How much do you pay? What are your limits?


railfan

railfan

junk collector
I like buying rolling stock and have fun seeing it piling up in the train room......someday soon filling up a big yard on my layout. So far mostly coal hoppers, box cars, flat cars, gondolas. Favorite railroads are Union Pacific, ATSF, and BNSF. Can't say I'm really modeling anything in particular.....haven't got that far yet........but do have an operational one scale mile loop on a U-shaped platform.

An enjoyable part for me is scoping out good deals on the items I like. Try to get freight cars for around $8 or less. Sometimes I can even get a few microtrains brand cars for that. Alot of my N scale collection was bought used for much less. Sometimes I'll spend up to $15 per item for nice passenger cars....but that's pretty rare.

What do you pay for rolling stock? What is a good deal to you?....and......do you see prices for new items are going up? All scales welcome!
 
I don't pay more than $15 for a BLI freight car and maybe $40 for a passenger car. I have picked up quite a few sets of intermodal stuff on ebay for less than $60. They all clean up pretty good and blend in with the rest of the stuff. I do have some upper scale detailed rolling stock that I can pull out of a consist to show the hand rails and sprung trucks. Visitors then think all the rolling stock is detailed like that.
 
Call me a cheapskate, or a relic, or whatever, but I have never paid and intend to never pay more that $5 for a freight car. Blue Box/MDC/Roundhouse are fine with me, with a few nicer Branchline cars thrown in when good deals were available. I've also never paid over $100 for a locomotive. In fact, besides my $99 Berkshire, I don't believe any others were over $70. Most were had for much less. My diesels are mainly Proto 1000 and Atlas (mostly Yellow Box, one Red Box and one Silver), and my steamers Bachmann Spectrum.

Of course, I haven't purchased any new equipment in over a year, either.

Jim
 
Guess I'm a cheapskate too. Thankfully I have most of the rolling stock I need, having acquired most of it over 20 plus years ago, but like a lot of modelers, you can always come across something else you like. I am looking for a couple more steam locomotives, but most of what I find that I can use are way out of the ball park. Most are DCC equipped, and being that I am still apparently in the stone ages, I can't see paying for this feature being that I don't need it. A good locomotive would top out about $120. Freight cars are no more than $20. Being that I am a lone operator, and my layout is built for switching, I really don't need DCC, and would rather put the money to other purposes.
 
How much do I pay? Well you only have half the question here. The real question is how much for a given item? It is a want or a need? I once paid just south of $1,000.00 for a brass model I needed to complete a collection. This model will NEVER be made in plastic, so if I want one I have very limited options. Will I be paying $529.98 for the new A/B set of F units for the San Francisco Chief from Walthers, or $69.98-89.98 for the new cars for that train? NOPE! I am concerned about pricing for hew items. At those prices you're looking at over a grand for an ABBA F lashup, and I want to see it to be sure Walthers got the Sante Fe red right this time, not that disaster they had last time! I do wonder when pricing will "hit the wall" and where that will be, but I don't worry about it too much. There is plenty of low cost stuff out there, and if prices do hit the wall, well, markets have a way of self correcting when this happens.

I do like a good deal as much as anyone else, but I will pay for something important to my goal. I'm way past going out and foraging for freight cars, and these days am mostly picking and choosing specific items such as structure kits or specific passenger cars. I'm also fortunate to be gainfully employed and well paid for what I do. Some day when I'm on a fixed income and have different priorities my preferences may change, but by then I hope to have what I need be spending the hobby time building, running, and enjoying!
 
Espeefan said:
Will I be paying $529.98 for the new A/B set of F units for the San Francisco Chief from Walthers, or $69.98-89.98 for the new cars for that train?
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Nobody will be paying that much for those items unless they are foolish enough to pay list price.
 
I'm pretty thrifty when it comes to spending $$ on model railroad items. For rolling stock, I look for sale items or used equipment. I've had fair luck on Ebay, but a few disappointments as well. I knew that brass steam engines would be out of my reach, so I've been happy with plastic diesels - Athearn BB, older Atlas, used Kato and P2K, plus Bachmann Spectrum in more recent years. They run well and look good with a few detail parts, paint and weathering. As to dollar amounts, I have seldom spent over $100 on a loco (usually I try to stay under the $50 range). For rolling stock, it varies - I have spent over $25 for Kadee HO rolling stock but most of my Athearn, Accurail, P2K and Bowser stock was purchased at around $10 each, give or take.
 
GenSet said:
Nobody will be paying that much for those items unless they are foolish enough to pay list price.
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Think again my friend. With pre orders and limited runs some of these items will not make it to the clearance bin. The COLA/COSF Proto E units were a sell out and there have been others. Still even discounted these items will be pricey!
 
Well I'm certainly a cheapskate but as I need less and less I tend to spend more per item. The three DCC with sound Bachmann steamers I've added inthe last three years are the only locomotives I've ever paid over $100. My Prodigy Advanced2 is the most expense single purchase I've ever made for the layout. I really think long and hard when an item prices start approaching $30.
 
I've yet to pay over $99 for a locomotive and typically buy rolling stock for $10 to $15. That's including shipping as well. Do I think my cheap rolling stock is as good as the expensive stuff? No, but it's good enough from a few feet away and doesn't break the bank. My locos are Proto 1000 and athearn for diesels and Bachmann for steam. Some day I may spend more, but for now the less expensive stuff allows me to play trains without going broke.
 
I just bought some atlas hoppers that were the last ones of an older shipment I guess. They were about $8.69 each. The new shipment recently arrived is the same exact product and more than one outlet has raised the price to $10.99. I'll bet those will not sell as fast and the price will be lowered eventually.
 
Espeefan said:
How much do I pay? Well you only have half the question here. The real question is how much for a given item? It is a want or a need?...
I do like a good deal as much as anyone else, but I will pay for something important to my goal. ...
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Alan, I do exactly the same thing. The most I've ever paid for a loco was $300 for an articulated I wanted, (needed). After that, the most I paid for an engine was $279 back in 1977. As to the brass I've bought since then, the most I ever paid was $150. I look for garage sales, estate sales, e-bay, flea markets etc. I do make sure that when I do buy a piece of rolling stock, loco or car, that; 1. It fits my era. 2. If re-painting is needed, I already have the decals & paint. 3. I make sure that there is a reasonably, similar, if not exact car in my ORER. That keeps it to where 99.9% of new loco/rolling stock announcements are meaningless for me.
 
Espeefan said:
Think again my friend. With pre orders and limited runs some of these items will not make it to the clearance bin. The COLA/COSF Proto E units were a sell out and there have been others. Still even discounted these items will be pricey!
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I've thought (and bought) plenty. Even with a pre-order, nobody has to pay list. I never do, and I have bought more than a few items on pre-order through reputable dealers.

If some models are too rich for your blood, don't buy them. Why whinge on-line about it?

Do you go on Porsche forums and complain that they aren't as cheap as Yugos?
 
GenSet said:
I've thought (and bought) plenty. Even with a pre-order, nobody has to pay list. I never do, and I have bought more than a few items on pre-order through reputable dealers.

If some models are too rich for your blood, don't buy them. Why whinge on-line about it?

Do you go on Porsche forums and complain that they aren't as cheap as Yugos?
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Wow. Snarky much? Well, the last time I checked this was a discussion forum. You know, people talk about the hobby and exchange ideas. I take it you are familiar with the concept? If you go back and read my post, where I was going was that the price of some of the newer models even with a dealer discount they are still going to be expensive. Some shops give you a 10% discount, some 20% some none. With low run numbers that are common these days you may find that shops hard pressed to stay profitable may shave the discount or eliminate it, especially with something popular (you know, that supply and demand thing). If you look at the $549.00 price tag for that Santa Fe A/B set, even discounted 20% an ABBA lashup will still run around $900.00 after tax and/or shipping depending where you deal. I could swing that if it was something I wanted, but if you look at what most other posters here are revealing about their hobby budgets it does concern me that beginners, and younger people may be priced out of the hobby. I guess we'll have to see what the market does. I did say it tends to self correct, remember? I don't recall any whining, just a market discussion. We have those here from time to time.
 
Cjcrescent said:
Alan, I do exactly the same thing. The most I've ever paid for a loco was $300 for an articulated I wanted, (needed). After that, the most I paid for an engine was $279 back in 1977. As to the brass I've bought since then, the most I ever paid was $150. I look for garage sales, estate sales, e-bay, flea markets etc. I do make sure that when I do buy a piece of rolling stock, loco or car, that; 1. It fits my era. 2. If re-painting is needed, I already have the decals & paint. 3. I make sure that there is a reasonably, similar, if not exact car in my ORER. That keeps it to where 99.9% of new loco/rolling stock announcements are meaningless for me.
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Luckily Carey, my brass buying days are pretty much behind me. Every now & then I pick up the odd passenger car, but I've plateaued on the steamers and actually started looking at some models and wondered if they should stay in the stable:rolleyes:. Since I moved up here my interests have stayed pretty much the same, but I did put together several passenger consists for the Super Chief, the Daylight, the Lark, some SP commute or local trains and a nice heavweight Pullman consist. There is also a 1941 COSF and a 1955 COLA built around cars that came from "The Gibson Collection" ;). In the "What the hell did I buy that for?" pile there is a Con Cor M-10000 bought in a moment of weakness. The history of that train fascinated me and I picked it up used.

I guess all this boils down to you can still do the hobby on a low budget and have top shelf stuff if you narrow your focus and stick with a specific "theme". I think Larry and Bob said that at a beginners clinic around 20 or so years ago! :rolleyes:
 
My limit is about $25 for a freight and about $110 for a locomotive but realistically I don't think that really much is out there today is worth more than about $20 for a freight car and about $75 for a locomotive. The prices are just out of sight. Like many of you, I have a collection and the amount that I buy is related to the cost. When I can find things for good prices that I want, I will buy. Today there are things that I want, GP15 and SD70ACe but the prices are just too high high so I pass.
 
ouengr said:
My limit is about $25 for a freight and about $110 for a locomotive but realistically I don't think that really much is out there today is worth more than about $20 for a freight car and about $75 for a locomotive. The prices are just out of sight. Like many of you, I have a collection and the amount that I buy is related to the cost. When I can find things for good prices that I want, I will buy. Today there are things that I want, GP15 and SD70ACe but the prices are just too high high so I pass.
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I was just up on e-Bay and there are a bunch of Genesis GP-15's in your price range or awfully close. New in the box. Check it out. The Aces are a little higher but non sound DCC versions are coming down. I'll bet you could score both in budget if you work at it!
 
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As I mentioned before, a majority of my locomotives and rolling stock was purchased well over 20 years ago. I don't know if it's just me, but in comparison to my available funds back then, and now, when I do have more available disposable income, things sure seem a lot more expensive now. Granted, the quality of what's on the market now is somewhat better than what was available years ago, but to me, it seems to be rising more than the available funds. Maybe it's " Old Timers Disease".
 
Nope, you are fine. LOL! We as a market have pushed the manufacturers into providing highly detailed models, and they cost more. I remember buying BB athearn GP-9's and F-7's than spending fifty or sixty bucks per loco on detail parts and decals to get the model I wanted, and the current crop of stuff is even more detailed than what I was doing 20 years ago. Now compounding the problem, the Chinese have decided they want a higher living standard. Other hobbies are experiencing the same problems. I also dabble in slot cars and they are seeing the same pricing surges year after year that we are with our models. Those models are also incredibly more detailed than the slot cars I remember from the 60's and 70's but at a cost!
 
A long, long time ago, what Atlas first brought out their Alcos, I think I paid somewhere in the area of about $45 for them. All were undecorated, and for just a little bit of time, and a few bucks worth of detail parts, such as number boards, marker lights, grab irons, MU hoses, horns etc, I built my Logan Valley fleet. They're not super detailed, but detailed to a reasonable point for me. I would hate to think what it would cost today to try to duplicate them.
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