What are YOUR thoughts on novelty trains???

I have got plenty of scale trains in O gauge -- my Lionel "Hiawatha" Milwaukee Road Atlantic and rib sided passenger cars from 2006 remains my favorite train and my MTH scale GS-4 in American Freedom Train paint from 2002 remains one of my favorite scale models. I run my 3-rail scale stuff at the club.

But, in addition to the real railroad O-27 equipment I run at home, I welcome the Transylvania RR and the North Pole Central on my layout, thanks to Lionel. I have K-Line and Lionel Dr. Pepper trains, an MTH Macy's boxcar, a Lionel Greendale Alco FA, a Polar Express set, a Hogwarts Express set, and Sears and Kay-Bee Toys boxcars.

Go on. Count the rails. Have some fun. We're all just playing with trains.

Adriatic posted:

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I was about to list my favorites, but it would take way too long. I think if I could only have one engine, one car, and a caboose and it had to be fantasy, it would be the  fire locomotive, ladder car, and red Cross work caboose. My "wish" would be an engine suited to go with the old Bugs Bunny / Marvin the Martian cars. I built one till then

 

The lack of a serious size engine to pull all of those WB cars has bugged me forever.  I'd love to see what you came up with!  (I know there was the starter set with an engine, but it's obviously not going to ever pull much more than it's own set and maybe an extra car or 2.)

I'm in for Christmas trains.  I buy the Lionel boxcar every year.  Back when I was new to the hobby and they first started doing a lot of cars aside from just the boxcar, I bought every one of them for a year or 2.  I have since slimmed down my purchases each year since that would have gotten way out of hand.  I am a little surprised to say I don't own a Polar Express set.

As suggested by my reply to Adriatic's post, I'm also in for the old Warner Bros cartoon cars, and I also happen to like the Disney ones.  I never got into Harry Potter (never got involved with the books/movies). 

Lots of the fundraiser cars for either club divisions or museums I am sometimes into.  Being originally from Long Island, I buy most of the NLOE offerings they have offered to the general public since the Meenan Oil tank car (which I think was the first offered to the general public, but I may be mistaken there).  Also got hooked on the RMLI cars.  I don't worry if the cars they offer ever rolled on real rails or not.  I suspect the most recent boxcar for Engine 39 restoration didn't exist in real life, and I'm OK with that .

I'm not huge on specific other merchandising, but I may be attracted to a car here or there.  I had some K-Line Coca Cola boxcars originally, but I lost interest in that type of item except for the cute Polar Bear and Polar Bear/Baby seal hand cars.  I like those since they are sort of a seasonal mascot.  (realizing the Coke polar bear is a full time thing now, but I'm pretty sure he started in holiday themed commercials).

Sports I can appreciate on a somewhat limited scale.  When MTH did Subway sets for the Yankees and Mets sometime after they played in the 2000 Subway Series, I needed to get a Yankees set.  As for all the different boxcars made over the years now though, I decided there was too much being made to stay focused on that.

Oh, I also like most of the Postwar operating cars, but in modern re-incarnation.  Still bummed from when they cancelled the set with the Reconnaissance Car that launched the helicopter concealed inside a few years back!  (I'm pretty sure that's not a real car, but I still want a modern version of one very badly!! )

-Dave

I run whatever looks good going down the rails.  My Williams red & white Texas Special F3 is pulling the same color MTH Budweiser reefers and tank cars right now.  Sure, it never happened in real life, but it looks pretty darn snazzy. Lol!

http://s1322.photobucket.com/u...?sort=3&o=0Dave, I had the whole run/set "reserved" in a way but the store didn't honor the agreement and sold the Speedy Gonzalez rocket flat, so I didn't buy the rest, nor spend another dime there. Before they closed there doors I could still see the boxcars on the shelf, but I wasn't up for rewarding a lack of integrity. I made a few fun cars of my own instead. The Speedy and the Foghorn chicken car are the two I get jealous about (curse you rtr12, [that's a Snoopy vs the Red Baron inspired curse, lol])

Most of the folders are open to browse, but  this link to one of two pages of this and the cars , look to the bottom for 1/2 or 2/2 and an arrow Mars attacks

Oh, that Harlequin cab forward pulled them till I decided on a rocket, Mr Walas's work inspired the rocket. Seeing his work "gave me permission" to step outside of the norm an into the Twilight Zone. ( Next stop Willoughby, lol),

It might be me but if you purchase a novelty item car, even holiday or club cars, you are stuck with it. I find it almost impossible to sell a specialty item.

Lee Fritz

I'll admit. It was the Polar Express that got me back into the hobby. Currently I have most of the cars. It always makes an appearance on the club modular layout once during the Christmas season. Along the way, I picked up scale Polar Railroad freight cars. Missing only the TOFC at this point. That consist has already made its appearance.

I like model trains, not fantasy!

Adriatic,

Very nice work, thanks for sharing.  Your custom cars look great, and I love the rocket ship engine - it looks great in the dark.

If you ever do decide to try to acquire the other cars, I think the Speedy missile flat is one of the more reasonable ones when I've seen it for sale.  You've already got the Missie Launcher with Bugs and Marvin and the Porky radioactive flat, those are normally 2 of the ones people tend to mark up quite a bit from original pricing.  The other that seems to normally be marked up is the Daffy target launcher, probably partially because of the "earth" target balloons.

Thanks again for posting your work! 

If I ever get my butt in gear and go forward with doing something myself for a WB engine, I'll likely just do a repaint of an old GE Demo Dash-9 I've had in hand for a while now.  Not being an experienced painter, I'll probably just go with a simple single color and try to make a few decals of maybe an old WB or Merry Melodies logo, or perhaps a few pics of some of the characters that are featured on the cars.

-Dave

Aren't all of our trains kinda novel in this day of video games and Facebook? Sort of a fantasy to escape "real" life?

As a former HO scale modeler, I am not big on novelty trains, although I have a few items.

If the manufactures can add to their bottom line and don't abandon the prototype modelers, I'm cool with them.

I'm not in to novelty or fantasy items at all. When it comes to my scale size trains, I'm not prototypical in my application, but I want stuff that was actually on rails at some point in time. I do have a few semi-scale items and although not accurate in some ways, they still pass off as something that really existed.

They're fun, til the "novelty" wears off! 

No novelty no fantasy if it is not scale I do not buy it. To each his own that  is what makes this hobby great. 

I like looking at all the novelty/special offerings but don't even have the money to buy all the "real" stuff I like.

20 years ago I got a really good deal on the MPC Coke train and also bought a $100.00 K-Line Hershey's MP-15 set when grandsons were 3 or 4. They loved running it around the tree with it locked into forward-only mode. Made the mistake of leaving it exposed to sunlight and now have a light pink Krackel caboose and mostly faded Mr. Goodbar box car and Reese's hopper in the consist. Surprisingly, the chocolate and silver locomotive, tank car and gondola are still pretty much how they came out of the box.

I would also love to have a couple of the Lionel sets: "75th Anniversary" and green  and silver Phantom.

Both Lionel and MTH sell "whimsical" trains, because in addition to the more prototypical stuff, they help pay the bills.... stretching the use of tools & dies in many other ways.  If things as Christmas items weren't popular would Lionel have gone from offering just ONE annual Christmas boxcar some 15 years ago.. to an entire "catalog" dedicated to numerous special Christmas offering each year?  There is your answer... plain & simple.    

The greatest amount of "novelty" equipment I own would be dedicated trains of York boxcars, and another of club cars commemorating the various manufacturers (finding one for Williams was a bit of a challenge). I don't consider the Hogwarts' set a novelty since I have mine extended (9 cars) to more or less match the length of RL excursion trains that used that equipment. 

I have some 027 boxcars, but I limited my selection to those that carried railroad roadnames. There might be one or two holiday cars in the mix somewhere, but I haven't seen them in years. 

Are there novelty cars I wouldn't buy? Sure. But I don't pass judgement on those who would. After all, no matter how high your standards, you may someday find yourself on the first floor of a two-story outhouse..

---PCJ

mtj54 posted:

 

I love Novelty trains...I love realistic trains....I love tinplate trains....I love n scale, ho scale, o scale and standard gauge trains...love real trains!... 

I'm starting to see a pattern here, starting to realize what my wife has put up with all these years!

but when I think of novelty trains, I think of fun, whimsical, certainly entertaining for most, sometimes borderline hilarious, but mostly just plain old fun and that's sure what it's all about for me. In the day and age we live, a good laugh or even just a smile from old or young can be worth it all. Wasn't lucky enough to have a train when I was a kid, sure making up for that now :-)

 

This pretty well sums up my views on the issue.  I just love trains.  As a Cub Scout, we made a trip to a Michigan State University football game to act as ushers for one section of the stadium.  There was a full size steam engine on static display in the front of the stadium!!!  The Scout Leader had to drag me and one of my Lionel fan buddies away from that steam engine.  Later, as I understand the story, Mr. Kevin Keefe (Kalmbach Executive and writer), and a group of his fellow MSU students, obtained permission from the MSU  President, and beqan restoring that engine to operating condition.  Although the students did't finish the job before graduation, the Pere Marquette No. 1225 steam locomotive was ultimately restored to full operating condition.

SCENE CHANGE: That former Cub Scout has just purchased a Lionel Polar Express Set to enjoy with my future, Cub Scout grandchildren.  I'm confident that the whole family will enjoy that "novelty set" when we celebrate Christmas this year.  (In fact, the three boys were over last night and watched the Polar Express movie -- the two year old wanted to watch the movie again after it finished! )  That includes our two sons who spent many fall Saturdays in college at that same MSU Stadium  - sans that static, No. 1225 Pere Marquette steamer that  I saw as a child.

Imagination, fantasy -- novelty -- each has real value, often, for children of all ages.

I am not a stickler for accuracy. I am populating my layout with MPC, for crying out loud.

But I have no use for novelty trains. To me, the whole purpose of a toy train, is that it reminds you of a real train. Not a TV show, not a billboard, not the Apollo program, not Warren G. Harding. A train!

Thanks Dave, but that's also when I realised I couldn't paint a straight line well anymore. I like the concept and overall look, but I was a very good graphic artist at one time, so all I see are my mistakes. Masking tape was not used. Just a brush and rather thick, 20 year old Testors paints. But when I was younger I'd laugh at even using  decals sometimes. I could write my name and you'd need a magnifying glass to see it.

I think the Duck Dodgers target car was more expensive than the others when new. I think Speedy was cheaper too. The same price as the boxcar of Pepe Le Pew. I only had enough cash for the two cars with me, $70 or $80 left after a day at work with $100 in tow.  I took my favorites and told them I'd be back for the rest in under an hour because I had more cash at home. I only live about 1.5 miles away. I was back in twenty minutes. I think someone in the store offered a few extra bucks and he took it. Only two adults were there, in the RC section. His loss. I was spending at least 20 a week on a model car or two back then. Bought 5 nicer RC vehicles, science toys for the relatives all the time, etc. I'd say he lost a hundred or two a month on me. Supporting your local hobby shop isn't exactly a new idea, and I was doing pretty well. Spread the wealth  . ...Shoot I only had a Christmas carpet central and two locos back then, one since birth, one inherited.  We killed the others growing up, fire engine and all, there were six or more others.

I mention those because one was the gang car. The closest thing I've seen to a Lionel gang car is a mine engine. There's also the rotory track cleaning critter. Maybe a weed spraying engine? ( oh crap, I think we killed like 10+ plastic ones)(had tons o' fun though )

I like some novelty trains, and some I don't particularly care for.  I don't look down on anyone who likes the ones I don't because everyone should persue this hobby in the way that makes them the happiest.

Andy

Chessiefan posted:

I like looking at all the novelty/special offerings but don't even have the money to buy all the "real" stuff I like.

 

That is certainly the truth, I am in the same boat. I really like some of the Tinplate reproductions, but the train money is all long gone before I get all I want from the other catalogs. Maybe someday...

To me there are 2 types of Novelty Trains,   

The mobile advertisements/holiday trains are the  first type. Usually not very prototypical but I happen to like the Christmas ones myself.

The second are operating cars or unusual equipment. Snowplows, cranes, search light cars, the classic automatic dump car fit here. I also place MOW trains, Circus trains, and Military Trains here as well. These can go either way with realism and I happen to love these rolling stock types.