Been in the hobby for one year is this nuts?

[cudaken]

 I got my first cheap Life Like train set with snap track 54 weeks ago. 1 engine and 10 cars with apx 4 X 8 foot of track. When I started I had no clue on what to buy or what quality what I was buying!

 A friend from a slot car site started helping me, his name here is Ranchero. He does not post much but he is here. Hi Dave!

  He started filling my head with names like Peaco, Athearn, Atlas, MRC and BLI. Then I found this great site and one of the best LHS (k-10 trains) in the US. Folks here like Crandel and T-stage and others help me with the growing pains. Plus I learned how to make cheap junk cars run like the higher cost. One of the biggest help came from a person here that sort of told me I was nuts and wasting my money fixing up the junks rolling stock! Tell me I cannot do, I will prove you are wrong.

 What brought this subect to mind is as of today I have 54 engines, that is one a week?  Plus I have 202 rolling stock (3.7 per week), 300 trees (little short there but more are coming) and around 300 feet of track with more coming.

 I hope too slow down but at this point the I don't think so! So many engines and so little time.

 Like to hear your folks story, just to make sure I am still a little bit right.

                       Cuda Ken 

[jacon12]

I've been in the hobby for only a couple of years and have acquired 10.. well... 11.. counting the one to be delivered tomorrow.. locomotives.  You make me not feel so guilty! 

Thanks!

JaRRell

[john galt]

seems like a good start as long as you can afford it and noone gets irate( my wife callls my RR "the other woman"  )  but it only takes my time i get my rolling stock and motive power by "wheel and deal" nuts Yes normal  as normal as any other wanna be god with a minuiture world in your basemant also normal is a setting on the wash machine

[modelmaker51]

Quote: "I hope too slow down but at this point the I don't think so! So many engines and so little time. Like to hear your folks story, just to make sure I am still a little bit right."

Sorry Ken, you're just as crazy as the rest of us!

[loathar]

Just keep telling yourself "I can quit any time I want!" (just not today)

Your growth has been a little quick but, oh well. If your power and water are still on and your old lady's not screaming for a divorce, who cares? Besides, if you've got a Mopar like that AND money for trains your doing a lot better than me.

[selector]

Tom we've created a monster!!

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I've been in the hobby for 40+ years and he has more locos than I do.

[Tracklayer]

Wow. Now I don't feel so guilty about my 25 locos and 125 pieces of rolling stock...

Tracklayer

[Anonymous]

Ken,

You just need to ask yourself, Are you having FUN?  If the answer is YES then you are doing alright.

I looked over your post and pondered to myself as to what I have.  Honestly, I'm not sure how many Locos I have.  I have my favorites and they get run quite often.  Rolling stock?  Who knows!  Just picked up 5 more Athearn BB Kits last night for less than $23 bucks for the whole bag and they'll be built up and running by the end of the month.  My guess, 100+ assorted pieces of rolling stock.

Am "I" having FUN?  You can count on it!

Chris 

[jecorbett]

If you're like most of us, you'll eventually end up with some stuff that you will look at and wonder, "What was I thinking when I bought that". The longer we are in the hobby, the more discriminating we get about quality and also about what types of equipment are appropriate for our layouts. Upgrading cheap cars is not a bad idea. Usually the bodies are decent quality, it's the mechanicals like the couplers and wheels that leave something to be desired. Upgrading them can bring them up to the standards of the better equipment and you just have to ask whether the savings are worth the added time. I now by good quality rolling stock, both kits and RTR, but rarely go for top of the line. Athearn BB, RTR and Atlas RTR are mostly what I buy any more with a few Accurail kits thrown in.

[BRAKIE]

Who counts? I lost track several years ago.

[Virginian]

If what you are doing is making you happy, I would say you are a success.  I'm like Jeffery; been in it for over 35 years and you have quite a few more engines than I do.  I feel much better now !

[gear-jammer]

Hot Rods rule!  Is it a daily runner?  Or just in nice weather?  Ours is too hot for wet pavement.

As long as you are having fun who cares how much you spend.  We spend in spurts.  I used to say,"When you have the time, you don't have the money.  When you have the money, you don't have the time."  If you can meet in the middle, things should work out.

Sue

[bogp40]

Isn't everyones basement, garage or spare room suposed to look like a hobby shop, my basement has been filled for years.

[devils]

QUOTE - What brought this subect to mind is as of today I have 54 engines, that is one a week? 

Blimey I've been in it for 30 years and I'm way behind that rate of buying!, glad it's payday tomorrow, must pop down and get spending!

I started being given all sorts of stuff that I asked for , now I still buy all sorts of different stuff in N, HOm, HOe, HO, OO, On30, 1 and G (and that's just the train models). Go your own way have fun and you'll find like minded souls to enjoy it with. One mate of mine rarely gets his trains out to run but just displays them and comes and runs mine when he has time, another one will take over with so many of his own trains that you're lucky to touch the controls. We enjoy a wind up over everyones different Railway Company allegiances and collecting habits but it's always fun rather than snobbery. Summer evenings in the garden or cold nights in the pub,

 all I need is more time, space and money to enjoy it al the time!

[MisterBeasley]

I'm gonna be the little kid in The Emperor's New Clothes.  'Cuda Dude, you've got too many engines.

I know it's tempting, but what are you going to do with all of them?  How big will your layout be?  Even if you're running 4 trains at a time, and tripling-up the engines, that's only a dozen.

Are you running DCC?  That's a fortune in decoders sitting on sidings, or more likely in boxes.

I've got 9 working engines, and one old Dockside I plan to get running someday.  I may get the Hustler to work, too, but that's only 11 total.  3 are steamers, and my plan is to dual-era the layout so steam or diesels will be there, but never at the same time.

Hmmm, maybe I ought to think about getting another steamer or two.  Whadda you think, Ken?

[selector]

This might be a good time to cull.  Look over all your "stuff", Ken, and separate the honest-to-goodness keepers from the items you could live without, and then sell the latter on ebay to finance a few (that is a key word) a few....occasional key purchases that satisfy your desire as you become more knowledgeable about your destination in the hobby.

Just a thought.

[jon grant]

My name's Jon and I'm a Model Railroader..................

 

I feel for you Ken

 

Jon

 

[MisterBeasley]

Maybe the right metric to apply is locomotives per square foot of layout?  At 9 engines and a 60 square foot layout, that comes to 0.15 locomotives per square foot.  Or maybe it should be locos/sq.ft./era, since they won't co-exist once the Jordan vehicles are complete - so that number is 0.075.

[G Paine]

I have been the RR hobby off and on for about 45 years - started when I was in high school; took 15 years off after college and starting a family. I'm working on layout #6 (I think).

About the only thing I am doing that Ken isn't is modeling 2 timeframes - early 50s (freelanced and MEC) and 1980-ish (MEC abd BAR). Kind of feels like a multiple personality disorder at times

[Hoople]

 What brought this subect to mind is as of today I have 54 engines, that is one a week?  Plus I have 202 rolling stock (3.7 per week), 300 trees (little short there but more are coming) and around 300 feet of track with more coming.

 

Lucky. I only have 5 engines (Only 2 that actually run well) but soon it will be 6.

BTW, Nice dodge charger!

 

[Texas Zepher]

Isn't everyones basement, garage or spare room suposed to look like a hobby shop, my basement has been filled for years.

Or the rented storage unit.... At the rate cudaken is going he will surpass several of our loco collections in a couple decades.  Perhaps we should step up our rate of purchase.   Well, sounds like a good excuse to me.

[cudaken]

 OK, I have maybe went off the deep end a little. Am I happy, yes and no. What I am missing is a local HO train friend that comes by and run with me. In the Mopar world I had a ton of friends, well till I stopped doing body work.

 Just like in the 1:1 car world I do nothing in modaration (spell check). Lets faces it would a normal person take a 440 HP that made 375 HP factory rated (more like 340 HP bone stock) and stap a GMC 6-71 Blower on it (689 HP at 5200 RPM's on a Dyno run) for a street car?

 Of the engines I have, say 9 are cheap engines that get some track time ever month just to keep them a live. I did sell off some of the LL and Tyco stuff.

 What I need is a local train nut, but the tuff part is I am only 2 miles from K-10 trains. With his 60' X 80' foot track, why come to my house and run trains?

 Far as cheap rolling stock, that is the gear head in me! I enjoy taking cheap stuff and making it run well. Heck the Charger R/T in the Icon cost me a whole $500.00 and it ran.

        Cuda Ken Looking for a local friend.

 PS My car friends thank I am nuts. 

[Dave-the-Train]

 Been in the hobby for one year is this nuts?

I got my first cheap Life Like train set with snap track 54 months ago.                        Cuda Ken 

What planet you on Cuda? 

Don't see any issue... i've been around at least 40 years, got Uk stuff and at least 200 locos... to start with.  Got two CNW RS 32s and two CNW U25Bs coming (Why oh why did Atlas duplicate a number?  I could have added three...).

Just don't ask me how many cars I've got...

[Dave-the-Train]

         Cuda Ken Looking for a local friend.

 PS My car friends thank I am nuts. 

Nuts are what keep wheels on and squirrels eat.

Hey, if you shoot  bunch of squirrels and sell them to your local butcher shop does he have to lable them "May contain nuts"?

Friends is where you find 'em.

Real friends come find you... when you need 'em.

Good friends come support you when you really need them.

[MisterBeasley]

Friends is where you find 'em.

Real friends come find you... when you need 'em.

Good friends come support you when you really need them.

Good friends come over even when you don't have any beer.

Real good friends come over and bring beer.

[Dave-the-Train]

If you're like most of us, you'll eventually end up with some stuff that you will look at and wonder, "What was I thinking when I bought that".

I thought that's what the ladies did when they looked at all those clothes and shoes in their closet?

The longer we are in the hobby, the more discriminating we get about quality and also about what types of equipment are appropriate for our layouts.

Ah!  That explains the difference!

Upgrading cheap cars is not a bad idea. Usually the bodies are decent quality, it's the mechanicals like the couplers and wheels that leave something to be desired. Upgrading them can bring them up to the standards of the better equipment and you just have to ask whether the savings are worth the added time.

I recommend that if you are going to discuss issues like these anywhere near the good lady ENSURE that she is totally aware that you are talking about your trains first...

[Darth Santa Fe]

Sounds like you've come a long way pretty quickly!!

I've got around 60 engines now (not including dummies), with a Bowser T-1 4-4-4-4 kit coming soon , but that's only after about 10 years of collecting, and a lot of those are pretty cheap ones, too. And 300 feet of track? It took me forever just to start a double-loop on a 4'x7', which I really need to start working on again!

Good to hear you're having such a good time. It's always nice to know someone is enjoying model railroading so much.

By the way, did that SF diesel I fixed for you ever start working again?

[joe-daddy]

Kuda Ken,

Welcome to the sophmore class!  I'm just a tad ahead of you at 17 months.  I'm a Chevy (Corvette) guy, but I like trains too.  I don't have as many engines as you, but most everything I have is dcc and sound equipped.  The integration of the computer with the railroad is just amazing.

Good luck and thanks for sharing!

Joe 

 

[aloco]

No, it's not nuts.  You did the right thing.  My advice to all new model railroaders is pretty straightforward.  BUY LOCOMOTIVES - AND LOTS OF THEM.