Well I started collecting locos about a year ago. I have my layout complete (about 14 x 7) except for landscaping etc. Lots of track and lots of fun.
Reading around some posts I understand that to be a serious modeler, one must stick to just a few road names. What does this mean? Do you all place just a few of the locos on the layout and go to the cabinet and take out just the matching rolling stock (you can tell I don't belong to a club or anything...in fact I don't think there are any other modelers around town at all).
I have just loved collecting the locos. I have 83 now....but, horrors, all kinds of road names.....perhaps 5 or 6 in more common ones like UP and PRR, New York Central, Chicago and North Western. But little beauties of the Cotton Belt Line and so on.
(See, doesn't she have just the cutest little nose? How could I resist her, even though I have no Erie rolling stock!)
Obviously I am not modelling a particular region or road at the moment. I kind of delayed that until I decide what backdrops and scenery to add.
But my question is....doesn't anyone else just collect every darn interesting paint job or road name just for the look of it...and run them around just to admire them?
I guess I am just an amateur....probably one who collects for display and runs them around for display. I have tried behaving myself lately and tried at least to have some consistency in collecting rolling stock. But I guess I could never let a serious modeller see me using my Chesapeake and Ohio or Western Maryland diesels to pull Sante Fe cars around. I am resigned to being called a toy train set collector, I guess. Ouch!
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
Most trains of any railroad have a mix of cars from various railroads in their trains. Except for ore trains or other "unit" trains like car carriers, trains are usually mixed, with cars from all over the country.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Years ago I worked with a guy who collected N scale. No layout, just bought locomotives and passenger cars that appealed to him. A lot were NW because he grew up near the NW, but he bought a lot of other roads as well. As noted above, this is a hobby, do what you enjoy. My guess is that most of us buy at least a few locomotives just because they appeal to us. I have a WWF Forney that really has no place on a Maryland and Pennsylvania RR layout, but hey I like it.
Enjoy
Paul
The good news is that alot of railroads lease there motive power to other railroads
so it is possible to mix and mash lots of locos on one railroad
Even if the railroad purchases them they don't always get painted immediately
So enjoy your rainbow collection !
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Gerome wrote: Well I started collecting locos about a year ago. I have my layout complete (about 14 x 7) except for landscaping etc. Lots of track and lots of fun.Reading around some posts I understand that to be a serious modeler, one must stick to just a few road names. What does this mean? Do you all place just a few of the locos on the layout and go to the cabinet and take out just the matching rolling stock (you can tell I don't belong to a club or anything...in fact I don't think there are any other modelers around town at all).I have just loved collecting the locos. I have 83 now....but, horrors, all kinds of road names.....perhaps 5 or 6 in more common ones like UP and PRR, New York Central, Chicago and North Western. But little beauties of the Cotton Belt Line and so on. (See, doesn't she have just the cutest little nose? How could I resist her, even though I have no Erie rolling stock!)Obviously I am not modelling a particular region or road at the moment. I kind of delayed that until I decide what backdrops and scenery to add.But my question is....doesn't anyone else just collect every darn interesting paint job or road name just for the look of it...and run them around just to admire them?I guess I am just an amateur....probably one who collects for display and runs them around for display. I have tried behaving myself lately and tried at least to have some consistency in collecting rolling stock. But I guess I could never let a serious modeller see me using my Chesapeake and Ohio or Western Maryland diesels to pull Sante Fe cars around. I am resigned to being called a toy train set collector, I guess. Ouch!
You are a serious modeler! Having collected 80 plus locos, having built a decent sized WORKING layout, AND ENJOYING YOUR INVESTMENT makes you serious about it. You don't need to change your desires on your hobby to fit someone elses idea of of serious. You are doing what many well known car collectors do. Take Jay Leno for example, he has a large collection of various makes of cars from various eras and he enjoys it. Before someone else jumps in on the Leno connection I'll say this... maybe you don't have his millions to invest or a full time crew of 2-3 mechanics, but you both enjoy the feeling you receive from buying what you want.
Don't think you need to fit into someone elses idea of a serious modeler!
Railphotog wrote:Remeber its your railroad/hobby, and you can do whatever you want. There are no standards for whatever you choose to do, as long as you are happy doing it. Have fun and enjoy whatever you choose!
Just enjoy what you want to do. After all it is your collection and your money.
All those different loco's? I'd love to see pictures of your collection!
Gerome wrote: Well I started collecting locos about a year ago. I have my layout complete (about 14 x 7) except for landscaping etc. Lots of track and lots of fun.
G:
The fun is the important thing. I wish MR would put that slogan back where it belongs. I don't know why they got rid of it. It happened around the time of the Great ToC Obfuscation, which has fortunately become a relic of cursed memory. Don't worry about being "serious".
There's nothing wrong with collecting. Most of us like to collect. Train collecting is somewhat more fun than other collecting hobbies, because you can run the trains. There's nothing wrong with liking a lot of different roads, either. A lot of brass hats can't settle on a favorite. A common solution has been to build a short but heavily trafficked "terminal" or "connecting" line owned by a group of roads, often to serve a common city station, or to handle interchange traffic.
The "Southern RR" featured in a recent MR issue had an eclectic mix of equipment, just like yours.
On the other hand, sometimes we stop at the interesting equipment and don't realize how fascinating the railroad itself is. Get a few books out of the library, or browse the RPI site, and you'll see what I mean. There's a lot more to this hobby past the neat rolling stock.
You are what most people call a "MODEL TRAIN COLLECTOR" youll just keep buying more and more locos until you pass away and some family member sells off the collection for about $500. You are in collector status. Anything I buy is for my layout to be ran on and used not collected. I sell off locos too after I get more than 25. I have to keep a rotation or I would be the typical OCD model collector buying up everything all the time.
Well, since you can't possibly run 83 locos on a layout that size, I think it's a great idea to keep most of them boxed up, and just bring out a select few every couple of weeks. If you're modelling transition era or before, try to get at least a matching caboose (or passenger cars) to go with the engines. You might want to pick up a couple of "generic" cabeese with no road names to run with those engines where you don't have one.
Try getting a map of the US and Canada, and mark of the regions where each railroad operated. Select a region, and populate your layout only with the engines and cabeese that were appropriate for that area. Also, think about the products that come from those areas, and use rolling stock that fits. For example, you wouldn't see a lot of stock cars in New England, but you'd see a lot in the Midwest. Run coal hoppers with your Pennsy equipment, and fruit reefers in the Southeast.
Take some pictures, and show us how much the "personality" of your layout changes depending on what region of the country you're modelling that week.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I think why most of us (and I'm speaking for myself here) who are regular model railroaders only purchase locomotives for a specific region is we are usually trying to model a specific area and run only those loco's for realism.
The other factor is cost. Yea, sure I'd like to own different roads, but money is always a factor. If money isn't a factor for you, then go for it.
My modeling locale has 3 or 4 different locomotive roads that I can use and I stick with them. Even withing those specific railroads, I still haven't even come close to completing a roster. Heck I could have 20 different types of Soo engines, at least 10 or 20 BN....the list goes on & on.......
Gerome wrote: Reading around some posts I understand that to be a serious modeler, one must stick to just a few road names. What does this mean? Do you all place just a few of the locos on the layout and go to the cabinet and take out just the matching rolling stock (you can tell I don't belong to a club or anything...in fact I don't think there are any other modelers around town at all).I have just loved collecting the locos. I have 83 now....but, horrors, all kinds of road names.....perhaps 5 or 6 in more common ones like UP and PRR, New York Central, Chicago and North Western. But little beauties of the Cotton Belt Line and so on.But my question is....doesn't anyone else just collect every darn interesting paint job or road name just for the look of it...and run them around just to admire them?
As others have said, its your hobby and your trains. I think one thing you may have noticed is that some people like to model a real railroad so the layout looks very much like certain scenes from real life, present or past. Those layouts look serious because its takes extra effort and research to put something like that together. I personally find those kinds of layouts compelling to look at.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Don't let anyone else tell you what makes a "serious modeller".
BlueHillsCPR wrote: Railphotog wrote:Remeber its your railroad/hobby, and you can do whatever you want. There are no standards for whatever you choose to do, as long as you are happy doing it. Have fun and enjoy whatever you choose!Don't let anyone else tell you what makes a "serious modeller".
Oh, you're wrong Kevin......There is a list that in fact DOES determine the serious Model Railroader. Its well known in the Hobby. I've got an incomplete list here if you want to take a look at it..
1) You must use Kadee couplers. Horn Hooks are for noobies
2) You must use quality track, like shinohara, ME, Atlas code 83
3) You must have artistic skills better than that of a kindergartner. Crayons are a no no for weathering.
4) And most importantly you must dress and look similar to this. Its very important to carry this look with you whereever you go.
There are many different aspects to model railroading. You happen to major on the collecting side. Some major on operations, some on modeling, some freelance, and some on recreating a specific place and time in railroad history. Most (I believe) dabble in a little of everything. It really depends on what you're interested in and what skills you have or what to develop. A hobby is defined as "an activity engaged in for pleasure and relaxation during spare time". So do what you want with it to achieve that goal.
Besides, unless you're paid for this hobby, we're amateurs.
The thing you need to remember about forums like this is while they can be a good place to get ideas, advice, and some inspiration - they hardly represent a majority of hobbyists. Only a small percentage of us participate in on-line forums, so please don't take the more narrow attitudes and inclinations you ‘read around here' as gospel.
My loco roster, while meager compared to the OP's impressive numbers, nonetheless consists of a hodge podge of locomotive types, roadnames, and even eras if you really want to split hairs. I even have one of those cool Erie Alcos pictured in the original post simply because my original Lionel train was pulled by one. I've justified my rather eclectic roster by saying my railroad is a low-budget operation that met its motive power needs by scouring the dead lines of other railroads and simply got the new acquisitions back to running condition and pressed them into service as-is. That way I'm perfectly justified in my own disturbed little mind to add any type of engine that suits my fancy.
That's what's so great about this hobby. Anyone can make it just about anything they enjoy and be accountable only to themselves.
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
lvanhen wrote:I too am a collector. My "layout" is only 4x8, and was done mainly for my grandson. I've been collecting since the early '60's, mostly Union Pacific. I also have the Bachmann De Witt Clintton, John Bull, & The Prussia, because they are neat! I have The Jupiter and the 119, a Challenger, Veranda Turbine, F3's, GP & SD everythings, and the newest AC whatevers. My grandson likes certain colors, so we have a Conrail, a SantaFe, a Fox River Valley, a Kaiser Steel, an AMT F59P, and a Caltrain! If the "dream layout" ever comes to be, the towns will be set up as time periods, from the wild west to modern. I also have a ton of MOW stuff, some of which is UP fantasy (Armor Yellow Crane by Bachmann) and a dozen+ snow plows!! It's my railroad, and I'll run it the way I want!!
Now why do you spend so much time and money into buying locos you will more than likely ever use and have a cheap little 4x8 layout? Isnt it way past time to invest into a real layout since you have been "collecting" since the 60's? Whats the fun in having hundreds of locos in boxes in a bigger box? Just to say "Oh I have that one, or I have a few of those" You have a lot of it all but how much of it do you "play" with? I bet they all stay in a box just waiting for you to pass away and then go to some people that will USE them, not just collect them. It brings the question to mind
Are Train Collectors also considered Model railroaders??? I say no, theyre just collectors but what is your opinion?
Andies Candy wrote: lvanhen wrote:I too am a collector. My "layout" is only 4x8, and was done mainly for my grandson. I've been collecting since the early '60's, mostly Union Pacific. I also have the Bachmann De Witt Clintton, John Bull, & The Prussia, because they are neat! I have The Jupiter and the 119, a Challenger, Veranda Turbine, F3's, GP & SD everythings, and the newest AC whatevers. My grandson likes certain colors, so we have a Conrail, a SantaFe, a Fox River Valley, a Kaiser Steel, an AMT F59P, and a Caltrain! If the "dream layout" ever comes to be, the towns will be set up as time periods, from the wild west to modern. I also have a ton of MOW stuff, some of which is UP fantasy (Armor Yellow Crane by Bachmann) and a dozen+ snow plows!! It's my railroad, and I'll run it the way I want!! Now why do you spend so much time and money into buying locos you will more than likely ever use and have a cheap little 4x8 layout? Isnt it way past time to invest into a real layout since you have been "collecting" since the 60's? Whats the fun in having hundreds of locos in boxes in a bigger box? Just to say "Oh I have that one, or I have a few of those" You have a lot of it all but how much of it do you "play" with? I bet they all stay in a box just waiting for you to pass away and then go to some people that will USE them, not just collect them.
Now why do you spend so much time and money into buying locos you will more than likely ever use and have a cheap little 4x8 layout? Isnt it way past time to invest into a real layout since you have been "collecting" since the 60's? Whats the fun in having hundreds of locos in boxes in a bigger box? Just to say "Oh I have that one, or I have a few of those" You have a lot of it all but how much of it do you "play" with? I bet they all stay in a box just waiting for you to pass away and then go to some people that will USE them, not just collect them.
AC,
I think you should re-read Ivanhen's final statement again. We're all in this beloved hobby of ours for different reasons and enjoyments. Your enjoyment and focus of MRRing may be very similar or quite different from my enjoyment and focus of it. Even so, that's what makes it such a great hobby to be involved in.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Andies Candy wrote: Now why ... spend so much time and money into buying locos you will more than likely ever use and have a cheap little 4x8 layout? Isnt it way past time to invest into a real layout since you have been "collecting" since the 60's? Whats the fun in having hundreds of locos in boxes in a bigger box? Just to say "Oh I have that one, or I have a few of those" You have a lot of it all but how much of it do you "play" with? I bet they all stay in a box just waiting for you to pass away and then go to some people that will USE them, not just collect them. It brings the question to mindAre Train Collectors also considered Model railroaders??? I say no, theyre just collectors but what is your opinion?
Now why ... spend so much time and money into buying locos you will more than likely ever use and have a cheap little 4x8 layout? Isnt it way past time to invest into a real layout since you have been "collecting" since the 60's? Whats the fun in having hundreds of locos in boxes in a bigger box? Just to say "Oh I have that one, or I have a few of those" You have a lot of it all but how much of it do you "play" with? I bet they all stay in a box just waiting for you to pass away and then go to some people that will USE them, not just collect them. It brings the question to mind
AC:
I don't do things that way, for various reasons, cost among them, but that doesn't mean it's not model railroading.
Maybe the builder of that 4 x 8 wants to see stuff run because it's more fun than seeing it all on the shelf. A small model railroad is still a model railroad, even if it's used to run the owner's collection.
Maybe, to its builder, that little railroad doesn't just represent one line...maybe it represents every road painted on every tender and powered boxcar in his collection, when that piece of equipment is burning up the rails. You can't go out and see an Erie 4-6-2 or MILW 4-4-2 run any more, but you can see them in miniature.
Maybe the modeler hasn't decided on a favorite, yet.
Maybe it doesn't matter.
I find it more productive to say "Here's how I enjoy this hobby and here's my attempt at explaining why" than "Your way of enjoying this hobby is wrong". Yes?
I was once a collector of QSI engines. I bought one of pretty much everything BLI made.
Well, I simplified my life, stayed with B&O and suddenly I have about 8 engines or so that get run regularly. It makes my spouse happy to see a room that has trains and construction happening. Not being a storage area for thousands of dollars of sad engines with no trains to pull or track to run on.
I will always buy engines but am much more careful and selective.
When I visit another railroad, I enjoy what is running on that railroad regardless of what I think or do. Remember, Im down here in Rock Island, Cotton Belt, UP country and they dont give me too much of a hard time. Even there are PRR fans down here as well.
Point being, you like it. Bought it, Now run it and enjoy them.
If you have more than 20 engines and like em all you are a "Collector" of engines. There is not anything wrong with it until one day it gets Ebayed for 500 dollars from a family who does not know or have instructions on what to do with all of the train stuff.
When I pass on, my spouse or funeral home has specific instructions on disposal and reassignment of my train stuff so that they will continue to run on another railroad and gain others enjoyment as much as I have enjoyed them.
Now if you need rolling stock to make a engine look at home, go get a few cars for it to pull. Ive had my Reading T1 pulling Rio Grande cars once or twice. Not a second thought. Now that probably never happened in the real world... but who knows?
Your trains, enjoy your trains. You dont need us to validate your existance or love of model trains.
Mr Beasley wrote "For example, you wouldn't see a lot of stock cars in New England, but you'd see a lot in the Midwest. Run coal hoppers with your Pennsy equipment, and fruit reefers in the Southeast."
The meat products eaten by New Englanders were brought in with stock cars (on the hoof) or reefers (swinging beef). Coal , especially anthracite was a big traffic as were solid reefer blocks of produce, fruits and meats from as far west as California in the good old days.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
As described before, my railroad is a large one, and I still have too many diesels, to the point I have some shelves set aside in the storage area to hold the surplus, but they get rotated in and out of service.
As many have tried to explain, the hobby is what satisfies you. I model a very narrow time period, June 8, 1989, how much more restrictive can you be, and I model the Santa Fe, again restrictive, and I model two particular lines for the Santa Fe in Oklahoma, even more restrictive.
But, I also have BN operation by including a piece of their line from Tulsa that intersects with the Santa Fe, and BN trains ended up in Waynoka OK on the Santa Fe as runthroughs, so I have a fair amount of BN. Oh, UP also runs, along with BN, in Oklahoma City, one of my modeled points, and in 1989, the UP had just taken over Katy, so I can run MKT diesels on transfer runs. And then there is my fictional regional Oklahoma Northern, and so on.
So I am restrictive in that sense, but it doesn't mean every model railroader has to be restrictive. And certainly the remarks to the guy with the 4 by 8 and hundreds of locomotives was out of order. He has the right to enjoy the hobby his way.
Bob
I like collectors. If we all just had the engines/rolling stock we could actually use on our layouts, the MRR market would be too small for most manufacturers. And the ones still around would only make a few types.
So I encourage each of you to buy at least one locomotive and car you don't need on the layout - preferably in S scale And you don't have to limit yourself to one - I haven't.
I have a freelanced RR that I use as my excuse to run whatever roadname I want, I just say that the locos and rolling stock are 'leased.'
-beegle55
If you are ever visited by someone who insists that every model railroad has to follow some single part of "real railroading," tell it that you're modeling a museum with an eclectic collection.
As for me, I model a specific place, and a railroad that was pretty much "the only game in town." (The Japan National Railway Company was a government-owned near-monopoly.) Two things chip corners off that monolithic approach:
The moral of the story? It's your railroad, so do whatever pleases YOU. If you please others, too - that's just a bonus.
Model railroading is (supposed to be) fun!
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in 1:80 scale on 16.5mm gauge track, aka HOj)