I have 3 1:http://www.spookshow.net/freight/atlasroco94tank.html 2:http://www.spookshow.net/freight/athearnbw.html 3:http://www.spookshow.net/freight/blmareefer.html
I am partial to lumber-related cars: bulkhead flatcars, boxcars, woodchip gondolas but the top is Centerbeam flatcars, especially the ones with opera windows. Red Caboose makes the 73' version and MTL makes the 60'. I have lots of other cars I like...RoadRailers are cool too.
Plain old double sheathed wood boxcars in the 40 foot variety and the same with the single sheathed outside braced 40 foot boxcar. The first generation of wood chip cars. Those made by top extensions added to 40 foot drop bottom gondolas and those made from older wood boxcars with the roof removed and extensions added. Forty foot wood ice reefers with a particular fondness for billboard versions.
I think I like my Intermountain and MTL 40' steel reefers best, followed closely by 40' tank cars from Atlas and MTL.
My freight car fetish is covered hoppers, mostly the ones that haul grain and cement. Don't know why, I just love 'em! One of my other favorite cars are the orange PFE reefers that were all over the SP back in the 70s. Growing up in the SF Bay Area, I saw tons of them. My other fav is cabooses (cabeese?) I grew up in the era of cabs and a train just isn't a train without a caboose.
I'll chime in with 40' steel boxcars with 6' doors. Milw and BN branchline grain trains of the 70's when 40' cars still ruled are my weakness. Deluxe Innovations are my favorite, followed by Fox Valley Milw Ribsides, but the new Atlas PS-1's are catching up. Just need more paint schemes. Bob
Pulpwood cars of the early variety and early low-roofed boxcars so tobacco can be shipped. Both are key commodities that my freelanced roads will haul (eventually), along with lots and lots (and lots) of N&W and VGN coal with a few INT hoppers thrown in to various industries.
Toss up between box cars and tank cars. Like was said before, I have a great deal of ATSF box cars with all the different styles and slogans. Makes a really nice train. It also depends on the era. I do about 4 different eras so there is that little wrinkle. When running modern, it is the strings of BLMA refers and Kato Maxi-Stacks. And even some days a 120 car run of coal hoppers is a might nice thing to watch.....
When I first answered this thread I was really only thinking about freight cars... but in reality... I am a big fan of passenger cars as well. I have to add that I like the Intermountain/CCS passenger cars and obviously the Kato passenger 'named trains'.
Sorry if I am reviving an old discussion. I am partial to 3 bay covered grain hoppers. Since I have a lot of memories from the midwest during the 70's, there is something charming about long grey featureless trains being pulled by many diesels. When I was in collector mode many years ago I tended to get a little of everything so that I would have samples of all kinds of cars. When I sold off a lot of my collection, I found myself keeping all of my most ordinary looking grainers, along with a small selection of various other cars. One thing that is kind of funny is the presence of so many 40 foot boxes; as those went out of style before the 70's I am pretty sure. But you know how it is; there is always that thought of building a small layout some time in the future and 40 footers are perfect for small layouts.
But this discussion was so last year. I'm going to have to go with passenger cars as well. Simply put, a freight train just can't compete with a fully lit up passenger train during night operations.
Covered Hoppers and Intermodal are my favorites since I see them most of all out here in the Southwest and that is what I model.
I've probably purchased twice as many passenger cars as opposed to freight cars in the past three years. Much of that has to do with the Micro-trains heavyweight, IM/CCS, Rapido & WOT releases. A full lit up consist of passenger cars is really cool to watch in the dark. Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
I too am a passenger car/train freak. First SP (Of course) then ATSF and UP - all of the mid 50's. I do have a Cal. Zephyr and I'm gathering the parts and pieces to do a domed Empire Builder. Thanks, Wolf
My favorite piece of N scale equipment (cant call it a piece of rolling stock cause it'll never see track time) is my 6969 series collector car. Collector Car by Arctic Train posted Jan 29, 2016 at 11:36 AM For everyday running stock it'd have to be grain hoppers. Any kind of grain hopper, but mostly BNSF 5661s. Love those "brown worms" t hat run through eastern Washington in the fall!! Brian