So.. how many locos have you got ?

[woodyfox]

I have 2. A less than five category or a pitiful effort category would have been good.

[tomparryharry]

Well, I like to ring the changes on the 8-wagon shunting puzzle.

 

About a dozen locos I guess... I've never really counted the locomotives.

 

For me, it's more about the wagons. I'd really like 40-50 wagons in a rake. I've held off building layouts in the past because I couldn't achieve this maxim. Hopefully this will change over the winter. To my shame, I've hoarded locomotives in the past. I'd rather buy wagons than the equivalent money on a single locomotive.

 

Cheers,

 

Ian

Edited September 20, 2018 by tomparryharry

[rob D2]

I’m always amazed when people can’t remember how many locos or stock they own......at £100+ a pop, I know exactly where all my toys are !

[Jack]

I have more locos than sense ... not that I have many locos

[The Johnster]

Hi Johnster,

 

To give context to my situation I'm about a year back to toy trains after about a twenty year lay off. The locos that don't work are either retired due to old age, short of maintenance due to storage or are still as kit / project status.

 

As for the bikes one is on SORN, one was ready for the road after building it but then split with the woman and so delayed, then delayed further from falling off the one that now needs repairing, the fourth is mid build. There is always next year.

 

I dread to think how many coaches and trucks need attention though !

 

Gibbo.

 

Ah, now this is a familiar situation.  I returned to the fold about 2 years back, after some 25 years hiatus, and went through a similar experience.  As I unpacked things from the boxes, thinking I was in a fairly good situation, I found that of 5 locos that had survived from the old days, 2 refused to ever run again, another died within a week, and a fourth was on the way out for the same reasons that had put paid to one of the refusees and the one that died a week later.

 

To elucidate, a Westward kit 64xx that had been my best runner was out of quarter and irrepairable, and the others were all old Mainline locos that had succumbed to wear in the chassis blocks to the extent that the axles had worn through to the tops of their channels.  The only runner was an Airfix large prairie.  

 

This chassis died a few months back from terminal breakage of the slide bars, and has been replaced; none of the chassis that I unpacked from the boxes are still functioning.  Some of the bodies are still in service; the Airfix prairie (which now has a spare body because of the secondhand chassis donor), an 8750, and a 56xx.

 

I now have 9 locos, 10 if you include the spare body as a loco, and 9 working chassis, having bought new or secondhand recent and replaced old chassis.  I suspect you will have to dig into your pockets in a similar way, but the result should be a fleet of modern, good running, reliable chassis that will give you no bother for a long time. 

 

Coaches and wagons should be easier to deal with, but I have replaced many of my older wagon chassis as modern ones have brakes in line with the wheels and separate handbrake levers, not to mention much nicer looking buffers.  Even if you don't do this it's worth replacing plastic wheelsets with steel ones as they will run better and not spread muck around your layout to anything like the same extent.

 

Can't help with the bikes I'm afraid!

Edited September 20, 2018 by The Johnster

[Hroth]

I don't know, and I don't dare count......

 

Embarassed (North West)

[Chris M]

How a collection is used is perhaps more interesting than how many there are in the collection. If someone wants to collect locos and keep them unused in boxes then that's fine. Its also fine if you just want to run whatever loco takes your fancy; its your railway after all. I take a view that says all my locos must be a good fit for a specific purpose and whilst I currently have 68 they all work and all have a reason for being there. I believe locos should used in order to justify their existence and I don't have any shelf queens. When I say locos I really mean prime movers so a DMU would count as 1 item.

 

They work out as follows:-

For my main line N layout that has 11 storage roads - 12 locos correct for 1959, 13 locos correct for 1963 and 13 locos correct for 1968 (some locos are correct for more than one year so the numbers won't add up to 65)

For my branch line  N layout that can hold up to 7 trains at a time - 9 locos suitable for a branch line around 1960.

For my garden railway that can hold six trains at a time - 9 locos for when it is running as a tourist line and 22 when it is running as a short line.

3 OO locos for a Christmas layout and to keep grandson entertained in the winter.

 

Although I have a fair few locos in total in most cases I only just have enough to run the required service with a couple of spares in case of failure. My garden railway short line loco collection is excessive but this is what happens when you find yourself buying locos just to complete a collection. On reflection this was not a great thing to do as they don't all get the usage they deserve.

Edited September 21, 2018 by Chris M

[Londontram]

Back in the day when I built a large layout of an LMS engine shed I had about 50 locos but now I have about 15 Caledonian locos either built of as unbuilt kits and not really planing any more as this backlog is going to take a fair while to build

[60159]

Hmmm! Have just sneaked into the 51 - 100 category, have 3 on pre-order and a few more "essential" desired eg good and appropriate V2 and J39. Trying to resist the Dapol  class 22. Far too many for layout and keep meaning to slim down the collection but can't find any I can bear to part with, particularly the kit-built ones. Haven't got to grips with why I have 3 (different) Black 5's and 3 (different) standard class 5's. Mind you, a poor attempt compared with some colleagues one of whom has the entire Coronation class within his collection and recently admitted to having 5 A2/3's .... Chas! 

[KDG]

Too many for my limited storage space, and loops on the layout, so I'm gradually selling off my Lima collection that don't now get used. Mrs KDG agrees that I have too many, but then at an exhibition last weekend, she spied a Bachmann class 150/1 in FGW and insisted that I buy if for her as it had pretty pink doors.

 

Who am I to argue?

 

So that's another one then.

[Mick Bonwick]

How many locomotives do you own ?

 

I haven't got a clue (that's been said before!) and I don't want to count them. I did sell 25 at auction last year, though.

[Right Away]

Having to watch the pennies to a degree, the temptation to "collect" motive power is tempered by basing my railway in a particular geographic area and time frame. Keeping locomotives and rolling stock within this theme narrows down the size of my stock and future purchases considerably (also appeasing my very understanding wife).

 

That is not to say I would not like a majestic Peppercorn or Stanier Pacific, but their presence, amongst many other "would likes" would simply not be prototypical to my modelled location and a limited budget deems I concentrate funds on items more appropriate. I do operate inter-regional excursions and "through" trains which permit some latitude when it comes to running "foreign" locomotives and stock.

 

As far as it goes, I don't really consider myself a true collector of locomotives; even the smartest has slight areas of weathering, thus none are in a "collectable" condition.

What they do however, is give immense pleasure when operating and to my mind that is what the modelling is about.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

If I adhere as rigidly to THE PLAN as I have managed to over the past eighteen years then I will ultimately top out at 102 (all traction, including counting one loco for a DMU formation.)

 

The scheme is based on a pool of stock for 34 train formations, some fixed sets because that's what was used on inner sub services, most of variable make up around a group of vehicles that are effectively the train identity.

 

An allowance of 2.4 steam locos and 0.6 of a diesel per train allows for changes over time like early to late crest, altered to Kylchap exhaust, displacement of steam classes by diesel substitutes. (I terminate in 1962 when Brush type 4 D1500 appears at KX, so never get to full dieselisation, thus insufficient diesels to power every train formation.) The locos are grouped by their principal role and are used 'any with any' appropriate train formations, which in the case of the wide firebox power means everything except inner sub, branch and and pick up goods.

 

So there we are, 34 train formations each with a three loco allocation = 102. Still some way short of that, and some current 'placeholder' locos will be sold as and when replaced by the correct class.

[The Stationmaster]

I haven't voted as there's no "I have no idea" button..............

 

Added to which I'd first have to find them in order to count them and I don't need to frighten myself.  And do unfinished/unstarted kits also count?

[kevinlms]

Relative to our forbears, we are loco-junkies.  I recently re-read the 1959 RM article "a Magnificent System", which describes a large, but uncluttered, layout featuring two double-track mainlines on a layout 40' long.

 

The locomotive stud was just 10 (kit-built) locomotives. 

But they were all professionally built models. As was the majority of the layout, so hardly 'For the Average Enthusiast'.

 

The March issue has the stock list of 9 locos, 3 are GWR, 5 LMS & 1 LNWR.

[kevinlms]

Added to which I'd first have to find them in order to count them and I don't need to frighten myself.  And do unfinished/unstarted kits also count?

The last point is very valid, as its hard to justify them running!

Edited September 21, 2018 by kevinlms

[DCB]

A useful exercise, I think I scraped 52 runners, all 00 gauge, 5 battery for outside, the rest 2 rail DC.

However my scrap box/ to do box is like a potted history of 50 odd years of modelling, flexichas chassis which never worked, hideously distorted white metal kits I once erroneously believed I could restore, white metal kits I built which never worked, white metal kits which worked for a bit and then didn't, white metal kits being restored, H/D Farish (00) and Gaiety bodies being modified repainted and detailed,  H/D and Triang chassis half modified.   Mainline/ Airfix bodies whose chassis died years ago.  Triang bodes whose chassis were appropriated for other projects, ditto bought as job lots.  At present rate of progress it will be 2100 at the earliest before I get it sorted.  Its 10.30 now and would take ten hours to chuck it all in a skip.  Maybe that's what I should do.    

[Horsetan]

….At present rate of progress it will be 2100 at the earliest before I get it sorted.....

 

….which gives rise to the general question: what plans have all of you made for them when you die?

 

Will they be sold off? Given to friends / relatives / clubs / museums? Binned? Or buried with you?

[John Tomlinson]

I’m always amazed when people can’t remember how many locos or stock they own......at £100+ a pop, I know exactly where all my toys are !

 

Hi Rob, I think the point is that if you've been in this for long enough, much of your stuff never cost anything like £100 a pop. I think, but don't really know, that I have around 150 locos, and I'd estimate an average of £40 - £45 per item, maybe £50 tops, though that is a guess. Even in recent years, use of ebay, toyfairs, show offers and general sales by the likes of Hattons has kept the price down a lot. Although this is still a fair sized total outlay, taken over 25 plus years the average per annum isn't so terrible. Had I arrived in the hobby recently, 150 locos at £130 over say four years would be something else!

 

John.

['CHARD]

Oh dear.  This puts me in mind of the Alan Partridge sequence about 'Bono:' 

 

 

Sonja: Who are all these cars? 

 

Alan: They're Bono's.

 

Sonja: All these cars?

 

Alan: He's got the biggest collection of hatchbacks in the county.

 

[TT-Pete]

A slight variation on the question for me would be ; "How many different scales/gauges are the locomotives that you own?":

 

OO 

HO

TT (uk 1:101)

TT (continental 1:120)

HOm (Bemo)

OOm (freelance OO scale bodies on 12mm gauge mechanisms)

N 

 

(And still I keep ogling the new L&B models in the magazines and telling myself "Noooooooooooooooo!!")

 

Peter

[sharris]

Well, I like to ring the changes on the 8-wagon shunting puzzle.

 

 

How about 8 locos, 1 wagon and how to get a loco at the far end of a siding behind 3 others in front of the wagon?

[The Johnster]

Added to which I'd first have to find them in order to count them and I don't need to frighten myself.  And do unfinished/unstarted kits also count?

 

I 'd say they'd have to if we are including bodies that share common chassis as an 'intent'; kits are an intent in the same way, surely.  But there are limits, and locos you intend to buy one day don't count!

[The Johnster]

Hi Rob, I think the point is that if you've been in this for long enough, much of your stuff never cost anything like £100 a pop. I think, but don't really know, that I have around 150 locos, and I'd estimate an average of £40 - £45 per item, maybe £50 tops, though that is a guess. Even in recent years, use of ebay, toyfairs, show offers and general sales by the likes of Hattons has kept the price down a lot. Although this is still a fair sized total outlay, taken over 25 plus years the average per annum isn't so terrible. Had I arrived in the hobby recently, 150 locos at £130 over say four years would be something else!

 

John.

Yes, but you have to factor in inflation and cost the replacement of them as you might for insurance purposes.  But the thread's about how many you have, not how much you've spent...

[Steven B]

Enough but the proportions for each class are wrong. I need to swap a few class 60s for class 31s.....

 

 

Steven B.