I think I have the curse pretty bad. I have 27 engines, and about 115 pieces of rolling stock. What's even worse is out of those engines and cars, I have 0 reffers or SD40-2s. Also, I don't have a layout, but rather stockpiling for that dream layout.
I've put up a few cars and a loco up that didn't quite fit my era on ebay, so the number may drop a bit. It may pick up after the Pensacola show. I probably won't buy any more engines after the P-cola show until I finish the other project locos I have.
Griz, I call dibs on the leasing out stuff.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
I have the same curse, but to combate it I'm selling off 3/4 of my collection, keeping and focusing on only the most important primary peices, and disregarding anything that doesnt fit these primary objectives.
Have fun with your trains
My motto has always been
Buy locomotives ...and lots of them!
But seriously, it's gotten to the point where I've run out of space to store any additional locos and cars. I think I'm at the stage where I can stop buying and just sit back and watch 'em run. And my fleet of locos is large enough that I'll never get bored of looking at the same old thing running around the layout.
Being model railroaders we just like models - the rationals are in some cases different from each other, but we do like models and we usually buy what we like and can afford. Sooner or latter the "must have factor" starts its inevitable decline and as in the ways of love we become ruled more by our heads than our hearts.
It's my thing now that I want to slim down/simplify many aspects of my life as I become more aware of my own mortality. What I had collected over the years seems now to be too much and this is no less true than when it comes to my rolling stock and locomotive inventory. I guess after selling most of my MRR collection I am left with about 16 locomotives - both steam and diesel and around 50 pieces of rolling stock - passenger and freight cars. This is very managable now as is the number of building kits I have with most now having been built to at least a basic level with slightly more than a third all finished - that includes weathered and detailed.
But my journey in the hobby is not what rings the good time bell for many others and that is just how it should be.
To each his own - that's what I say
Bruce
Hi!
I think there are several others out there (me included) that "feel your pain". In the early 2000s, I bought any and every car & loco that would work for my 1950s era ATSF / IC HO railroad. At my peak, I had over 600 cars and 65 plus locos. Given my layout was a room filling 11x15 with a lower level staging area, I only could handle about 125 cars and maybe a dozen or so locos (including B units). All cars on the layout were upgraded (KDs, Intermountain wheels) and NMRA "compliant". Most all the others were still in kit form.
At retirement in 2006, it hit me that (1) - I would probably never get a larger layout room, and (2) - many of my cars / locos were really expendable.
Previous to retirement, I had held "annual Ebay train sales" so I could sell off the Rivarossi and Athearn BB locos and upgrade to BLIs & Stewarts, & P2Ks.
After retirement, the annual sales (about 100 auctions each year) began the thinning out process. First to go were those cars that were outside my time frame or I just didn't like. Next came those that didn't make sense on my midwest / Texas ATSF RR. I had about 50 hopper kits representing most every RR in the country. Obviously, neither the ATSF or IC would be hauling a lot of foreign road hoppers. I also thinned out some duplicates and multiples of similar cars. The goal was to get a roster that reasonably related to the car percentages that the prototype would have.
Well, I got down to about 400 cars and 50 locos (including a lot of powered B units), and then I demo'd the existing layout and began to build a "new and improved" replacement. However, the new one would be DCC powered. And this gave me a criteria to further thin out locos. I asked a lot of questions, and read a lot to finally make a list of my locos and their ease of conversion to DCC. I found that I had about 5 or 6 that were probably too much of a stretch for me - so on to Ebay they went. And then I realized that I had 10 ATSF 1st generation switchers - some of which were very few in number on the prototype. So, those got thinned out as well.
I'm still overloaded with cars - especially passenger cars - and will probably thin those out next season as well. On the other side, I've got about 50 various petroleum tank cars (half still kits) that will someday fill a display case as homage to my 40 years in the "earl bizzness".
Ha, all the above being said, I realize two things. First, my over buying was my "making up" for not having those things when I was younger. Second, "too much stuff" ain't all that bad a situation.
Hey, ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
American consumerism, ain't it grand?
Most of us are guilty.
Buy more and more stuff to keep the economy going around and around!
Then we buy stuff or houses in which to store the stuff we have so we can go out and buy more stuff!!
I live in a trailer and am trying to divest us some stuff {some of it junk really that I wonder why we keep} so we have more room {and maybe so we can get more stuff!!!}
At least us MRR's dont just throw everything out after awhile. we pass it on or store it! Good for recycling.
Whew!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
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.
The multi-era concept allows me to acquire or build twice as much stuff as I can reasonably use at one time. I do need a better method of storage, but right now almost all of my 60's stuff is on the layout, and my 30's stuff is down below. I've even got one kit planned so that I can swap out buildings to get some that are more time-appropriate.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I have the opposite problem... Not enough stuff!
Building an operating layout on a tight budget means that most of my money goes into that, and my rolling stock roster is suffering as a result. I have about half the number of cars I need to run full-length trains including run-through cars...
But hey, at least I don't have storage problems!
The fact that I have too much stuff is directly attributable to the "limited production" practices of model manufacturers.
I've bought a lot of locos and cars I may never use because they look like something I might want to work with someday--say, ACL equipment in HO, even though I model in On30 right now--because if I miss buying it now, it may not be available later on.
I am sure that this makes said manufacturers very happy.
But I wish I didn't have to stockpile just-in-case.
I have more unbuilt kits of rolling stock and buildings and etc than the LHS !!!No brag, just fact!Not long ago, while at an auction, I spotted a large cardboard box with a bunch of train stuff in it.I asked the auctioneer when it would be auctioned, and he said they had already tried before I arrived and got zero bids, so they set it aside.He said he'd take a decent offer for it, and I asked him what he considerd a decent offer.His reply was a hundred dollars, so out came a moldy old Ben Franklin, and it was mine!Inside were 25 Accurail PRR box car kits, 5 Accurail PRR flatbed kits, and seven Spectrum "City Series" building kits, each one different!I picked up my receipt, my box of loot and I was gone, gone, gone and headed out of Dodge!!!
Later after a close scrutiny and inventory, all the parts for all the kits were there!Not a bad days haul from the auction barn!
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.
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
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.
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----
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/
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.
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
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
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?
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?
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...)
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.
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
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.
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 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
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
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...]
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
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!?