Like many model railroaders, I have accumulated a large number of freight cars and locomotives over the years. My early Athearn train set cars and additions from Model Die Casting (Roundhouse), Tyco and Con-Cor were later joined by more detailed models from Intermountain, Red Caboose and others.
My early purchases as I got more serious about the hobby were from hobby shops, and occasionally mail order, as this was before the Internet. Most were kits, because I had enjoyed building aircraft models and this carried over into my model railroad hobby. There were a few "ready to run" model purchases, joined by some gifts from family.
When I got even more serious about the hobby, I found other kit manufacturers such as CB&T, Branchline and LifeLike Proto 2000 (now Walthers Proto). There were even a few exotic (to me) resin kits from Sunshine as well as swap meet finds of other craftsman type kits.
Some of these purchases were spurred by my interest in the Great Northern and other Hill Lines, some by what I had seen on the tracks in real life as a kid, and some by whim. I did tend to stick with the 1960's, despite temptation in the form of gorgeous looking modern era cars.
For a long time, however, my purchases were only loosely guided by a vague concept of how I might eventually incorporate them into a large model railroad scheme. Some of this was understandably the result of lack of time to embark on planning and building a layout, or defining what it would even look like. Some due to the shiny allure of a new model that I happened on and convinced myself I really wanted, without much thought of how it "fit" into any bigger plan. Some just looked fun to build.
When I began to narrow my focus, and develop an interest in building more detailed models, it was actually helpful in limiting impulse buying. It has not slowed me down but it has guided me toward models that I know I really want. Some earlier buys have been sold to make way for things that better fit where I see myself going.
Recent purchases have tended toward craftsman kits or kitbash opportunities that will challenge and develop my skills. There are some incredible small makers of resin car and mini kit offerings along with masters of kitbashing who share their talents for me to learn from.
As I am not building a large layout with a big “fleet”, I’m not as much driven to balance my models with car distributions or relative numbers of a particular car as I am to explore modeling challenges. I am adding some particular car types in line with my forest products interest. This includes tank cars, double door boxcars and flat cars. The Great Northern is my home road, along with subsidiary Pacific Coast, and sister roads Northern Pacific, SP&S and CB&Q so these roads feature prominently.
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