give the online store my new expiration date. When the cars came in, rather than contacting me when the card failed (despite having worked fine a few weeks before), they just cancelled the order and sold them to someone else. [:(!]