Large Scale Central

Question for the addicts like me

General Discussion
#21

Vic;

That picture was taken just after the track had been laid, on the ore dock. We actually have two fleets of ore cars.

One fleet are the Bachmann NG ones. The second fleet is the SG one…each fleet has about 32 cars, half loads, and half empties.

The cars in the picture are part of the SG fleet, and part of the NG fleet. We were checking to see that we had enough trackage to hold only one fleet or the other…we do not mix SG, and NG rolling stock during operations.

Fred Mills

Now…back to addiction confessions and other distressing problems…!!

#22

Get married Aaron, that’ll fix your addiction.

#23

Aaron Loyet said:
So, since joining the large scale madness almost 15 years ago, I realized I have become an addict, collecting unusual and oddball stuff. However, for almost 10 of those years, I have been searching for a certain USA trains reefer, and after the long search I finally found it, located in Germany. As with any usual addict I fought the craving, but caved and hit the buy button on evilbay, but my question is, now what? After searching for so long, and finally finding the car to give me my fix, what does a man do? Is it the signal of the end? Do I just find another “holy grail” car or loco to search for? Sell it all and collect something else? Any input from other serious addicts would be of great help on the road to recovery (or the nearest hobby store)

I’ve been in the same boat for three years now. I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to find everything on my long want list with the exception of one elusive USA Trains Beck’s Beer reefer. I’ve filled the gaps by checking Ebay, USAT and LGB Facebook pages, this board, and one other trains auction website on a daily basis. Sometimes twice daily. Even found my WP F3/B units on Craigslist. As time goes on, many of the discontinued G-scale engines and train cars are becoming much harder to find. There’s a few more that if they pop up I will grab, but the craving has diminished substantially. It isn’t quite finite, though. There’s always something that’ll come up in the meantime that I can’t resist, and I still find myself scanning the web for good deals. I have the same feeling you do, Aaron. But lately it’s tempered a bit, thank God!

So…if this collecting thing ain’t an addiction, I don’t know what is. Early next year, my goal will be to convert my locomotives to battery power and start collecting the new USA Trains Western Pacific streamliner cars for my Zephyr train.

#24

I hear you Aaron and I feel your pain.

I searched for several years for a particular car on the usual auction sites and even in the rafters at Charlie Ro to no avail. I even found myself perusing the inventory behind the actual auction item in listings just in case the car popped out. I finally found one and paid more than I should have but oh well it was worth it. I found my “Bigfoot” one of 125 made.

Recently I was looking for another car for about 2 years which was more like a “Unicorn” in that only 80 were made. I had even contacted the guy who co designed it with Charlie RO in case he has any laying around but no. I noticed 2 weeks ago that this guy was selling a collection of trains from an old customer that had passed on. I kept checking the newly listed auctions and I was going to contact him to see if he had one of these cars in the collection and before I did that BAM there it was with a buy it now price! I grabbed it fast, paying more than I wanted too but what can you do?

Today these cars sit on the shelf and I can’t help but wonder like you Aaron if the hunt was better then the actual acquisition.

I have one more car on my must have list and it comes along every once in a while but the key is getting it at a good price.

After that I guess I won’t have anymore need for Ebay. LOL

#25

Jim Agnew said:
Get married Aaron, that’ll fix your addiction.

I tried that and it doesn’t work.

#26

Jim Agnew said:
Get married Aaron, that’ll fix your addiction.

Well Jim, I’m getting closer on that :slight_smile: after I pay for the S4 you got ill have to start saving for that lol

#27

Fred Mills, SOG said:

Egads; what USTrains reefer do you want so badly that you would order it from Germany…I might just have it here, but you never asked; but then, it would probably have Kadee body mounts on it,and look so much better than the “Pristine” one you are paying shipping on…!!(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

Was a hard find. It is the Allis Chalmers tractor company reefer they did in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Been searching for it for a long time as we farmed with them. but if you have one, ill take it :slight_smile:

#28

Like most I to have over bought. I promised myself when I got into G scale that I would run my own road name with engines and rolling stock painted for it. This was something I never did in HO and always regretted. So now I have all of this stuff that has been repainted, customized, and weathered (basically Boomerized) and now has no value because no one will ever want to pay anything for it.

But I got a plan. I have told Mrs Boomer she is to give it away as door prizes at my funeral…

#29

John Bouck said:

The USA ore car isn’t too bad. I have 24 LGB’s and one USA. Hmmmm…that lone USA needs some friends.

See what you started, Aaron!!!

Glad I could help, cause your addiction then feeds my addiction (https://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)I had four of the USA ore cars, sure wish I would have kept them, wanted to do a quick and dirty narrow gauge conversion on them.

#30

I have a few that I’m always keeping my eyes on. When the items come up and the price is right, I’ll jump on it. My num one on the list is the Westminster live steam Cricket. That will give me all three generations. The Catotonk Heisler is num 2 . Momad live steam engine. Easy to get but not at the price I want to spend.
The Accucraft coaches we’re on my long waited list and I finially got them recently.
Having 3 kids keeps a leash on me.

#31

Well my addiction turned out to be collecting the Aristocraft “Show Cars” from East Coast, Southeast, and Midwest. I have posted a picture of my small basement work area, and I got “Looket all them there yellow boxes!”

I am needing the Midwest Show MKT Double Door Boxcar, and the EJ&E boxcars. I even started on the Aristo Club Cars, but cut that off at the Public Service of NJ Hoppers.

Of course my wife says: “Um, what about all of those other boxes?” Ummmmm, huh?

I seemed to have acquired a rather long string of Red, White, and Blue boxcars and reefers for NH and B&A. There are still a few from MTH that I don’t have. Now who can argue against patriotic red, white, and blue?

#32

Fred Mills, SOG said:

…

Shipping might be a problem. I don’t keep boxes, so they would have to be packaged, and the cost of shipping to Colorado, or Washington State, might make your interest level fade rather quickly…

Oh my…the Canadian Post wesbite says a 24x16x16 package weighing 20 lbs would cost $111.45 to ship from Nepean to Denver. I must not have an addiction worth shaking a stick at if a little thing like prohibitive shipping costs deters me. I’ll give you a call tomorrow anyway!