Is Your Train Purchasing Rational?

Making a rational decision regarding train buying is a very difficult thing to do.  In my case I was totally irrational until I ran out of room for layouts, shelving, etc..   Now that I have absolutely no wiggle room I have become quite rational but if I had an extra room I would continue to splurge.

For me, I wouldn’t Exactly call spending the amount of money that I have on this hobby  “rational”, but I do have a system. I limit my purchases to certain lines (lirr, Military,  mta, etc) and the curve limitations of my existing layout. I rarely purchase duplicates, even if the newer model has an upgraded command system and the era for everything must be earlier than the 1990s (no modern).  My other rule is that everything must either fit on the layout (mainline or side track) or on my shelves- nothing is purchased and kept in a box. Needless to say, I’ve added considerable shelving over the years, LOL!

I have a very similar history regarding my model train purchases, buying whatever ticked my fancy in the past, and now making more rational purchases focusing on one, or a select few, Northeastern railroads. Arnold

I try to find something I like in certain road names. I basically keep it down to 5-6 road names at the moment.

If it sparkles, it has a good chance of being on the buy list. Way too wide a purchase pattern. I do enjoy just about everything I have latched on to over the years. No buyers remorse - yet.

I have been buying non-duplicate freight cars that fit the c. 35 operating lines I have, up to a consist of 10 cars plus caboose and an appropriate locomotive. My price limit is $16, which includes shipping and tax.  Thank heavens for trainz.com. Rick

It's rational to spend income not needed for living or savings or charity on things that bring us comfort and pleasure.  Could be lasagna and cannolis, vacation, presents for friends, toy trains or counseling .

Rational is a relative term.....my significant relative (the CEO), sees nothing rational about my train

purchases .

I was on a buying spree for several years (also through Trainz), focusing on the roads I run. Now I've slowed down considerably and only look for select items based on need. The layout, shelves, and storage drawers are all full. I hate keeping stuff in boxes so I guess I need more shelves too!

Bob

If I was rational, I wouldn't have spent so much money on trains to start with.

But I'm glad I did.

I'm good now, ran out storage space......

@PAUL ROMANO posted:

I'm good now, ran out storage space......

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ...................

When I first started in this hobby, I purchased anything which struck my fancy. This is where I got my ARR, UP, PRR, VGN, & ATSF equipment.

Fast forward to the present, everything that I want goes on "The List."  I tend to go for specific road names in general eras (Amtrak/NJT in the 1990s, NYC in the 1930-50s, CNJ 1920-30s, etc.) but there are a few oddball items too.  "The List" is an excel sheet that I started in 2014 that is a list of engines, sets, accessories, and rolling stock that I want. If I see something that is on my list and the price is right (and I have the money), I will get it! If the price is insane and/or the condition is poor, I will pass on it. This system has worked very well for me since it helps prevents big-ticket impulse purchases.
However, there is one exception to my doctrine....
If there is something that isn't specifically on the list, but I like it and the price is too good to pass on, I will get it (ex: 2 new Weaver ACF hoppers for $20). I classify these as my justifiable impulse purchases. I do not have any buyers remorse yet!

In answer to your question: I can't tell you if your decision is right or wrong, that is completely up to you.
Using my method: I do not have the minimum curves required to run the new legacy mohawk (I have 0-42) so the new engine wouldn't make it onto my list. If I am not able to run an engine on my layout, I will not get it.

Bryce

Seriously?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVpnUHGpFDk

George

Absolutely! I just took a pass on the 2021 catalog which is a first for me. Yeah, I looked hard at a couple of items but there was no "must have" calling my name. Will I pick some things up later after they're out and have been vetted, so to speak? Probably, yes.

I used to be a much less disciplined buyer. But experience and a focus on Postwar has narrowed my buying interests. I probably would have gone for something in the Lion Chief Plus 2.0 line this time but nothing caught my eye.

I'm good!

Are my train purchases rational? yes, ever since I stopped purchasing them. Before...not so much. I did, however, make a purchase last week and I'm blaming that action entirely on strong drink.

In the beginning. It was anything that looked cool. Over time I've settled on two specific road names and a specific era.

I've probably bought and sold more than I own but I've now reached a point where the " new catalog" no longer threatens my wallet.

I have the appropriate locomotives to pull the appropriate trains. Any future "big ticket items" will be few and far between.

  It's also no longer about "whizz- bang".    Rather, I make purchases based on what will still be running reliably many years from now when I retire and can really enjoy the hobby.

There's a whole assortment of quality built Tmcc locomotives that I overlooked when Legacy came along.

Rational!? Me? 😆  I see it I like it I buy it!  Repeat. 👍

If I was a scale operator, I'd seriously consider the fantasy gray and red Pacemaker engine and tender. I periodically search for the smaller Rail King equivalent that was made more than a decade ago.

I don't think rationality has to apply to hobby pursuits. That said, I try to buy things that mix and match well ad fit the general theme. If irrational means "do I really need it", then my guess is we've all made irrational, impulse purchases. I was out at Stockyard Express about to pre-order a Rail King Pennsy 4-8-2 when I saw a B&O 4-6-2 on the shelf. Bought it with some matching passenger cars. Something was telling me I already had enough Pennsy tuscan and green and needed some blue on the roster. Rational? I don't know.

It seems to me that you are trying to approach this from the wrong viewpoint.

1. Rational means different things to different people. After years of enjoyment buying trains, you have decided to forego trains half the year and bought nothing. And you call that rational.

2. Many of your friends are affected with the same disease. So they are now irrational?

3. You appear to define rational as buying trains when there is a need. But now you are being irrational and want the Pacemaker engine, etc. Being irrational is not good thus you are in a quandary.

4. A wrong decision has been made. You want to buy more trains. Buying more trains makes you happy, or did until you became irrational. BUT you made the irrational decision well before you questioned buying trains.

5. So what is the problem? It’s simple.

6 You were happy buying trains but were unconsciously being affected by train buyers diaspora. This is a mental state brought on by too much of a good thing to the point that you have no use for what you buy.

7. Think about it, you were fine until you made a key bad and illogical decision. What decision?

Why the one not to enjoy trains in Florida. That was a guaranteed disaster creating thought, much less the decision to carry thru with it.

8. In order to preserve your sanity, immediately get out the catalog and order the engine and cars. Then carefully review your collection and decide what goes to  Florida and what does not. You will need more stuff.

9 Buy that over the next ten years. It will preserve the need, you will have two wonderful layouts, and by the time the 10th year ends, you will have forgotten this discussion.

Hope this helps. Hope you get happy soon.

Bill

All my train buying is rational. It’s when I think about selling I become irrational.

Hey Gerry. It’s time to start building a layout in Florida. If you cant sweet  talk your spouse into allowing you some space in one of your rooms, go for an around the ceiling double line pike.  Get to work, buddy and stop denying yourself some fun. Life’s too short. Oh, and as a fellow Floridian, I  wish to formally welcome you to the land of no basements,

@gmorlitz posted:

For many years (maybe 1995 to 2018), my basic approach to toy train buying was "do I want it?". There was no thought to the process other than that. It didn't matter if the purchase made sense, if it came awfully close to duplicating something I had, what the cost was, if it fit on the layout or stayed in a box, etc.  If I wanted it, I bought it.

I was so happy when I joined the NJ HiRailers and found that there were other people as mentally sick about train purchases as I was. Maybe even a whole lot sicker if you look at some of the cases at the club. I related well.

Then we bought a place in Florida. We were only going to spend a little bit of time there. Certainly not the whole winter. Well guess what. The weather is a whole lot better in Florida during the winter than it is in the NY/NJ area. And the trains are at my home in NJ. So trains are becoming a summer thing. Totally the reverse of my history. No trains in Florida. My decision.

So when the last Lionel catalog came out, I looked at it. And instead of just buying, I thought about it rationally. So I bought nothing because I have a whole lot.

I'm now wondering about that decision. Particularly about the NYC Pacemaker red and grey engine. Do you think I made a mistake in looking at train purchases rationally? If you are not budget constrained, do you look at train purchases rationally?

Gerry

My Mentor and dear friend Elliot once told me, "You make and create a layout, and if it pleases YOU.. well there you are."  I started expanding my collection BEFORE I had a layout.. (Still am, and thank you to gracious members and friends here, you have given me support and opportunities and hope.

I mentioned once to Elliot, while we were working on his Ballast..... and magnet uncouplers.. "My wife thinks I buy too much train stuff." he replied, "Well, just bring her over next time and we will show her how bad it could be." <salute>

I still buy from the heart, and a tight budget.... Carpet layouts, Grankids and trains... my life is full and good.

( Ogauge or NO gauge. Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory)

salute

Anytime I begin to consider rationality in conjunction with my train collecting; all I need to do is take a quick look at my wife’s “wall of shoes” in our bedroom closet.

Curt

I go from one pseudo permanent layout to another.   I sell and buy with each version.   My theory is if it doesn’t fit on the layout and go with the theme, I get rid of it.  I don’t collect.   I like to build a scene with a theme and then start over.   Some start overs are more drastic than others.  I don’t spend much out of pocket anymore.  

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

I have a very similar history regarding my model train purchases, buying whatever ticked my fancy in the past, and now making more rational purchases focusing on one, or a select few, Northeastern railroads. Arnold

Seeee, there...... another friend on the forum, showing me the path to growth... (WITH noteable wiggle room for, um, OPTIONS.. yeah, just in case

Thank you

P.S. "Do I NEED a layout to buy the trains I fancy?" ah, sounds like a topic. roflmao

@juniata guy posted:

Anytime I begin to consider rationality in conjunction with my train collecting; all I need to do is take a quick look at my wife’s “wall of shoes” in our bedroom closet.

Curt

SPIT TAKE!!!!! well played Curt, well played

Having accumulated a nice collection of model trains during the past 24 years, I now buy them much more selectively than I did in the beginning, when I would buy the largest scale-sized locomotives being offered by MTH, irrespective of their railroad. After a few years, I began to limit my purchases to a few railroads of interest and small to medium scale-sized locomotives that fit well to run on my model railroads - but that still amounts to too many purchases. For a long time, I have been trying to get down to zero locomotives on pre-order - and still haven't gotten there. Unfortunately, my history has the aura of an addiction that is somewhat rational but not really under control.

MELGAR

Is any train purchase rational?     My neighbor would say no.    My train buddy would say always.

I had a friend who when asked what his train layout cost would answer "about the same as playing golf a couple times a week"

@Bill Webb posted:

It seems to me that you are trying to approach this from the wrong viewpoint.

1. Rational means different things to different people. After years of enjoyment buying trains, you have decided to forego trains half the year and bought nothing. And you call that rational.

2. Many of your friends are affected with the same disease. So they are now irrational?

3. You appear to define rational as buying trains when there is a need. But now you are being irrational and want the Pacemaker engine, etc. Being irrational is not good thus you are in a quandary.

4. A wrong decision has been made. You want to buy more trains. Buying more trains makes you happy, or did until you became irrational. BUT you made the irrational decision well before you questioned buying trains.

5. So what is the problem? It’s simple.

6 You were happy buying trains but were unconsciously being affected by train buyers diaspora. This is a mental state brought on by too much of a good thing to the point that you have no use for what you buy.

7. Think about it, you were fine until you made a key bad and illogical decision. What decision?

Why the one not to enjoy trains in Florida. That was a guaranteed disaster creating thought, much less the decision to carry thru with it.

8. In order to preserve your sanity, immediately get out the catalog and order the engine and cars. Then carefully review your collection and decide what goes to  Florida and what does not. You will need more stuff.

9 Buy that over the next ten years. It will preserve the need, you will have two wonderful layouts, and by the time the 10th year ends, you will have forgotten this discussion.

Hope this helps. Hope you get happy soon.

Bill

Ahhhhh, Finding the rational argument in irrational behavior. Bill, you are well versed: PHD, THD, Certified TCT (train collection therapist) Well said, thoughtful, ZEN moment, I think therefore i am

Most Excellent. thanks

Your nuts Gerry   Bring some of those traains to florida  What the heck is wrong with you

Ah Ben. Who could I be thinking of when I said some of the members at the NJHR were as mentally sick as I am?

Gerry

The manufacturers make impulse buying a thing of my very distant past. Nothing in the new Lionel catalog interests me and only the Monon and Chicago South Shore in the last MTH catalog were buys.  When I first got back into this in 2001 I bought everything with Monon on it, I wanted everything. IMPULSE. Then I came to my senses, changed to only scale items and decided Chicago South Shore, Monon and NYC were the lines I was going to model. Made my life simpler and stretched my dollar. So the short answer is at the beginning I was. Do what your finances allow you to and don't worry about it. I am spending the kids's inheritance, so what?

No.  

If I had more money to spend, I'd have much less money and more stuff like Train sickness, tractor fever, cars, guns, saxophones, and Hi-fi.  Others go for fountain pens, watches, baseball cards, comic books.  My interests have always been above my means so I have a little, middle of the road, from each of my interests.  Hobbies/interests are therapeutic and thus have a value.  My spending a thousand bucks on an engine is well beyond that value - for me.  So then how much stuff is enough . . .  Why exactly am I making a particular purchase.  Does it fit a specific collectable criteria I hope will gain value, evokes a special memory I'd forgotten?  my purchases would definitely be irrational if a little introspection revealed I was buying anything simply to feel good or for a rush.   

Unfortunately, my “rational” is - if it calls my name, I tend to answer I lack the discipline of some here to restrict my purchases to a select group of railroads or a specific time frame - it’s all good to me!!!

@MONON_JIM posted:

The manufacturers make impulse buying a thing of my very distant past. Nothing in the new Lionel catalog interests me and only the Monon and Chicago South Shore in the last MTH catalog were buys.  When I first got back into this in 2001 I bought everything with Monon on it, I wanted everything. IMPULSE. Then I came to my senses, changed to only scale items and decided Chicago South Shore, Monon and NYC were the lines I was going to model. Made my life simpler and stretched by dollar. So the short answer is at the beginning I was. Do what your finances allow you to and don't worry about it. I am spending the kids's inheritance, so what?

Annd you didnt change your forum handle?

I would never move and leave my hobby behind. Why make yourself miserable. Enjoy that little escape from reality. I don’t go overboard but will continue to buy new or used items. Right now my most enjoyment is upgrading older engines to ERR items and smoke and chuff enhancements. Total enjoyment and relaxation. Now go get your trains.

@mike.caruso posted:

No.  

HA! that is sooo mike, <salute>

Rational? I'm going to be 78 next week why try to act rational now. 😁