Buying used or second hand rolling stock.

About 95% of my collection is used. 

You're not the only one who can't afford $80 plus cars on this site.

Secondary market has been great-I prefer it. Good deals and great folks. Trains have been fantastic also.

Depends on what you are looking for really. What are you looking to accomplish on your layout? What is the end product? Are you looking for specific Roadnames? Specific Era of modeling? Do you want to do short little trains, or get as many cars as you can on the layout? Is a specific look important or you going to blow them up ala Gomez Adams?

I've bought the Menards cars new off the shelf and other rolling stock second/third/fourth hand. Both have their pluses and minuses. It is fun to go to the shelf, look at all of the box cars/flat cars and pick one out to take home as a little treat. I've also gone to some shows and picked up rolling stock for like 3-5 dollars, most of it is PW or MPC era stuff, but it is fine for what my son and I do. One of the forum members here also set me up with an incredible deal on some rolling stock that is just fun to play with. I've met some really awesome people that way, they've really helped me on my way to get established with train things, expanding out our little empire.

Both options are going to need some tweaking to get to work the way you want it. The Menards cars are bright, and so far have survived some wicked drops that my 3 year old has subjected them to, but I had to do a little bit of adjustment on couplers, wheels, etc to get them to roll the way I wanted them too. I've bought some cars at shows that work great but look a bit ugly, and I've gotten some cars that end up going into the boneyard at the end of the layout.

For my purposes, those options are a nice way for us to spend some fun time away from everything in the basement. So a three dollar boxcar is fine, 7 flat cars with hotwheels duct taped to them is great, and a 20 dollar Box Car with opening doors is a treat so that plastic army men can go into it.

I have student loans, a mortgage, day care, car payments, etc. I can justify to the boss a Menards car or two every now and then. I can't justify one that costs 3 times as much with the correct amount of rivets, and, at the same time others can and do demand that level of fidelity.

I'm sure those who have been around in the hobby will have more to say, this is just my 2 dollars. My thoughts and the 2 bucks will get you a McChicken and a Large Coke.  :-)

86TA355SR posted:

About 95% of my collection is used. 

You're not the only one who can't afford $80 plus cars on this site.

Secondary market has been great-I prefer it. Good deals and great folks. Trains have been fantastic also.

Well its nice to know that I am not alone.I brought second boxcars today.I went to chuckstrains in landis nc.I got a up double door box car.A nice little red caboose a nice 50ft flatcar a nice nyc gon a up,a acl white boxcar with red doors.I please with what I brought today.

Hey  there is nothing wrong with buying almost any item used, second hand of third ...  I am getting ready to start selling literally hundreds of items of rolling stock never removed from the box.  Whoever buys it will be getting some really nice brand new items that are second hand, and will be priced like it, but are actually brand new.  Will also be selling many Lionel TMCC and Legacy engines a few MTH and K-Line.  I Have like 100 engines. No wonder my wife wants to shoot me! I only have a small room available to use to build a layout in.  (about 11 by 12) So far, it has only been a warehouse.  I decided time to part with 80% of the collection, and create enough room to build a modest Legacy and TMCC controlled layout.

Is it now allowable for one to post for sale lists on the forum?   I have been a member here since the forum began, but my activity has been in spurts.  I was super active on the old AOL train board. In the mid to late 90's I was very active here.  Lived in a different state then, and did have a modest layout that I really enjoyed.  Did not run much of my stuff, but did enjoy the hobby.  I complicate things for myself because I have extensive N, Z, O and G gauge collections.  Going to give up Z even though I like it, convert the N to DCC of else give it up.  Ditto for the G.  Remote control or give it up.

TRACK PLAN SUGGESTIONS TO FIT AN 11 BY 12 ROOM VERY WELCOME!

I welcome private emails if you might like me to put together an inventory and asking price list.  I will most likely do this by a moving (large Home Depot) box at a time.  I think I will but new ULine boxes for shipping.

Best regards to all, DCH

Aldovar posted:

Depends on what you are looking for really. What are you looking to accomplish on your layout? What is the end product? Are you looking for specific Roadnames? Specific Era of modeling? Do you want to do short little trains, or get as many cars as you can on the layout? Is a specific look important or you going to blow them up ala Gomez Adams?

I've bought the Menards cars new off the shelf and other rolling stock second/third/fourth hand. Both have their pluses and minuses. It is fun to go to the shelf, look at all of the box cars/flat cars and pick one out to take home as a little treat. I've also gone to some shows and picked up rolling stock for like 3-5 dollars, most of it is PW or MPC era stuff, but it is fine for what my son and I do. One of the forum members here also set me up with an incredible deal on some rolling stock that is just fun to play with. I've met some really awesome people that way, they've really helped me on my way to get established with train things, expanding out our little empire.

Both options are going to need some tweaking to get to work the way you want it. The Menards cars are bright, and so far have survived some wicked drops that my 3 year old has subjected them to, but I had to do a little bit of adjustment on couplers, wheels, etc to get them to roll the way I wanted them too. I've bought some cars at shows that work great but look a bit ugly, and I've gotten some cars that end up going into the boneyard at the end of the layout.

For my purposes, those options are a nice way for us to spend some fun time away from everything in the basement. So a three dollar boxcar is fine, 7 flat cars with hotwheels duct taped to them is great, and a 20 dollar Box Car with opening doors is a treat so that plastic army men can go into it.

I have student loans, a mortgage, day care, car payments, etc. I can justify to the boss a Menards car or two every now and then. I can't justify one that costs 3 times as much with the correct amount of rivets, and, at the same time others can and do demand that level of fidelity.

I'm sure those who have been around in the hobby will have more to say, this is just my 2 dollars. My thoughts and the 2 bucks will get you a McChicken and a Large Coke.  :-)

What you just stated is true.And I agree with you about going to the shelf and pick a few out.If its a flatcar you can put any thing on it.I like to put on a oddball load.Try to make look some heavy machine headed for a factory. 

Most of the "stuff' I buy is off the for sale forum. Check it out is under the miscellaneous section.

Brent

BReece posted:

Most of the "stuff' I buy is off the for sale forum. Check it out is under the miscellaneous section.

Brent

I might just do that.

here in the Uk I have to but s/h all the time - no choice!

I go used every time. Flea markets, train shows, relatives- they are all good sources of used, inexpensive trains.

There is no intrinsic problem with buying used.     You do need to be cautious when selecting sellers.    And if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

However, if your interest is collecting "mint", you probablty need to buy new.    Collectors that you may want to resell to, want new unopened in the box etc etc.

Model Railroaders want a favorite car for their own use

Not just model railroaders- all train operators!

prrjim posted:

There is no intrinsic problem with buying used.     You do need to be cautious when selecting sellers.    And if something seems too good to be true, it probably is!

However, if your interest is collecting "mint", you probablty need to buy new.    Collectors that you may want to resell to, want new unopened in the box etc etc.

Model Railroaders want a favorite car for their own use

 

Welcome to the world of 'affordable' O gauge.  The majority of my rolling stock was bought used, and under $15 per car.  Up until a few months ago the entirety of new cars I owned was one log car I splurged the $60.00 on several years back,and half a dozen other cars that had bee gifts from family.  I've since tripled the number of new cars I have bought, by adding a pair of box cars from menards.  At $20 for a new product, these are still priced in my range of affordable, and so they have become another option open to me and my budget.  

Now it has been discussed many times that the quality of the menards cars is somewhat below that of the higher prices offerings of other companies.  Because of this, you may still be better off sticking with used items from the others if the quality concerns you.  For me I don't see any difference in quality between the menards cars and the dozens of entry level/MPC cars I have.  I like that the menards cars give me the option to build a long train of matching cars if I want to, in my price range.  At this point I have a 'coal' train that is made of grain hoppers, MPC era coal hoppers, post war hoppers, and anything else hopper looking I could afford.  With the hoppers offered by Menards I now can afford to make the train look a little better.  A little more realistic.  

In the end, to me, the price is right for what you get, and for us low budget folks, it is nice to have the option to buy new.  

JGL

Buying and selling used rolling stock is a primary component of the hobby for me.  I enjoy the hunt for acquisitions and don't mind up-selling to obtain what I want. Like you, I'm on a limited budget - but I've managed to raise funds slowly to add nicer used items tomy collection. I benefit from a local shop that deals in Pre-war / Post-war / MPC but occasionally gets in the modern equipment I like.  They sell it cheap (thankfully) and are willing to deal on volume - so I buy it when it shows up - keep what fits my road - and sell the rest here on OGR or on the e-auction site and use the proceeds to buy more. I also shop around and have had success with live auction sites and the dash marketplace buying items below market - and then selling them for market or better.  

As others have stated - be cautious about what you are getting.  I've had good luck so far but I've seen some real rough stuff for way too much.

Since I am in to the old pre and post-war Lionel thing, most of my cars are used. I did find a cattle car from the 40s that was new-in-the-box.  Nothing wrong with used just keep your  eyes open !!

I recently downsized layout for second time over the past ten years or so. I have found t hat I'm not really interested in operation all that much. I don't need as much equipment now. So my only purchases now are reefer cars that I collect but if I were building to operate a larger layout with longer trains I would buy used for sure.

I love the fact that Menard's has produced an affordable scale sized boxcar for less than $20 if you buy in quantity.  I have a string of Reading and PRR boxcars that I bought for a fraction of the price of any other new option.  As stated, the Menard's cars don't have the fine detail of the $60-80 cars, but when they come by on the layout, it's difficult to impossible to tell the difference.  They also have nice sharp graphics, I really like the look.

The one downside of the Menard's boxcars is there are coupler problems with the trucks.  They changed the trucks on the 14" flatcars, so I have hopes that new boxcar offerings will have improved trucks/couplers.  I've taken the trucks apart and fixed most of them, and the remainder that refused to cooperate got glued shut, I don't need to open then anyway.  

Here's the thread where I did a review of the Menard's boxcar: Review: Menards Reading Boxcars

Hi Don:

So nice to see you posting. There is a dedicated Buy/Sell Forum if you look at the top of the page click on the "Forums" link .

I'd be interested to see what you have especially any K-Line items.

Good luck with selling the items Don. It made me chuckle to think of the old AOL On-Line Train Gang days.........

Paul aka Railrunnin

Railrunnin@gmail.com

"Used" isn't always a bargain.  Lots of MTH rolling stock (like the Premier Husky Stack) sells for more than MSRP on ebay nowadays.

In some cases you might even find "new" from certain dealers to be cheaper than what is being asked for on the secondary market.

I'm a fan of NOS (new old stock).  Star Hobbies in Annapolis, MD and Grzyboski in Moosic, PA have plenty.  Not only is it new, it is so old it was made in the USA!  Always a plus to me.  Added bonus:  Even if it's MSRP, since it was made in 1990 (for example) it is not super expensive.  Also train shows.  There is so much NOS in the pipeline, it's overwhelming.

nothing wrong with used stuff I have a 2056 Hudson from 1952 that runs,smokes and whistles

like a champ,I run it once a month just for the heck of it

If you are patient you can "have your cake and eat it too."  I've accumulated a nice selection of MTH Premier boxcars and have never paid more than $25 per car usually with the original box.They have excellent trucks and the graphics are beautiful.  Sometimes I've found them for $20 per car.  

About 75% of my rolling stock is used, and easily half of that came from right here on the forum's buy/sell board. I usually check the sale posts several times a day and have gotten some great bargains. Also, I have never had any problems with dishonest sellers here.

I buy most of my stuff used probably 90% of it has been owned by someone else before me. 7.5% of my new stuff is Menard's and the other 2.5 I buy brand new from a Forum Dealer. With me any engine I buy 2nd hand has to be from someone I know Fairly well and see it run for 5-10 minutes before I buy it. I have boughten 4 used locos with less than an hour of Running time this last year.

All of my MTH rolling stock, new & used, was purchased for $17 & under.  This includes a couple of large lots from motivated sellers.

Forgot to add to my earlier post-why buy new when I can find NIB/mint stuff at half the cost of new? In a world of rehashes this is easy.

I've saved thousands of dollars with this method!

I too have bought NIB MTH premiere boxcars,hoppers etc at train shows including York and never pay more than 20,25 dollars and sometimes if I buy 3 or 4, it's an even better deal depending on the dealer!

SeaBoardM2,

       In reality I purchase what I want and where I want, as long as the items I am purchasing are in good running order and look great.  I seldom purchase off of e-bay, never engines, to many Hood Winkers selling items there IMO.  Of course I loose out sometimes by not purchasing an item, I would liked to have had there.  Guns picked up a Shay Engine one year, at a Steal of a price.  I attend different Train Shows where you can find some sweet deals on rolling stock, and take advantage of the Train Show Specials some of the vendors run, like a fully restored Lionel KW Transformer for less than $55.00, from Ace here in Pittsburgh, Pa.  I do pick up some Tin Plate at these Train Shows also, usually in almost perfect shape, for more than reasonable money.  I also purchase from OGR members when the price is reasonable, just made a deal and picked up a Tin Plate Hellgate Bridge in like new condition, from one of the OGR members, this week.  Purchased 2 NIB Masonic Train sets from OGR members also, one I gifted to a Military Veteran, 32nd Degree Master Mason and the other was added to my own Masonic set, for running a double header 0-8-0 Masonic Train set up.  I have also have been purchasing the newer Menard's rolling stock freely, now that the Trucks have been upgraded they work fantastic and look great.  Look around you can come up with some real nice deals if you know what you are looking.

PCRR/Dave

The 2nd Weaver 0-8-0 Masonic Engine & the Original Lionel 249 Tin Plate Engine & Tender were purchased from OGR members, and I appreciate the members selling them to me, in perfect running shape.

Well I am suprised by this.I was thinking it was only be a few guys.Looks like I am wrong but thats cool in this chase I am glad to be wrong.Only time will tell if more people will join or get on board the used train market.Will it be enough to make train manufactors notice?Like I said befor only time will tell.Any way I like to thank all who reply here.

I would say about 75% of my engines and rolling stock were bought used, most of which were bought from OGR forum members.

Except for track, switches, scenic supplies and lighting (signals included);' I have purchased NOS, overruns, leftovers and used trains almost exclusively. I've never experienced a problem with this type of equipment and have saved a ton of money. Even if the used engines I buy need lubrication or repair down the road; I   buy the conventional stuff that is easily repairable. The market is presently flooded with trains so anything that I want, can be had at bargain prices.

I'm a big fan of " pre - owned" rolling stock.  New or used ( I only purchase used stock in great condition ) it look great on my layout.   I would say at least 50 percent of both freight and passenger rolling stock on my layout is "pre-owned".  

When I look at new prices today, I really can't afford those $70 plus dollar cars.  

When at shows I look for deals on new rolling stock ( and often find them ) and I look for deals on "pre - owned" rolling stock and find the greatest deals there.  Heck when folks come over to see the layout in action they don't know if what they are looking at are used freight cars or new freight cars ... especially when I weather them

I think the major mfrs. of 3 rail O gauge trains have lousy marketing.  Half the hobby, like me,  are in to running older, less complicated, more reliable, cheaper  pre and post war engines.  The mfrs. don't seem to make any attempt to tap this vast pool of potential customers in to the newer products. They just seem to rehash the "wow" factor  with more  complicated and expensive gimmicks in the new engines. I look at the new engines and some look pretty nice and I thought I would quit buying old, used Lionels and buy one. So looked in to just the cost of one of the new control systems !1  A lot more than I expected so that killed that idea. The big mfg. companies will never be able to really expand their market with all the old, durable used trains out there. Trying to pull in dad with their kids will never do it.  Too bad but business is a tough life.

90% of my rolling stock is used.......many items were junkers I buy for next to nothing and fix. All my passenger cars but one set are used.

I have never bought any new O-gauge trains. Not brag, just fact.

After reading here of all the pitfalls of buying new I don't see why anybody would buy new stuff, other than the warranty for sending stuff back to get it it fixed. Old stuff is a lot easier to fix yourself. If it needs fixing.

seaboardm2 posted:

For the while now I have been used rolling stock.In good shape of course and for me its all good.I thinking of giving menards rolling stock a try.Guys on this forum seems to like menards o gauge trains.And people on this are pretty good when it comes to trains.I like trains but I just can not pay almost a hundred dollars per boxcar.But that is just for me no one else.So I want your in put about going to the used or second hand market.Guys lets keep it cool remember I am asking for your in put here.Lets keep it light and fun.That being stated let the reply come.

Hi. New to forums and trains. I actually just have some questions about some old Lionels I found in my mom's attic. Thank you

I buy lots of used items. Often times that is the only way I can get many of the items I want.

I would recommend buying trains with pictures that clearly show the items you are interested in so you can be reasonably certain you are getting something in the condition you expect. I have been disappointed a few times because I didn't look closely at the pictures or there weren't enough pictures to clearly see what I was getting.

 I Am a believer in buying " previously enjoyed " aka used. I like Weaver cars have a ton of them and Atlas , Lionel and MTH. Most of the cars I buy are at least 50% off new msrp or more and most of the freight cars I buy are like new in box. I buy from train shows and TCA friends up here in NH.

Pre-loved.