Does Color Impact Your Buying Decisions?

Yes, but I shy away from vivid colors in favor of more bland.

I do have a few colorful cars, most notably, my cabooses (both red).

Passenger Train Collector, I believe you know my answer to this one, Texas Special red, Texas Special red and Texas Special Red.  I am partial to Texas Special red also.  OK, yellow stripes on the pilots.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Certainly, colorful rolling-stock adds fun and eye appeal to a model railroad.

When I built my first HO model railroad I had an overabundance of brown boxcars, because that reflected reality. Eventually I decided I preferred the variety of different and more colorful schemes. And I prefer not to do heavy weathering, because a model railroad can be what you want; it doesn't have to be strictly realistic.

Well that's a major reason I have a smattering of C&O. The tricolor paintjobs are real nice.

Gilly

Color in many cases effects how our brain perceives life in general anyway. Personally, I do like some colors in a loco or on stock cars. But I have to like the "looks" of a loco before its color. Daylight locos and SF silver and red are classic. I also like the Canadian multi color freight cars...very unique and brave...

It sure does.  Especially my wife.  What ever Lionel makes in blue, she has to have it.

Colors like blue, green, and yellow do influence me a bit.

Of course everyone has a soft side for the Blue Comet, and I like diesels in Conrail colors.

I like the Southern's Crescent Limited quite a bit, and most of the equipment on the C&O/Chessie System.

Most of the rolling stock I buy also has colorful graphics and schemes, such as the Peabody coal hoppers, Chessie ACF hoppers, and Tropicana reefers, though not all.

PTC,

You're not alone with your attachment to the colour yellow. Are you going to add a yellow passenger consist to your yellow/white Santa Fe F-units? Also, Do you have a FP45 in War Bonnet colors? It's my favourite.

I'm into the bright Lionel prewar colours. Lionel had a lot of dull colours, too. Those usually are repaints to the brighter side of the palate when cost effective.

Base upon what Sam E. posted above, I looked up what the color yellow represents.

"Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy."

I am good with that.  (the smiley face is also yellow)

I'm kinda partial to passenger paint schemes of the MPC era. Lately I've been thinking of dedicating my entire display to Mighty Sound of Steam Passenger Trains. I know it's not because of the cheesy sound so maybe its the paint schemes or it could be the relatively affordable prices.

Color, and the manufacturer's accurate representation of the correct shades of color, definitely impact my purchasing decisions.

I'm partial to red and silver, and yellow, mainly because of my Santa Fe and Union Pacific trains. But if I see an accurately detailed and colored piece of freight rolling stock, I'll buy it in any railroad.

Lionel in particular, has done a good job with the silver on its latest Santa Fe F3s, but the red is a bit too dark.  Lionel has never been able to get Union Pacific's Armour Yellow correct on its UP engines and passenger cars.  They always come out Mustard Yellow. 

Oh well, what can you do?

Steve:

I am just trying to figure out if:

"Passenger Train Collector, I believe you know my answer to this one, Texas Special red, Texas Special red and Texas Special Red.  I am partial to Texas Special red also."

Does that mean you REALLY like red?

PTC,

As long as it is Union Pacific 'yellow' I'll buy it  !

I also have a soft spot for the "American Flag" on various rolling stock (as you already know).

I want to state one thing, there are many beautifully colored diesel engines and the TS is not alone in this category.  Each person has their own favorite colors, road names, engines and cars.  This is what makes the hobby so interesting and fun.

As far as red goes, the Texas Special red seems to have a touch or orange in it, enough to make the red unique to this line and separates them form other "red" railroad colors. 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Color of the trains? Not really, that's why they make paint.

The color that does affect my buying decisions is the amount of GREEN in my wallet.

Ditto.....I look at old films of trains....LOTS of box car red/brown....not much else.....so I try and model the same.

Yes, I like any BNSF orange engine and will try to buy it! Budget is the limiting factor here. I also like the yellow UP passenger cars, colored hopper cars (CN, I think?) and a few others. Just recently ordered an MTH Interstate RS-3 (it's got orange in it too). I think the colors got me there too, but I did really want an RS-3 and BNSF doesn't have any.

The tinplate O gauge boys and girls sets I really like also. The colors they used for those sets just somehow look really good together (at least I think they do). Unfortunately those had to be cut due to the budget limiting! Maybe someday.  

Forgot the UP greyhound colors on the steamers. If I had any steamers this color would be one of the first.

Fella's,

How's this one------I have to have plenty of green to attract the colors of the Santa Fe which are red and silver or the colors of the jet powered NYC Budd Car which are silver and black.

Green is THE ESSENTIAL color! The color of cash and carry!

Mike Maurice

Yes, my mood determines the coloration of what I buy, at some level.

Late this winter, having spent far to long in doors, or under a gray sky, a Florida East Coast, bright red and yellow, passenger set was in order, as was the bright yellow and green IC City of Miami.... just like the originals these show the bright warmth just a short train ride away in sunny south Florida.

I as a rule tend to think of my model world as very happy place, so more colorful trains fit right in, it is not old, dirty, and run down, there is enough of that in the real world.

Color definitely has an impact on my train purchases especially when it comes to engines.  I love the Daylight colors of the Southern Pacific and the green and orange of the Great Northern Railway.  The crisp red and white of the Texas Special and the Tuscan red of the Pennsylvania Railroad I also find quite pleasing to the eye.  All that being said, I must admit to admiring the subdued Vanderbilt Grey of the New York Central.  Go figure.    

Yes the paint scheme has a lot to do with it.  I just bought the Lionel ES44AC in the Interstate paint because it reminded me of a Creamsickle and the colors just looked cool.  I also Bought the Monongalia ES44AC just because of the plane grey look with the big M on it. 

DEFINATELY....both locos and rolling stock. I look for the "eye candy" right off.

I like the mundane dull boxcar red 40' boxcars. I prefer diesels in black, except for the Chessie System motif. Steam - black, of course. 

I do like color except my steam of course. I have also bought 6 Lionel NS heritage units because of the colors. Lionel really has done a incredible job on the SD70ACe and ES44AC's heritage units. 

Yes and no.  My road's colors are aspen yellow and spruce green, because of what

they say about the territory they run in.  My cabooses, coaches, and gas electrics are

yellow with green trim (I would never buy a green automobiles, except as a used one)

So I don't LIKE green, but it goes well with yellow, and is the color of evergreens.

A model auto in green for the layout, yes,  for variety and because they are seen in

the real world.  I got hooked on yellow cabooses from a childhood book depicting

MKT yellow cabooses.  I buy anything with the intent to repaint to "correct" colors, if it is appropriate.

I like colorful locomotives and rolling stock.

I have quite a bit of Christmas themed trains, so plenty of red, green, silver and gold there.

But, I have other colorful locomotives: SP Daylight for steam, and for diesels Santa Fe red and silver and blue and yellow, and the blue and orange of the New Jersey Trainmaster, a little CP red, a little UP yellow, and Conrail blue.

If it's bright with color, I don't buy it. Don

Tuscan Red bores me, my favorites are the colorful K-LINE Aluminum hoppers and Atlas Billboard Reefers.  That is why they make it all, different strokes for different folks.  Run what you like, you are paying for it.   

I like any color that's prototypical for that diesel or rolling stock!  

Hi, Brian, aka Passenger Train Collector.

This is an interesting topic. Bright red is my favorite color. I have several diesels where bright red is one of the colors of the loco like the Santa Fe F3 and the Texas Special  and Katy SD-70ACEs.

Erol Gurcan

Definitely. Conrail Blue,B&M blue,Blue comet.  Subway,Red bird.  Tinplate;Any color looks good!

My favorite color is green.  Most of my engines are green because I like the Southern Railroad.  I believe my favorite color has had influence on me buying Southern engines and rolling stock.  My favorite train is Southern Crescent Limited 4-6-2 which is in green and matching green passenger cars.  However, when I look at Southern Aluminum Streamline passenger cars in recent Lionel catalog or the MTH Southern 4-6-4 Royal Hudson Steam Engine which is painted mostly in brown and black, I don't have much of an interest in them...maybe because it is the color.  Ken

Many items in my collection were purchased based on color.  I'm a sucker for locomotives that are red.  Which is the main reason I enjoy Lionel Christmas trains.  I also have some MTH Canadian Pacific diesels, partly because they are all red.  I sought out a Lionel Commodore Vanderbilt in all red.

Most any color is okay with me, as long as it's true to the prototype.  I do like

tank cars in darker colors, not so toy-like.

     Hoppy

I am definitely influenced by color, but I like a variety.  If the car looks nice I'll buy it, even if it's black, which I have quite a few of.  I have several brown box cars, but also many others that I purchased because of their colorful graphics.  If I'm in prototypical mood, brown and black makes up the consist.

I also have a few engines that were purchased just because they looked good.  MTH's Southern Crescent Limited comes to mind, and the red-white-black Western Maryland colors have made me buy a nice diesel.  Was also influenced by the color combinations on the original run of MTH's 999 0-4-0.

Mike

Anything thats Red i won't buy. I hate Red.