Ideas needed for start point on Loco collecting

[oxfordlawn]

or for example.....imagine trying to find these LOL...or modeling these LOL should be an interesting collection to gather up

 

[sd24b]

or for example.....imagine trying to find these LOL...or modeling these LOL should be an interesting collection to gather up

I believe Con Cor produced the UP train a few years ago. Phil

 

[trailrider]

Correct. They also have brought out a model of the post-WWII Pioneer Zephyr #9900, with the Mars light. (The older version of the #9900 doesn't have the Mars light.)

 

[spookyac47]

Return on Investment

whats an example of a starting point price performer that you would feel is a good steamer and yet potential collectability....I dont care if something loses maybe half value...im not using this as an investment but I would hate to spen money on something like this and the in 10 years find its worth $15. Thats the issue im trying to avoid.

Just like a 401K, no one can probably tell you what the future holds as far as return on investment on your model railroading purchases.

I reentered the hobby during 1969 and accumulated a lot of Athearn Blue Box locomotives.Perhaps about 10-12 years ago, I started trying to sell those same locomotives and found that I could not even get what I paid for them 30 some years ago . . . they just don't measure up to the quality of equipment being produced now.

They are good, inexpensive locomotives for someone starting out in the hobby or someone wanting to get a train consist set up for a young child they want to introduce to the hobby . . . they are tough locomotives with very little detail to break off.

If you are looking for display only locomotives, you might consider looking for older Life-Like Proto 2000 diesels, they were well detailed but their drivetrain was good for the time. They can be found on online auction sites for less than what current locomotives are selling for. Do not confuse these with the older Lifelike train set locomotives which were toy like in appearance.

Don
Lower Arizona

 

[oxfordlawn]

yes Im realizing the money return part the more im lurking around. Seems like most hO stuff really never appreciates in value does it? I have seen a couple collector sets such as John Deere sets made by Athearn, among other sets by other companies...do things such as these ever become collectibles...I would imagine as with everything else its the first in series that does the best.
Deep inside of course I wish that these trains I will be collecting would increase in value, but in reality it seems the only enjoyment would be mostly for my own satusfaction as these wont really ever increase in value.

 

[PaulB]

yes Im realizing the money return part the more im lurking around. Seems like most hO stuff really never appreciates in value does it? I have seen a couple collector sets such as John Deere sets made by Athearn, among other sets by other companies...do things such as these ever become collectibles...I would imagine as with everything else its the first in series that does the best.
Deep inside of course I wish that these trains I will be collecting would increase in value, but in reality it seems the only enjoyment would be mostly for my own satusfaction as these wont really ever increase in value.

Well, it depends which ones you choose. The tricky bit is figuring out which ones will appreciate. This is the same as for photography lens'.

It can be very hard knowing which lens will hold it's value or increase in value. Most cheaper consumer lens' will fall apart before resale time and often don't bring back much money.

The pro lens' are very expensive but, if well looked after, can be expected to bring back maybe 80% of the original price. This might change in the near future as many lens' now have lots of electronics in them that will break down or be made obsolete one day. Older classic lens', such as Leica summicron 50mm, will hold value for as far into the future as anyone can see. And they are manual, so no fancy electronics to break down.

A few lens' go up in value dramaticly. The 1990's Nikkor AF 28mm F/1.2D was such as lens. Nikon pulled it from production yet it was the sharpest in it's class. It was expensive to start with but increased in value a few times over, so anyone holding one or more could have made a killing.

So it can be hard to judge which will appreciate. I rather suspect all the expensive electronics we pay for now will be worthless and broken down in ten years. So write that off as a consumable expense. Most mechanisms these days aren't so crash hot either. Something that will gain in value will have a good mech, maybe with digital options that you have to add youself (save money if not install it), and is both desirable and becomes hard to find.

Examples in the MRR world are certain walthers kits. Their track scale test car can be sold for over $30, yet they cost $9 when avaliable. Who would have thought such a humble kit would increase in value? I wish I had a crate load of them so I could make $20 profit on each.

I wonder if the new Athearn RTR SW1000 and SW1500 are good buys? I bought two undecorated for around $60 each. They have the famous Japanese Mashima motors and state of the art mech design. No frills though. If you want highly detailed, you have to do it yourself. Also if you want digital, you have to buy it separately. But the mech is good enough that such efforts are worthwhile. I wonder if the value of these models might increase significantly after production ceases?