As far as trains you run--

Mixed. I want to re-live the trains of my youth.  Ahhhh.... my happy place.....

Mixed for sure. I agree a whole huge string of boxcars etc is boring. A nice group of passenger cars of course is a different story. JMO

My freight trains always consist of a variety of boxcars and refrigerator cars - different sizes, railroads and colors. I don't have cars from which to make a unit train. Also run short passenger trains.

MELGAR

Both. Mixed for shorter runs. Unit trains for longer runs.

Both for me, too, depending on the freight.  I've only seen coal and aggregate loads in unit trains, so that's what I run.  I also understand automobiles typically are shipped via unit train, so I run a consist of exclusively screened auto carriers from different railroads.

My favorite, though, is the old fashioned toy train consist of hopper, boxcar, reefer, tank car, flatcar and caboose in the unlikely combination of a single railroad's livery.

What, me worry?

Carl Orton posted:

Mixed. I want to re-live the trains of my youth.  Ahhhh.... my happy place.....

Agreed. Been seeking out Erie and NKP equipment the past few years. Remember the Erie commuters with Alco PA'S and the ore drags from Erie Dock in Cleveland with three EL trainmasters pulling hard. 

Lou N

And since you mention it....

TCA 76-10069, LCCA 8188

Definitely mixed for me.  I usually have several accessory cars included to keep me busy and give the consist purpose too.

Rob S

mixed. todays trains are just plain boring to watch. No boxcar heralds to look for,piggybacks,hoppers, and no Cabin Cars!

Mixed, mostly.  I have been doing mini operating sessions on my layout,  I select about 7 or 8 cars that are to be delivered to various customers about the layout.  I run a local using a single road switcher (GP9, RS-11) to deliver and pick up cars from the various customers.  I also have a second line that I interchange cars with.  As the second line interchanges and crosses the main line several times, I have to keep on my toes when having an operating session.  A typical session last about 2 hours.  If I want to just let the trains run without a specific purpose I will sometimes run a unit grain train, coal train or a train of gondolas with pipe loads.  These trains are usually pulled by several high horsepower units MU'd.  I just turn them loose and let them roam the layout.

I guess it all depends upon how much mental effort I want to put into running my trains on any given day.

Tom

Add me to the mixed freight column too.  I consider myself a 1:48 rail fan and simply find manifest trains more interesting to watch.  That said, i will deviate on occasion and run a coal train behind one of my Western Maryland engine sets as that just seems to "look right".

Curt

Steamer posted:

mixed. todays trains are just plain boring to watch. No boxcar heralds to look for,piggybacks,hoppers, and no Cabin Cars!

In the past few years  around the spring and summer.CSX will have forein power show up.I seen up,bnsf,cn,kcs,ns,We even get sooline units that has not been painted over yet.I see an old box car with fading herald on them.

juniata guy posted:

Add me to the mixed freight column too.  I consider myself a 1:48 rail fan and simply find manifest trains more interesting to watch.  That said, i will deviate on occasion and run a coal train behind one of my Western Maryland engine sets as that just seems to "look right".

Curt

Used to see coal trains during the fall and winter.I live about 3 miles from the tracks.Some times they where so heavy the shook the ground.Heres some thing I saw once.I saw a unit coal train that had mixed freight on the end of it.I only saw that once.

I have always had a liken to passenger cars. I do like freight also, 

I only run what I see out on the rails, mostly modern. Plenty of mixed freight, but also unit trains, coal, intermodal, tank, grain, even frac sand.

I have 25 of those 2 bay ACF hoppers, in that silly red Canada grain scheme. Grain would not be shipped in that style of car anyway, those are typically used for heavy mineral commodities. A quick trip to the paint shop, and they'll all come out in a few shades of boring gray. Some generic lettering, and some cool graffiti, will make them very realistic.

Mostly mixed trains........2 unit trains:

1. Coal train pulled by N&W or LNE.

2. Tropicana train pulled by PC or Conrail.

Peter

I love it all!  I'll run mixed freight, long unit trains and lots of passenger trains. 

Mixed freight for me and a caboose on the end is "mandatory" no mater what I'm running! 

seaboardm2 posted:

I run freight trains on my layout.Mixed freight trains thats what I saw growing up.I look back at that time and wished.I had taken some pictures of the trains.Anyway I like mixed freight trains you get different types of boxcars.Hauling different things such as coal,heavy machines,oil,frozen meats,truck trailers,lumber,powdered cement,scrap iron,steelbeams,plastic pellets,cars and trucks.I am just not a fan of unit trains I find them to be boring.So how about you guys?Do you like mixed freights or unit trains on your layouts.

Mixed freights and beautifully colored schemed passenger trains. IF I HAD a coal breaker or refinery a coal drag or "mobile Chernobyl" would also look great. And while I am commenting, what can be easier on the eye than the SP Daylight?

I run freight & passenger trains, but I don't mix freight with passenger. With freight trains I try to run hopper cars with hopper cars or gondolas, and I use a caboose with every freight train, as I think it looks better then the end of train device on a freight car. For my passenger trains I run only a matched set of passenger cars as it looks better to me.

I try to keep my motive power correct for the particular version of freight or passenger train I run.

Lee Fritz