Going to a train show....

[jacon12]

Like Spacemouse, I too (hopefully) will be going to a train show in Atlanta this weekend. Also like him, I know just enough about this to be a real sucker for a good sales pitch. So far my grand total of equipment is two cars, a blue box box car and an $11 tanker. Oh!... four 9 inch sections of Atlas code 83 track too. Well, I had to have something to sit them on, didn't I?
What I'm looking for now is maybe some more kits and a mid priced diesel locomotive, maybe an Athern.. one around $100 or less. The problem is, like most beginners , I don't know a good one from one that isn't and not worth the money. I'd love to pick up some track, Atlas flex... and a power supply. The track is easy, it's a brand name and a given size. The loco and the power supply I'm not sure about. The other thing I'm hoping to pick up is experience, the most valuable thing I'll probably get.
So if you experienced people can steer me along in the right direction with the diesel, such as what to look for and what to avoid..,and the power supply, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Jarrell
P.S. Eventually I want to model in the period of time when steam and diesel were both used and I want to go dcc.

[SpaceMouse]

Okay, I know I'm the wrong person to give advice here. Choose what you really want --Make, Model, Road Name, Manufacturer, etc. Then look it up on eBay. See what they are going for. (Not the price 6 days out, but what they are selling for.) Often this is $5-10 less thatn the buy-it-now price, but not always. Then with that in mind look at some of the internet discounters like trainword.com and wholesaletrains.com and see what price they are selling for. Figure in shipping. Then if you can beat the price at a show, great.

But don't go looking for just any locomotive under $100 or you will find one maybe not quite what you wanted.

[Anonymous]

THere are a million locomotives for less than $100.

Now hold on there before you get all ready to buy the first locomotive you see.

Look on the internet, go thru the websites such as Walthers. Decide which locomotives you would like to own on your railroad.

At the show dont be afraid to stand up to the dealer.

You "Does this run well?"

Dealer "Yep! Shore Does! Real smooth and sweet... mpurty too!"

You "Do you have a test track to run this engine?"

Most shows provide a test loop or circle with a volunteer to run it. Usually this volunteer has no connection with the dealer. Ask the volunteer to operate the engine slow, fast in between and possibly haul a few cars with it.

Ask to "pop" the body and look under it excess grease or no grease and wear may indicate problems that may become apparent when you return home.

I forgot to put this in spacemouse's thread but there are dealers who obviously are in it for a living. These will probably sell you the item at a price very close to retail.

Ssssshhhh. dont say the word "ebay" some of these folks get kind of upset for a variety of reasons.

Try to avoid engines with just one power truck, limited power pickup, dirty wheels (it seems they all have dirty wheels) perhaps a quick alcohol wipe (travel pack) may clean them up long enough to perform on the test track.

Sometimes you may feel like settling for a particular engine simply because every single table has "piles" and "stacks" of the same engine. My last GATS show I visited was walls and walls of Erie built Proto 2000 engines. I feel as if I must buy one of these for some really dumb reason. Even today I cannot see one without feeling the need to buy it... the power of suggestion at work here.

If you spot a person who exhibits signs of a first love over a what you think is a "junk" item please very carefully back away and leave them be. One man's garbage is another's mother lode.

There is always one or two dealers who will have a stack of all kinds of engines and talk with you until you decide which one to buy. Sometimes this may take more than a few minutes as they seek to close a sale.

Any engine in a box marked Tyco or other brands which you dont recognize as a current model offering, examine these very carefully.. you may find some of these no better than trainset toys.

Desiel engines will have:

1- all wheel pickup
2- flywheels at both ends of the motor
3- a can motor
4- DCC ready and even already installed.

You may notice a nice desiel coming down the track with what appears to be ditch lights and gyralights flashing. These are sometimes additional work by the owner and not standard equiptment.

If you are interested in a engine, test track it. Hold it in your hands, look it over really good. It is a good chance you and the engine will be together for 10 or more years.

Relax and enjoy!

[underworld]

I think HighIron2003ar said it all!!!!!

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[cwclark]

I like to purchase used rolling stock at train shows...here are some things to look for;
first, try to stay away from toy train cars like tyco, lima, old bachman, model power, and old life like...take an NMRA gauge with you to check the wheel flanges ...anything that doesn't fit, don't buy it...check the ends of the cars...check that the plastic isn't deteriorated to the point that you cannot possibly body mount couplers on the body or couplers were installed at one point and are missing or in bad shape, ...check the wheels, make sure they spin freely without a lot of slack or play in the bearing housings....check the truck mounts...sometimes the underframe of the body where the truck is mounted are chipped or broken where you'll end up shimming the trucks to an unnatural height to get it to work which in turn will cause the car to lean to one side or wobble... finally, check the overall integrity of all the plastic and the paint job...look for tears, cracks, warps, glue build-up, or any imperfections or missing parts...there are going tp be a lot of used rolling stock at train shows and knowing how to separate the good ones from the bad ones will bring you years of enjoyment instead of the frustration from the hours at the workbench trying to bring it back to an operational state...Chuck

[rrinker]

That sort of eliminates most new int he box Blue Box Athearn locos - most of the ones I've seen have at least one wheelset that is out of gauge, fresh out of the box. But they are easy to correct. But DO watch out for steamers and rolling stock, they can range from hard to impossible to correct gauge problems.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned - it's a good idea to sort of figure out what era and prototype you plan to model before you start aquiring locmotives. Of course, things don't always work out the way we planned - back when I belonged to a local club I decided my home layout was going to be based ont he Lehigh Valley, so my first good diesel purchased as an Athearn I was going to have one of the club guys paint for me (in trade for me building a ditch light circuit for his SD80MAC). I have since switched prototypes to the Reading, and this particular model loco wasn't used on the Reading. I have an old MR article that shows how to kitbash it into other models that would be correct, but Stewart happens to make the same thing ready to go, so I ended up buying one of those. So, sitting in its Undec. RR classic black scheme, it is now just a tester.

Most of all, have fun, there's lots to see at most shows, at least the ones I've been at. The bigger ones even have the manufacturers in, displaying and demonstrating products. It might seem intimidatng at first, but I'm at the point where I can look at all the things that are neat but not appropriate to my era/prototype and admire them without being tempted into purchase of what would become a white elephant.

--Randy

[mcouvillion]

jacon12,

The above advice is excellent. I would like to expand briefly on one point. If you intend to buy a "new" engine, check the wheel treads for dirt and/or wear. You don't need to buy an engine that has been run in by someone else until they tired of it or broke something, then passed it off as new to you. New engines DO NOT have any dirt or wear on the tire treads. Avoid at all costs.

Now, if you want to buy an older engine, find something that runs smoothly and has all of its parts. But test carefully and listen and watch closely when testing. If something sounds wrong or looks odd, it probably is. If you don't know how to fix it now, you may just get to learn, and you won't appreciate that experience if you are forced to do it.

Mark C.

[Virginian]

Well, I am sure you will get plenty of advice on engines without my help. As to a power pack, assuming you want DC, get an MRC power pack; end of story. If you like momentum and/or braking, get that, but you DON'T need it, and some folks like me don't even like it. If you find an old Tech II and it works, it's fine and you should save money. The newer ones are supposedly even better, but I don't really see how they could be. You can get them with volt and ammeters, but I would get a plain pack and if you want gages go to Radio Shack and add those, the result is the same for less money.

[jacon12]

Thank you all for your indepth answers, they'll surely be of help. I'll write down the main points of what to look for and what to avoid and take it with me in a note card, stick it in my pocket and refer to it often.
Oh!.... I'm going to try and have FUN too.. :)
Jarrell

[simon1966]

Most train show dealers don't bother bringing much track with them as it is bulky and takes up valuable counter space. So don't expect to find many deals on track. My impression is that some of the best deals in locomotives at the shows are the 2-3 year old Proto 2000 models. These were made in larger numbers, so you will often find brand new locos for great deals. I got an E7 in HO for under $40.00. Anyway, the key is to do some research ahead of time and have a shopping list with a good idea of the street price for what you are looking for. Many of the dealers at the shows I have been to are not offering particularly good deals, so beware of assuming that everything is well priced!

[Anonymous]

I've seen a good athrean geep as low as $10 & it ran well. My best buy of track was at a
hobby store 10,000 pieces of atlas track for $4.26. This is not a joke !

[Anonymous]

I'm going to the same show. Check out Trainmaster Model's booth. They are great guys and can hook you up with everything you need.

[jacon12]

Much obliged for the tips, I'll TRY to not get taken too badly.. :)
Jarrell

[Jetrock]

I've gotten great "deals" on track, if you count vendors sloughing off huge chunks of oxidized brass garbage! Once I paid a vendor $5 for a box that was 3/4 brass track and 1/4 plastic building components (worth about $5 itself)--I dumped all the track in the nearest trash bin so I wouldn't have to lug it around the rest of the show.