100% Passenger Train Operators

I'm a "smooth operator" myself, but I love passenger trains. Actually I only run freight on my layout, but that may change soon.

 

I run about 95% passenger trains on my loop (not a layout).  My preference for passenger trains is one of the things that got me out of Marx, where there aren't many choices in that regard.

I'm about 75/25 passenger and leaning more that way everyday.

 

Still contemplating pulling the trigger on the Neil Young Texas Special.

I'm leaning that way. For now I have only trolleys, but future plans (in a bigger space--with a basement, Yes!!) are for Lionel interurbans or perhaps full passenger trains.  Freight doesn't excite me.

As a "steam guy", there are just WAY TOO MANY spectacular steam locomotives that where designed for heavy freight service; such as CB&Q M4a 2-10-4s, C&O T-1 2-10-4s, NP Z-8 4-6-6-4s, N&W Y6 and A class articulateds, UP 4-8-8-4s, DM&IR 2-8-8-4s, and probably the most famous of all the C&O H-8 2-6-6-6s. As a result, I am simply NOT LIMITED/RESTRICTED to ONLY passenger trains.

Are your trolleys 100% passenger?  haha Do you have a Lioneo/O trolley/inerurban running now?  I'd like to see that!

I've got to have both.  Most of what I have and want seems to be more appropriate for passenger service, and I do dream of having a large, European-style passenger terminal as a focal point, but it just wouldn't be complete without some kind of freight operations.

Aaron

Guilty,  passenger trains forever.

I was close to all passenger service, then late this past summer I added a fleet of reefers, hoppers, and box cars.....still constantly pulled towards more passenger cars. 

My Preference is Passenger service but somehow freight find it way onto the loops. It was a 50/50 mix until I added two more loops. Now I've got my eye on a Williams Pennsylvania F7 passenger set.

I have a great love for my many passenger trains. But I do have a downfall and that is my love with operating cars and accessories.

 

Right now I do not have a layout, but in the future any layout will have to split service 50/50.

 

IMO, passenger trains clearly have the greatest visual appeal, but I love the freight.

No layout, just a loop.  I own prob 60/40 freight but the passenger cars remain in the boxes, except Polar Expess set, until something more appropriate to run them on.  

Ron

I run my passenger trains mostly in the evening with the lights off.  The train gives off awesome glows when transiting the layout.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

 

 

and if you model them right before Amtrak, you don't have tp put people in them because people were not riding the real ones!

At present I have a very small Superstreets D16 oval with D21 curves on their way. Really more of a diorama than a  layout--space is the issue. I have four O scale trolleys (K-Line Coca Cola, Atlas O Industrial Rail, a two rail Corgi PCC [from a former O gauge fling] and a display SPTC PCC). Right now I'm very tempted by the WBB Peter Witt. The trolleys would probably be in a L shaped configuration so I could create a transfer point as a focal point. The interurban(s) get their own loop on a separate table. I still have to find a suitable Lionel interurban. I'm thinking Los Angeles Transit, Pacific Electric, 30s private detective setting  fun layout. There might be some Pacific Electric freight but not mainline freight.  

 

 

Sort'a. My "O" layout has one freight train. All the cars are operating cars. The other loop is passenger. My "S", "N", plus my 2 "O" Christmas layouts are all passenger only.

My passenger trains:

 

PRR Tuscan traditional

SP Daylight heavyweights

NYC Metro

 

My freight trains:

 

PRR

Chessie

Penn Central

NYC................................All with mixed consist

 

There are too many varieties of great looking freight cars to pass up this offering.

I love big steam as well, and many fill the roundhouse area of our layout, but for running  trains, it is all passenger service for us.

 

Marty, you have unbelievably good taste in trains. It is no wonder you are also all passenger service. Good for you!!!!!!

 

 

I won't be purely passenger, but my two favorite sets by far are my LO-V

Metropolitans for the elevated section I'm planning, as well as the Pennsylvania

MP-54 set.  I also have a Century Club GG1 that will eventually pull a nice

Congressional type of train, as well as several NYC steam engines for the

heavyweights.  I just wish I had enough room for the Grand Central Terminal.

That's an awesome structure!

 

     Hoppy

Count me in with the small handful of passenger car guys. I have a few obligatory boxcars: Operating milk car, Christmas cars, Natty Boh Reefer (Mandatory for a Baltimore boy). They get track time once a year. The rest of the time it's passenger only. Now that there are trains like the Acela, R27 and R30 subway, we have the modern passenger car equivalent of an operating boxcar. Also, MTH has been making some very nice passenger trains in recent years. If anybody gets the chance to see and run the MTH Orient Express with the 241-A or the 231 Pacific, they will be hard pressed not to have serious love for the passenger train segment.

TheBigCrabCake:

 

I love it, the more the merrier. I have to believe that this segment of our hobby is growing. What is not to like about beautiful passenger trains.

Yes, and the choices are no longer limited to silhouette windows or empty seats. This K-Line Heavyweight came with passengers already installed and this Williams Heavyweight has a nice Classic look alternative. A growing number of Modelers, especially on this forum are doing some amazing interior modifications to their passenger cars and are certainly inspiring others to give it a shot.

Hello guys and gals..........

 

I am building my first SCALE Santa Fe steam era passenger train

 

the woman who loves the S.F.5011,2678

Tiffany

That is THE number one passenger train I want! In fact, I have even considered designing a layout around this train alone!

The Rock Island \ Southern Pacific Golden State is always running on track one...The Rocky Mountain Rocket as well. The other tracks are occupied by Rock Island freight consists.

85/15 split for me. 4 separate loops, 3 almost exclusively passenger, the 4th loop split between passenger and freight.

 

Tim

Does it count that I have a 100% passenger mainline and a 100% freight mainline? 

 

Art

Brian

Would love to see that Triplex and Allegheny doubleheading on one of your passenger trains.  I always say since its my railroad anything can run

Passenger Train Collector, In my heart I am all Passenger, on the layout I have one main dedicated to passenger service and on the other main I have 4 freight and 1 passenger consist that share it. By far the passenger trains were the most beautiful part of railroading. I have a book on Pullman that has some gorgeous passenger cars. The artistry of the interiors amazes me. If I were to start over in this hobby, I would definitely build a layout strictly for passenger trains.

In the beginning, my railroad was to be an operating museum of named steam era passenger trains. Like many real railroads, my layout has a single track main line with a double ended yard, a single ended yard, and a few sidings.

 

However loop running quickly became boring to me, and then I saw a video about Jerry Jacobson's Ohio Central Railroad. Wow! What a great way to run a railroad as a museum with revenue freight trains as well.

 

So mimicking the Ohio Central operation, I now run two passenger trains with a drag freight train just to make operations more exciting. Occasionally I run two hot shot freight trains and a passenger or commuter train for diversity.

 

A problem with passenger trains arises when you have many, but not enough tracks to stage them all. This problem is the reason I am building a 2nd level underneath the current bench top with five 26-foot single ended storage tracks, and a runaround loop.

I've always loved the romance and beauty of the passenger trains.    But the Lionel Lines has to make money, so no, I run freights as well - maybe one out of three trains running at any one time.

I know a gentleman in Maine who runs exclusively Passenger Trains.

I can not blame him, Passenger Trains in O Gauge in my opinion are

beautiful to watch, and run on any size layout.

 

For my two main lines I will run freight and passenger just to mix it

up.  But to have two beautiful aluminum passenger trains led by a

F-3 ABA is tops in my book.  Good Topic.

 

Many thanks,

 

Billy C

Matching passenger trains look great, you look forward to them passing by like the chorus of a song.

 

Freight trains provide a huge visual variety of both engines and cars, plus they don't need that huge subsidy

 

PTC,

   No way, my favorite trains are the old work & logging trains, I however have a lot of

Passenger trains, of which I like the PRR GG1 or Shark Nose Military Troup Transport best of all.

PCRR/Dave

 

 

The PRR Green Troup Transport is also quite nice.

 

 

Art:

 

I know in your heart that you are a passenger train guy. Why else would you have two of the most beautiful passenger trains that are found on your layout, the CZ and El Capitan. That K-Line 21" CZ set is rare and beautiful.

 

Ben:

 

For sure, I will do this. Both of these are two of my favorite engines. When the Erie Triplex was hard to get, I looked for a number of years to find it. Thanks to Vince of Vincent Trains, he made it happen. In honor of you Ben,I am going to have to start looking for some K-Line Lackawanna or Erie passenger cars to make this a special run.

 

Paul, "in your heart" counts here.

 

 

Bobby:

 

I sure like your idea of a new yard to store passenger trains.

 

Billy:

 

This guy in Maine must have good taste. 

I am a 100% passenger train operator.  It started when my older brother bought out his Lionel Budd RDC B&O 400, 404, & 2559 around the holidays.  My first set was the MPC era Milwaukee Limited set and progressed to the Amtrak F3 ABA with a Williams Reproduction Amtrak set.  My favorite passenger locomotive is the E-8 in which I have in Weaver and MTH in Amtrak, Baltimore & Ohio, and Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac road names.  My rule of thumb is one engine to atleast 3-4 cars.  I would like MTH to come out with some two car passenger sets of existing classic passenger cars I can run at the end of my Amtrak consist such as the Milwaukee road Hiawatha Skytop lounge observation car and Super Dome.

Well, I have a string of 027 NYC passenger cars for my 736 and 2046.  And I have a string of 027 PRR passenger cars for my Lionel GG1.  But I have yet to get any scale passenger cars for my scale hi-rail locomotives. 

 

Firstly, all the ones I've looked at seem to be quite expensive, and only available in high-priced sets.  And secondly, my layout is rather small (by necessity), with 048 and a couple of 036 curves, so I don't know how well scale passenger cars would function.

 

That being the case, I'm limited to scale freight cars at the moment.

 

I'm pretty much a passenger train guy. Love them. I prefer the streamliners over the older Pullman types.

 

But I run Disney, Hershey's and other assorted colorful stuff for the grandchildren.

 

My indulgence in the freight train arena is sin trains -- cigarettes and booze (beer or alcohol). There's a lot of good "sin" stuff out there. In particular, Lionel made some really neat stuff 15 or 20 years ago. I like Mike's modern stuff.

 

Gerry