what percent of your engines do actually run

100% out of between 15-20 engines (haven't counted recently and I've added a couple since last time)

100%!!!!!  If and when anything "breaks down" or has "issues", I put it asside and fix it the next day. NOTHING I have ever sits around "busted"!

100%, but I only have 4 engines at the moment  I have two on the main and two in sidings at all times, and I have room for two more in the sidings.  So until I get to six engines, I run them all.  

 

Note that I will probably have more than 6 engines before I know what happened......

 

Then I'll have to choose or build more trackage.

 

-Eric

 

<EDIT>  In case I misinterpreted, they are all currently in running condition.  Two days ago it was more like 75%.  This aspect apparently varies based on my karma any given moment.

I have around 30-35, and AFAIK, they all run.  I will say that sometimes when I put one on the tracks, I find some little thing isn't working right, I usually open it up and fix it.

of the few I have two don't run one is just a shell and the other has no motor inner workings (steam dummy) I can still have it  pushed around so it looks like a "lash up" 

 

♦♦<Retired&Broke RR>♦♦

all of my 15 run. Whether it's pre war, post war or modern.

I have about 50 engines, but who's counting, and they all run.

 

Bruce "Lucky" Vincelette

I have 18. 2 pre-war, 4 post-war, 3 TMCC, the rest basic coventional stuff of no great value. They all work, except the mainspring on my Hornby wind-up is a bit shot.

Having a expensive engine that did not work would depress me, so I avoid them.

Lionel engines and locomotives - 100% run

MTH          - 35%  run

 

TEX

Steve

Lionel fan?

11 out of 12 run..All MTH and one Beep.  One MTH McDonalds F-40 that I bought used was damaged in shipping and it's my only shelf queen.

As of now, I have 8 Railking Proto2 engines all vary from Railking Rugged Rails to Railking/Railking Scale and Imperial. All are run, about equal which isn't very much as I rarely run my trains. Included in that 8 is an MTH Subway set which sees almost no use and sits in a box most of the year. I also have 2 conventional engines but don't run them either. 

98% of my engines run. The only ones out of service are a 1130 steamer (waiting on parts) and a 2343 F3 (he will be heading to the lhs for repair next time I pass that way). I actually just fixed about 5 of them in the last few weeks.

Actually, now that I think of it.  I do have one postwar 2037 mechanism in my workbench drawer (the shell is a decoration for my locomotive maintenance shop yard) that we bought as a parts donor for my grandpa's 2037.  Ran fine when we got it, but the sentimental value of my grandpa's was more important to me and the donor engine.  The engine was cheaper (at about $30) than the parts I took off of it would have been separately.  I could always put it back together if I wanted, but probably won't happen.

I've got one engine waiting for parts (my fault), and one that loses it's TMCC signal, and I just haven't had a day to look at it.  Everything else, from a 1932 #262 to a 1938 #238E to my Post War Berks, Hudsons, and K-5's up to my TMCC/Odyssey engines all work like a charm.

 

And all of my accessories and operating cars work too!

 

Jon 

Out of 6 engines, 3 post war, 3 modern all are 100% working condition. If I discover one is out of service of it's own choosing, it gets repaired asap so it can be called up if needed at any time.

I have 122 Postwar Lionel locomotives (not including motorized units) I assume most of them run...I have not used them in awhile.

 

I have 35 MTH PS2 locomotives all run but two have bad sound boards.

 

BT

All of my MTH PS2/3 engines run fine.  A couple of newer ones with the crappy printed-on flywheel strips have needed to have "tapes" put on to get them up to snuff.  

 

I still have some old 5-volt engines that run great after 2000+ miles. 

 

The only ones that are not in running condition are my two Marx engines from the 50's/60's.  They need to be restored.  Everything else I have was in running condition the last time I checked.

I have probably over 100, some are very old from my childhood, and everything gets track time. I certainly have favorites that get a lot more time than others, and I don't run my old locos regularly. Now that I'm enjoying command control, they are getting more time at the moment. But, when the new Train Engineer and PS3 boards become available, most of my conventional locos will get upgraded.

All my locos run and run well. 100%.

I have a lot of engines and most get run occasionally, might be a few years in between. I tend to run newer rather than postwar although I have two postwar GP-7 or 9 on the tracks right now double headed repainted to Southern Pacific. Railking gets run the most.

 

Its a lot easier to buy stuff for that future layout than to build one.

Now that I am reduced to a small layout I guess I would use only around 5-10%. A 9x16 round-the-room attic layout is too small for long passenger trains or double-headed steamers or lashed-up diesel freights where the combined engines are nearly as long as their consist. I also have 5 or 6 articulated locomotives that will now only be fired up on the layout for photo ops.

 

Due to age and health issues I dismantled my 5-track 14x32 operation at our mountain cottage in 2/08 and my 13x23/8x12 benchwork layout upstairs here in the Condo 10/09. Lot of "cold iron" sitting on railrax or boxed now.

 

I am a Southern Ry/N&W  modeler and was thinking last night that I can run the famous Washington to Memphis "Tennessean" as my only passenger train and still utilize many locomotives for a single trip: Southern Streamlined Ps-4 Washington to Lynchburg, N&W "J" Lynchburg to Bristol and a pair of E6s Bristol to Memphis[ as well as other E units and Southern PAs occasionally]. That is the way "The Tennessean" actually was initiated and ran for several years. Then my 0-6-0 Passenger Yard Switcher would appropriately be on station in the Yard.

 

As for freight trains I plan to utilize my N&W "Water Buffalo" 4-8-2 for moving coal trains to supply the coaling tower and most likely only Atlantic & Yadkin  2-8-0s and Southern 2-8-2s for local and mainline freight service. I would likely station my 0-8-0 Freight Switcher in the Yard coupled to the Wreck Derrick just to increase the equipment population.

 

Quite a comedown from runing 30 car coal trains behind a Challenger or 14 lighted cars behind a Southern 4-8-2 Mountain or a N&W 4-8-4 "J"--all at the same time! But at 80 years and sort of lame, time to adapt and just dust the retired and newly crowned "shelf queens" occasionally.

About 75% run, I have shelved all the conventionals for the time being.

They will be donated to kids in the extended family as time passes.

I have 2 that want trains now, just waiting for the kids to have a space for a layout.

100% run 100% of the time . I do have 2 that are waiting on ERR upgrade boards but if they didn't run out they go.
I still have a long way to go before I have alot of engines setting idle.
Yep life is good
David

I'm at about 60 engines now and all of them will run.  Of that total, I probably operate maybe 30-40 of them with any kind of regularity on my layout. I'll also "borrow" Max's layout from time to time and run two on his if he hasn't been spending much time in the basement.

 

My Postwar engines are operated only during the Christmas season around one of our two trees.

 

Curt

I run everything I own...engines and rolling stock.  I may not run it for a month, but it will get its turn.

All of them. No shelf queens everything gets track time at some point.

since I do not have many they all get run all the time.

Out of 86, including motorized units, all run. Some conventional, but most TMCC. So the answer is 100%

 

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I've got a lot of engines, certainly more than I ever thought I would have and I love every one of them.  Consequently, over the course of the year I make sure they all get run time. Some of them get more, some get less but they all still run.

I have 13 powered locos and 12 of them run. My RailKing SW-9 won't come out of neutral and it is going to take some effort to get it running again, because I am going to convert it into a conventional unit.

Currently run 58% of our engines.  My son and I just set up DCS this fall and run nothing but our command engines.

 

MTH GG-1 PS1 Upgrade to PS2 - Son

MTH M1 Steam - Daughter

MTH Big Boy - Son

MTH SD70M - Son

MTH NS Executive ABA - Dad (Me)

MTH 2-6-0 Loco Sound upgraded to PS2 - Community Property

Williams NW-2 upgraded to PS2 - Pop Pop

 

3 Conventional... Hoping to upgrade to command.

1 Broken Thomas

1 MTH GG-1 back to MTH under warranty repair.  Santa's elves did not do a great job putting this one together, so hopefully MTH can fix 'er up.

 

Ron

 

 

hello guys an gals........

no shelf queens for me, i run my railking challenger 100 % of the time and it's only engine i have. I am waiting for the UPS to deliver my new MTH battery charger so i can charge up a new 3 volt battery for it.

the woman who loves toy trains

Tiffany

I run them all. I just change over from NYC to UP every couple of months. Most of the time multiple locomotive consist.

I have about 150 engines, 145 MTH and about 5 Lionel/Atlas.  All of them run without any troubles since I bought any of them.  As for what engines I run, well I have about 50 that I swap pretty often on the tracks.  The other 90 or so are on display shelves and about half of them are easily reached, should I choose to put them on the tracks.  I do have about 20 engines that I know are pretty hard to find, produced in low quanities and I feel are collectable and prefer not to run.

I have about 70 Locomotives and all can run but do not run my Post War or LTI mostly because I use MTH DCS sytem and just love running MTH locomotives on it. All my MTH can and will run at some point. Everything is on shelfs that can be easily removed and run. Expanding the layout and nothing is running now.

Recently I counted and was surprised  to find that I have 28 locomotives, didn't think I had that many.  I am currently building a new layout and only have a simple loop up now but when I had my old layout up and running I would run everything.  No shelf queen's for me either.

 

Paul

Less than ten percent have ever been on the track. On the next layout I will do better. 

40+ command 100% command are run at least once a week. None mY of post war. 3 proto 2's as spares are run every couple of months and will be given to my kids next christmas.

All of them except my 700E.

100% here, I also keep them well maintained. Any problems with my rolling stock or engines is repaired/fixed.. ASAP

B.N.

100%

100% of all 29 engines are in perfect working condition.

All of my 48 engines will run but I can't run them all. I can only get 4 trains running on my layout at once and two or three sitting on the passing sidings. 

I have close to forty command control locmotives and all are in good running order.  As with other members I jump on issues when they occassionally occur and get my locomotives back in service as quickly as I can.  Bill B. 

All 15 MTH engines running well and often!

I have 60 engines/motorized units. I've got 4 down right now. Everything will be back up and running by summer.

 

I run mostly my new stuff. However when I get in the mood to run MPC or Postwar I'll stay on it for a  couple weeks at a time.

 

I keep a spreadsheet of when everything was last oiled and greased. This way nothing gets neglected. It's easy to do and keeps me honest for how well maintained my stuff really is.

I would guesstimate that about 80% of my engines see regular service.  I do have about 5 engines that are put away in boxes, only because they aren't that important to me.  I also have some 15, or so, engines of Chicago & Northwestern prototype, which really haven't been run for a year or two.  And then, there are 5 engines that are on the RIP (repair in place) track waiting to be fixed, upgraded or simply gotten rid of.  At York last year I found a little 0-4-0 Hornby engine from the early '30's which needs repair and restoration but when done, will only see occasional service like my other collectable trains from Lionel, American Flyer and Marx do. 

 

Everything I run on the layout itself is Command Control, TMCC, Legacy or DCS.  No provision to include conventional control on the layout itself, unless the CC engines are removed from the tablework.

 

Paul Fischer

I have sixty seven engines, counting A-B units are two units.

Two are on my workbench and will run when they leave it.

Five don't run (four electronic, one mechanical)

Four run rather poorly by modern standards (Lionel and Marx pre- & Post-war)

The rest do actually run.

 

Only 28 - fewer than half -- have been run in the last year, though.

 

Also four more used-to-be-engines are disassembled in my parts bin and I gave away one loco that needed TLC (for a total of 72 engines I've actually bought). 

 

I run only conventional.

All of my post-war engines run fine and well.  Beyond that, my newer non-command engines also do fine.  I'm afraid to test out any of my PS1's - I just let them sit. 

 

Now about the newer stuff - I run everything that haven't thrown a tire.  That's my biggest problem.  I've got about 20 subways, and quite a few have tires off.  They sit.  About five of my MTH PS2's also lost traction tires, out of about 20.  Lionel TMCC, Legacy and Vision are all running just fine - no tire issues, no other problems.

 

My Vision Challenger had to make a visit to the Lionel hospital for an antenna problem, but she's back to health now.  Knock on wood, that's been my only Lionel problem.  Even my K-Line engines are running just fine.

 

I've got to learn how to deal with those tires!

 

I have about three dozen "scale" three railengines which all run and I run them all. Some a lot more than others,

100% of my modern locos that have TMCC or DCS systems run perfectly and they all get their time on the tracks. A few conventional locos have issues with e-units or sound that may prevent them from being used.

I have over 200 engines. From a few Lionel leftovers from the fifties to Lionel conventional and TMCC. Weaver, Wiliams, Atlas, 3rd rail, and MTH which are mostly PS-1's. Out of all of them so far I have only 2 that are not runing. A lionel because of a split gear and an MTH with a board problem. Because of so many PS-1's before I try them out I switch out the battery with a BCR first....................Paul

From postwar and MPC to the present, I have well over 120 engines. I run them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All run

i have over thirty engines,steam and diesel.i run every engine at least once a week.no engine sets idle for very long.

 

i have a mixture of dcs and tmcc engines as well as postwar.i do find myself running the command control engines in conventional rather than in command mode.

 

i enjoy running the engines using my lionel cab-1 controller.

 

terry.......

All of them run. But my two Early Williams Hudson's without flywheels look very clumsy running down the track. So I guess they could be considered shelf queens. At the time they were issued I believe they were the only 3 rail scale Hudson's other than the 773.

 

I have Forty engines from Post War to the present.  MTH, Lionel, WBB all are operational.  All go on the track during the year.  I have like all who run trains experienced some problems, if so off too the Local Hobby Shop. 

 

Nothing better than running trains.

 

Many thanks,

 

Billy C

I have about a dozen and all but one have seen the track!!

I'm a slave to what my son wants to run but they all get run sometime over the year

23 steamers

21 ready willing and able

1 need to order a couple parts

1 a Northern project from junkers

some get run more than others but all get run.

I don't wanna start lyin' to my wife, so I have never counted 'em up...what I don't know will never hurt me.  Do they all run???...of course!!!

All the ones I use run just fine

 

Maybe I should say, all the ones that ran when I purchased them, still do so.

 

 

And of all the ones I have purchased that either did not run, or were very incomplete, probably 50% of those now run.  I, unfortunately seem to purchase projects faster than I complete the existing ones.

 

There's probably 140+ engines from 1915 to pre orders for 2012.  So I would guess all told 75% of them run.

Just stopping the replies to this topic

have 9 misc engines. i run all EXCEPT lionel gp-38 chessie 6-28827. has a chewed up drive gear that lionel cant get me motor unit for. anyone have an alternate source ?

100%

 1lionel u36 b 36 years old and runs good   1 marx  36 years old   1MTH Railking 4-6-0  1MTH Railking SD70ACE all run good

Except for two Beeps still in their boxes, and my old 1950s 681 that sits on a shelf, I run all the others.  I only own 10 engines, I think, but I'm not home where I can count them.

I think about 99% runs, but I only run command nowadays, so I likely don't run more than 15% of them.

Of that 15% it's mostly steam that I run. Lionel, MTH, and K-Line scale.

 

Rod

All have been test run or operated a short time to make sure everything operates.Most are MTH Premier PS2,Lionel JLC series/RS4.0/RS5.0/Legacy,Third Rail and a few Williams scale diesels.I DCS and Legacy together on my layout.I can run up to 8 trains at a time.

 

Ricky

I have over 200.  Most of them are MTH.  I have 8 Lionel, 2 K-Line, 2 3rd Rail and 4 Williams.  Everything runs.  It is a bit of work to keep everything running.  I will not let anything in my collection  that is a non runner.

100% of 6 locomotives.

My engines run, to stay on topic.

BUT I think you guys are crazy telling the world how many engines you own.

  Ron did it right - he didn't even tell HIMSELF how many he has!

Good question. Let's see... I have six engines, all on the layout. Four have their own train and associated track so run all the time. Two are parked in sidings. I run one of those rarely. The last needs new bushings or something (sounds like a banshee) so never runs. So 83% are run  

I have 11 out of commission right now 

Wives can be as sharp as they want to be.  If she asks him "Do you have more than 100?" and he says he doesn't know he may be telling the truth.  If she follows up with "What is your best estimate on how many you have?" it would give considerably less wiggle room.  

I have 14 locomotives. They all run in some manner but I am in the process of converting them to TMCC. I run mainly the TMCC ones bit occasionally put the conventional ones on the track for testing. I have two with antenna issues that I haven't fixed yet but they still run. I can only run three trains at one time so 14 is really more than I really need. So I'm trying to decide if I should sell some of the conventional or continue upgrading. I like the upgrading process because it tests my electrical skills but I find that I have little time to work on all my train projects.

All of them run, except the two I bought for parts.

The last time i checked they all ran,but its been almost a year and a half since ive checked.Ill be checking them out real soon since i feel better now.

Hmmm.  Working on new layout so simple loop running now.  9 O gauge, one new in box, others run.  If we're counting all trains....  One HO NIB, one N NIB, five G haven't run in years.  Hmmm, may be I need a G track on this layout.

 

Very interesting read guys.

i have about 25 tmcc engines/12 legacy/30 convential engines/all run ,100 percent, i have been doing this a long ,i have a home layout and  a 6'x30' dog bone layout the is legacy controlled, NO track pins or bridge track between the six sections, just run the trains,zw-l720

blueline; that sounds bad! Your workbench must be getting kind of cluttered.

What sorts of issues are you having?

 

Rod

All of them....I have 4 post war and 4 modern locos.  They all work and see time on the layout.

HM,

   All the engines I own run and are used on each layout we build.

Even the early 263E runs along side the Newer MTH DCS.  Having the ability to run both

Conventional and DCS at the same time allows me to use all the engines when ever I choose too.

Pine Creek/Dave

 

Rod

These are all at the club and we have a room devoted to servicing.  Three subways have blown boards, two subways have binding trucks, Y6b needs a tender wiring harness, windows all are out on Lioenl subway, I think one steamer needs a new tether, coupler keeps popping open on a Lionel Berk, lost the sounds on a Wevaer sBaldwin, and an R27 is dead.

 

I have plenty of others to use  Never really counted them

I own 13 engines, all are on layout, all work, I run most of them every day.

I own two engines.  Both of the run around the layout, but only one of them works.  It is two identical Lionel TMCC SD40-2's that were meant to run as a MU.  Since I could not get them to play nice together, I yanked the motors out of one and run it as a TMCC dummy.

 

Both engines have had numerous problems, but I've been working on them here and there.

With the exception of a handfull of standard gauge engines with swollen wheels, everything runs. Never counted how many I have either.

I run them all. I just got through running the two I didn't run. Now there's only one I doon't run and if you saw it, you wouldn't run it either.

Don't have many but all are conventional and all run just peachy.

 

Pete

I just roughed out a total and scared the doodoo out of myself. Due to the eclectic type of trains I accumulate, I am always picking up somewhat rough pieces to stash for spare parts or future custom projects. Still, probably 75% are operable. Now if I could just find a gear for my Hoge Streamliner, the % would improve

 

Steve "Papa" Eastman

After reviewing what information is in my profile, you are correct sir.  Not a great idea revealing to the world what you have.  I made some secure changes to my profile.  I feel safer now.