Hey All My name is jim, I am new to the Ho scale and modeling in general but am very excited to start my journey. I have read many posts about the best trains but what I am looking for is to start collecting High detail rolling stock and Quality 70's diesel engines. I like the look of that era. I feel based on my research and all the great tips from everyones posts of similar questions Setteled on Atlas Trainmaster gold for my engines I have also looked at BLI for detail I eventually will create a DCC layout but for now I would like to start by simply collecting what I will need for the future. Trains that not only look great, Perform well, and have readily available parts but i want trains that hold value. There are thousands of rolling stock and engines on ebay and all over facebook marketplace but I am in overload on what to purchase. I would prefer Quality over quantity at this point. There seems to be more Atherns used for sale then most other brands. Is there a reason for that? do they not hold up or not have the detail for more advanced modelers? A saturated market makes it a little confusing. Are there rarer units out there that may be more desiarable then others? Thanks for any advice I appreciate it.
There is a tendency to buy indiscriminately especially with regard to engines. When you get around to building a layout, will a NYC and a Santa Fe engine really look right servicing the same industries? I say pick a railroad or two, so you can have an interchange, but go for the one of everything approach.
Freight cars are more forgiving in that any of them can be anywhere. However one popular Youtuber mentioned he has 1000 piece of rolling stock. That's excessive. Even with a large layout, there would be cars you wouldn't even see for years.
Detail has increased tremendously over the last 30 years. You pay for that. Instead of an Athearn BB hopper for $5 you can buy an Arrowhead for $50. Do you need that level of detail, can you afford that level of detail, if or when you have kids, will they destroy that level of detail?
EDIT to the forum. Your first few posts are moderated.
As far as retaining value....that can be hard. Howard Zane made a hobby and a carreer with brass. If you weather you trains, that can hurt the value unless you are good and preferably a famous model railroader.
Long blocks of text are hard to read. Please throw in a paragraph here or there.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
My advice is not to be at all concerned about anything holding its value. There are some folks who are a lot more discriminating than most of us, at least me, about collecting value. Build and run a layout because that is pleasurable. When you are gone, let your heirs deal with the fallout.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
Musician Hey All My name is jim, I am new to the Ho scale and modeling in general but am very excited to start my journey. I have read many posts about the best trains but what I am looking for is to start collecting High detail rolling stock and Quality 70's diesel engines. I like the look of that era.
Hey All My name is jim, I am new to the Ho scale and modeling in general but am very excited to start my journey. I have read many posts about the best trains but what I am looking for is to start collecting High detail rolling stock and Quality 70's diesel engines. I like the look of that era.
I am a 1970's fan as well so here are some tips on identifying HO 1970's freight cars.
- Check the small build date printed on the sides of most freightcars.
- Check the black stencil boxes on the sides. The single panel was applied between 1971 and 1974. The 2 panel black stencil boxes (vertical or side by side) were applied in 1974 and later. You also commonly see on model freight cars a single black box with 3 panels in it, that is 1982 and later.
Top quality HO freight car brands:
Tangent Scale ModelsMolocoWheels of TimeExactRailAthearn GenesisIntermountainAtlas
The above are generally the most detailed and all make freight cars good for the 1970's (but check them individually because some of the models are more modern or earlier). They generally cost more but are very nice and most of the pretty accurate replicas of real freight cars.
As you learn more, you will find out that some models do not actually copy a real freight car, but are generic. Some refer to them as fantasy models or foobies. To the unaware, they look like they should match a real freight car but you'll never find one in real life just like it. That may or not matter to you. To some they don't care.
I feel based on my research and all the great tips from everyones posts of similar questions Setteled on Atlas Trainmaster gold for my engines I have also looked at BLI for detail.
Atlas Trainmaster are decent quality but lower cost, lower detail engines. They are a good minimum for beginners and novices. There is not much in the way of separately applied details on them however.
Athearn makes a good number of 1970's era engines in their RTR line and they are pretty detailed and still modestly priced, but more more expensive than Atlas Trainman.
In general, you get what you pay for but you can get decent quality models at lower relative costs if you are savvy shopper.
I eventually will create a DCC layout but for now I would like to start by simply collecting what I will need for the future.
Heh heh, I started doing the collecting thing in the late 1980's for an eventual layout but have moved around so much that sadly I haven't been able to run a lot of what I have collected due to so many moves and not having a layout much of the past 30 years. But it's good to have goals!
I would prefer Quality over quantity at this point. There seems to be more Atherns used for sale then most other brands. Is there a reason for that? do they not hold up or not have the detail for more advanced modelers? A saturated market makes it a little confusing. Are there rarer units out there that may be more desiarable then others? Thanks for any advice I appreciate it.
In general, you get what you pay for. Some of the very nicest models from Tangent and Moloco now sell in the $45 to 55 price range, but they are amazingly accurate and detailed, and addicting!
You see a lot of Athearn because they are one of the most productive companies and have been around for a long time. They manufactured kit models from 1040's and 1950's through 2009 when they discontinued the blue box kit line.
Athearn started making RTR versions of the blue box engines and rolling stock around 2000 as well as added the higher detail Genesis line.
Athearn makes some very detailed models that are very nice, but the details are often fragile so you have to be careful when handling. I have a large number of Athearn engines such as GP40-2's, SD40's, SD45's, SD40T-2's and SD45T-2's, and some F units.
A fairly new company called ScaleTrains is making some very high quality engines and freight cars during the past 3 years and are very popular now. Most of the items are 1980 and later but they have a few that are good for 1970's too, such as the newly released SD40T-2 (SP and D&RGW), and for freight cars, the Carbon Black covered hopper, upcoming bulkhead flat car, airslide hopper and 4785 cu ft 3 bay rib side hopper.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
RR_Mel The older BB or Blue Box Athearn didn’t have a lot of detail but were bullet proof on running, easy to maintain and easy to kitbash too. I have a large fleet of older Athearn locomotives that perform very well, better than some of the newer locomotives.
The older BB or Blue Box Athearn didn’t have a lot of detail but were bullet proof on running, easy to maintain and easy to kitbash too. I have a large fleet of older Athearn locomotives that perform very well, better than some of the newer locomotives.
Here is a different perspective regarding Athearn blue box and Athearn RTR engines.
I've had a few Athearn blue box that ran like coffee grinders too and if you end up with one of those, you may need some tinkering skills that some here, like Mel, who has a long life of experience, take for granted. It's a bit like a math teacher saying don't worry, you should be able to do these differential equations no sweat!
New model railroaders skills can range from no tinkering skills to good ones, which is something some of these old hands here often forget. I've been in the hobby since the 1970's but my tinkering skills are minimal and guess what? I have an Athearn blue box GP40-2 that has is in so many parts in a box for the last 20+ years and still lies there in pieces. I don't know, maybe don't enjoy tinkering that much. Might be the OP Jim doesn't either? But I still like trains so
Yes, some blue box Athearn engines run better than the newer RTR Athearn engines. And some can be made to run well with some tinkering.
Some of the earlier Athearn RTR engines manufactured between 2002 and 2008 (mainly) can sound like coffee grinders. During that period Athearn quality control was very spotty so it was a crap shoot if you got a good runner or a coffee grinder. Food for thought.
You also can do quite well buying on an HO swap site, a former yahoo! group. I like that marketplace for getting any type of car and reporting mark you need.
Athearn makes some great quality cars. Knowing their price point can avoid getting bad deals. There are deals in various places but be mindful of trying various avenues. Unless you're getting a highly detailed car, try not to spend over 15-20$ for a freight car.
The level of detail doesn't matter if it takes a spill off the bench!
RR_Mel The older Athearn locomotives are very plentiful, they sold very well. The older BB or Blue Box Athearn didn’t have a lot of detail but were bullet proof on running, easy to maintain and easy to kitbash too. I have a large fleet of older Athearn locomotives that perform very well, better than some of the newer locomotives. The newer Athearns have very good detail. I’m a fifties era guy so nothing that new. Some of my best running diesels are BB SD40-2 Athearn Frames with Cary EMD E7 bodies. The Cary bodies are heavy cast metal and on an Athearn SD40 frame they way close to two pounds and will pull the paint off the walls. The Athearn gold color motor BB locomotives operate on lower current than the older motors and will adapt to DCC. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California Thanks mel and everyone else who has chimed in on this post. i appreciate all the advice and will check out some of the lines you have mentioned that I was unaware of.
to the MR Forums, Jim!
Some good suggestions so far. I model the late '30s, and prefer to buy what I can afford and suits the era, then modify it to what I hope is a somewhat better standard. While I will buy the occasional ready-to-run item, I prefer to build (and modify) kits, or modify the r-t-r stuff, or simply scratchbuild my own. I'm not concerned all that much with its monetary value, but with its value to me in enjoyment.
While I'm not personally familiar with them, if you're interested in the '70s, you may wish to add Bowser's MLW and Century diesels to your list. I wish they'd been available when I was modelling that era.
bearmanMy advice is not to be at all concerned about anything holding its value.
This may be the best advice offered so far, in my opinion. Just because something's expensive today, there's no guarantee that it will retain (or gain) value over time. Consider it similar to buying a boat, as a boat-owning friend once said to me, "A boat is a hole in the water, into which you throw money."Model trains aren't all that different - enjoy them as you please, as that's likely the best return you'll get from them.You may get your enjoyment from the high quality items you buy, but don't expect them to necessarily increase in value - if they're mass produced, as most of it is, it's very unlikely.
Musician...Are there rarer units out there that may be more desiarable then others?....
The rarer ones which spring to mind for me are the one-of-a-kind, hand-made brass steamers built by specific craftsmen, usually in Japan. Prices for these have generally increased over the years, and some are in the many-thousands-of-dollars realm of prices. These aren't, obviously, suitable for a '70s-era layout, but might be among the few items which could increase in value.
You are, of course, free to enjoy the hobby in whatever manner pleases you. It's a diamond with many facets.
Wayne
I have seen a bunch of older Athearn recently that have original boxes and acording to the seller some of them have never been run...Taking that with a grain of salt of course but they look great and are only about 5 bucks each.
I did check out ScaleTrains and you are right theye look pretty awesome. Unfortunatly most of the diesels on thier site have been sold out at least the ones I really like. I appreciate the info and I will try to find a place to purchase them.