Whenever I stop seeing shiny new locos

I always get to a point where I say, "enough", but then something else wanders past my eye at a decent price...

I've always wondered how those guys that do the "I have one loco and five freight cars, no more ever" layouts manage to have the level of self-control that they do.

My problem is I don’t stick to an era

My main era is going to be Canadian modern intermodal and passenger service.

But I have some Boston and Maine engines because I just like the old New England railroads and I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense.

I have several steam engines because I like steam.

I basically haven’t met an engine I didn’t like.  So while I don’t get everything I see, if I see an engine that I like because of the history or era or just because it looks cool if the price is right I may pick it up.

I still have the first engine I ever bought with my own money - an early 80s Athern Blue Box GP9 Milwaukee Road. I bought it at the time because I was a kid and I liked the Orange and black paint scheme.  I love that engine and still run it.

so I have way more engines than I really need...

Mike

I've always wondered how

I don't know anyone like that.  Do you really?

Jim,

I've heard of a few guys (none personally, mostly in forums and articles) that have said, "I'm going to have one engine only, which should I have?"

Or the ones who have only like 3, and have a hard stop after that. Again, I wish I had that kind of power.

Easy peasy

Model a niche, like an obscure shortline or a road that used a rare type of power or a odd era.  

I model 1900-1905 and I rarely buy anything new because manufacturers generally don't support that era.  I have make or kitbash most of my equipment.

@Mike.. similar to my problem

I'm in the transition era, so almost everything is relvant.. since it includes the bigger steam locos, ot gets pricey fast.

I just gotta do with less.

Just a few............too many

Simple, all I have are four Walthers H10-44’s and a TR-4 set for my beer line layout. That’s all I really need to operate the layout, and even that’s pushing it a little.  No real need for any other locos on my railroad…………

But I also have an SD7, SD10, 3 SD40-2’s, 2 GP38-2’s, a GP30, an FP7-F7B-FP7 set, and FP45 for the Milwaukee Road.

Then there’s, um, 2 SD60’s, another SD40-2, an SD45, 2 Dash 8’s, a Dash 9, a pair of C30-7’s, a C425, another F7A/B set, an S3, some Amtrak stuff, um………..I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

What were we talking about, having a lot of loco’s you don’t need right

I've heard of a few guys

It was probably a false rumor.  Or a noob who was after his first does of model RR "crack"!  Then the path of the slippery slope is set.

Trains are like Lay's potato chips, you can't have just one!  

"How much is too much?"

I have a few engines, but when you model a narrow gauge line, it doesn't make sense to buy a bunch unless you model line that had many locomotives.

This question has come up here before, but the older I get the more I think it's better to have 2-3 really neat things than 10-20 "sort of okay" things.

Too many people in hobbies get caught up in that silly "he who dies with the most toys" shtick.

Do you ever run the trains you have? if so, how often? If you answer, "never," or "Very rarely," you have too many.

In such a case, you should seriously look at where the money tied up in them might make you more happy. What joy can someone get out of stacks of boxes of locomotives and cars with stuff inside that rarely (or never) sees the light of day?

In my own case, I built a small layout to operate, so generally speaking everything I buy is to either run or be displayed on the layout. Sure, I have excess paints, detail parts and kits I have yet to get to, but the locos and cars are all there to run. Otherwise, what's the point?

I once thought I knew...

...and then I bought three new locomotives and put another on pre-order.

Sigh.

heh...

I'm first and foremost a fan of Big Steam, and that's dominated my railroad and model railroad interests for half a century. They led me to C&O as a favorite road, and my layout is designed around the places on the C&O where "flat" power was exchanged for "mountain" power - thus where you'd see all of the steam locomotives! So yeah, I have lots of steam locomotives and there are more on the wish list.

To put an emphasis on this, my first layout was a micro-layout that encompassed the bounds of an engine terminal, including a turntable, roundhouse and other associated facilities. This choice meant that I literally needed more locomotives than freight cars to run the layout!

How many locomotives?

My small HO switching layout has room for one locomotive at a time, and places to spot 6 or 7 freight cars. I have about 30 freight cars and one spare locomotive. I have donated excess items to a local club and may further reduce my rolling stock inventory. I may upgrade individual items, but don't expect to increase the size of my fleet.

Joe S

Locomotives

Right now, I have seven N scale locomotives(with three more on the way) and five HO scale locomotives(with one more on the way). Most of my locomotives are in gray and scarlet of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Very soon, I will be building a switching layout in HO scale. I will use my N scale items to build a continuous run layout set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Wendell