On my layout if you cramed every siding to capacity and every yard, I could get aprox 168 cars and that includes 3 carfloats so -33 if you don’t inclue them. I am trying to downsize some more but keep what I will need or really want but I definatly don’t need the amount I have now.
Ha, what a question! I believe we can divide MRs into two related categories - one side craves more rolling stock, and the other side has so much they want to downsize. Like a lot of the older train nuts, I have wayyyy more than my layout can handle realistically.
At one time I had over 600 cars, with 1/3 still in kit form. Now I’m down to half of that, and have 100 or so on the layout, and the rest in boxes or in a display cabinet.
For me, downsizing criteria was based on some arbitrary factors that are important to me. First, any cars with build dates 1960 or newer were eliminated. Next, cars that would have no business on my midwest layout (i.e. east or west coast coal hoppers, or tankers or what have you). Lastly, I worked towards some sort of proper ratio of home and foreign roads, and types of cars, that made sense for an ATSF RR located in the lower midwest.
All that being said, I’m a sucker for period correct rolling stock, and while I haven’t bought any in years, I’m hard pressed to sell off any more.
The narrow gauge prototype I model had 3 locomotives and 61 cars when it closed up shop and the rails were taken up, so for me that could be one easy answer. But I model it as a what if it had continued in operation through WWII and beyond, picking up some used equipment from other narrow gauge lines going bust, adapting some smaller standard gauge equipment via refitting with NG trucks and wheelsets, and maybe even some shiny new equipment brought in for the war effort. But one suggestion: whatever the number, include both a reasonable number of good quality operating cars, and a few real standouts to be used almost as scenery, demonstrating the character and identity of your railroad, prototype or otherwise. And that also serves as an incentive to improve on the appearance of your operational equipment as it rotates through your shop facility.
Ultimately, any MR should have only enough cars to work his road to the level at which it was designed to handle. Still, hundreds of MRs have many cars in boxes stored away that are not on their layout.
Few MRs stuff every thing they own on their layouts, unless they have an empire. I have two friends with limited space and run 6 or 7 foot long switching wall layouts and they rarely have more than 10 cars on the layout at one time.
To my mind around 60-70% capacity since that will end any need for ‘Wabashing’ industrial sidings and yard tracks.
I have way to many cars for my current down sized layout.That’s the minus side.On the plus side this means I can change out rolling stock to keep a somewhat fresh look to the layout.
Locomotives on the other hand I have enough for at least three large layouts . [banghead]
I’d say a minimum would be arrived at by taking the maximum number of cars you would normally put in each industry siding, team track, interchange etc. and then double it. That way you have say two cars in an interchange track, and have two more to replace the two already there in the next operation session.
The size of your yard tracks, sidings, and train length are determined by how many cars your trains have to deliver, and whether they’re going to be delivered by one train, or multiple trains.
So let’s say City A and City B on the layout each have spaces for 6 freight cars in their industry tracks. If you want to serve both with one train, that would be 12 cars plus motive power and (pre-1980’s) a caboose. Your passing sidings would need to hold trains at least that long. However, if you serve each city by a separate train, with 6 cars each, your sidings could be shorter.
Of course, having 3 or 4 times the number of cars you have space for, instead of 2 times, will allow for more diversity by rotating cars in and out of the layout.
I have a pretty small layout in a 10x 18 foot room, and because i fit in both categories (crave rolling stock but have more than I can use) I purposefully designed as much on-track storage capacity as I could squeeze into that small layout. I put in an 11 track staging yard which I estimate could hold around 270 cars at an average of 3 cars for every 2 feet of capacity - i.e. lots of 45 and 50 foot coal and freight cars but some 60’ cars too, and a few long freight cars.
I used to have a lot more kits than I realized I would ever build, so I have already gone through a phase of rationalizing them and have probably sold off 2/3rds of them and am down to about a box and a half of kits. I continue to build kits now and then which is why I saved some - last year I built around 10 but I’m going to keep kits to a minimum and just be realistic about that.
I too am a sucker for period rolling stock and by sticking to a time frame, at least that places some contraints on what I do purchase. It also helps me to downsize some and help fund new purchases as I refine my modeling period more and more. By way of example, at one time I was buying it
I am keeping mine to the point that they would all fit in staging and the on line yard, with NONE at industries. Plus eight ore cars at the mine.
As there will always we some at industries, as that is the reason for being, this permits everthing to function.
I realise other use systems where cars go to staging, then a shelf, until the operating system calls for that car again. This works, but seems like more effort and more thought than I need.
Dave
The trouble with answering a question like this is that my wife may be browsing the forum.
It sounds like you went through the same buying orgy that I did. LOL
Who’s to say how much is too much and how little is too little.
I claim to model Dearborn Station in the mid-50s, and there were 6 railroads that used that station. Most of the time, the station was empty and when it was filled, ten tracks held one train from each of the 5 owner railroads and 2 or 3 Santa Fe trains, the primary tenant. So, a pair of locos for each of 5 roads, plus maybe 2 or 3 pairs of Santa Fe locos ought to do it. Plus maybe 40 passenger cars.
Then, I have a 9-stall roundhouse, so maybe 9 steam engines. Add around 100 freight cars for my freight yard.
That, in total is what I should have. Is that, in fact, how much I do have? Maximum? Hey, I plead the 5th !
Rich
For the layout: As a start I would do half as many as the industrial sidings will hold plus half the staging capacity. Then adjust upwards or downwards as you get experience operating the layout.
For the collection: As many as you have room and budget for. Part of the fun for me is having a wide variety of rolling stock. Eventually, I’ll have 2 or 3 era sets for the layout, but I’ll always have some that just don’t fit.
But this is a hobby so do what’s fun.
Enjoy
Paul
In the recent thread about having more locos than cars I explained my method of determining needs and car counts.
My completed layout plan is designed to handle about 30 mainline trains in staging and yards - 6 to 8 of those trains are passenger, some are long, 12-15 cars, plus extras in the coach yard - so at aprox 230 passenger cars I have plenty and have no additional passenger car purchases in mind. I do plan for all of them to be on the layout.
Call it 22 mainline freight trains in staging yards - typical train length 45 cars - that is just under 1000 freight cars. Then we need some already in sidings and the main yard - call that a couple hundred more.
The current count is about 1100, pretty close to what the operation requires and I have been focusing my purchases on freight rolling stock for several years now, and filling in just a few small gaps in the loco roster. I think another 150-200 freight cars will round things out nicely.
I am not a collector, every piece of equipment is an “actor” in the operational scheme. When complete, virtually nothing will be in display cases or stored in boxes.
Sheldon
I’m with Sheldon on this, but at about a tenth of his totals. I am a sort of eclecticollector; I see what I like and purchase what I like that I can get. Turns out I have a smallish passenger consist for all my passenger engines, but I mix and match my freight cars for all the drag engines and fast freight engines. By mixing and matching, I can both replicate what a person roadside would have seen on almost any railroad in the steam era, and I can minimize the numbers of road-specific cars. I just don’t like the idea of having boxes 'n boxes of unused/waiting rolling stock squirreled away under benches and in stacked totes.
My experience on many operating layouts suggests that 50-60% of the total capacity will likely be enough cars (although many folks overload their layouts to the detriment of ops, IMHO). But it depends on how you will operate the layout, of course.
Personally, I’d start with that 50% on the layout, operate a few times, and then adjust the number of cars on the layout up or down as necessary.
I agree, about 50% of the visable siding and yard capactiy is a good starting point. My totals are based on 80-90% of the staging capacity plus 50% of the visable siding and capacity.
And, my operational scheme is centered equaly on both mainline operations and industrial switching. So the high number of staged trains is to provide lots of mainline action and variety on the double track mainline.
Sheldon
Oh I don’t mind some extras lying around but I started out with over 1000 cars, about 1/2 in kits. Been selling for a few years as I ran accross stuff or upgraded. Down to about 500 now. Most everything I have kept is high quality, like Intermountain, that I got for very cheap over many years (like over 30). Half are still kits. It is not that I don’t have the room but I find it is beter to be able to find what you want than have too much but I don’t want to sell something, only to wish I hadn’t, hasn’t happened so far.
I was just thinking that my rolling stock collection is almost complete. Yes I have to rotate some of them on and off of the layout but I do run all of my rolling stock except for some 40 boxcars which are the wrong era and were just an impulse buy.
I think that 2 or 3 times the cars which fit on your spurs is a good number so that when one car is there, another has just been removed and put on a train heading beyond the basement, and another car has just be assigned to be delivered there the next time. I also have some trains which are bridge traffic and are never delivered to modeled industries. These are mostly intermodal freight and they make a few laps and then are rotated off the layout via the fiddle track, and replaced with others that have been waiting in a cabinet. These represent shipping containers which are loaded (off the layout) in Long Beach and are heading east. They are not to be confused with railroad containers which are the majority of the containers loaded in San Bernardino. For the most part railroad containers never leave North America. I have some staging but always wish there was more. For some car types I have more than I need, like boxcars, refers, and lumber carrying flat cars. Others there is still a shortage, like hoppers. Most of my MOW equipment is stored until I run it, which I do fairly regularly. Same with my steam excursion. My 3 commuter trains have their own parking on the layout and so does my Amtrak train.
I have bought extra kits for the future when I have extra time to assemble them. I know that when I officially retire for real that I won’t have as much money so I stocked up when I had some. Eventually these kits will be assembled.
Don’t count on less money unless there were things beyond your control or bad planning (wifes girlfriend has nothing set aside and will get very little SS if anything).
My rule for rolling stock is to count all the spots on the layout and aquire 3x cars for each spot. IE: my paper mill has spots for 4 boxcars, 2 tanks, 4 wood chip hoppers, and 2 pulpwood racks. So to service my mill, i have 12 boxcars, 6 tanks, 12 hoppers and 6 pulpwood racks in service for the mill. 1/3 are kept at the industry, 1/3 in visible staging (the local yard), and the last 3rd is in non-visible staging (interchange from outside the system). Each industry on the line is treated the same way. Operations are first and foremost for me though, so I try to keep just to how many cars I actually need to operate and not buy a lot of cars that don’t fit in. There are a few oddballs, cars that I just like, and I use them as bridge traffic.
Over 45 years i have 1762 frieght cars and 100 locomotives i moldel erie lackawanna and mo.del csx and up. i have upgraded to top of the line cars and engines. i feel you buy what you what and the way they keep raising prices it might turn out to be a investment…