Big Plans on a Shoestring

[Anonymous]

After a 20 year hiatus from the hobby, I'm back in. Boy, things have really gotten expensive! Twenty to thirty dollars for a freight car? Even Athearn kits are at least $15. Even with inflation, they should be $5-$6! What happened to the "shake the box" kits that were so affordable in the 1980's?

I am an average working joe and not sure I can afford this hobby anymore. Does anyone have any ideas for amassing enough cars to represent a busy mainline (using a fiddle yard) for no more than a $500 investment in rolling stock?

[dragenrider]

Go eBay! That or visit a few train shows and swap meets.

I have stopped buying any new cars due to their price. It's easier and cheaper to pick up somebody's quality merchandise as they exit the hobby.

[BRJN]

Get yourself a budget. And plan for the long haul. I have been putting aside about $20 every month-and-a-half to work on a 2x6. Today it is just a plain board and some track; by the time my kids grow up it can be a busy industrial module in an around-the-garage layout.

If you are in a hurry, however, you might want to talk to the people at your local hobby shop if they know anybody with inexpensive equipment for sale. They will have more contacts than most other folks.

[simon1966]

If your LHS is charging $15 for an Athearn blue bix kit then they are ripping people off! They are usually between $5 and $7 in the places I buy. E-bay can be OK, but often prices are inflated here as well. Just know what you are willing to pay and don't get tempted into over bidding. There is a lot of used stuff out there!!

[jwmurrayjr]

You should be able to get Accurail and Athearn kits for less than $10 ($5-9) and some Athearn RTR for about $10. If you like steam you can get some pretty good locos for $40 to $100 each.

So for $500 you should be able to get 50-60 pretty nice cars. But it depends on your taste I reckon.

I just got back into the hobby after 20+ years and it seems like the "Golden Age" of MRR to me because of all the products available (And DCC, of course!)

[:)]

[mondotrains]

Hi,
I think some of the responses you've already received offer good advice. Ebay, local train shows and clubs and mail order will all provide some bargains at times. I'd like to share some thoughts about the cost of this hobby.

I got back into model railroading 10 years ago after about 30 years and at the beginning I thought it was expensive also. However, after looking at back issues of Model Railroader magazine, I've noticed that the costs for rolling stock and engines has really gone down (adjusted for inflation), with much of the manufacturing going overseas. If you compare today's prices for some of the better items to some of the plastic "toys" that were made in the past, then you'll think things have gotten more expensive. But, plastic engines today look more like brass than ever before and they run a lot better.

Trust me though: after 10 years of dedication to this hobby and with it being such a big part of my life, the cost is really not an issue and certainly is no more than most hobbies. I'm sure you've heard it said that you could easily spend more on cigarettes or alcohol/drugs with not much good to show for your expenses.

I got downsized from my job just as I got back into model railroading 10 years ago and the hobby has really filled my time since I took early retirement. It has allowed me to spend time with other guys in the hobby and more importantly, has made me feel like a kid again. A couple of weeks ago I got a mail order package containing a few of the new Athearn flat cars with piggyback trailers on top and I felt like it was Christmas morning back in 1953 (when I got my first train set). How do you put a price on achieving that feeling of Christmas in July?

Life is short....very short.....you've got to PLAY hard and model railroading is a great way to play.

Hope I've helped.
Mondo

[Anonymous]

For rolling stock, buy used. Athearn is still affordable, usually in the under-$10 (US) category.

Lumber for benchwork? Try hanging around the local dump. I've picked up most of my 1X4s there (they started life as 1X8s and 1X6s). I've also gotten loads of beadboard (messy but free). For roadbed I bought Owens-Corning 1/4" fan-fold insulation. Cut to size, paint it brown, lay cemented track, ballast.

For trees, get out in the fall after the weeds have dried down.

Get a cheap blender and make your own ground foam. Buy green paint at the hardware store from the "oops" cans (where they didn't blend the color to the right shade; every store has them). I got a gallon of brown latex for $2. Chop the foam to small pieces with scissors, the soak with paint. Wring it out, let it dry thoroughly (a few days). This makes the foam chop up easier in the blender. Now you can chop it in the blender to the degree of fineness you need. You'll have a mixed batch. Screen it to segregate by size. It takes time, but for about $7 (US) you can make over a quart of the stuff.

[BRAKIE]

Another way to cut prices is to shop on the internet..Be sure to shop for the better prices..Also look for for use equipment.

[Anonymous]

Look at the sale and clearance sections at online sites like DiscountTrainsOnline or Internettrains. I bought some 85' flats and 86' hi-cubes (Athearn kits) for $4.40 each. Their shipping charge is only $7, so get a list together of what you want and buy it all at the same time.
Tim

[krump]

20 years in storage is familiar to my model r/r also- as so is the limited budget for the hobby. I took my model r/r out of the box when we moved to a new community. I joined the local model r/r club... now I'm going to garage sales, classified ads, swap meets, Ebay, and any train shows that I see in the area. I'm using what I have - HO scale, accepting anything that I'm given (old track, rail cars, buildiings, back issues of magazines, and all the advise and help that I can get). I'm learning a lot - how to make trees, and buildings, and having an incredible amount of fun.
I recall buying rolling stock for $3-4 years ago, that now cost $15-20. So making a building out of a cereal box is okay with me --- and the kids think I'm a genious (that's okay too).
Apart from the monthly magazine purchase - my Annual Budget for this hobby is about $150 - $200 Cdn. What I'm saying is that IT CAN BE DONE with minimal expense.
HAVE FUN !!!
cheers

[CBQ_Guy]

Yes, unfortunately the prices have sky-rocketed from what they were. And this has happened in the time span of only a few years. Some manufacturers have actually stopped offering kits for sale, if you can believe that! They say they are selling more of the expensive, RTR cars than kits...a LOT more if you can believe 'em. I guess people have more money than time or talent nowadays.

If you're trying to get by on a tight budget, I would suggest you buy Atlas track, code 83. I don't generally use Atlas turnouts, I prefer the reliability and proven performance of Peco turnouts, even though they cost a bit more. However, I have read that the Atlas code 83 turnouts are better built and reliable than their old code 100 counterparts. Peco is presently only available in code 100 (and I think code 70 or some such), but in a month or two they are supposed to be coming out with a new North American style line in code 83.

As far as rolling stock, I would check on ebay, if you're familiar with how that works (I'm not), or do what I would do...poke around the back shelves at your local hobby shop/train store, and/or try to get out to LOTS of local model railroad swap meets. I would suggest you bite the bullet and buy a quality engine, despite the higher price, since a piece of garbage one will frustrate you for no end and could even drive you from the hobby! One line of good looking and running AND AFFORDABLE engine not too often mentioned, are those made by Life-Like in their Proto 1000 line. They combine the best, as far as I'm concerned, of looks, affordability and dependability...right out of the box!

Hope these suggestions help you squeeze every model railroad dollar from that crimped budget! [:)]

[krump]

shoestrings topic merger ???
It may be more valuable to everyone, if somebody was able to tie the knot on the shoestrings, thus creating one topic from two... (I can only velcro, in the fashion of cut and paste)... this earlier shoestring discussion is very close to the slightly newer version by a different modeller.
anyways, those are my thoughts - yes it is possible to enjoy this hobby within a basic budget...
cheers

[Hawks05]

check the sale bins at LHS, go to shows and look around for deals. find scraps of lumber and what not at construction sites and all that. basically whats been said.

i have to come up with a budget for myself now that i'll be working more hopefully. gotta put away like $15 for train stuff per month.

[CBQ_Guy]

I feel your pain!

Yeah, it really is getting quite expensive. Just imagine how a young kid's supposed to get involved on lawn mowing money or delivering newspapers.

Anyway, I would look into the ebay thing if I were you. I would also go to as many train shows as I could and look at the cartons of blue box kits piled under the tables. A lot of times these are marked with the old prices and are old stock the vendors are trying to get rid of. The higher priced stuff they would like to sell is usually sitting out in view on top of the tables.

Most of the kits I see at my LHS (local hobby shop) are 10 bucks or under, not too bad. Just buy a couple each time you go in. It will take a while but you will slowly build up a roster. Doing the above, minus the ebay thing, is what worked for me when I got back into the hobby over a dozen years ago. I also got a part time job a couple evenings per week doing some cleaning at work in order to earn some extra hobby money.

Just go with the flow and do what you can.