Just wondering how many locos folks here have?
I now have 16 British N scale locos and I can only run 7-8 max on my layout at a time. So I'll run my layout in "LMS mode," "GWR mode," or "early BR," depending on my mood.
I've been into model railways for 22 years (starting with 00) but into N for only 11. I sold many of my 00 locos to fund my N scale layout.
I feel like I'm at the saturation point now but am always tempted to buy more at shows. I suspect many people can relate, yet I do hear of guys who have just 4 or 5 locos and seem quite content.
EDIT: Thanks for these comments! Another question (which I realize some have answered): Do you use most of them?
There have been many threads on this over the years. If you use the search function you will find them. :thumbsup:
The standard answer would appear to be "I want one more than I currently have"
For an Exhibition layout, I would say the sensible ideal is "two for each job" to cover for failures/servicing/cleaning and keep the show going...
Around a dozen in working order, a few more in various states of build or repair. Very eclectic mix as much of it is show bargains I liked the look of.
But in terms of collecting towards a layout I try to find things to suit the West Highland Line of any period, or early BR south Wales steam.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/264-080126085521-157225499.jpeg)
i stopped counting after 100.
I started in N gauge in the late 60s---but had a long hiatus in the 90s /early 00ies.
I collect early BR steam that i saw or could have seen as a young spotter; but a few anomalies are creeping in.
i Have 20 plus a DMU.
5 are rule one, the rest are plausibly British rail Eastern region Era4 - they are probably more of a 'one of each' collection rather than a prototypical MPD roster but then i do not have a layout yet - there are another 3-4 i have yet to obtain/ waiting to be released
I claim the fifth amendment... Oh and did you know N gauge storage takes up 1/8th the volume of OO? So you can have 8 times as many trains in N as you can in OO for the same storage space.
:drool:
The question's been asked several times before on here.
If you think you're saturated then stop. If you like to keep buying more then keep buying :) Some folk restrict themselves to a fleet appropriate to the theme of their layout and dispose/exchange locos and stock when they change layouts. Others enjoy collecting. Whatever you want, it's your hobby and your layout to enjoy how you like to :)
I've been running European N seriously since the early 80s. I had some British N before that but sold it off - that's the only time I've ever let models go (and since then I've bought some of them again just for nostalgia)! I reckon now roughly 400 powered items (locos, multiple units). I usually take somewhere around 50 locos plus some units to a show when I'm exhibiting the full layout, which gives me spares should something fail (actually very rare). Therefore I have complete alternate sets of locos to spread the usage and ring the changes at different shows, but naturally there are some favourites which probably come to most shows.
With the recent very sad passing of a good friend and fellow exhibitor, I've been gifted his similar sized collection! Probably less than 10% are exact duplicates of locos I already own.
It's frightening when you tot up an estimated value.
With a layout based loosely on Oxford where motive power from 4 different regions spread over 1950-1965 plus a few 'iconic' ones, you can guess I have far too many.
However, I'm just a babe in arms compared to some e.g.
@Bob G
Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 10:29:16 AMHowever, I'm just a babe in arms compared to some e.g. @Bob G
I don't know what you are on about. I've sold >95% of my pre-2005 stock! And all my Tri-ang 1960s trainset stock! And all my 1960s Matchbox cars! And my Floral Garden set. And my Meccano.
Bob
One...
...that she's aware of.
Quite a few more than when this question was asked last time on the Forum........
But I have sold a lot of stock, with a lot more to go at some stage.
Martyn
I have steadily acquired probably more Locos than the layout can accommodate, but they all get a run on a rotation basis, being changed over after every two or three circuits. Many got well used when I was involved with an Exhibition layout. I have a spreadsheet and after a loco has been selected they get a box ticked so wear and tare is evened out, and any routine maintenance carried out. As a result I haven't had to change any motor brushes for as long as I can remember.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122023.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157239)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122123.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157240)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122342.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157241)
Quote from: Bob G on Yesterday at 09:41:04 AMI claim the fifth amendment... Oh and did you know N gauge storage takes up 1/8th the volume of OO? So you can have 8 times as many trains in N as you can in OO for the same storage space.
:drool:
Exactly. A small shelf will hold what I have now but would take several shelves to hold the equivalent in 00.
Quote from: AndyRA on Yesterday at 12:26:35 PMI have steadily acquired probably more Locos than the layout can accommodate, but they all get a run on a rotation basis, being changed over after every two or three circuits. Many got well used when I was involved with an Exhibition layout. I have a spreadsheet and after a loco has been selected they get a box ticked so wear and tare is evened out, and any routine maintenance carried out. As a result I haven't had to change any motor brushes for as long as I can remember.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122023.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157239)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122123.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157240)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122342.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157241)
Impressive. Yes, that's what I do, run them on a rotation basis depending on what era/region I'm running.
Quote from: Bealman on Yesterday at 04:21:53 AMThere have been many threads on this over the years. If you use the search function you will find them. :thumbsup:
Guess I was too impatient. I tried but then thought it was easier to just ask.
Quote from: Bob G on Yesterday at 11:00:29 AMQuote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 10:29:16 AMHowever, I'm just a babe in arms compared to some e.g. @Bob G
I don't know what you are on about. I've sold >95% of my pre-2005 stock! And all my Tri-ang 1960s trainset stock! And all my 1960s Matchbox cars! And my Floral Garden set. And my Meccano.
Bob
So fess up - numbers please :D
Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 12:50:57 PMSo fess up - numbers please :D
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/1517-080126125750.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157242)
That's all I'm saying.
It's north of 250 but my enjoyment originally came from modifying/tweaking RTR locos then white metal kit building, etched brass then scratch building with a lot of 3D prints thrown in.
Many years ago I modelled the GWR but then the NSE era and now the Southern and its pre-grouping constituents hence so many, a majority of which haven't seen daylight for years and very unlikely to again.
I could sell a lot on but can't be bothered with the work/grief that could entail.
The Ferryhill locomotive roster has the following:
- 25 steam locos
- 33 diesel locos
- 6 electric locos
- 5 DMUs/EMUs
- 69 locos total
In addition, I have the Dapol LNER J72 0-6-0T on pre-order
I bought my first N gauge loco in 1967, so I have only been averaging just over one new loco per year over that period.
Ian
Quote from: Newportnobby on Yesterday at 12:50:57 PMSo fess up - numbers please :D
OK. When I was an OO kid modeller in the 1960s I got 1 train a year. I had five when I changed to N in 1970.
We were not well off when I was at secondary school or even at Uni, and so I had maybe 10 N gauge by the age of 25. With my first job I had cash to spare. By the age of 40 I think I had around 50 locos. Then Farish sold out to Bachmann and there was a shortage, especially of green diesels!
Salaries went up, as did the desire to possess something even if it didn't fit in with what I was modelling at the time. I think that this qualifies as an addiction. I now had the ability to own something that in the past I could not have afforded. So I bought it. But I have also been selling things acquired like that too, because I can always look back and say "Yes I had one of those once". The Blue Pullman (Midland Pullman) is a classic example of that.
So in fact my stock is not as excessive as some. Well that's what I tell myself, anyway. It is themed by era, and I've narrowed the eras down to exclude most of the 1980s and 1990s now. The focus is on 1955-1968 and 1968-1980 now. And that's because of the availability of stock that fits my preferred regions (S and W) and eras (4-7).
And as I said before, of those 50 odd locos I had pre-2005, I only have my first N gauge loco, a Peco Jubilee, for posterity. Everything else has been bought post 2005 (but this also includes older models, like the Peco Adams B4 tank, for example).
Ah. That was cathartic.
Bob
More than some, but not as many as others!
I started in 2009, try to stick fairly rigidly to WCML post-2010 models, I think I've only got a handful that don't fit. Total of about 150, but it's a long time since I counted, and I do sell stuff on quite regularly. Think I've now hit fifty class 66s with the release of the Revolution ones!
That really is a class 66 compulsion!! :o
It is an affliction! At least they're colourful!
Just the 189 for me.
And the 44 DMU/EMUs
Which don't include the 13 HSTs
The simple honest truth is I don't know, but I have been modelling in N for a long time so it is a substantial number.
Most are now DCC (many sound fitted), but I have kept some of the more treasured analogue models such as my kit built Langley B1 61018 "Gnu" which runs on a Bachmann/Farish A3 chassis, and my kit-built 60532 "Blue Peter" (a resin kit but I can't remember by who), two Peco jubilees repainted into BR livery by the late and sadly missed Fred Hempsall (who also built me a Foxhunter A1 "Flamboyant" which I still have). there is also my first V2 converted (butchered) from a Farish A3 with scratch-built tender on their LMS chassis. I also have a few very early Farish locos like the original 94xx and Holden Tank. Oh, and maybe 8 Union Mills locos, only one of which has had the DCC treatment (a J38).
It must be some kind of illness I think! :hmmm:
Roy
all I will admit to is:
more than I need, but less than I want.
Quote from: Roy L S on Yesterday at 11:47:23 PMand my kit-built 60532 "Blue Peter" (a resin kit but I can't remember by who),
Roy:
I think the resin kit for your Class A2 Blue Peter model was probably manufactured by a company called Fifty-Six and a Half Inch Model Railways (long since out of business).
I bought the same resin kit (but from a different supplier) but never got it past the primer stage before GF came out with their A1 and A2 models.
Ian
Quote from: Bob G on Yesterday at 09:41:04 AMI claim the fifth amendment... Oh and did you know N gauge storage takes up 1/8th the volume of OO? So you can have 8 times as many trains in N as you can in OO for the same storage space.
:drool:
So N is vastly more expensive than OO if storage space is the limitation on loco numbers. If layout area is the limitation, then N is only 4 times more expensive than OO.
My locos are models from 3 continents (UK, North America, and Australia) across several time eras covering steam and diesels, but I only have about 50 locos in total :*( . I thought that I had a lot, but am really put to shame by quite a few others on this forum. But since starting in N scale in about 1978, I admit to having had in my hands another 25 or so locos that I have since sold on for various reasons.
Webbo
Quote from: AndyRA on Yesterday at 12:26:35 PM(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122023.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157239)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122123.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157240)
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122342.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157241)
@AndyRA Wow, Andy :goggleeyes: I guessed you'd have a lot of locos but didn't realise you'd employed a guard cat to keep an eye on them!
Quote from: icairns on Today at 02:22:14 AMQuote from: Roy L S on Yesterday at 11:47:23 PMand my kit-built 60532 "Blue Peter" (a resin kit but I can't remember by who),
Roy:
I think the resin kit for your Class A2 Blue Peter model was probably manufactured by a company called Fifty-Six and a Half Inch Model Railways (long since out of business).
I bought the same resin kit (but from a different supplier) but never got it past the primer stage before GF came out with their A1 and A2 models.
Ian
Hi Ian
Yes, that was it, I believe the locos were also made ready to run by a company called "Pro Models" (not sure what googling it would come up with and I do not intend to find out :D ). Mine languished in primer too for a long time but I did finish it, a loco I did a pretty decent job of if I say so myself.
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/albums/Roy_L_S's_Layout_and_Models/Dir_1/main_19347.JPG)
The loco I am probably proudest of is B1 "Gnu", this Langley kit sits on the much better BachFarish A3 chassis, the airbrushing was done by my ex (a very capable modeller - better than me) I did the lining and lettering right down to the power classification and Route Availability which was pretty eyeball straining!
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/albums/Roy_L_S's_Layout_and_Models/Dir_1/main_14515.JPG)
Both locos were made well before there was any prospect of either being done as a RTR model, at a time where if you wanted something that wasn't available you got on and had a go, or didn't have one! It is easy to forget just how spoiled we are for RTR models these days...
Regards
Roy
Quote from: Newportnobby on Today at 09:52:04 AMQuote from: AndyRA on Yesterday at 12:26:35 PM(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-080126122342.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157241)
@AndyRA Wow, Andy :goggleeyes: I guessed you'd have a lot of locos but didn't realise you'd employed a guard cat to keep an eye on them!
He also helps to select the next Loco to run. :D ;D
(https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/gallery/157/5731-090126122901.jpeg) (https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=157270)
47 steam, 12 diesel/dmu.
Quite a lot of rule 1s, eg Terrier, N Class, Blue Pullman, LMS 10001. SECR C Class may well be the next.
And I thought I had a lot of locos. Not so it would seem; vide supra