Maybe this has been discussed before but how much do you all spend per year on your hobby. I just reserved a couple SD70MACs and felt my pocket book kick me in the butt again. (I'm sorry that was my wife.) Anyway, I would say I spend between 1000.00 and 2000.00 per year. Is that the status quo? I'm sure there are some big spenders out there. Is this a bad thing to think about? Would it be better just to consider it money well spent and go on. Just some thoughts. Bryan
Almost 12k for the year. I'm just getting started in the hobby so a lot of that included things like DCC systems etc.
I try not to think about it...and I certainly don't want my wife to realize what it costs. I'm just in the beginning stages though...so HOPEFULLY after I get the layout built some of the up front costs will go away and all I have to worry about is maintenance and new cars and locos and such. But....in the past month I've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 to build my benchwork and buy enough track and roadbed and turnouts to get me started. Then there's the four SD70MACs I put on reserve yesterday....and the Digitrax Zephyr that I have to buy at some point...and decoders....and more track....and roadbed...and wiring....and scenery...and cars....and...
I'm with Hoss, I try not to keep an accounting in my head because I don't like being frightened! However, I estimate that between eBay and WigWag, I've spent over $1k during this calendar year on my hobby.
its not a goiod idea to let the wife know how much we spend and as am just getting started its running up there and black d 12k damm you better not let the wife know wish had that much too spend rich
Well there are worse things or other things you can spend your hobby money on. You could spend it at a bar, on car, golfing, fishing, season tickets for sporting events, etc. For the most part you think our wives would be happy. We are close by, but in a room where we are not in their hair. They also can see what we spend it on. My buying sprees are about done. But I have spent a high amount these last two or three years. I put in a new layout, DCC System and decoders and a few new locomotives. But there is hope. The last two train shows I went to I probably only dropped a total, for the two shows, of $150. This was on wheels for some freight cars, a couple of new freight cars and those new Mini-Metals automobiles. That averages about $75 per show. Prior to that, I could easily average $200-$300 per show averaging four shows a year. This doesn't include my two or three trips a year to my favorite hobby shop, minimum buy of $100 or my online/mail order purchases twice a year averaging about $50 per. I admit that now it will take something really, really special now for me to buy it. I am running out of room I am an HO scale person, but I think what I said can apply to anybody and any scale.
Where is my wife...? Not in the room. Good. Maybe it's safe. Perhaps not! : Actually, my spending has been far less than what I'd like. Unfortunately we have some other obligations for our meager disposable income dollars. Boxcab E50
I went about 2 to 3 months without a real purchase, then Birthday came by and I realized I just had to pick up a Bowser Atlantic, a new Bachmann 4-4-0 American and a couple of other pieces missing in the collection...and now I need to lighten up again....No problem, simply have to not get anything new for a while.
Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell!!! I keep all the reciepts, I keep an inventory of my locos and rolling stock, I have never had the nads to ad it all up. I don't want to know... [ 05. December 2002, 16:15: Message edited by: HERMANzGERMAN ]
The Belmar Valley MRR society of engineers fund is now taking donations. Just e-mail me your credit card number...
I don't think I've cracked $200 this year on my layout, but I've probably spent ten times that on my camera and ham radio gear...
I just have a small layout of 3’ X 5’, which is 95% complete, and some rolling stock. I have all my receipts and keep a computer inventory of all my rolling stock, structures, automobile/trucks, and people. The inventory system keeps a running total of expenditures. So all I have to do is add in lumber, paint, glue etc. So far I have spent approximately $8,000.00. Divided by eight years in the hobby equals $1,000.00 per year. The next question does my wife know? Well---Kinda! She goes with me to all the train shows and a lot of the time to train stores. She knows what individual items cost but I don’t think she has ever tried to total it up. If she did it might raise an eyebrow and I would most likely get one of her famous looks.
After reading through what others have said, I guess I am in the small minority of those who spend considerably less on my trains that average. Including the fact that I rebuilt my layout this year, my receipts say that I spend just under $300 this year. Needless to say, there's only one new locomotive purchased, and that on ebay for a lower price than retail. I enjoy the hobby. I just can't afford a couple of each name of each release by every manufacture. I would love a stable of 20-30 locomotives, but since I can only run one (maybe two) at a time, the six I have will have to suffice for now. Actually, if I had that kind of money, I would probably not spend it all on trains, but more on my kids and my wife. After all, this hobby is just that, a hobby. My family is life. Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.pegnsean.net/~revnjeff
I do not know what I spend each year on my hobby, I don't want to know and I don't really care! It is my hobby, where I go to get my head together away from this crazy world we have today. I am not a drinker, smoker, and I love my wife. She has found that most of my fellow model railroaders are for the most part, fine people to be associated with. So she lets me get what I want when I want to buy it. But she also knows that I am thrifty(read cheap), and anything for her, the house, or family will always come before the railroad. Thanks to eBay I am moving more each day to getting my hobby to be self-supporting. My wife also knows that I have a KADEE/MICRO-TRAINS Special-run car collection that I am very serious about. With over 200+ individual issues in my collection and multiple copies of most issues it might be a little scary to know exactly what my whole collection is worth. When people ask me "How much are your trains worth and how much do you spend for you trains in a year?" My standard answer is "I don't know, how much money are all the tools in your shop worth?" The INDIANA RAILWAY, torn down now! Even better the second time around! Mark
This is not the kind of thing I want to think about. Looking at MyEbay page and going back 30 days and adding in my other purchases for the last 30 days and I have spent close to $1000 in the last month, OUCH. I have had months I know as bad or worse. I do sell alot on Ebay, so that helps defer the costs. Either way, it is scary subject to think about. Thanks for bringing it up. Bob [ 08. December 2002, 00:07: Message edited by: bobcat ]
I would rather not give a $ ammount.I have spent way too much and keep on spending.I wish the manufacturers would come out with a lot of stuff I dont need for about a year.My wife would be very appriciative of it too.I am looking for a house with a basement so I can get a trainset up and running.That wil be a big $ investment also.
I'm kind of in the same boat as RevnJeff - I don't spend a lot on my trains. My allowance is now $20 per month, and that has to cover my train mag subscriptions, plus anything else I want to spend on myself. If I want any extra train money, it has to come from what I can sell on eBay. Even though I can purchase wholesale (I own a small hobby business), I don't buy many locos this way. Even discounted, P2K, Atlas and Kato cost way more than my budget can handle. Ebay has been a godsend in this area! I'm just beginning to finish a small L-shaped switching railroad that I started six years ago in Alaska, but haven't touched in nearly five years. Once I have something worth showing, I'll post some photos. Progress will probably be slow, limited by my allowance! Pat
I began this summer with N scale and started by zero. The material for the landscape, tracks, trackbed cost approx. $1000. The rolling stock (15 locos, 60 wagoons/passenger cars) some bucks more. Fortunalety there is Ebay to help me safe money. In Switzerland the locos are very expensive. Here a Kato SD90 is US$ 150. In Ebay I pay half a price. With all those costs like package, shipping and duty I pay less then in a Swiss shop. So my rolling stock came from USA, Canada and South Australia I am a lucky man because my wife supports me with my hobby. Sometimes she like to buy more then my wallet allows Merry Christmas & happy building Daniel
TOO MUCH!!!!!! I probably average about 2K per year or so. I know the year Atlas came out with SD60's, I spent over 5K. Ouch!
