What was the first scale locomotive you bought when you started out in the hobby?
Well, the very first would have been an American Flyer Hudson.
In HO I cannot recall very well, but I did have CNW road switcher that was built by Flishmann, I also had a German prototype also from them.
In the Modern Era (post 1983) me thinks one of my first locos was an Atheran SD40-2.
ROAR
A Marxs 4-6-4 Hudson lettered for New York Central for Christmas in about 1959 if I recall right. Still Have it and it still runs. It had puffing smoke and the headlight still works, God only knows how many miles that thing has traveled! It came in a train set my parents bought from Sears & Robuck and I still have all the cars and the power pack. The track was steel and I wore the finnish off of it.
Jim
My first locomotive was an Bachmann Spectrum 0-6-0st in HO scale. Unfortunately it took a dive off the table due to a misbehaving turnout and is being converted to a WW&F ry (Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington railway) 2-6-2 in On2 1/2
The first HO loco I had was given to me for Christmas by my uncle in 1960, when I was 12 years old & my dad and I were building a small 4 x 8 layout. It was a Lionel 0-4-0 switcher. As I recall, it was a noisy little cuss, but I loved it.
On the layout I’m building now, the first loco I purchased was a Proto 2000 Baldwin BL-2 in BAR colors.
Carl
Although now in HO, and have ben since I started collecting HO equipment in 1993, my first locomotive was a Lionel GP7 that I got for Christmas, probably about 1959. It was in the silver Burlington livery but I repainted it black and decaled it for PRR. I believe my first HO locomotive was an Athearn GP35.
I “owned” a Lionel set, probably starting with a steam engine of some sort, but the first ones I “bought” were these:
It’s an Athearn set, and I apologize for any inaccuracies, as I did buy it over a half-century ago. It’s running on my current layout, though, in this picture. Well, not running, exactly, as the engine, a rubber-band-drive GP-9, has been converted to a dummy.
That’s it on the left. It’s got a SoundBug decoder in it, so it’s still an active member of the roster, although it can’t pull it’s own weight anymore. The handrails were an add-on.
A Marx HO scale 0-4-0T in New York Central bought in 1962
A few years back I decided to get back in the hobby (in a new scale) after a long hiatus. I guess I was dragging my feet a bit about getting started, so one day my wife, out of the blue, came home with an Atlas Trainmaster Gold Series loco one day, and passed it over my shoulder while I was at the computer.
A couple of years later she came into the trainroom and saw it sitting on a siding and asked why I wasn’t pulling my Rapido coaches with it. I told her that Trainmasters with that number didn’t have a steam generator in them so they could only be used on my freight trains. I said “I’ll get one with the right # and run them together to pull the coaches.” A couple of days later she walks in with a second loco and says “this one has the right # .” You can now pull your coaches with your two engines.
What a Gal.[tup]
I must say that Atlas engine was a nice way to return to the hobby. It still is the best running engine I have.
I remember it well…My Dad bought me a Athearn CB&Q GP9 (a GP7 really) for Christmas and much to my surprise and delight he repowered it with a Hobbytown GP9 drive…[:D]
My Grandpa gave me a Tyco train set when I was 5. I think it had a CN F unit. The first one I bought in the early '70’s was an Athearn F-45 in GN Sky Blue. I recently re-painted it in the Atsf “Blonde” scheme (blue & yellow warbonnet). Still runs like a champ with new trucks.
An Athearn F7 rubber band drive in Rio Grande color. Bought in the mid fifties. I had no power pack or rails at the time. It was run on a cousin Triang train set.
My first train set was an old Lionel that had been in the family. It probably dated from the 1930s. My brother built a table that folded up against the cellar wall. It was a Christmas present; I was maybe 5 or 6 years old.
The first one I bought was an HO scale Revell SW7 that was UP. This was in the late 50s.
A Triang F7 lettered for CP Rail. My parents bought it for me in 1971 and I still have it.
My first “scale” loco was part of a Marklin starter set I got for Christmas in 1963.
It did not follow any specific prototype, had no complete valve gear, but it was mine!
Well the first scale loco I received would be an HO American Flyer 4-6-4 but the first one I actually bought was a Varney Old Lady 2-8-0 kit. It’s still one of my favorite engines. Before that I had tons of S scale American Flyer Hudsons, Pacifics and Atlantics. Roger Huber Deer Creek Locomotive Works
It was either a Tyco Sante Fe 4-6-0 or a Tyco PRR 2-6-2 or a Tyco PRR 0-6-0. It was 40 years ago and I don’t remember which my wife gave me for Christmas 1971 and which I bought shortly after. But with these I started the hobby. Also in those early years I added an MDC Boxcab Diesel and a Rivarossi V&T 4-4-0.
Enjoy
Paul
My first locomotive would be the Bachmann F9 (in CN zebra stripes) that came in the first train set I got at Christmas when I was 8. That was followed by the next two train set locos, which included a Bachmann GP40 (also CN) and a Mechano CP 2-6-0 Camelback steamer (from a President’s Choice train set).
The first locomotive I ever bought though was a Walthers Trainline F40PH, painted as VIA 6450. I remember how incredibly excited I was when I made that trip to the hobby shop - We were only able to make a trip to the nearest hobby shop about once a year, so it was always quite an occasion. I saved up the money I made from refereeing house-league soccer through the summer, and anxiously awaited that next trip. I had seen the VIA F40s there on the last trip (although then they were painted in the old scheme, before the “Canada” graphics and flags were added).
I remember how insanely excited I was when I walked down that aisle, saw the locomotive sitting there (just one, the last one!), and looked at the price tag to realize it was within my budget and with a bit extra to spare. The hour and a half drive home felt like many times that, as the only thing I really wanted to do was to get home and put it on the tracks!
That F40 has continued to hold a special place, as it was also the first locomotive I ever got up the nerve to superdetail. The old Bachmann train set F9 and GP40, by contrast, have been relegated to scrap-pile/spare parts duty 
My first loco was a Varney L’il Joe, dockside 0-4-0, Xmas 1958. Ran it until the worm and wheel gears wore out. (late 60’s)
Richard
First loco given to me was a used (set) pre-war Lionel 0-6-0 in the late 40’s. First one I bought myself, a Lionel Hudson, c1954. First HO for my layout IHC 2-6-0, c1997. First DCC, BLI Pacific, 2013. Can’t afford many more firsts.
Still have them all.
Have fun,
Richard