Regarding my previous post, below. With cabooses included, my wife's cousin has 277 HO freight cars! Wow! That's got to be as much (likely more) than what my LHS has in stock on the shelves. Unless I had a spacious basement or attic, IMHO, that would be way too much for me to maintain.
AntonioFP45 I've off sold a lot of the Blue Box cars and locomotives that I bought back in the 70s and early 80s. With my around-the-wall layout, for me owning 100 freight cars would be too "over the top". For the industries I will have, boxcars, covered and centerflow hoppers will dominate the layout. The old BBs and Roundhouse cars that I still have will be "freight train fillers". I now have about 40 freight cars and 25 passenger cars. Unless I find a P2K RF&P E8 unit on ebay, or somebody produces a U36B or SDP40f, I've decided not to purchase any more locomotives until the majority of my current fleet is DCC decoder equipped. My wife's cousin has 150+ freight cars and 40+ locomotives. . Many of them are parked on his folded dogbone layout, giving it a very crowded look. I visit him often and have seen him take locomotives that sat on a shelf or in a box for months......put it on the track and instantly present problems. IMHO, he's having difficulty keeping up with the required routine maintenance. I've seen similar problems with his car fleet. On one occasion I helped him install 30+ Kadee Coupler springs on cars that had lost them over the course of time! He couldn't understand why I shrank my fleet. I explained to him that with a huge fleet there would be a lot of Kadee couplers, trucks, axle sets, adjustments, and dust to take care of. For a lone wolf like me, an ideal fleet size is 50 freight cars max, 30 passenger cars max, and 25 locomotives. This would provide me with plenty of operational satisfaction, while keeping the required maintenance, manageable. Even though my focus now is on metalizing my passenger cars and installing DCC, I'll continue to buy a quality freight car or passenger car "here and there" from time to time, but I'm disciplining myself to maintain or stay below the numbers I described above.
I've off sold a lot of the Blue Box cars and locomotives that I bought back in the 70s and early 80s. With my around-the-wall layout, for me owning 100 freight cars would be too "over the top". For the industries I will have, boxcars, covered and centerflow hoppers will dominate the layout. The old BBs and Roundhouse cars that I still have will be "freight train fillers".
I now have about 40 freight cars and 25 passenger cars. Unless I find a P2K RF&P E8 unit on ebay, or somebody produces a U36B or SDP40f, I've decided not to purchase any more locomotives until the majority of my current fleet is DCC decoder equipped.
My wife's cousin has 150+ freight cars and 40+ locomotives. . Many of them are parked on his folded dogbone layout, giving it a very crowded look. I visit him often and have seen him take locomotives that sat on a shelf or in a box for months......put it on the track and instantly present problems. IMHO, he's having difficulty keeping up with the required routine maintenance. I've seen similar problems with his car fleet. On one occasion I helped him install 30+ Kadee Coupler springs on cars that had lost them over the course of time!
He couldn't understand why I shrank my fleet. I explained to him that with a huge fleet there would be a lot of Kadee couplers, trucks, axle sets, adjustments, and dust to take care of. For a lone wolf like me, an ideal fleet size is 50 freight cars max, 30 passenger cars max, and 25 locomotives. This would provide me with plenty of operational satisfaction, while keeping the required maintenance, manageable.
Even though my focus now is on metalizing my passenger cars and installing DCC, I'll continue to buy a quality freight car or passenger car "here and there" from time to time, but I'm disciplining myself to maintain or stay below the numbers I described above.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
ATLANTIC CENTRAL ATLANTIC CENTRAL Too much? Not possible - see Moore's Law, the motto of the Victorian age. Moore's Law - If some is good, more is better, and too much is still not enough. My Wife and I have a plan, our wills read "being of sound mind and body we spent it all". Sheldon While I posted this somewhat in jest at this whole thread, I have become more of a "stuff" gatherer now with the "limited" production model of marketing in use by the manufacturers. I do have a lot of stuff, built and unbuilt, but all of it has a very particular role in my current and future layout plans. Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Too much? Not possible - see Moore's Law, the motto of the Victorian age. Moore's Law - If some is good, more is better, and too much is still not enough. My Wife and I have a plan, our wills read "being of sound mind and body we spent it all". Sheldon
Too much?
Not possible - see Moore's Law, the motto of the Victorian age.
Moore's Law - If some is good, more is better, and too much is still not enough.
My Wife and I have a plan, our wills read "being of sound mind and body we spent it all".
Sheldon
While I posted this somewhat in jest at this whole thread, I have become more of a "stuff" gatherer now with the "limited" production model of marketing in use by the manufacturers.
I do have a lot of stuff, built and unbuilt, but all of it has a very particular role in my current and future layout plans.
I knew where that was coming from. The idea here is that one does need to do this with the eye on why you'd need it and plan the purchases around that---That is a good way of working around those so called STUFF issues--Have a good one--
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
tgindy What all model railroading "STUFF ADDICTS" need is to listen to George Carlin's comedy routine about: STUFF! For example: George discussed how he had too much stuff. So, he built a garage to hold all of his car stuff, But, he soon realized that he could transfer stuff from the house to surround his car stuff. George then had to build a bigger garage to hold -- guess what? -- His stuff!
What all model railroading "STUFF ADDICTS" need is to listen to George Carlin's comedy routine about: STUFF!
For example: George discussed how he had too much stuff. So, he built a garage to hold all of his car stuff, But, he soon realized that he could transfer stuff from the house to surround his car stuff. George then had to build a bigger garage to hold -- guess what? -- His stuff!
I was thinking about that the whole time I was reading this thread. Seriously though a couple ideas I've heard of to get some use out of older pieces ofequipment that are too old for your era would be to set up a small railroad museum or historical display somewhere on the layout. You could also model a deadline such as outside a rebuilding shop like Larry's Truck & Electric.
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Like MR's new slogan: Dream Plan Build. I have the dream and I'm gathering stuff for it. Hopefully I have enough time left to plan and build the BIG one. But even if I don't, the dreaming has been fun. Plus I got some really neat stuff to play with along the way.
Enjoy
Paul
That may have been the reason some designers started pushing for "Less is more"
In my time doing the antiqueing thing--running a business in it even, I've run into a lot of collectors. A lot of them will be quite down on themselves for doing this--probs get people bouncing on them for what they have---and others who are quite fond of their hobby. One guy that I know has over 1500 Transistor radios. His collection does not look the least bit crowded.
I think it comes down to how you put it together. If you have an "overabundance" I'd say get some display cases and show them. Don't hide them in a back room. I show mine in some old barrister bookcases. With locks so that our little fellow in my avatar keeps his little paws off of them. All the kits that are still in their boxes can be displayed as color spots in some areas in the home----all kinds of ways to display them----
Quite frankly, I think the idea of having "Too Much" stuff necessitates a "Stuff-o-meter" that will objectively tell one whether that is so or not. Any comments to you about whether you have too much comes off more as the ravings of a busy body. What should it matter to them anyways?
grizlump9wow, i never thought this would turn into a right vs. wrong think
I didn't think we were debating whether this was a right versus wrong thing. I though we were debating whether too much stuff was a curse or not a curse.
Say, who was it that called too much stuff a curse in the first place? (LOL)
If you have it and want it, its not too much.
A lack of understanding is what we are intending to discuss, not rightness or wrongness. I guess that makes it "wrong", though, to try to constrain it to being right or wrong. I would be wrong if I attempted to purchase an engine or several cars every few weeks by my own rules, not those who happily do just that.
I don't understand why some people accumulate many versions of Pez dispensers, porcelain dolls, fishing reels, lures, baseball gloves, comic books, etc., and they must shake their heads when I show them my very small collection of toy trains. Probably because they know only too well that it will continue to grow...but.....................................why toy trains!?
wow, i never thought this would turn into a right vs. wrong think but it looks like some people are right and some people are wrong. i guess the ones who are right get to decide which is which.
grizlump
tatansI've asked a few non-MR people about a lot of MR's who collect hundreds of items and do nothing with them, they think they must have problems.
Okay, since this thread is still going on, I might as well throw in my pennies worth. I've been stewing over the above comment for a couple of days, and find it more annoying every time I read it.
I confess that I have too much stuff. I've also been accumulating items for over 35 years. Some of these items are for projects that I intended to do and haven't got around to yet. Others were purchased before I came to the conclusion that I needed to limit myself to a single prototype and a somewhat specific span of years. I also like kits, and have a stockpile of them that I want to put together, but won't have any place to put once they're complete. I also like to attend train shows, and there is always an item or two that catches the eye. Plus if you don't buy anything, what's the point of having a day out with the guys in the first place?
But I don't think I need to justify myself to anyone, especially to amateur non-model railroader psychiatrists who "think I might have a problem". If you asked some of them directly, they would tell you that any grown person that "plays with trains" also "must have problems". My question is what particular vice do these people have that I might think is a problem? Do they have shelves of expensive stuffed designer bears in their family room that most of us would think useless? How about when they tire of that and the bears are replaced by various materials, shapes, and sizes of elephants? Is there something wrong with them? What about stamp and coin collectors? They've sure got more stuff than I think is necessary, and they've got it tucked away in safes and vaults out of sight. I know there's something wrong with them.
How's that song go? Oh yeah, "it's my thing, I do what I wanna do. Don't tell me who to sock it to."
[Rant ends in 4....3....2...]
Well, it is all too easy to have "too much stuff" if you've been in the hobby 50 years.
For example, I have 8 locomotives suitable for a planned private industrial railroad: a Climax, 2 40-ton EMDs, 2 Whitworth 45-tonners, 1 GE-45-tonner, an Alco S-1, and an Alco HH-660, but only one is necessary; there will be only 3 turnouts! Regardless.... I like 'em, I'll keep 'em. I'll just rotate as my mood dictates. I will have a similar "problem" for the mainline and branchline.
I recently made a freight car inventory (over half built). I have about 50% more than will fit on the layout and plan on rotating some of those too for variety. I have some truly excess: a couple out-of-era, and too many foreign non-box cars. Still, I have too few single-sheathed home (S.P.) box cars. So despite having too many cars, I still need some more. I've donated some the surplus cars to a local MR club. They'll get more if/when they acknowledge receipt.
I don't see it as a curse, but the closet full of unbuilt structure and rolling stock kits sure looks daunting. Really, about all I need are paints and glues for a remaining lifetime of model building.
Mark
I am aware of the problem, as I have a friend who is an avid "buyer" and whose layout is so choked up as to be limited to running trains on the two main lines only! Everythig else is clogged! To avoid that problem I narrowed down my model's focus and timeframe to '47-'50, then gleaned everything that was older than 1950, selling or donating to mostly youngsters just starting out in the hobby. We have one such youngster in our local club who at 14 is a railfan and a born "Operator" with proper speed. movements, and signals, and will get many years of enjoyment in the hobby or until he discovers girls, eh? But there can be satisfaction in thinning the herd. I find that working short locals along the route, and clearing the main for a long through train, freight or passenger, gives hours of fun. John
Still can't figure out why someone would go out and buy more "stuff" when you already have "too much stuff" but that is up to you, and justifying this by quoting " you can never have enough trains" does not seem a reasonable answer, But, some of you think that investing in trains is a good retirement fund, well are you in for a big surprise, I attended an auction last month of a rather large estate and in it was a quite large amount of good quality train "stuff" brass, good locos, good cars, older kits, and lots of goodies, I assumed this would bring a large amount of money to the estate, my friend and I tried to figure out roughly what he had actually paid for all this stuff, and I know we were low, and came up with around 15 to 20 thousand dollars, the auction finished with a total of $12,000 and nothing sold for higher than what you would see on ebay, we talked to the auctioneer after and he was surprised that this lot of trains even made $12,000. I'm sure the whole train system would be worth a lot more than @ $20,000, but I guess this is what all the "stuff" is actually worth.
I have a 4x8 track(plan on expanding) with engines and cars that would seem out of place. But I have a friend. His name is. Good Luck.
PS Try getting storage boxes to save space.
trainfan1221 ...My original HO railroad,for example, made no sense. I had a good amount of trains, but absolutely no rhyme or reason. ...
...My original HO railroad,for example, made no sense. I had a good amount of trains, but absolutely no rhyme or reason. ...
This is exactly why I'm downsizing, sticking to the basics
Have fun with your trains
I guess the concept of too much stuff is possible, but as long as it makes sense. My original HO railroad,for example, made no sense. I had a good amount of trains, but absolutely no rhyme or reason. I still have most of my trains too, haven't used the HO stuff in years but my N scale (current layout) supply has grown pretty nicely. Always looking for more though.
Well, a few years back I could have invested in GM bonds or Enron stock. Prudent financial counselors would have advised me to do just that.
Nah. Buy Proto. Buy BLI. Buy more Proto.
Who's laughing now? Those financial counselors don't even have a whistle to toot. So sad. (...F2...F2...F2...)
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
grizlump9 good idea, chuck. maybe i can lease them out to other model railroaders. what is the average HO scale per-diem? about 3 cents a day?
Curse? Too Much? Send it my way, I'll convert it into a blessing.....
grizlump9i currently have about 250 freight cars that i am not using on the layout and twice as much power as i can comfortably use...any more than about 300 cars and the layout seems to get constipated
how many of you have encountered the same problem and what are you doing about it?
I think they're all toys. Some are just more expensive. Just over a year ago I never dreamed that I'd have 14 Loco's, mostly DCC and Sound, as well a 50 pieces of rolling stock. I'm finally slowing down before getting out of control.
Springfield PA
loathar Great Western Rwy fanToo Much???? There's no such thing as "too much Trains!!" I would have agreed with you till I saw Ebay pictures of that guy that collected cheap Tyco/LL stuff. His basement was packed to the rafters. It looked like you couldn't even walk through it. That almost looked like a mental disorder.
Great Western Rwy fanToo Much???? There's no such thing as "too much Trains!!"
I would have agreed with you till I saw Ebay pictures of that guy that collected cheap Tyco/LL stuff. His basement was packed to the rafters. It looked like you couldn't even walk through it. That almost looked like a mental disorder.
Just My opinion, Tyco is for Toy Collectors
Hi again,
I sure do agree about buying limited production stuff. I bought all the road numbers of P2Ks limited edition of ATSF 1st generation locos, and also got the BLI ATSF locos for the same reason - that being that if I didn't get them now, they would not be available later except on Ebay.
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
IRONROOSTER tatans I think you will find that most MR's do NOT collect too much stuff, because a few are into this strange habit does not mean all of us do the same, we would question why someone would buy far too much "stuff" for no apparent reason, you realise you cannot possibly build or use all the "stuff" you have, so why would you purchase it and more? I've asked a few non-MR people about a lot of MR's who collect hundreds of items and do nothing with them, they think they must have problems. You cannot slough this off as to " maybe I will need it in the future" there isn't enough time left in your lifetime. Au contraire. The vast expanse of self storage units that have arisen throughout the land testifies to the American Dream of owning evermore. Enjoy Paul
tatans I think you will find that most MR's do NOT collect too much stuff, because a few are into this strange habit does not mean all of us do the same, we would question why someone would buy far too much "stuff" for no apparent reason, you realise you cannot possibly build or use all the "stuff" you have, so why would you purchase it and more? I've asked a few non-MR people about a lot of MR's who collect hundreds of items and do nothing with them, they think they must have problems. You cannot slough this off as to " maybe I will need it in the future" there isn't enough time left in your lifetime.
I think you will find that most MR's do NOT collect too much stuff, because a few are into this strange habit does not mean all of us do the same, we would question why someone would buy far too much "stuff" for no apparent reason, you realise you cannot possibly build or use all the "stuff" you have, so why would you purchase it and more? I've asked a few non-MR people about a lot of MR's who collect hundreds of items and do nothing with them, they think they must have problems. You cannot slough this off as to " maybe I will need it in the future" there isn't enough time left in your lifetime.
Au contraire. The vast expanse of self storage units that have arisen throughout the land testifies to the American Dream of owning evermore.
This has turned into an interesting thread. Storage problems, too much rolling stock--or lokes, building kits----the issue now becomes how to deal with the overflow----maybe helping those who would be interested in something like MRR but aren't in the position to buy it? Or reorganizing the place you're in to properly display what is there?---I ended up doing both and winnowing the collection so there is space for what is needed instead of just any ol' thing---
Ah----who knows----
tatansI think you will find that most MR's do NOT collect too much stuff, because a few are into this strange habit does not mean all of us do the same, we would question why someone would buy far too much "stuff" for no apparent reason, you realise you cannot possibly build or use all the "stuff" you have, so why would you purchase it and more? I've asked a few non-MR people about a lot of MR's who collect hundreds of items and do nothing with them, they think they must have problems. You cannot slough this off as to " maybe I will need it in the future" there isn't enough time left in your lifetime.