I know one can never have enough locomotives but for my small layout I have more than I need so I've turned my attention to rolling stock. Because my layout is small I don't need a huge number so I can concentrate on things I find more interesting than lots and lots of coal hoppers (nothing wrong with coal hoppers). So it got me wondering what you guys like. What is one of your favorite pieces of rolling stock?
I like ATSF reefers made by Intermountain. There are five variations and they make a great looking consist when the detail parts are added. Having fun with it. Shades
The SP Bay Window Caboose (Crummys) OMI if possible or Micro Trains; both are good runners With your layout small be careful not to purchase too longer cars; so you won't have problems with the curves
My favorites are depressed flat cars and bulkhead flat cars. Second runner up are gondolas. I think it has more to do with the fact that I can customize the loads; which gives them a one off appearance.
As a practicing freightcarologist, it is hard for me to pick a favorite car. I like capturing the look of a railroad, place and time, which includes both the typical, variations and a few oddball and signature cars. Because I concentrate on Santa Fe, even the solid grain trains of 40-foot home road boxcars have lots of variations with Name Train slogans, and different construction types: AAR Standard, USRA steel rebuilds, PS-1. I like having “signature” cars, cars with a design unique or nearly so to one railroad: I have a PRR X29, B&O wagontop, Milwaukee Road horizontal seam. For Santa Fe, several Caswell gondolas. And I need to build a BX-3 panel-side double-sheathed box or two someday. I model what was largest sulfur export terminal in the world at one time, so I crave unusual sulfur gons owned only by Santa Fe and SP. Only scratched 2 so far, need a string. I am trying to represent freight cars of all the lines that operated in Texas in the 1950s, and especially the Texas affiliates of trunklines. For instance, International-Great Northern, an affiliate of Missouri Pacific. And I want to represent tankcars of national brand oil companies that had Texas affiliates. How can I have a favorite? For me, it’s the mix.
Wood products cars. In particular those found on the PNWR currently, so SP smoothside chip gons, bulkhead flats and modified bulkhead and spine log cars plus assorted boxcars....now if only I could get those ex-bcol some nes more easily.
I concentrate on Western Maryland and B&O for the majority of my fleet, but recently have been adding several Southern, Virginian, and Richmond, Fredricksburg & Potomac cars to the roster.
My layout is primarily B&O in central Illinois, but this allows for interchanges with NKP, C&EI and C&IM. I attempt to model the 1940s, thus I try to find rolling stock that is for the railroads I named and of the type that would have been in service in 1940s. I also have a theme of country elevators shipping to a larger grain processor, and include food and beverage industries and warehouse facilities. With these goals in mind, I am pleased when I find rolling stock that fits the era.
Judging from my car roster , the most numerous car type I have is reefers, second is tank cars primarily 8000 gallon cars. As I see it there is a shortage of the following car types ( all transition era): 1) Gondola's . Micro trains seems to be about the only show in town. I have a few other types but what I'm looking for are many more of the outside braced or composite types. 2) Flatcars, Red Caboose had some 42 footers a while back and micro trains has a few nice ones but neither have them in quantity. 3) Tank cars, The best car for my era is the Intermountain ACF type 27 8000 gallon car but these are long out of production. There were more types than just this car. Bachmann has a nice 10,000 gallon car , all we need to do is convince them to do the cars in more than one number (seeing as how decals are not really available) Randy
I kind of like the older Railbox scheme boxcars, have two from Fox Valley and two from Intermountain. Also have an ExactRail Hi Cube boxcar in TTX colors which is cool because I see the real thing quite often around here......
Kato Maxi I & IV stack cars. I have 28 of the 45 different road numbers produced and have made it my life's mission to find the 17 I don't have yet.
Favourite passenger rolling stock: head end cars-express box/refrigerator. baggage, RPO and combines. As most rider coaches that the railroads assigned to mail trains were protobashes, I will have to do one one of these days. In some cases, the rider coach did not receive anything more than a stove for heat, as some roads did run mail and express trains that included cars without pass-through steam lines. In other cases, the road would simply put a coach or combine into the consist, the latter especially on milk trains (usually run with the baggage end's trailing). In yet other cases, the railroad did blank out windows or seal doors. Favourite freight rolling stock: B&O waggontop cabooses and box cars. I do agree with another poster that N scale is in need of a wider variety of gondolas and flats. Would like to see: nineteenth century tank cars and hopper bottom gondolas. The tank car took on a configuration that is close to its modern shape very early on in railroading. The B-mann "tank car" is based on a water car that the B&O used in the nineteenth century, but, even by then, more than a few tank cars had taken on a configuration that is close to the modern one.
Favorite rolling stock: Freight cars I've kitbashed or modified. Cars that come to mind are a 6 dome wine tank car, an excess height SP appliance box car, and several SP wood chip hoppers. Favorite Brand of rolling stock: Fine N Scale resin kits. I love how they have represented the warped and damaged box car side panels. Something that nobody else seems to do. I just wish that they would come out with more kits (they really haven't come out with anything new for YEARS).
