mononguy63 wrote:I'm insanely jealous of anybody who can sink the kind of bucks into their trains as some of you guys. I'm still buiding my latest layout (constructed mostly from scrap lumber scavanged from home builder site scrap piles) and have put maybe, MAYBE, 100 bucks into the hobby this calendar year. I'll need to put in double that much again for roadbed & track and I can't presently say where that cash will come from.
Please don't let me make you think that I have a money tree in my back yard mononguy63. I really have to save and conserve to be able to buy what I do... I'm sure a lot of the other members do too.
Tracklayer
cwclark wrote: If i had to guess i'd say about $1,200 to $1,500 a year...it's slowed down a bit since most of the expensive stuff is done so far....the best part is, my wife usually picks up the tap...it's her way of keeping me at home and out of the beer joints.... ;) chuck
If i had to guess i'd say about $1,200 to $1,500 a year...it's slowed down a bit since most of the expensive stuff is done so far....the best part is, my wife usually picks up the tap...it's her way of keeping me at home and out of the beer joints.... ;) chuck
Okay Chuck. I see how you are. You reply to my post about how much money goes into the hobby each year but not my e-mail asking about the caboose antenna last week... Some brother railroader you are - and it was a Southern Pacific caboose too... That's okay. Be that way.
http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/4309
"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
According to Quicken $1490.23 last year But only $164.93
This year
This does not include Ebay purchases of approx $500
TerryinTexas
See my Web Site Here
http://conewriversubdivision.yolasite.com/
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
This question comes up every once in a while and I usually respond with something like the following:
I probably average about $2,000 per year or around $40.00 per week (I was a math teacher back in the 1970's, so I know the math is more or less correct). Now when you think about it, there are a lot worse things that I could spend $40.00 per week on. I know a college graduate who has spent much more than that on alcohol and drugs, most recently, cocaine. Not only has it ruined his marriage and made his son disrespect him, but he has lost good jobs and now at the age of 56, he's in a job that pays a little above minimum wage.
Let me say to you younger folks (I'm 58), that the money you spend on this hobby is worth a lot more than you could ever imagine. Yes, the toys are fun and we all like fun. However, there is a side benefit that many won't realize. I was married to my FIRST wife for 20 years beginning in 1969 and heard her say over and over that I was "smothering" her. You see, I wanted to do everything with her. I even dragged the poor woman to stamp shows, where us crazy stamp collectors bought those sticky little pieces of paper that belong on envelopes. Could you imagine how boring that must have been for my FIRST wife? She could care less about filling up my stamp collecting book.
Now, fast forward to my SECOND marriage which began in 1993. Soon after we married, I discovered model railroading. I went to hobby shops, train shows and had a great time ALONE, leaving her to do her thing while I did my thing. I can honestly say that if I had discovered model railroading a long, long time ago, I'd probably still be married to my first wife and I can tell you that DIVORCE costs a fortune both in money and emotional impact.
So, enjoy your hobby! Remember that your wife will always know where you are if you're in the "train room". Don't go crazy spending the kids college fund or grocery money on your hobby. Budget, like any smart spender does. If you smoke, quit. That will not only get you all the money you'll ever need for the hobby but you may avoid lung cancer and/or emphysema and end up with more years to enjoy your hobby and family. If you're accustomed to drinking, cut down. I've seen people spend a lot more than $40.00 at a bar, just to then risk driving drunk and waking up with a headache in the morning. I'd rather have $40.00 worth of train stuff than a hangover. Interestingly, I don't think I've met any alcoholics in this hobby. Maybe we're all having too much fun model railroading to screw it up with a "buzz". And, we need a steady hand which alcohol can certainly ruin.
Anyway, enough of my philosophy. I hope it helps some of you "kids".
Mondo
Needed a new place for new layout and change from O scale to HO. Bought 12x12 shed, installed insulation, electrical service and outlets, exterior paneling to interior walls, lighting, and vinyl flooring. Placed skirting around exterior from floor level to ground to keep cold air and critters out. Built table with l-girder 1x4's, joists each 16 inches, 3/4 inch plywood top, 2" foam insulation board. Caulked and painted all sides of everything to minimize expansion/contraction and used bolts and screws (no nails).
1'x2' extension for hump yard installed with shelf brackets and topped as above. BTW, table is only 5'x9'. Built work table and installed wall shelves. Bought portable 3 drawer storage cabinet and book case. Bought 11 loco's, 2 w/sound, six decoders, 15 rolling stock, NCE Power Cab, MRC Prodigy Express and PA Handheld, extension plates, wiring, tools, test equipment, disposable items, and a lot of Kato Unitrack/NCE Switch Kats, electric fan, electric heater, vacuum, air brush, etc.
Since May to date, estimate $7,500.. Next twelve months forcast at less than $500. Thanks for reminding me.
Don
I don't have an exact figure since my spending on model trains is eratic. I really need to record all my expenses, the railroad is still in the red though, no shipments have been made to date.
I might throw down $1,200 one month on track and turnouts, then go a month and only spend $50.00. Overall I'd say I have spent over $2,500 this year on the layout, the upswing and initial stages have been the most expensive. I have purchased the following since May of this year, lumber and hardware for benchwork, track, turnouts, wiring, DCC system, tunnel portals, scenery materials, and a few pieces of rolling stock.
Ryan BoudreauxThe Piedmont Division Modeling The Southern Railway, Norfolk & Western & Norfolk Southern in HO during the merger eraCajun Chef Ryan
Tracklayer, add this one up my family gos to Walthers we arent that arjust at Walthers along we drop about $2,500 or so a year its lower now a days because I dont need as much anymore. Add up all the reciets rom when I started I am sure we could have bought a nice house in Hollywood. My last trip to walthers was $300.00 before that it was $200.00 In march it was $600.00 and that was just this year.
Each time I buy a model railroading item, I either write a check or pay for it with my debit card, after which I record the transaction in my check book. Just for the heck of it, I added up all of my model railroading purchases from October 1st 2005 to October 1st of this year, and was shocked to discover that I've spent almost $2,000.00!... I couldn't believe it at first, but then realized that I've bought several locos at about $100.00 each and probably no less than fourty or fifty pieces of rolling stock for anywhere from $5.00 to $25.00 each depending on what it was and how badly I wanted it. Oh well. All I can say in my defense is that you only go around once in this old life, so you might as well enjoy it. Besides, I was always told money rots if you leave it laying around in some old musty bank vault...