Why is it certain road names seem to have better resale value than others?

Hi

 It is that thy are more pouplar than the outher.

 odd road names of the same engin will usaly bring less.this is normal

 there more people that want prr and stsf ect.  

I buy train products based largely on how well they look.  I am into the toy train aspect of the hobby and I like the trains to be colorful and not drab.  I really don't care much about the road name.  

You must be referring to prices for modern trains because prices for pre and postwar trains are astronomically above the original sale price.

Earl

I think it is mainly supply and demand.  That would make the most sense.

As to why the manufacturers don't make more items in those roads, we really don't have their production data and I bet they won't tell us.  I think that you do see more items released for the most popular roads though.

Actually the mfg do consider popularity when making products.   At least the scale ones do.   If you notice they announcements, they almost always include PRR and ATSF as was noted.    And very seldom do you see roads like LV, D&H, KCS listed.  

The market is affected by nostalgia to a large degree, the bigger roads were seen by more people, and hence generate more memories for modelers.   They are therefore more popular.

I have also noticed that some items lettered for very small railroads tend to go for a premium. I think this is because the manufacturer doesn't want to make too many of an item with very limited appeal. So he makes a few less than he thinks he can sell. There aren't many around, so when one comes on the secondary market, the guys who missed it the first time are competing to get it. Think Natty Boh reefers. Paul only made as many as he had pre-orders; look what they bring now on eBay. Same thing for small outfits like Montana Rail Line, etc. There's not much available, so when something comes on the market, the fans snap it up. 

I prefer buying freight cars that are from small railroads or from ones that I like the name, looks or locale of. I also refuse to buy freight that are from the big boys such as PRR, NYC and UP. The Milw Rd is my favorite, but a Seattle, Portland & Spokane would be a welcome edition for me. I might be wrong here, but I believe that if you were to go back 10 years with the major manufacturers and tally the locos, freight and pass cars produced by them up to now, you would find a lot of repetition among the major railroads. There were just x amount of different locos and freight cars used on the real railroads, hence you eventually would have to remake the products again albeit with upgraded features. This would affect the used price.

Adjust for inflation.

I think mating worms have a low value.  That is, Penn Central!

Its pretty simple, manufacturers will make as many units as they reasonably think they will sell. And base it on their production schedules and capacity.  I am sure their quantities are conservative, as they don’t to end up with left over inventory. Occasionally they get it wrong and the prices on the secondary market increase, or they blow the items out at fire sale prices.

If I am remembering correctly, there was a limit on the number of Natty Boh reefers that Paul was allowed to make, and there was actually a second-chance waiting list for these cars in case someone backed out of their pre-order, and for the "safety over-run" cars (the handful of extras made to replace any ones that came damaged from the factory).  So in this case, the supply was limited from the very beginning, and only those that jumped on board at the very beginning got some of these particular gems.

Andy

I remember reading this line from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the Old English. Funny, I didn't even know Chaucer was a Hi Railer.

If I am remembering correctly, there was a limit on the number of Natty Boh reefers that Paul was allowed to make, and there was actually a second-chance waiting list 

I am not aware of any limit set by Atlas on the number of reefers in a special run. Paul decided that he would only make the number of cars that he had commitments for as of the closing date for orders. He was not making money on the project and therefore he had no reason to tie up any more of his personal capital. The waiting list was made up of people who wanted to order after Paul had sent the final order in to Atlas. if I'm wrong here, Paul should step in to correct me, but that is how I recall it. I only ordered one and I wish I had gotten half a dozen. 

Maybe not so much roadname but rather what the item is. Roadname may or may not be that significant.

Simply a matter of supply and demand.

If 10 buyers are interested in purchasing an item, and there is only one item currrently available, guess what, goes quick, goes for more than what anyone would've thought.

If there is only one buyer, well, then not much interest.

Do you have a list of road names that are most valuable and least valuabl

Zissner

Long Island Railroad prices are high I suspect because the quantity of product is short of the demand. It's ironic that the most heavily traveled commuter railroad in the country, the Long Island Railroad has so little representation in toy trains. Long Island is also a hot bed for toy train enthusiasts, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the USA.

I grew-up in Floral Park, just a few blocks north of the tracks during the transition of steam to diesels, so I prefer LIRR trains. Most every weekend in the fall, winter and spring has a train swap meet and or a club layout open house on Long Island. As for O-gauge train clubs, there are five major ones on Long Island. And where else are there as many train stores comparable to Trainland, Trainworld, Freeport Hobby, Willis Hobby, and Xtreme Hobby?

Yet aside from the superlatives of Long Island, toy train makers have had very sparse offerings for the Long Island Railroad with the exception of RMT.