Not sure where I stand at this point! Last check, I was around 50 locomotives. Lost count after 300 freight cars. Of which I've got close to, if not slightly over 75 covered hoppers. Micro Train, Precision Master and Intermountain. Not sure how many passenger cars I have, especially after adding 28 Amtrak Superliners!! Best guess right now, is close to 60 passenger cars.
I have about 250 freight cars, and about 12 passenger cars. 78 of these are coal cars, with about 35 to 40 covered hoppers. For power, I have 15 or 16 steam locos (future use) and about 40 to 45 locos. These are all HO.
close to 60 cars vs. 28 locos.....oh wait, that's g scale...... i have to guess about the n scale numbers. must be 1200+ cars and 250+ locos (the 50 ac4400 i have on order are not yet counted).....
I think this post is in very poor taste and should be locked. We ALL know there's no such thing as too many cars.
If people don't want to say or hear, just do a poll... 0-50 50-100 100-200 200-500 500-1000 1000+ Loco1999
Well... I'm not sure if I want to say... or I just don't want to admit that I have "ferroequine accumulitis gravis" [ 08. August 2004, 04:33: Message edited by: Calzephyr ]
I heard that it is a chronic, fatal disease. I was infected with it when I was 4 years old... There was no vaccine back then, nor is there one now!
I heard that it is a chronic, fatal disease. I was infected with it when I was 4 years old... </font>[/QUOTE]Yes, Its quite severe... As your collection grows.... your wallet begins to shrivel-up and eventually falls off....
I wrote a post several days ago that I have 301 freight cars, compared to a 59 freight car capacity of my existing 3x7’ layout. http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/acj.jpg Now I want to compare the adequacy (or superfluity) of my rolling stock fleet to the round-the-walls shelf layout I plan to build in a spare bedroom in the next year or two. The concept is an end-of-the-line terminal at an island seaport reached by a causeway that is two miles over water on the prototype. Inconspicuous continuous-run connection for show loop and test running but NO through traffic in operating sessions. The track plan is not firm but I estimate the following capacity. 68 cars in freight staging (4 trains @ 17 cars each) 51 cars in freight yard (leaving 2 arrival/departure tracks open. That capacity is needed either in yard or staging to allow any movement…) 60 cars on port-owned trackage (docks, export grain elevator, etc.) 10 cars at cotton compress. 15 cars other misc. industry spurs. 204 freight cars, plus 25 passenger cars. I didn’t mention that my fleet includes 67 passenger train cars. In terms of sheer numbers, it looks like I have plenty of rolling stock, even allowing for a proportion I can never get couplers to fit properly, prototype discrepancies, etc. Another way to look at rolling stock needs is planned trains. I want to run daily 2 inbound mainline freights and 2 outbound @ 17 each each = 68 cars. Allow 2 more trains worth of cars so the trains don’t always show up with the same cars = 34 more cars. A daily local freight inbound and outbound alternating days, average 10 cars. At least one extra grain train @ 17 cars, mostly boxcars in my period. Every second or third day extra sulphur train, maybe 10 sulphur gondolas. Once a week solid banana train when the banana ship arrives on its regular schedule from Central America, at least 12 reefers. That adds up to a need for 141 freight cars, so I have double what I need. The planned passenger schedule calls for daily Texas Chief (8 cars) and #5/6 express and accommodation passenger, now unnamed, formerly the Ranger (7 cars) and an occasional passenger extra (6 cars) plus some extra cars for variations in consist and private cars (5 cars). Total for schedule, 26 passenger cars. I have more than twice that. A third way to look at rolling stock needs involves traffic, ie what kinds of cars are needed to carry commodities specific to the area and kind of railroading I want to model. Lots of grain traffic (mostly in boxcars in my period) and cotton traffic. Easily 50 boxcars. I have 84. Don’t need any more unless they are a special design or a special roadname. Banana train would require at least 12 reefers plus a few for other service. Total 15 or 18. I have 31. Also would like 2 or 3 superinsulated 50’ reefers for seafood service from the island seaport. Have 1 builtup from craftsman kit and 3 cheap plastic cars for future kitbashing to 2 50’ reefers. And at least one of the special boxcars rebuilt to “reefer-standards” that carried salt for refrigerator cars from Hutchinson, Kansas to Galveston. Sulphur in solid trains of special-design gondolas. I have 2 mostly scratchbuilt sulphur gons. http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aaf.jpg Would like a train of ten. Need to build more, probably in some kind of semi mass-production. Possibly a handful of stockcars. Some towns a few miles inland from the island seaport were cattle-shipping points. I have 7 stockcars but none are prototype for my railroad (Santa Fe). Either need rare brass (unlikely) or scratchbuild. (more my style). I will have very little reason on the island seaport layout to operate some of the cars related to the forest industry I now run on my East Texas layout, including pulpwood cars. FT-W pulpwood car http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aaw.jpg FT-6 pulpwood car http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aax.jpg Nor the tankcar that delivers creosote to a wood preservation treating plant. http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aaz.jpg Of course, the island seaport on the future layout would use treated pilings from the plant on my existing layout! In conclusion, the only cars I need to buy or build for the next few years are very specific or special ones.
Well.....I don't earn the lettuce just to pay the tax man (although he gets a sizable chunk) In 2 yrs I have gone from no American trains to about 40 locos, 300+ freight cars and about 20 passenger cars mainly commuter cars ie Gallery's and Bombardier cars and just to show how haywire my compass is the Gallery's are C&NW and the Bombardiers are Caltrains and Metrolink. Got a bit of Aust N scale and some Aust HO scale which I gave to my dad on the basis he could not sell it (so he enhanced them.....the XPT power cars look like XPT's) No intention of stopping yet because there is always good stuff coming out and that voice keeps saying "oh that looks nice"
I heard that it is a chronic, fatal disease. I was infected with it when I was 4 years old... There was no vaccine back then, nor is there one now! </font>[/QUOTE]I've heard marriage has some short term affects. I'll let you know in a couple months.
Monroe Stewart's Hooch Junction has more than 1500 cars ON THE LAYOUT. I think we all need to run out and buy some more for our layouts!! Michael
I've heard marriage has some short term affects. I'll let you know in a couple months. [/QB][/QUOTE] There was a member of our club who before getting married said quite positively that it would do no harm. I have only seen him twice down at the club since he got married 1 and a half yrs ago and he did not stay long "oh the wife etc etc"
Since I have gotten divorced, my fleet has increased by about 20 locomotives, and close to 200 freight cars! In Dec. my $500 a month alimony ends! Hummmmmmm....wonder what that will do to the model train fund!
I also suffer from biscalar disorder- I have 4 locomotives and 42 cars in N scale, and 40 locomotives (25 Frisco), 12 cabooses (10 Frisco), 8 passenger cars, and 200 freight cars in HO scale. Neither lithium, Prozac, nor a non-understanding spouse can cure this affliction.
130 N freight (70 in SP) 5 N pass. 30 N locos (29 SP) 20 HO freight (1 SP) 4 HO locos (1 SP) How did that happen???
