If you could only keep one engine?

Legacy FEF.

First on the list would be the 1920s Ives engine that I inherited from my father.  It doesn't run and my father did a bad repaint job so it has no collector value but it is family.

Next on the list would be some of my 3rd Rail brass engines.

Joe

My Lionel Vision Line Legacy Hudson.

Alternate: My green Proto 2.0 Brute.

northern s3 261

It would be my Sunset GG1 4800 "Rivets" in the 1935 scheme.  After putting 350 hours of my time into the project, it has a lot of personal meaning in addition to being the finest model of my favorite engine.  

Rail King Long Island Camelback.

Choose just ONE? NNNOoooooooo......

I suppose My new Imperial RK Northern (PS3) as it just got here today.

Runs sweet even at 1 scale MPH and I love the 'Wireless' drawbar.

Now I need to add the drop plate and Stoker tube and rePaint to Rio Grande for the finishing touches.

My 1950 2046 small hudson

Scott R. Conforto

It would be my most recent addition, a postwar 646 -

Should be good for at least another 56 or so years, at which rate it will outlive me.

Pete

My 1951 2046. It looks as good, and runs as well now as it did 60 years ago, and will probably be the same in another 60 years.

My railking imperial SP cabforward !!!!

Although i love my modern ones, this was my Dad's when he was  kid and then I grew up with it. Too many miles and still runs great.

Ray Marion

My layout is small, so if I want to run the locomotive, it needs to be one capable of negotiating O36 curves.

The layout that I am building focuses on a TrackMobile operation, so in that case it would be my Lionel TMCC TrackMobile. 

Well, being an AF 2-railer, it would be my 21085 C&NW Pacific that was in a set Dad and Mom gave me for Christmas around 1961.  (AND I still have an original bottle of Life-Like smoke fluid dedicated just to it.)   On my 2-rail O-scale personality, it would be my totally customized super detailed Weaver RS-3 painted and detailed as NYC 8256, me having many rides on the the real deal back before a litigous society.

Phil  

It would be the LGB DSP&P Mogul I repainted and named for my dad.

Rusty

I have trains that talk, brake sounds, chuff and are very detailed. Lionel, MTH, and Williams.

Keep just 1?

2039 I purchased with money I made in the orchards in 1952.

I have been known to throw track on the carpet and lay down to run it, and yes I do have a 13'x26' raised layout.

That old engine runs great, and, sometimes, so do I.

not sure. The 1684 that Dad got for Christmas, the 675 that was the first steamer I bought myself, the gunmetal 225E I built from pieces.......none worth big $$ but a lot to me.

and Rivets is beautiful!

Legacy ATSF Northern 3759

I would have to say my Atlas O GP9 that I painted in Penn Central colors.  It goes anywhere on my layout.  It is equally good at switching or pulling mainline freights.

Tom

My boyhood Lionel 2321 TrainMaster (w/maroon roof and no screw hole cracks).  First separate engine (not a set) that my dad bought for me, and aside from a very slight depression of the roof vents (caused by the light bulb) it is in the same condition as when purchased new.  Resides--proudly--in its own display case placed on the bookcase units located here in my home office.

First engine, a Lionel 2026 from 1949, received about 1951. runs well. smokes well.

Boy, this question is getting a lot tougher.

Think last time it was "what three engines would I keep.

I quess one of my third rail brass engines and probably the PRR M1b mountain.

Certainly a tough decision, seeing most of my engines have a good deal of sentimental value as they were Christmas gifts from my Mom.

I'd say my all time favorite is my Imperial Railking Y6B 2-8-8-2 Specialty set (Engine, 4 hoppers, and caboose).

Oh that is tough. I think I have the same sort of answer as everyone else. I would have to keep all the stuff that was my Grandpa's, and my first set, a UP Steam Freight Set from Lionel.

If it came down to only one, I would give my Grandpa's stuff to a family member, and keep my first set.

This would be too cruel a choice for me.  My stable is small and most of what I have has a good deal of sentimental value.  It is hard for me to imagine a situation where I couldn't keep half a dozen engines.

That is a tough one. My Dad's '46 2020 has to be the keeper, but it'd not my favorite.

My 2046,  1950. Looks great all the time. Worn a bit but like a pair of slippers, comfortable to run.  Has been run by 4 generations of family. It glows with memories during the holidays. 

There are 2.

Just checking back in here I can easily see a common thread.  The original question was a loaded one indeed!  It seems to me that our hobby for us is firmly built on many memories including Dad, Mom, and grandparents.  I'd say that we as youngsters lived in the best of times if this is any reflection about who we are today showing a certain special kind of appreciation.

Phil 

Philo

I was just reading over the various posts and came to the same conclusion you did- so much of our hobby is tied emotionally to either time spent with relatives running trains or having been gifted a train that is now an heirloom in our present collection. I thought the answers were going to be more along the lines of great detail or outstanding features but sentiment in most cases trumped them all!

Eddie

You are cheatin.

This time you can only pick one.

My MTH RailKing SW9 in Milwaukee Road colors. It's a great puller, has fantastic sound, and doesn't care about curves on my layout.

Well Charlie, actually there are 3. My kid set that I got for Christmas 1938 a 224E freight set. If i only could keep 1 it would have to be the 700E.

Probably my Berkshire 1225 for a lot of personal reasons attached to it.

I would keep my MTH Protosounds 2 locomotive 2-8-0 Pennsylvania Steam Engine, best runner, pulls most cars, and runs perfect, love the built in cruise control for inclines and declines, I'd be more crazy than usual to get rid of it.

No question.  My dad's first two train sets.  A 606 Chicago flyer passenger set, and a 224E Lionel freight set.  They have been setup under our tree every year.  When my dad passed back in 95, I inherited the sets and I have continued the tradition with my family.

My first : the 2025 from 1952.

My MTH box cabs that made it on the OGR cover. Don