Railroad you primarily collect or Model

My Home Road, which bought the groceries in this family for decades, educated our children, and put money in the bank for O-gauge model railroading.

Funny you should mention DT I..i have never seen the road, i now where there is a new http://mthtrains.com/20-20199-1 ps3. Do i need it..no but i just plain like it and it is 249.95

My home road is the Florida East Coast Railway,  grew up backed up to the mainline in Fort Lauderdale,  my grandfather worked for the FEC for 30+ years so it's a double down.  But that's not all..........

 

Also collect any Florida RR that come along,  ACL,  Seaboard, SCL and any short line Florida / Georgia that may come along.     I focus and stick to scale proportioned 3 rail and run command almost exclusively from any of the manufacturers.

 

I have always enjoyed the unique monster engines of the Union Pacific so that is another I enjoy and own some of.  Turbines, Big Boy, Challenger, DD40ax and the U-50b are some of my favorites.

 

NYC Hudson are my favorite steam engine, so that is another.

 

Maybe it would have been shorter to name what I don't collect (big smile)

 

Mark

The D&RGW -Thru the Rockies, not around them!

Terry

I run UP,SP,WP,N&W,ATSF,D&RGW in freight and Passenger.

Mikey

Pittsburgh regional railroads.  Pittsburg and Shawmut, Montour, and anything Pennsylvania.  

My first and greatest interest is the New York Central. I was born and raised on Long Island and Santa brought me a Lionel NYC F3 ABA for Christmas 1954. I also like the PRR since the PRR owned the LIRR, which of course leads to the LIRR (my uncle worked for the LIRR for many years) though I don't have any LIRR stuff yet.

I have  Louisville & Nashville for freight, 1 steam and 2 diesel engines and for passenger cars NYC pulled by VL Hudson.

 

Brent

Western Maryland with a little B&O mixed in. 

Southern, Norfolk-Southern & Norfolk & Western................Rogerw.

I used to buy any equipment that I liked the looks of; I had so many roadnames.  I have been thinning out my collection to get down to a manageable number of roads.

 

My primary roads are Amtrak and Norfolk Southern.  I also have Amtrak's northern cousin VIA Rail.  And I've always liked the Ontario Northland color scheme, so I have a fair amount of it.

 

Living in Florida part of the year, I have some FEC equipment.

 

As far as Western roads, I have Southern Pacific (love those Tank Trains).

 

Not to say you might not find a bit of CSX or BNSF motive power on my layout.

 

I prefer to model modern equipment.  I only have a few steam locomotives: 2 GS-4's (Lionel), Cab Forward (Lionel), Big Boy (MTH) and a UP Challenger (Lionel).  There's not much in the way of Amtrak or Norfolk Southern steam.

 

My rolling stock is a mix of scale (many, many roadnames) and fantasy.  I love Mint Cars, Aquarium Cars and Area 51 Cars.  

I collect NYC & PL&E in MTH RAILKING & PREMIER . 

I also have Christmas trains by MTH & LIONEL .

 

I have a Temp train table at this time.

 

My layout is in stage of remodeling so I'm not able to run anything right now. Several knee meniscus tears, knee stress fracture,  and left rotator tear, surgeries and rehabs the last 3 years have also delayed reconstruction.  I collect mostly Pennsylvania,  New York Central,  and Lehigh Valley which ran throughout both my hometown and where I presently live. We have a short line railroad that runs the New York Central tracks called Finger Lakes Railway running in that area. I had hoped that Weaver would have done  some of their locomotives and rolling stock but since they closed I guess I'll have to attempt doing it myself.  CSX &  NS run the main lines but I haven't got any of their yet. I do have the Lionel Wegmans and NASCAR sets and some Hershey Chocolate cars. Probably about 50/50 mix between Lionel & MTH & 1 K-Line Coco-Cola Trolley.

Don't have a layout yet! Started out with the MTH Evolution diesel because I loved the color scheme,then the F3 Santa Fe in the war bonnet scheme because I couldn't afford it as a kid ,then most ot the premiere NS Heritage diesels because my grand kids liked the color schemes. Then I wanted diesels from the major roads so I have UP, CSX, BNSF, CN, CP and NS. Then I fell in love with the purple ACL, and from there to FEC and the Seaboard line! Then I was attracted to the Alaska line! Then I wanted either passenger cars or freight cars and cabooses to go with each diesel. Then for most I wanted a dummy because I like the look!

I grew up near 3 railroads: Frisco, Ft Worth & Denver, and Santa Fe.

I collect all 3. 

Hit the button too soon! As you can see I had a well thought out plan! Then I recently realized that the only difference between this addiction and others is that generally they don't sell trains in back alleys at night.So I have stopped buying trains until I have space for a layout!....but not buildings!

For me it has always been CSX, but over the years I picked up a few pieces lettered for LIRR, Amtrak, and NYC Transit.

 

-John

  

SAL, ACL, SCL, SRR, FEC and a few other related lines - CSX, L&N, Bayline, NSR. I do have Santa Fee and an Amtrak passenger sets I enjoy. 

I'm a NYC fan but it's not exclusive.

As a New Yorker, I like east coast railroads. I'm a big fan of steam so the Pennsylvania Railroad seemed the logical choice. Like you, Tim, I don't have a layout and run my trains at my train club.

 

 I also like the Pennsy Electrics.

 

 

 

I got into PRR as a young collector because the K-Line Collectors Club offered some nice PRR items (GG1, A5 switcher, etc.), and I won a k-line PRR Mikado at a k-line open house at my LHS.  Currently without a layout, but I also have a good amount of postwar/postwar style stuff so the roadnames with that are a mixed bag (gotta have my santa fe F3s!).  So my "modern made" purchases I try to stick with PRR, but my postwar style stuff I'll keep getting whatever.  For example about six months ago I picked up a WBB Canadian pacific F3 AB with matching 15" aluminum cars from a forum member.  and now I've had my eye on a Williams J class.  they offer a cool looking "fantasy paint job" for the PRR, but I think i'll go with the classic N&W.

 

Although, I'm currently without a layout, so "someday" when I have space to build one, I think I'm gonna have a lot more trains than I realize, lol

I generally buy the stuff we see locally. Norfolk Southern, KCS and BNSF are the main interests. However, I grew up in Indiana, so I like a lot of the historic Indiana stuff too. The favorites are Monon and Wabash.

All the roads that have or now do run through my home town of Lowell, MA:

 

B&M, NYNH&H, Guilford, Pan Am, CSX, NS.

I agree, I collect anything local. 

I model and collect Central Railroad Of New Jersey. I am in the planning stages to replace my current layout with one based on South Branch line of the CNJ, it ran from Somerville NJ to Flemington NJ. Charlie

I try to limit my modeling and collecting to railroads that have paint schemes I like.

At times I must use one hand to limit the other hand's ability to write a check, bid in an auction, or retrieve money from the wallet for some "new" paint scheme that I think I like. 

 

For me it is Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Northern Pacific, Southern Pacific, Southern, Denver Rio Grande, New York Central, PRR, Boston and Maine, Great Northern, B & O, Canadian Pacific, Ontario Northland, and Wabash.  Those are the ones that quickly come to mind. 

 

Now both of my hands will cooperate and work together if they can agree that the deal is too good to pass up.  Usually the justification is that the item will get re-painted into an acceptable paint scheme.  This never happens, so the madness and proliferation of railroads continues.

 

All of the cars and locos seem to run okay together. 

No back biting or political correctness arguments are allowed. 

I just sit back and listen for the clackety clack as they approach, roll by, and disappear hopefully to return again. 

Having grown up next to the Boston & Maine, my locomotives, both steam and diesel, are B&M, or its successors, passenger cars, work cars, and cabin cars are B&M. The freight cars all have a New England connections, either railroads or businesses.

I currently model the Merioneth and Llantisilly Railway Traction Company Limited (along with some private owner wagons and a bit of the Great Western - not the Chicago, Colorado or Canadian versions). Everything I had connected with the former I have customized from Sodor Island Railway stock. 

Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather were all engineers on one road. Not interested in anything other than  ATSF.

I got to know, from daily real-life observations (looking into the omnipresent steel mills of the Pittsburgh area) and thrills (like reaching out and touching slow-moving trains that criss-crossed the main shopping street in McKeesport, PA, during the 1950's,) the PRR, B&O, Erie, C&O, Lackawanna, & the Erie Lackawanna RRs, so I was attracted to them the most...

FrankM, an old mill-town boy

P.S. I suppose, regarding modeling any particular "era," that the 50's seems to have leaked out of my imagination onto my layout (though a certain other hobbyist/modeler named Frank would likely disagree.) I suppose one could refer to my layout's time and place as "Imagination-ville, with a heavy dose of nostalgia and vehicular circa irreverance."

Beautiful pictures Frank.

Thank you for your thoughtfulness in saying so, Pat Kn. I appreciate feedback very much.

FrankM.

Southern Pacific because of the interesting steam engines, the Black widow paint scheme

and because I originated in So. cal.

 

Nickle Plate because during my youth I lived in Cleveland and saw the last runs of the Berkshires through the "flats area" at the intersection of Scranton Road and "Train

Avenue" (really!).

 

Florida East Coast- because of it's history and it's location near my Florida home.

The 3 railroads of my youth: NYC, NH and LIRR. Conrail for my modern stuff. I also get a hankering for the O&W and D&H, but I'm trying to limit myself. I also have some UP that I must divest myself of.

 

Jay

I have everything 1950s Intersate RR that MTH and Weaver have made ( 1 steam loco and 4 RS3 diesels plus 12 coal hoppers).But I equally like 1970s Southern Ry and L&N.

PENN CENTRAL  -   It was what I remember growing up.

 

Tom

 

 

The Pennsy is my pet road and dominates my layout. I also like the Reading, New York Central & Amtrak.

 

Mostly the Western roads in the transition period late forties to mid-fifties. Went totally wild in the modern era. You name it, I have it or want it.  

Primarily the Southern Ry and a touch of N&W during late '40s-early '50s with a small layout focused on a Locomotive Service Yard, a Denim Mill and Village Stores, a Sawmill and ultimately a Town area with Homes, Depot, Bus Station, Grain Mill , Ford Dealer,etc.

 

Unfortunately Layout work has been essentially on hold during the last 5 years of partially disabling health issues. Wired, and Trains ran in Feb. '10, but rails now dirty with rust paint and ballast glue. No way to run a railroad.

1.) Jersey Central
2.) Delaware & Hudson
3.) Lehigh Valley