How many of us RUN their trains, instead of displaying them only?? And how many display them still in the box??
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I don't buy them to sit in the box or on a shelf. I run every piece I have at some point. Sometimes they are stored in the boxes when I get other items out to operate but they never stay on a shelf or in a box.
Not all decisions are "Black and White" or on or off. A lot of the times the answer lies in the gray. In this hobby it takes no time to add a train to your collection. Bring it home and put it on a storage shelf. It is takes more time/effort to build/mount display shelves for that train. It takes way more time/space/effort/equipment to build a layout (temporary or permanent) to run that train. Given that a layout has been built, some may choose to RUN and see and hear that train in action (my personal choice). Others are satisfied simply knowing they own that train and can admire its on a Display shelf. Finally, there are train we own in storage that don't get displayed or run. Eventually they get sold, but rarely for more than they were purchased for.
This is a fair question, and there’s probably many different answers, as many folks enjoy this hobby in different perspectives. There’s the purist, display only, possibly in a display cabinet, keeping it dust free, then there’s the novice, that person may shelve it and before doing so, test it, lube it lightly just to be sure it works, then back to the shelf, (remember, One Year Warranty). Yes, some keep them packed away in boxes in a nice closet and never actually see the item, (poor choice)… I have friends that have bought trains for over 30 years and have never seen what they have bought, and passed away and gone to heaven, Wow…. I am a runner, a cautious runner, but everything gets tested, checked out, and test ran, and then shelved, but, every train, sound car, accessory, you name it, it gets checked out…. Just for Warranty’s sake. So, enjoy your new trains, they are made for fun and enjoyment. Happy Railroading Everyone
I run everything.
Not as frequently as I would like, however.
I'm a hardcore runner. They are models, to me. And my models are meant to be played with 
I run everything, from my newest to my oldest engines! I have a Lionel 2026 that is 70+ years old from my father, that might be the only thing I would display but it basically never leaves the table.
I have an extensive Post War collection which is on display,I run all of the DCS and Legacy,Vision that I Buy.
I'm a small operator. So what doesn't fit on the layout is put on shelves for display until it's their turn to run on the layout.
I have a decent sized collection of pre-war, post-war and modern era TMCC motive power and do my best to run everything during the course of the year. This also helps me keep up with the maintenance requirements.
Run em!!! You can see them every Wednesday on Whistle Stop Wednesday Videos. The only engine I have never run is my Golden Lionel Hudson with caboose that is proudly displayed, in case, above my roll top desk in the parlor.
Hmm Interesting. I am an operator/runner. BUT I have some that do NOT get run on my layout because of length. Even though they require O72 which I have they are two long for some areas due to overhang clearances. Yet they do get run albeit not often. They are transported to a Friends layout and run. At least till he has the same problem. (He is still building his layout and has done NO Scenery). So yes I use shelves and run.
I think it has all been said about running or display. For me, when I started, the plan was to buy engines and equipment that would go on the layout. As the years went by and the layout reached its peek size the Train Goddess hounded me with the K-Line Midnight Chief and new entirely gorgeous rolling stock, engines and accessories that I could not resist. I had to build some shelving to satisfy the Goddess and now I am very much a runner and to some extent a small collector.
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Everything that can run will run. I get no pleasure walking into a room placing my hands on my hips declaring all this is mine and not being able to use it.
I am both. Awhile back I got hooked back on to postwar. I keep most trains off my layout. My latest project is matching my postwar engines to the cataloged sets. Think I'm almost done with the twenty or so engines I started with. Everything is shelved and run only occasionally on my small layout.
@necrails posted:walking into a room placing my hands on my hips declaring all this is mine
I do like to do that. But yeah, then I run them.
For now, little running and I only have one engine on display right now. Plans are to change this status. over the course of the year.
I run everything I have, except the ones that don't work.
@laz1957 posted:The only engine I have never run is my Golden Lionel Hudson with caboose that is proudly displayed, in case, above my roll top desk in the parlor.
Oh my Laz has a parlor. Well la dee da. Do you have tea with the king in the "parlor"?
Everything I have is RUN at some point. My dad started me in this obsession almost 60 years ago. Have never lost the childlike excitement in Lionel o gauge trains. It also helps to have a beautiful wife who says she sees the joy in my eyes when i am doing something with the trains. I hope this continues always!!!!
I run all of them, with the following exceptions:
--Lionel Prewar scale NYC Hudson and scale PRR switcher & 700-series freight cars (both need T-rail track) and gunmetal 763e Hudson (frame is warped slightly).
--My Standard Gauge trains. A few years ago, I decided to change my layout to O-gauge only, so my Standard Gauge trains are now shelf queens on the walls.
These are prized items in my collection as they were my Dad's and I will never part with them. The rest of my trains--even the ones that many collectors would keep behind glass--are runners. That's what they were built for. While I do enjoy the smoke and sounds of the modern command-equipped trains, I still love running prewar tinplate. Sometimes there is just no substitute for the air whistle and buzz of the e-unit.
@Mike Wyatt posted:How many of us RUN their trains, instead of displaying them only??
Mike,
Could your question alternatively be phrased as "Operate" vs. "Collect"? There are a number of previous threads on this topic with these terms in them.
We have some explicit collectors here but most are operators. Are you trying to get a rough estimate of how many of each?
These things would be good to know.
Mike
@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:Mike,
Could your question alternatively be phrased as "Operate" vs. "Collect"? There are a number of previous threads on this topic with these terms in them.
We have some explicit collectors here but most are operators. Are you trying to get a rough estimate of how many of each?
These things would be good to know.
Mike
Some people just collect/display their trains and have no layout. In my opinion, if you're an operator, that also makes you a collector; you can't operate trains if you don't first "collect" them.
I grew up with The Beach Boys. Run Run Run till my daddy takes my toy trains away.
@MartyE posted:Oh my Laz has a parlor. Well la dee da. Do you have tea with the king in the "parlor"?
Yes MARTY, a Parlor!!!! That’s where the good furniture is with the plastic covers on them, only used for when we have company.
I run them !
@laz1957 posted:Yes MARTY, a Parlor!!!! That’s where the good furniture is with the plastic covers on them, only used for when we have company.
I think the last time I heard the word "Parlor" used was back in the 70s by my grandmother. Laz, how does a cold beer taste when you're sitting in the parlor??
As a collector, I like to have trains that run. That being said, some of the trains get run more than others. For instance, these two early electric steam engines may not see any more run time on the layout, because after 105 years they deserve a break.
NWL
@BlueComet400 posted:I think the last time I heard the word "Parlor" used was back in the 70s by my grandmother. Laz, how does a cold beer taste when you're sitting in the parlor??
Great but only when there is company, then we take off the plastic covers. 
. Beers are usually consumed by the layout running trains.
@BlueComet400 posted:Some people just collect/display their trains and have no layout. In my opinion, if you're an operator, that also makes you a collector; you can't operate trains if you don't first "collect" them.
Previous threads seem to disagree. "Collectors" never run because it will hurt the value of their 'investment'. "Operators" always do because that's where the fun is. (Thanks to @romiller49 for the lead in on the fun, fun, fun ...)
Personally I prefer running. These days I would rather buy something with no box, than something sealed from the factory. You get better value, and you know that someone before you most likely actually ran it to break it in for you.
Mike
@BlueComet 400, No excuses, (just kidding) you really do not need the ancient Lionel T Rail track to operate those nice Post War steamers, Atlas O track is very sufficient, it’s solid rail not like Lionel T Rail which is brittle. I have friends with Lionel T rail and conductivity is only fair, however if bolted together properly it’s some better. I recommend enjoying every aspect of running your trains, it’s a lot of fun. On another note, there are few Buyers left, my thinking, that will appreciate these nice pieces. We cannot take these trains with us and this is a great reason to hi ball all of our trains. (Also, I wood look for a excellent to like new boiler for the 763, it’s just me)
@Wood, your shelves look great, and your layout is great, it’s a Wow.
I’m actually going to a great friends funeral this Friday, an ambassador of our great hobby, Mr. Sherman Leonard, 95 years young, who has almost everything Lionel ever made and his collection is now being sold by his son Wes, and yes, he has the largest Lionel T Rail layout I’ve ever seen, located in a 12 by 65 foot mobile home. It lives at Wes’s home near Huntsville Alabama. Now, that being said, Sherman tested everything he owned and enjoyed seeing them run, then they were placed on special shelves in his Living room.
We all look at our collections differently, there’s no correct answer. We just can’t take these jewels with us when the Lord calls us home.
@Romiller49, Yes, Yes, Yes, I met The Beach Boys in person at my school, SIU, Carbondale Illinois, 1964, on concert…. Run, Run, Run, go for the gold.
There are lots of views above as you can see, every one need to do it there way, and as the great singer Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra sang, “I did it My Way”, and he had a remarkable train collection.
Now, I’ll be quiet and go work on my layout. Happy Railroading Everyone 
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I am almost ashamed to admit-but I am mostly a collector. Wife and I raised 5 kids-so basement belonged to them. Somehow that remained my modus -operandi and now that I am retired, I am more inclined to scratch build/ alter existing ones to those trains never done by the major companies-just finished a PRR clearance car and a PRR MOW flat car with crawler crane. I run the trains in my head-but do have a short track to test my trains ( or trains of others which many come to me for a "fixin"-especially around the holidays). OK-I have finally gone to confession-do I stand any chance of getting into toy train heaven? turtle7 BTW-for those of you just starting out, get one of your kids to go into engineering. Our 5th is a mechanical engineer and is really great building stuff -actually he did the clearance car and it is a gem.
Generally speaking I’m a runner. That being said there are some that don’t run very often. The first o gauge engine I bought doesn’t run much since I burned out the motor. Thankfully Atlas had a replacement motor in stock, but I don’t want to rely on parts availability so it mostly sits. My grandfather’s train doesn’t run often either, mostly because the e-unit is a bit finicky and there’s a few missing couplers. My wife’s grandfather’s train needs wheels so it can’t run.
Everything else gets fairly regular track time…
I do not have a home layout but I do belong to a nearby club. I tried to run everything I purchas at the club during weekend run times or during holiday shows. This past year, I wasn'table to make the weekend run times. So now my new purchases have far exceeded my ablity to run my trains. I did get to run at our last holiday open houser but that was the end for our club. Our landlord decided not to renew our lease So now my present collection and future purchases will end up staying in their boxes until our club rebuilds in a new location.
I run all my trains when ever i get a chance.
"turtle 7" described me. I "build'em" and "store 'em", against a hope for future. Missing the mechanical engineer, though, dang it, really need one, and his twin brother, the electronic engineer.
Run, run, run.
Arnold
I display my Postwar Lionel collection and run ALL of my Lionel, MTH & Atlas modern trains regularly and as often as possible!
@Nation Wide Lines posted:As a collector, I like to have trains that run. That being said, some of the trains get run more than others. For instance, these two early electric steam engines may not see any more run time on the layout, because after 105 years they deserve a break.
They may "deserve" a break, but given their very sprightly performance, they don't seem overly eager for the "old trains home" yet! 
