Freight Trains or Passenger Trains.........and why?

I have been into N-scale for more than 10 years and have cycled through many locos and rolling stock. I seem to have settled on primarily passenger trains; especially shorter ones (like 3-7 cars). I think the only reason why is because passenger trains seem to match and freight trains don't (unless you are modelling long tank car or BNSF earthworm grain cars).

When I took an inventory of my freight rolling stock, it seems convoluted and doesn't make sense. An example is that I have always done some BN and because of that, I acquired a lot of BN freight equipment. I am going to remedy that by selling off most freight rolling stock while keeping only a very select few pieces. I will then make a plan going forward of what I want to have and slowly acquire it.

My question for all of you is this: Do you prefer to have passenger trains or freight trains? I know that most people probably have a little of both; but what is your preference?

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

I like to do switching more than running. So freight trains fill the bill for me. I do run some passenger trains but I consider them to be tourist trains pulled by 2-6-0's, 4-6-0's 2-8-0's and RS-2's and 3's. '80's and '90's freights with modern cars that have no roofwalks are what I like most. I have maybe 16 passenger cars including a couple of RDC's. But I have over 100 freight cars and 30 freight locos. I model Conrail so most of my Diesels are Conrails as are my freight cars with a smattering of other roads and private owners. My passenger cars and the locos that pull them are NYC only and they represent the NYC as if it never failed. I do have a small collection of freight cars from the steam ERA that I run with my steamers and NYC Diesels.

 

I model the 1950's and as such, I run alot more freight trains than passenger trains (because in the '50's there were alot more freight being moved than passengers). Plus (for me at least), passenger trains only run from point A to point B while freight needs to be delivered along the way...probably why I don't enjoy modern railroading as much since most modern is intermodal running from point A to point B. I model the Southern Pacific (actually the NorthWestern Pacific, but still part of the SP...kinda) and as a result a large percentage of my rolling stock is SP, but that's just because just about ANY RR had a greater percentage of their own rolling stock than foreign roads (and since I LIKE the SP, I BUY the SP...it's my RR and I'll do what I like). But that is just what I enjoy, you should do whatever you enjoy...it's YOUR railroad and you should do what you like.

 

Manifest trains ! I was a long haul truck driver for more then 25 years. Freight is freight is freight. All kinds of different and interesting trucks on the road. All kinds of different freight cars in a train consist makes looking more interesting too. Passenger trains...all the cars look alike...ya seen one ya seen em all...rather blase. IMHO.

 

I like freight. #1 there's a lot more variety of car types, and also more variety of RR represented in a train. #2 I like long trains and 100 car freight is prototypical, while 8-12 passenger cars is a long train.......there were longer ones, but they aren't the norm. I have a lot of passenger cars (7 different Milw Rd., an IC,an SP&S/Empire Builder, a few SF heavyweights, and a military troop train......probably 120 -130 cars ), but they mostly get run at club events....my layout doesn't allow passenger train speeds or more than a "local" size train. I usually use a couple of doodlebugs for passenger service at home. By comparison, I probably have 700-800 freight cars.

 

I operate freight trains but I keep a passenger train around just to gum up the works.

Just as you’re feeding that string of tank cars into the loading track at Petrolia; here comes the “Lost Coast Limited” requiring you to pull the cars and shove them onto a siding way across the way.

And no sooner does the “LCL” depart than an RDC “Zephyrett” commuter run makes its appetence.

 

I don't think you inventory of freight cars is suppose to make sense, unless all you run is unit trains.
I like the Rio Grande, at some point I noticed that most of my freight cars are orange... that don't look right. MY Rio Grande needed to start interchanging with other roads.
I suspect you've discovered your freight trains are mostly green and that's just weird?
If you're going to thin down the BN stuff, buy some cars for roads you don't like or know nothing about. Leasing companies too, like Railbox/gon or TrailerTrain. Maybe that'll help with whatever it is that seems off to you about your freight trains.
The reality is, freight and passenger have almost always co-existed, but it's your layout, so do and run what makes you happy.

 

Me, I like both. I model 1970s WP, when the California Zephyr was still operating. But, I still have a couple of shorty passenger trains; a 3 car mail train pulled by an A-B set of PAs and a short steam powered train. It all depends on what you like!

 

I LIKE passenger trains, and I picked the transition era as the theme for my layout primarily because I wanted to represent the height of the modern streamliner era. And I fell in love with Santa Fe from an early age, mostly because of my Lionel streamlined set. My older ideas of both Santa Fe AND passenger trains is probably largely influenced by a Lionel catalog illustration of a silver train in a Monument Valley/ John Ford western kind of setting, which I wanted to approximate...


"Preferring" passenger or freight trains is a meaningless question for me. I want both. Freight trains have more variety and more operation "play interest" per square foot of layout space. For over 20 years, I had an operating layout representing the Santa Fe in the piney woods of East Texas. Its track and prototype would only support doodlebug passenger service, and that was rarely run due to shortage of staging and mechanical problems with the doodlebug.


I showed passenger service on my theoretical operating plan, but the freight runs had so much more local action, they held the layout nearly all the time.


When I tried to run a special "Three Kings" passenger train with a six or seven car train, when my home was hosting a "Three Kings Day" party, I discovered the train always stringlined and derailed on the curves. I was so upset at not being able to run passenger service, I dismantled the layout...

And new one not running yet. But I am accumulating both passenger trains, 1 deluxe streamline and 1 heavyweight secondary train and possibly one more... and accumulating freight cars for the merchandisers, drags and locals which will have to thread the passenger schedule.
Preference? Schmefference!

 

Why is this a "one or the other" question?

Personally, I like both. However, I prefer switching over railfanning so freight wins in the tiebreaker.

 

It doesn't have to be a one or the other question. I should have phrased it "IF you have a preference, what is it"?

 

I run both. I model the mid 50's, and grew up in the mid 50's. The interstate system was non around back then, an we took passenger trains on long trips, the North Coast Limited and the Hiawatha when we headed east. My railroad is a short line switching layout, and mainly handles freight, but there is no way I could resist having some sort of passenger service. Might not be fancy, but I have it. Service is mainly local, with the top of the line being and RDC with a club car in tow. A also have a gas electric, and for non schedules service, a drovers caboose will be tacked on the rear of the train.

 

Freight... definately. Everyone knows the railroads lose money on passenger trains. And I'm in this for the money.

 

I grew up in the 80's in Conrail and Chessie country and the former territory of B&O and I just always liked how freight trains looked. So, that's my preference.

 

In the 1930's and 1940's the B&M served local communities throughout northern New England with regional passenger and freight. If you ordered something from Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward, rest assured it was delivered in the mail/baggage section of the twice-daily 3-4 car passenger train. Nearly everything in the hardware and department stores arrived as LCL (Less than Car Load) freight. Lumber, coal, and farm equipment came by rail. Don't forget the daily overnight milk trains to Boston and New York. 60-70 years ago regional trains were local and personal, just like UPS deliveries and local truckers today. Massive 50-60 car trains hauled by three or four 4000+ HP diesels are impressive, but short regional passenger and freight trains hauled by small tired steamers or first generation branch line diesels are fun to operate as they interchange with a Class-1 (in a staging yard), then run daily delivery and pickup with small town customers.

 

I model the SP in the '50's as well. So I run both passenger and freight. Mostly freight- and the passenger train is a mail train with the occasional Daylight.

Thanks,
Wolf

 

Some of my earliest memories are of me riding the train at Knotts Berry Farm (by Disneyland)...I think that may also be where I got my love of trains. The thing is in the early days there, the people rode in stock cars with seats installed (don't know why they didn't have passenger cars like now). Moo