Thinking of getting rid of all my passenger equipment

My limited experience would be to tell you to put them in storage or on your shelf until you (inevitably) get excited about them again.

I have a similar size layout and I have a couple of sets of K-Line 15" passenger cars (otherwise scale size, just shorter) to run at home. My larger passenger cars are run at the club/museum. The K-Line cars have the same cross-section as their longer, scale counterparts, but they look better on a small layout. 

Keep the sets, run shorter consists. Display the rest until you have a bigger layout

My layout's not big enough to support all the passenger trains I own, so I just run them when I feel like it, then remove them when I'm done. 

 

I lived near the Burlington and Illinois Central in the "good old days," and even back then I'd see more freight trains than passenger trains.  Passenger trains were the glamour, but freight paid the bills.

 

Rusty

I agree with the other posts, you will regret eventually the departure of your passenger service equipment.

 

I believe that I have the same Lionel Sante Fe passenger car set you refer to as the early nineties with the polished roof panels. It is one of my favorite passenger trains and with your wide radius curves, the cars at 15" cars, they should look very good on your layout.

 

I do not know how you beat the look of a sleek passenger train with lighted cars. Keep your passenger sets.

I am sort of feeling the same way. I have a load of passenger cars, but I have been enjoying freight cars lately. 

Sell them all but your favorite set then use that money to purchase the freight that you want.  We have just one set of passenger cars that sit at the station 99% of the time we run trains.  We luv our coal and covered hoppers. 

I can see what you mean.  I've been getting into frieght a lot more the past couple of years.  Passenger service will always be represented on my layout though.  I enjoy both.

Before you sell off the passenger cars, just put them away for a while.  If you find that you don't miss them, after some time, then sell.

On my O-72 and O-60 curves I mainly run 15", RailKing, and Lionel 2400 passenger cars.  The scale Polar Express and a C&O Greenbrier set would be the exception.

Named trains like the 20th Century and Super Chief were long, 11-14 85 foot long cars pegs the train at close to 1/4 mile in length.  Unless you have a pole barn for your train room or belong to a club with a huge layout these types of passenger trains are best left to smaller scales like HO or even N.  Not all passenger trains were that size.  Most were considerably smaller.  You can make up a nice passenger consist with a couple of head end express cars and three or four scale passenger cars, particularly couch/lounge cars.

I have two passenger sets, both from KLine. they are both Milwaukee Road. One is their 16" heavyweight and the other is their 16" streamliners. I know what you mean about cookie cutter looks but the Milw Rd streamlined version is anything but ho-hum. You have the great color scheme for starters, then the oval windows in various locations on the cars and the SkyTop observation car that only the Milwaukee Road had! The heavyweights are similiar to other heavyweights but its got the great color scheme on that one also. I road the Milw. Rd passenger cars when I was a young lad and I still love them today. I believe the heavyweights are more attractive than the streamliners and I favor mine on the layout as far as running time. I like freight also, but if you model the early '50's like I do, the freight cars are very similiar in color (Tuscan Red boxcars) and a choice of 5 main cars; boxcar, hopper, gondola, flatcar and tanker with a few variations on each of them. I do like the look of a long string of boxcars though! As others have stated in this post, either put them away for awhile or run shorter consists. I have two mains with one running freight and the other passenger. That way I don't tire of either. Enjoy your trains whatever you decide, that's the most important part of this hobby! 

Pretend you are modelling the real railroads of the 1960's. Passenger trains don't make money. Get rid of them.  LOL!

 

B&OBill

I like to run passenger trains as well at times. But finding the one set that you really like can be difficult at times.

The really long passenger cars by Atlas, the Amtrak 21 inch long scale cars present problems most of us don't think about; larger curves 042 or 054 curves, also an SD-45 or similar engine with three axles and not two on each truck like a GP-9 or FH-40. Some of the larger passenger sets look great but running them may give you some problems until you iron out some of the details.

Most passenger cars are to run on either 027 or 031 curves, except for some special run items.

Also K-Line made the Interurban Electric Passenger cars that are based on their heavyweight passenger car frames and they need at least 036 curves from my experiance with them.

 

Lee F.

I think you are ****ed off cuz the woman in the third car won't go out with you!!!

What do you think FEC(Florida East Coast) did in 1964 when the passenger train employees went on strike? Got rid of them!! That is why FEC had no passenger service from 1964 and on.

 

Currently FEC is working on a special passenger run from Orlando east to FEC tracks and then south to Miami FL. Only have to lay 40 miles of track to tie in to the existing FEC tracks, and some signal upgrading on the freight line to Miami.

 

FYI, Amtrak and FEC almost had an agreement about nine years ago, maybe longer, but Amtrak didn't get the money to give to FEC for track lease rights.

 

I love the real passenger train travel as I don't get airsick on Amtrak.

Lee F.

You can increase the interest of your passenger cars by building some simple switching operations around them--then they can do more than go 'round and 'round. This page has a good summary of some "operating" that can be done with passenger consists. http://www.housatonicrr.com/passops.html

Since different roads' cars were switched in and out of each others' trains, as well as the head-end cars, operating gives you an excuse to create unique-looking consists, too.

It's the "Too Much Candy" syndrome.  You have more than you can enjoy.

 

Pick your favorite RR and keep or buy the passenger cars that are your favorites or that together make a "named" train for that RR, sell all the rest.

 

I mostly run freight and have only 5 passenger cars.  I have tried to model a train that came into my hometown, the Seaboard Air Line "THE TIDEWATER".

 

I think a great way to enjoy both passenger and freight would be to build a layout with an upper loop for the passenger train to run around and a lower track plan for freight.

My great grandson (5) says...."you won't have any where for the little people

to takes trips on if you do!!"

 

Rufus

Some very good thoughts here. I appreciate all the responses.

 

Ron,

 

Sometimes we find a burnout point, but it doesn't mean that we should give up some aspect of model railroading that we love.

 

Maybe temporary shelving the passenger trains until the urge strikes again would help.

 

And as for myself, I do love passenger trains and would love to be able ride them regularly if they would take me to where I want/need to go. But I live in a part of the country (the Southeast) that doesn't seam to share that idea (and that as far as I'm willing to go on that topic).

 

Robyn (CarolinaRail)

I have at least 10 passenger set O scale size and loved them all, of course I have more than 100 freight cars (scale size) Lionel, MTH, Atlas, K-Line and scale size locomotives.

Lee, The atlas 21" cars will run on 042 or 054 curves?  I thought they needed 072 or larger curves, as they are huge passenger cars. Do you run them on smaller curves?

Q- Has anyone else out there tired of passenger trains?

 

A- Nope.

I have a set of 2353's.  I run a mail and express train with RPO's, baggs, and express boxes.  One "real" passenger car, a rider coach!

Robyn,

 

I know what you mean (I live in Portsmouth Va.)

 

Amtrak is suppose to start services to Norfolk in December!!!:

 

http://www.amtrakvirginia.com/News.aspx

 

It'll be cool to hop on Amtrak in Norfolk then the Metro in DC to get around to all the museums.

I know the negative things related to passenger car layouts but I am sill very much attracted by such cars and have several sets. Even though realistic looks on the rails may be less than desired, I still like sleek long passenger cars.

 

Bob C.

I have about a dozen sets, all Southern and N&W, stored on Railrax and in boxes. In recent years I dismantled my large layouts here and @ the mountain cottage, in favor of a small, round-the-room 9x16 attic layout. For practical reasons and appearance sake I am reduced to running four-car passenger units and 7 car freights.

 

Typically I run steam as the power but if diesel it is only an A unit.  For me nothing looks more ridiculous than an A-B-A MU pulling 5 or 6 cars [or even 8 lightweights]. I used to enjoy doubleheading freights but that is no more.

I got back into trains in 1989, but my first passenger train was the MTH scale N&W J and cars that was cataloged in 1997.

 

Since then my favorites have become the Art Deco streamlined steam engines and matching passenger cars.

 

 

I'm with you Dave.  I model the post war period and passenger service was very alive then.  Even today in the NE Corridor I see many passenger trains that run from Boston, through Baltimore to Washington D.C. and the MARC service between Baltimore and D.C. runs many trains everyday.  For me passenger service will hold its place on my pike.