Limited edition cars?

I think it would help if you defined this for us a little better. Are you asking about freight cars or passenger cars? Any particular era, etc.

Cars that are typically introduced as "limited" or "collectable" often are anything but.

Often cars that are poorly introduced or of a more simple decoration or from a far less popular road name can be produced in significantly lower quantities and be significantly more scarce and hard to find down the road.  If others find this type of limited availability of interest, then these types of cars can become highly sought after.   Conversely, a popular car style or road name that perhaps gets lower quantities made than the market desires can see interest levels far exceed the numbers available and thus become very popular and collectable as well.

We've seen a popular thread here on OGR about certain Atlas beer reefer that fits all the bills for limited production, limited availability and post-issue collectability.  There are several MTH cars that I've written about that fall into this line of thinking too, and I'm sure others can write well of K-Line and Lionel cars that provide the collectable sizzle many find exciting to pursue as well.

Collect freight cars because you like them. Barely anything made today is a collectable. 

There are allot of ways to invest, trains is not one of them.

One way to acquire limited edition runs is through a club or forum that regularly produces limited runs. One forum I'm a member of does a unique car each year which usually a fallen flag, and includes the forum logo and some tongue in cheek humor. We typically sell between 100 and 150 cars each year. 

Don

Andrew,

Collectability only exists in YOUR mind because you enjoy the process of acquiring a series of items.  Collectability as defined by (1) the old Greenberg price guide culture or (2) exclusive-purchase cars by clubs is virtually useless in the largely "operator culture" of today.  Don't waste your time (and money).

If you like modern freight cars and want to try and collect an entire series... you may want to explore Lionel 57' mechanical reefers or perhaps the new scale-length auto carriers from Lionel.  They're not "limited edition", but that term is just marketing hype designed to encourage impulse buying -- importers preying on the idea that enthusiasts will buy something now 'cause it won't be readily available later.  Ah right... do we have a shortage of items on the for-sale forum or eBay today?

The reason I mentioned the mechanical reefers and auto carriers is the fact that those are modern freight cars that you can still reasonably "collect them all" without breaking the bank -- assuming you'd enjoy displaying or running them all.

People tried "collecting" Atlas-O reefers years ago... thinking they'd be the modern era equivalent of Lionel 6464 boxcars.  However, Atlas-O produced too darn many of them.  And folks realized soon enough that very few enthusiasts had the fortitude -- not to mention the $$$ -- to collect them all.  Adding to that frustration:  stealthly produced, esoteric "special runs" also made the goal nearly impossible. 

So my suggestion is a simple one as long as YOU enjoy doing it now.  Namely, target a series of cars and build your collection accordingly.  But don't expect to sell the collection years down the road and make a profit.  Chances are you won't even get 50% of what you paid for them.

The trains we buy today simply don't hold their value for two primary reasons:

• New items are constantly being introduced, and folks don't realize that enthusiasts are always chasing the "next best thing".  For example, right now it's Lionel's Big Boy built to order.  But check back in June 2015 and I guarantee the buzz factor will be geared toward a new -- as of yet unannounced -- product.  Bet on it!    So until there's a near-complete halt in production of new product (i.e., such as the late 60's with the Lionel Corporation), nothing that's produced today will be considered "collectable".
• Secondly, there needs to be an audience that WANTS to purchase what enthusiasts are buying today.  Given the aging demographics of the toy train community whose "sweet spot" is likely in the age group of 55-70, do you really think folks in their teens and 20's today are gonna want to build toy train collections 10-20 years from now based on stuff that today's 55-70 age group purchased now? 

Granted, these two factors are inter-related, and the dynamics can change over time.  But you get the idea.

I'm currently "collecting" all the Lionel piggyback flat-cars with trailers.  It's a small enough series of cars, where collecting the series is very doable.  And I'll really enjoy running them all behind double-headed steam motive power on the O-Gauge portion of my new layout.  But I really don't give a hoot whether anyone else likes them... nor whether they'll be worth anything to anyone else when the good Lord calls me from this life.  I just like collecting them now.  

David

Google Buffalo Creek Graphics. They do limited runs, some of which are very collectable. Just remember while people may not want to buy something on its release, later they wish they would have but with limited supply, prices increase. There has even been a Forumite, who wanted a limited run Atlas Natty Boh beer reefer and prices continue to be very high.  

The highest price I have seen was on eBay - $513.50 for one.

If you are looking to buy only so called collectable or limited edition cars because you may think that they will go up in value then think again. The days of trains being a way to save for retirement are long over, I think it was the 80's when people were going nuts buying Lionel trains. Today, the remake of the older trains are so much better then the original ones. Do what a lot of Forum members are saying Buy what you like, and enjoy what you have.

Dave,

Well Said As Usual...!!!

Why do my Forum brothers think there are more operators than collectors?  This intriques me to no end.  Maybe true on this Forum, though I would not bet on it.  And this Forum is a miniscule part of our hobby.  Ron B.

Although ogr forum is a small sample of the O gauge market the collectors in the hobby of O gauge is very small IMO. 

People may accumulate allot of trains but that does not make them collectors.

i know dozens of train guys and only one is a true collector. 

No matter how you do it, have fun, that is the most important factor in having model trains. 

Collector here.  I agree with almost all of the above.  If you "collect" to make a future profit, you are a speculator, and the risks of that are well outlined above.

If you collect as a hobby, as I do, then be prepared to lose money in the end.  Almost all of my favorite trains are worth less in today's $ than they were when I bought them.  I bought them because I liked them.

And whenever a new item is advertised as a "collector's item", you can almost be certain that it will decrease in value.  Opinion.

Ron,

Well Said and So True! It's the other way around else where. Anyone follow what Prewar sets are going for?

In a sense all production but maybe WBB and RMT is limited edition. It all only has one production run and that's it, usually. No body announces their production numbers but I would imagine that some of the regular production units have lower production numbers than some so called "limited edition" club runs have.