To Hawks05

[AggroJones]

Hawks05-- "since i'm just beginning i'm trying to find used stuff that is in decent condition to start with for cheap prices. right now it doesn't matter what they look like as long as i can see the road name and numbers and they run well."


What are you looking for? Locomotives? Cars? Of what time period and road names? I ask this because I'm trying to sell a large group items (of Athearn, Spectrum, MDC, etc.) and am hesitant to use Ebay. Email me and let me know what you would like. I might have it. [;)]

[Hawks05]

i'm looking for cars and locomotives from the following:

Great Northern (boxcars or anything with GN)
Burlington Northern (anything, maybe another locomotive and boxcars)
Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy (hoppers and locomotives)
Chicago Northwestern (locomotive)
CSX (locomotive)
Canadian National (locomotive)
Canadian Pacific (locomotive)
Southern Pacific (locomotive)
Wisconsin Central (locomotive and boxcars)
Milwaukee Road (locomotive)
Denver & Rio Grande Western (boxcars and locomotives)
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (locomotive)
ATSF (locomotive)

i think that is it. also if you have any cabooses from any of those let me know. although i doubt i'll use them i have a friend who likes them and collects cabooses.

thanks

[AggroJones]

The only stuff that matches are:

Athearn RTR BN wide vision caboose, brandnew in box
LBF BN 50' hicube boxcar, weathered
Walthers BN 49' ribbed quad hopper, assembled w/ no weight
Tyco BN 50' plug door boxcar, weathered

[Hawks05]

cool. do you have AIM? if you do talk to me on there more.

i'm interested in the BN hicube boxcar.

[Dough]

Ummm, does this apply to anyone? I'm interested in CSX, NS, and the fallen flags that make up the lines.

The thing that always kills me with ebay is shipping. For example, right now their is a CSX hopper that is $3 less than new. However, by the time I pay shipping, its costing me money!

[Hawks05]

ya. shipping is a bugger on ebay. there is this ex Rock Island/ now CNW 50' gondola that i was bidding on. my max bid was $17 plus $7 shipping. now its up to $17.50 and i'm not bidding anymore even though i really want this. since i only go to shows to buy stuff mainly and the LHS has mostly passenger stuff i have to either wait till a show in January or buy off of ebay behind my parents backs. so far so good.

[AggroJones]

Sorry, son. I don't have AIM.

[Anonymous]

I gather from the post that you are an 'early teen'. Model railroading will teach you patience and the virtue of method.

FIRST, make a list of what you want. Revise it as you go along, adding or subtracting items.

SECOND, make a list of sources you have access to. The 'dead pile' at the local hobby shop, the periodic swapmeets in your area, the local club, etc. Do it all FTF (face to face). Avoid mailorder and EBay. As noted shipping charges will eat up any savings.

THRID, use your brain, don't be afraid to mix and match parts from nonfunctional models. Its the prototype way, railroads were and are cheap cheap. A truck here and a coupler there result in a runing car and some extra parts. Also 'nonruners' are usually priced in pennies rather than in dollars AND the process teaches you skills you will need in the hobby.

Have fun

Randy

[Hawks05]

the problem is the nearest club is about 50 miles west or east and only open on Tuesday and Thursday nights. the hobby shop doesn't have a "bargin bin" so to speak of HO stuff. they just have shelves of passenger stuff. the only way i buy stuff of of ebay is either if there is a picture of it sealed in the box or the person selling it has a rating of over 1000. yes i'm a teenager, 17. i have my license and a car but i don't drive into the cities yet and the hobby shop i go to is kind of in a complicated place so usually if my mom is going shopping i'll go with her and make a stop there. we were going to go today but i decided to stay home so she went. she ends up buying a replica of the "400 Streamliner" of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad. she is pretty much in love with this engine. when i first started and we went to the hobby shop she bought a picture of this engine. i don't know for sure but i think its a F7 or something. i'm not sure with the naming of locomotives. i just know if it has 8 wheels its a GP loco and if it has 12 its a SD loco.

i'm trying to make a list of what i want and need to get but i'm still debating on what railroads to model, what type of layout to have, and what time period i want to model. i have like a wish list type thing but i need to narrow that down a bit.

[Anonymous]

Two points:

First, I'd suggest you turn the choice of road on its head. Make the choice of period, then what industries you prefer to depict, then landscape, finally what, if any, prototype road. The choice of equipment follows from those choices. Remember always you can reasonably run older equipment, even castoffs and hybreds, on branchline roads.

Second, and perhaps more important, let it be known who you are: A teen new to the hobby with more interest than wallet. Trust me, you are not the first and definately not alone. You will be amazed what older, more experienced, less interested people will give away or donate to someone who will use it.

You mention your LHS doesn't have a 'bargain bin', Why not? Next time you are there you might ask the clerk or owner what people do with their no longer wanted equipment? With a little talking you might be allowed to post a notice that you are a ' Teen beginner will take any HO equipment, any period, working or not.' Also make the rounds of garage sales and rummage sales. Do it late in the day when people are more of a mind to take nothing or next to it for the odds and ends. Always ask: 'If it doesn't sell will you give it to me.?' It costs nothing to ask and often the answer is yes.

There 2 model railroad clubs within your range. Do they have websites? If so, contact them and ask more or less the same questions about unwanted equipment. If they have only a mailing address send them a letter (direct, neatly typed and correctly spelled) AND a return address and stamped envelope for a reply. Then make sure you go to an open meeting of the club in the near future. Very likely someone in the club will already know who you are and introduce you to someone wanting to 'thin the roster'. Be polite, ask questions such as: how they picked their period, locale and prototype. Listen to the answers, its information you can use.

What is all of scavenging likely to net you? At least: the raw material for a fleet of MoW equipment, a long list of repair and rebuild jobs for your repair and paint shops, a hobo camp, materials for a flush deck trestle or two, enough junk to fill an industrial scrap yard and loads for any number of gons and flats, and perhaps a fair-sized fleet of high milage rollingstock and a runner or two to pull it and the track to pull it on. Which sounds like a small branchline to me.

With the money you haven't spent you can afford to buy an item or two you really want. Most importantly you will have met some people in a hobby you are interested in.

Give it a try.

Randy

[Hawks05]

thanks. i really appreciate the help. i'll look into that bargin bin thing next weekend when i go. my mom bought a locomotive there and we have to pick it up next saturday. i'm positive they don't have a bin but i might be mistaken. i want to get some books on different railroads and what not to look at for ideas to. i know for sure i'm going to have a brewery and a grain elevator. not sure about the 3rd industry yet. i'm leaning towards a coal mine next to the hills or something.

thanks for the help

[Anonymous]

K, grain elevator and brewery.

An elevator implies, an agricultural transportation node. So it follows that there would be a fuel distribution facility. Depending on the era you will have gasolene, fuel oil, diesel, and more recently LPG. Such facilities are easy to make from scratch using using various castoff pieces of rollingstock and leftover pieces of plastic from kits. Also logically there should be a farm implements dealer, tractors, plows, combines etc. Don't forget the service facilities. This might be combined with a small auto dealership.

The brewery would import sugar, hops and use the local grain supply. It would also create fermentation byproducts which could be used to feed pigs...another agricultural product you would logically find in area of commercial farming.

So what you have is a node where tank cars, hoppers, flats, gondolas and box cars are inbound loaded and box cars, tanks, hoppers, stock cars or reefers are outbound loaded.

Also, have you seen the current MR (January 2004) article on the $500 layout? I thought the idea of using paper buildings was pretty good for anyone on a tight budget. Depending on the era you are modeling you might find the idea useful.

Randy

[Anonymous]

Hawks05 the engine that pulls the 400 is a pair of E8s. I you have amy questions about CNW or Santa Fe email me

[Anonymous]

Just a thought but have you posted any "wanted" signs at the local library or community centre? You'ld would be surprised at how many people have Forgotten Railroad Junk in their attics and would gladly give it away to someone with a keen interest.

[Anonymous]

Hawks05 careful with the boxcars or you will end up like me with boxs of boxcars

[Hawks05]

great so i got f**ked over on the 400 engine. oh well. at least i didn't pay for it.

i bought my first structure today. a Depot. i saw a ADM grain elevator and the works today. i think that will be the next thing i buy.

also today i bought a Burlington Northern flat car that i put together but it lookes like junk so i'll probably take that apart. i also bought a Rock Island caboose and a Great Northern hopper.

that ADM though i saw like 20-30 hoppers down in Mankato, MN last friday when i was down at my grandparents. that looks interesting.

i don't know though. i'm messed up. somedays its like oh i want this and i want to model this and that. then the next my ideas are totally different.

[Anonymous]

Hawks:

On the point of: "one day this, next day that". We all go through that. What's going on is some personal "test driving". Trying out one idea and then another. Don't sweat it. Go with it in fact. Sooner or later you will land on a concept you keep. You will know when you have found it...it won't go away and leave you alone. ;)

Good Luck and have fun

Randy

[Hawks05]

i think i finally got stuck with what i'm going to go. model the BN with some of the RRs that went into the making of the Burlington Northern rail road. like Great Northern and Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy i know will be on the layout. i'm also going to have some Rock Island stuff floating around maybe. also i'll maybe throw in my custom caboose and boxcar that i'm just getting done. the Baldwin Rail Service caboose is a dark blue with silver front and back and top walk way with maybe a silver set of hand rails. the boxcar is just a junker that i had sitting around and decided to change the road number. you know where it has like CB&Q and then the number, well thats what i changed. its now BRS 8605. the BRS bought this boxcar from the Erie Lackawanna railroad. hopefully the boxcar turns out. what should i use to put the BRS logo and numbers on this caboose. its a dark blue and all i have is a black set of stencil lettering things that my dad gave me. on the boxcar i just used a fine tip sharpie and wrote on the silver painted part. i'm thinking of finding some white paint and trying to hand do it.

[Anonymous]

Hawks:

How about making a number board from a piece of .010 styrene? Paint in a color which will both complement the blue and allow the black lettering to be read.

Cut the styrene to size first, scuff it with very fine sand paper, wash it in detergent to cut any oil or solvent, paint it to suit, apply the lettering and finally attach it to the car.

Randy

[Hawks05]

thats a good idea to. i'll figure something out. i think it would be cool to do it free hand. adds more of a personal touch and proves its custom done.

i'll try both maybe.