How many are "too many"?

[D1042 Western Princess]

Not quite sure which section to put this question in but I anticipate a moderator will move it if it's in the wrong place.
In conversation with another member he told me he was reducing the size of his loco fleet as he considered it too big whereas I, with just 15 locos, want a large number more. He was surprised by this and said I had about twice the number he did.
The late, great Cyril Freezer said "The average enthusiast has a fleet about twice the size he needs and about half the size he wants" so the question is "How many locomotives are "too many"? 

[PostModN66]

It's probably too many when you forget what you have.  On a couple of occasions I have bought locos only to find later they are duplicates of ones I already own! 

Cheers  Jon 

[Pengi]

I have half the fleet I want and twice the fleet I need.

This is because there are certain trains that I want that are not available and probably will never be made in N  (Javelin, Pendolino, Electrostar, etc). So to compensate have bought other trains that were 'nice to haves' but not really what I need e.g. London Midland Desiro when I wanted a SWT Desiro.

[D1042 Western Princess]

I have half the fleet I want and twice the fleet I need.

This is because there are certain trains that I want that are not available and probably will never be made in N  (Javelin, Pendolino, Electrostar, etc). So to compensate have bought other trains that were 'nice to haves' but not really what I need e.g. London Midland Desiro when I wanted a SWT Desiro.

Never say never, Pengi. Not so long ago no one thought a Blue Pullman would be available RTR, nor the prototypes like Lion, Falcon, Kestrel, Deltic, the LMS "twins" etc and while some of these are not yet in N it is surely only a matter of time?

[Maurits71]

My thoughts, my fleet is never too big but this is because I buy what I like. my limits are my wallet and space on my layout.

[Luke Piewalker]

The thing is they are nice to look at...

The issue is that in the current market, just because something becomes available is no guarantee you will ever see it again... Which encourages acquisition on the 'just in case' basis...

[portland-docks]

Well lets put it this way, my current loco fleet is 40? Strong? And im still buying locos!

This is because i model heritage railways, so i like to have at least one model of each class renamed/renumbered to a preserved loco.

Then theres some where i bought more of set class e.g black 5, britannias, a4s,a3s.

These were due to wanting either locos in different liveries, or where there is more of that class preserved!

Biggest problem is, this year it will. Probably grow another 10 locos.

I dont feel you can have too many, it just gives you more options and variety to play with

[tutenkhamunsleeping]

I'm not sure I understand the question

[ParkeNd]

The thread you have just started could be one of the most interesting for quite a while so thanks for thinking of it.

"Too many" I propose is reached when say 1/3 of your fleet never come out of their boxes. In other words when you have a significant proportion that are too much of an effort to "put on the rails". So layout size comes into it.

In my case I have 14 locos and just 9 can be on the layout at one time. About a further 4 are no problem to swop for others when I feel a particular yen for the smoothness of diesels, or want a particular favourite to run.

So testing my own proposal then my optimum fleet size is 13 by pure maths. Applying just a bit of judgement to this I would say that I really shouldn't buy any more unless one breaks.

My pre-orders number 7. This is too many and is based on just lust. The green DMU and the Farish 64xx are definitely a "necessity" so 5 of the pre-orders should be cancelled.

This means that 2 of the locos I already have are "too many" and 5 of the Pre-orders are "too many" according to my proposed guideline. With my honest Logistics Managers hat on that feels right - I trust my gut feeling after applying maths and logic and if my gut still churns I have not got it right yet.

So having more than 1/3 more than you really ever put on the rails is "too many".

You still have most of the obsessives to reply and I always enjoy a good rant from an obsessive who is trying to justify himself. Thanks for raising the thread.

[portland-docks]

One thing my large fleet gives me options for...

Themed days!

Lner day/lms day/ gwr/ southern/ br/ branch line/ diesels/ end of steam

Allows me right good fun!

[gc4946]

"Having too many" means to me owning more locos that hardly ever been run.

We probably have our favourites which are regular runners and reliable.
However I also own quite a few UK Farish and Minitrix models, of which good quality second hand locos are now harder to get, so I've bought duplicates if I consider a particular loco type is important to my collection.
I've also bought duplicates of some current production if I'm aware spares are an issue.

In all honesty, I don't need a large fleet for operation.
I can get away by only running two or three locos per session, yet I also can ring the changes to represent different eras and regions.

[sparky]

For me currently the limiting factor is rolling stock...I have 10 diesel locos and 2 DMU all BR blue era ish...layout size when finished will be 16ft by 10ft with 4 track wide main running loops right around...I am now trying to concentrate on adding more coaches and wagons to my  8 rakes to get a realistic look... As I have good track running lengths available then I run a minimum of say 20 HAA coals wagons in rake and aim for at least 8 coachs in a  passenger rake...I could spend a small fortune on more locos but need to build up the rolling stock...the question therefore of how many is too many also should be asked of wagons and coaches as well?.....the boxes of code 55 and points are enough for a 2nd mortgage

[Michael Shillabeer]

When I was a teenager, my parents didn't understand why I wanted more than one loco... surely one was enough?

Sadly in recent years I had to sell most of my collection to finance living, even my kit built  O Gauge Duchess and Class 66 had to go fortunately things are a little better now and I recently bought my first loco in 7 years 

Best regards
Michael

[talisman56]

I don't think I have a 'maximum size' of my fleet (both locos and rolling stock). I buy enough to fill the storage boxes I have... then buy some more storage boxes.

I have enough for my 60s-era scenario on 'Dunestone' (I think). Anything I buy now will probably be more for the 50s and 30s-eras I want to run.

[Malc]

I daren't count my fleet. I work on the principle that if it looks good and the price is right, then it would be a shame to let it go. So all eras, all continents and most makes. The only regrets are a few Lima locos that I bought early on, when I didn't know better. They are a bit oversize and don't all run.