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Wondering if others go through changing tastes in O.

I got into O Gauge in the early 2000s starting with a pile of O27 postwar inherited from my grandfather. I immediately bought a Santa Fe passenger set from my LHS thinking everyone had to have some Warbonnet. Then I added an E/L switcher because I like the colors.

As time has gone on, though, I find myself gravitating to steam and a desire to focus on just a few roadnames. Being a semi-scaler, I have some limitations on roadnames, but there seems to be plenty, especially in Eastern roads that went through my hometown of Cleveland. Much as I liked the Warbonnet, I'm now more attracted to the blue/gray NYC and tuscan PRR passenger cars, heavyweight or streamlined, as well as the blue of the B&O. I find that I even like the Rail King PRR silver streamliners better than the Warbonnet. There's also enough, though less, in NKP to keep me focused on those 4 roads, and I think that's all I will own other than my grandfather's old PW collection.

On another thread, I asked about upgrading my TMCC FT.  I've decided to thin the herd and give that passenger set plus 3 other sets to two of my daughters and son-in-law/fiance to get them started in the hobby. Both guys are elated. In fact, I was suppose to help one set up last week, but he got Covid, so it'll be a few weeks. So, off goes the Santa Fe, Erie Lackwanna SW9, Chessie Mikado, and Lionel Lines Berk Jr. to get the kids started as a pre-inheritance. They are all early TMCC or LC+, so they can dip into command if they want.

My wife says I have "Train ADHD", so I'm wondering if others' tastes have changed.

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@raising4daughters: I know the feeling of changing tastes. I find that my interests in hobbies, particularly model railroading, drift over time. Over the last 20 years I have expanded from just HO, to HO and postwar O, to mostly tinplate O, to modern command control O PLUS tinplate and finally to clockwork O and all of the rest on top of it. I used to be exclusively NH and B&M, but then I expanded to PRR and NYC since those are easier to find. There are no strict rules; I own a CB&Q streamliner, a NJC steamer and a bunch of US Army rolling stock.

The saying I most often hear in this part of the hobby is "Run what you like". That's one of my favorite things about O Gauge, no one gets bent out of shape if you mix and match railroads or periods, it's all fine.

Now if you couple up a modern scale locomotive to a bunch of prewar passenger cars, THAT'S how you start trouble! Did that at a train show once and almost got the scale guys and the tinplate guys to fight

my interests are sometimes like a roller coaster . i used to be into a lot of the big name railroads all the time but thanks to youtube and lionel i have discovered that i have a growing soft spot for northeastern class 2 and 3 railroads like the New Hope and Ivyland and strasburg and others

probably if i base my freelance railroad off of a railroad like those with a small roster and such i should be fine

@raising4daughters: I got into O gauge back in 2008 after visiting a large basement layout near me. I have changed my layout now 3 times since. I recently tore out my track and in the next few weeks will start laying new track.

For me I want larger curves. I am going to increase my table size from 7’ to 10’ to allow for O108 and O99 curves. Eventually I want to purchase a few of the larger steam locomotives.

As like you I also grew up in northeast Ohio, specifically Mentor. As I have gotten older I am trying to focus more on modeling more from what I remember running through that area from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s.

My wife says the same thing about train ADHD. She says just finish a layout. LoL

Definitely. I started out with a borrowed Lionel set, got a Tyco HO set for Christmas one year, and was interested mostly in O gauge till I was about 13-14.  Got into HO and it’s been my “main” scale since, but I started collecting and running some O gauge again about 10 years ago.  Most recently I got some N scale to dabble in as well…

I need to focus lol.

Started out maybe 25-30 years ago with HO. Had a large layout in the third story of the home we owned then. I then entered the world of O and dabbled with N scale. When we purchased the next home I built a rather large O layout and had all  command  control. Found that my interest wasn't really in operations and decided to take down the large layout. Built a 5x10' with two levels. Years ago I purchased a #2037 from local store that had been sitting on his shelf. It for years sat on my shelf until for whatever reason I decided to run it......and thus my interest started to grow in postwar lionel. Now I run almost exclusively postwar and am collecting sets from that era. I'm also remaking my layout to 50's layout and starting to collect accessories from that period. Advice. Do what you like.

I have found in 46 continuous years of model railroading that my tastes have expanded, but have never really changed.  I started trying to model Amtrak and the New York & Long Branch starting in 1976 as a seven year old in HO scale with some very basic equipment.  Tyco, Life Like and some "high end" Athearn blue box models.  In college I took an interest in N due to space restrictions.  I decided on modeling the Chessie and the Burlington Northern for some now forgotten reason.  By the time I was out of college I was back to collecting and operating PRR, CNJ, PC, Conrail, and Amtrak.  As I returned to HO in my 20's I focused mainly on CNJ and PRR kit bashes and custom painting projects.  I discovered O scale in 2003 and surprise, surprise my first nearly scale O locomotive was an Amtrak one. 

I currently model CNJ and PRR on the NY&LB circa the mid 50's in 2 rail and have most of what I could hope for in terms of equipment.  I just lack the layout.  I still collect and operate Amtrak in 3 rail O.  The expansion to my hobby occurred when I started working for 3rd Rail and took an interest in the trains of the ATSF and more recently the CBQ.  While the CBQ will simply be a slight diversion once I build a decent passenger train for my lone E5, I have come to deeply appreciate the ATSF and the quality of service they provided on their trains. 

At the end of the day though, I always seem to drift back towards the trains I spent my most formative years watching from trackside or riding on.

Well, my dad built a good sized layout when I was born (1947), and it was Lionel.one set had a 221, and another had a 2035. We had the milk car, cattle car, dump cars, most accessories, and basic freight. As I grew into my teens, I slowly added cars, and had most of the Lionel action cars of the late fifties, early sixties, such as the satellite launching car Minuteman, submarine car, heliport. In my early 20’s, I started more realistic modeling in HO, and sold off my Lionel (Old story!). I built several HO layouts over the years, and when I re-married in the late 80’s, bought some Lionel to run around the Christmas tree. Well, that opened a can of worms. When we first moved to PA in 1995, I planned a big (about 10’ x 20’ layout, but didn’t get too far from a two track around the room, with a big staging yard. Somewhere around the later 90’s, I broke that layout up, sold off most of the HO, bought a used pool table, and plunged into building a 3 rail Lionel layout. Now, I’m poised to add a 5’x 10’ add-on. (I did retain a 4x8 HO layout, and a 1’ x 8’ shelf HO layout. My current 5x9:

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I'm always focused like a laser, but that focus changed many times over the many years ... eras, RR's, locales, and industries.

I've had steam-only layouts .... the Pere Marquette servicing Ford's River Rouge complex in Michigan, and the East Broad Top working small coal mines in central Pennsylvania ... to modern NS working Newark NJ's Oak Island Yard .... and lots in between.

Having smallish, around-the-walls layouts makes it easier to rip things up and change direction. Selling the old stuff, to help buy new stuff .... and usually losing my shirt in the process. lol

Now entering my 60s ... I think I'm done with the big changes. But, I am definitely a bit scatterbrained.

Happy Railroading

Last edited by CNJ Jim

I have made changes similar to some of those mentioned above.

My interests are now much more focused: northeastern fallen flag railroads, particularly the Putnam Division of the NY Central; ball parks; Postwar accessories; farm; scenery; Plasticville.

My other interests include modern locomotives: MTH Proto 2 and 3 running on DCS; Lionchief Plus and Lionchief Plus 2.0; one gorgeous Legacy 10 Wheeler that I run using the Lionchief Universal Remote.

I am excited about re-wiring my layout (now about 70% done), and plans for a layout expansion (will add 2 sidings and more Plasticville structures on a new piece of plywood 78 inches long and 27 inches wide).

I now understand that the layout is always a work in progress. Do trains run on it and is it scenicked? Yes, but it will never be completely finished, and I don't want it ever to be completely finished. Arnold

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