I have something similar.
I own a lot of locomotives that do not run, and I will never make in running condition. These are what I call the “prop fleet”, and they are used for phtotographs only. These spend their days on a shelf until needed for pictures. Then they see the layout in staged scenes… then back to display.
I have some running locomotives that are one breakdown away from joining the prop fleet.
-Kevin
A very interesting thread.
How do I know when to stop buying more locomotives?
Dawn says I should have stopped ages ago. [tdn]
To be honest I have now drawn the line of no more locomotives.
With 59 diesels and 32 steam locomotives that is it. Way too many for a layout 11ft x 8ft.
If we move to a bigger house ------?
I then thought if we did move to a larger property, what kind of layout would I have? No matter what I thought, it always came to the same answer. A new layout would still be Leeds Sovereign Street and Crown Point Yard with more scenery.
David
Came to my own reality check the other day. With a 2 level 8’X 19’ layout, having 20 locomotives probably isn’t too bad but the new reality is that I’ve been fighting to get at least 6-8 of them working reasonable. All of them are least 15 years old with old Digitrax fleet decoders so it seems silly to spend time, effort and money to try to get them working reasonably. It might be time to cut the losses and start looking again.
Scott Sonntag
My reality check came a couple of years ago. We had had a house fire in 1996 which seriously damaged my Lionel equipment which was in boxes in the closet the fire went through. At that time I decided to switch to HO.
As the new house was taking shape, wife and I walked up the stairs to the 2nd floor. She looked to the right and said “that’s the trainroom.” Needless to say I didn’t argue about accepting a 13x22 space.
Did’t have a lot of time to get started, as I was still operating a small dairy and driving school, but… I did go to shows and watched ebay and bought things I thought would go on the layout; trains, buildings, scenic materials, vehicles and figures.
Before I got transitioned from dairy to beef (much less time) son moved home, youu gurssed it, into the train room.
There was a small room (7x14) in the basement. That’s about 1/3 the size and had boxes of “stuff” enough to fill the room.
It took me awhile to change my buying mode. An inventory found some 36 locos, about evinly divided between steam anad diesel, 357 freight cars of which 145 were box cars, 23 cabooses and 23 passenger train cars. I’d have needed the whole upstairs to have them all on the rails.
A show came to town and I decided to try and sell some stuff. I have now done several shows, but COVID haulted that, with plenty of stuff to go.
Finishing the room proved to be a challenge, existing 4x6 layout sat in the middle of it, making working difficult. I finally bit the bullet this fall, sold the layout and started to work on the room. Got the room sheet rocked, then painted Christmas day. This weekend my eldest son helped me finish up the electrical work and put up the grid for the suspended ceiling with the lights in. Have some painting to touch up now that I have good light.
Will we finish the
Tophias…
“My point is it’s a bit disappointing that I won’t be buying any additional locomotives, and I’m wondering how you all feel about this?”
Doesn’t bother me at all your disappointed. Means more for us! [(-D] (just kidding!)
Hmmmm, have seen this thought/topic a few times.
Its part of the ‘disease’. Very much like an addiction. “Oooooh look at that, gotta have it”! Nothing wrong with that as long as your bills are paid, and the wife is either 1) ok with it, 2) doesnt care, 3) doesnt know, 4) all the above. Kids dont count - they should be seen not heard. So why stop just cuz your layouts too small? Sledgehammers and walls were made for each other.
Remember, money is printed every day. Its only printed to spend. Your giving a train a good home. The train will bring you enjoyment. Its pretty much win-win, as long as conditions 1-4 above are met.
Now if the kid needs purple hair and an iphone, or the cat is gonna have puppies… yeah, take care of those first. But after thats paid off id be wiping my forhead going “whew, i need a Lionel” or “its Mantua time”.
This is prolly one of the very, very few hobbys where having too much is not even a thing. If your life is on track, and you have time for a hobby (youve had 20 years), its provides you with the returns you seek from it… then why not indulge in the good thing.
Besides, what if tomarow you hit the purly gates and Peter Paul and Mary ask you how many trains you have? I hear anyone with 20 or less gets to clean the Big Guy’s bathroom. (someones gotta do it).
Lastly, in the time it took you to read this nonsense, you coulda bought yourself something nice on that ‘bay’ thing. Now, how do you feel about it? See? So go buy something, youll feel much betterer. Every time, i promise.
PMR
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When I started my layout about 20 years ago, I had already made the decision to go DCC and had a lot of DC locos from my old layout, mostly Rivarossi steamers and Athearn BB diesels. My plan was to install decoders in all and repain/reletter them for my new layout. I also picked up about a half dozen Athearn BB F-units from Trainworld at a blow out price of $30 apiece. When I made the decision go with code 83 track, that wiped out my Rivarossi steamers as a viable option because they all had the old pizza cutter flanges. When I finally got enough track laid to actually do some running, I bought my first factory equipped DCC loco with sound and saw how much better the detailing was on the new locos. I soon forgot all about retrofitting my Athearn BB diesels and began buying all new locos, either factory equipped or DCC-ready using plug-in decoders. I never regretted that choice. When you weigh the cost in time and money to upgrade the old vs. the better quality the new locos have, it was an easy decision for me. I was able to recoup some of the cost by selling off much of my diesel fleet to my LHS. I see older Rivarossi steamers are still fetching a decent price on ebay so I think I’m going to go that route.
I just bought an undecorated Athearn GP-35 on eBay because it was a killer-good price, and GP-35s were my favorite locomotive back when I modeled 1968.
It was the last thing I needed, and I will probably not do anything with it for 10+ years, but it was less than $30.00!
-Kevin
me i have 30 big boys all BLI/MTH/ATHEARN/RIVAROSSI all DCC & sound & 2 challengers & 10 other steamers of various wheel arrangments.
10 diesels of transition era ilk
being that i work in a hobby shop , its tough to not buy the locos from the collections we get from the widows / kids that want to dump them on us.
one guy i wired his layout up & he has all bli / mth locos & he just dumps them in a box like they are 1970s tycos [:'(]
hes 91 so im thinking in a year or two my boss with get the call…
My layout is about 15 years old. I thought I could rehab my old BB diesels and put decoders. When I started looking for replacement parts, I found a couple of Proto GP9s at MB Klein for $30 a piece… I ordered one and installed a simple motor decoder. I was so excited that I ordered another one, and maybe at the same time ordered an RSC3. I was really in business after installing another pair of decoders.
Those engines now have two sound decoder upgrades, both done by me. The old geeps I was going to fix up got turned into dummies or disposed of.
I later bought a GP9M from Walthers. This is a model of an engine that’s a converted older GP9. I renumbered one of the dummies to be the same engine they made the GP9M from. Running them as a consist is just a little joke only I get.
I also collect Bachmann Thomas locomotives and freight cars. I’m almost done with the engines. Just missing BoCo, Stepney, Daisy, and the future releases of the narrow gauge engines for season 1-4. That includes Peter Sam, Sir Handle, and Duncan maybe Duke if they want.
I still need to find the past release of the Tar and Oil tank car, mail car, cattle wagon.
My HO scale Thomas and Friends is almost complete and basically the only one.
I have heard the Bachmann HO Scale Thomas locomotives have very good mechanisms.
Is this true?
-Kevin
I started collecting Thomas and friends for the grandchildren.
After about six months only Thomas runs. The rest have been altered to Leeds based items. The grandchildren only run my diesels now!
David
I too have come to a big realization but, save that for later. We all have our reasons for being in this hobby. For most of us, it is to hold on to memories. A place, a time or even a dream that is important to us. I agree with Paul 3, who put a limit on the number of locomotives I should own?
When something I want comes along, I get it. Scale Trains just announced a GP-30. Sign me up for one of each of the Rio Grandes. And, wait until they do L&N, Southern, SP and, Cotton Belt-2,2,1 and 2 of each. Just took delivery of one of their SD40T-2s along with some Southern Pacific SD-45R’s. Now my Athearn Ready-to-Rolls might be headed for their boxes as I acquire more 8300 series T-2s. Jason Shron will be able to rescue more buses and prototype equipment. I will do my best to help keep him afloat, as long as he continues to feed my addiction to quality models. I’m already signed up for New Haven FA/FB-1s, H16-44s and PA-1s. The FAs and PAs will replace earlier, less detailed offerings, as did the RS-11s and SW-1200. As far as recreating memories, Southern, Erie Lackawanna and New York Central E-8s are also on pre-order.
When Athearn released the Genesis GP-9s, I replaced my P2Ks, seven for seven, New Havens. Also six for the Southern Pacific. At one time I was an avid detailer of diesel models but time and age have caught up with me and, I no longer have the ability to drill number 79 holes, or bend brake cylinder piping for EMD Dash2 diesel trucks.
I am modeling New Haven and SP. I also acquire or, am looking for certain models of B&M, CV, NYC, C&O, Southern, Central of Georgia, L&N, ICG, ATSF, MILW, SLSF, D&RGW and BN locomotives I have known or, photographed, to cement memories of people, places or times that have meaning for me. A lot of which, are no longer in existance.&nbs
I stopped buying at 27 locomotives. I’m now beginning to think maybe I should sell off some of the least used ones, but that’s still in the ‘thinking’ stage. Yes, I swore off buying any more and then Scale Trains announced their latest offering. Oh well.
While I would not say that I am a rivet counter, far from the definition in fact, I do apprecite finer details and having the “important” details included.
I too have replaced locomotives that no longer compete with locomotives that offer more of what I’m looking for (front and rear LED ditchlights, operating beacons if so equipped, proper motor control) etc.
One thing I am noticing are the paint jobs. The chalky, flattish factory sheen is more desireable than what I can get with dullcote, and infinitely more desireable than the new as-built factory fresh look. While weathering is an option, starting off with a proper factory paint job that gets me a head start is better than one that doesn’t.
Not a loco here, but I recently bought Scale Train rivet counter hoppers. I returned them. The large black lettering was glossy black, and the roof
I am right there with you. I have gotten rid o
[quote user=“n012944”]
NHTX
When Athearn released the Genesis GP-9s, I replaced my P2Ks, seven for seven, New Havens. Also six for the Southern Pacific. At one time I was an avid detailer of diesel models but time and age have caught up with me and, I no longer have the ability to drill number 79 holes, or bend brake cylinder piping for EMD Dash2 diesel trucks.
I am modeling New Haven and SP. I also acquire or, am looking for certain models of B&M, CV, NYC, C&O, Southern, Central of Georgia, L&N, ICG, ATSF, MILW, SLSF, D&RGW and BN locomotives I have known or, photographed, to cement memories of people, places or times that have meaning for me. A lot of which, are no longer in existance.
You see I am one of those vile creatures known as a rivet counter. I know the difference between ACF and Pullman-Standard boxcars. I won’t paint F-7s in New Haven colors and call them FL-9s. I will not number a Ready-to-Roll bay window caboose in the SP 4700 series because, that is what it is NOT. Does it matter to anyone but me that the Athearn SD45 is only semi-accurate for SP’s first 45 units? And, it has both, the ratchet style handbrake on the fireman’s side of the short hood AND the wheel type on the engineers’s side, at the rear of the long hood? I know SP went for lots of extra lights on their locomotives but, DUAL handbrakes of differing types, on the same unit? Ratchets only appeared on the first order of 45, 8800-8844. Scale Trains got it right for the small slice of the GRIP series on the box of the units they sell to the point of putting the number series of the correct prototypes on the labels. Just as with Rapido, these folks w
I bought a whole bunch of used locomotives because nobody makes what I want in Canadian Pacific colours at the moment. When they do I buy new and sell the older stuff.
I cannot be a rivet counter and cannot foresee ever being one. I don’t know enough. I can’t see me ever knowing enough to take particular pleasure out of the accuracy you need to know about. I admire those who can and do. I learn a lot of very interesting information from the sometimes persnickety modellers who know what they’re talking about.
I am also reading an awful lot about railroading, in part because that’s what I do and have always done: read all about whatever. After picking up this hobby again after a long absence I’m reading just about everything about everything related to railroading. We’ll see how much I retain.
Point is I still buy really good models, whether new or used, because they look really good and run really well. I don’t know how good they look, as in how accurate, but that doesn’t matter to me because they look really good. In time I may actually be able to tell what makes them look so good but maybe not. I don’t think knowing or not knowing will change my interest in this hobby anytime soon.
Case in point, my two Genesis SD70ACu locomotives in CP Rail colours arrived last week. I mean wow. Even I can tell these are detailed models and they run amazingly well. Not my era of interest but I don’t care. They are just really excellent models.
I bought them because I saw a real one painted in Heritage colours of Tuscan “red” and grey travelling through our downtown last summer. Then I looked up the information and got the “back story” about how these were remanufactured from the less than successful SD90 MAC bought by CPR quite some time ago and mothballed early. The remanufacture was so successful CP bought a bunch of extra SD90MACs from Union Pacific and had them remanufactured “down” to SD70 spec. I bought t
I can’t speak for others, but I would think the same thinking applies to most of us. Over the course of 20 years, I settled for the next closest thing made. Its not like I was stubborn and didn’t buy or run anything.
And now that the stuff I always wanted is being produced, its out with the stuff I settled for and in with the new. Sell the old for 20 bucks and buy the new at 45 bucks. Its no different than trading in a car, which is something that I also don’t do much of in 20 years.
The new stuff still has to fit the theme. Its just a version of the car that is better than the one I have, more accurate, and better in a few other minor ways.
And yes, sometimes I pull the trigger quicker and more often than what makes total sense, simply because I like to get new stuff.
For me, I buy my share of the new high detail stuff. But selling off old stuff that I was happy with before is kind of a non starter for me on several levels.
One, it is a time consuming not fun task.
Two, since I my last layout was large, and the new one larger, we are not talking about tens of freight cars, we are talking about 100’s of freight cars, the current roster being just under 1000.
And there is a fair amount of time invested in some of them.
Again, a lot of what I buy today is nice high end, high det