Do "n-scalers" buy more pieces of rollingstock than modeller in other scale?

[rogergperkins]

 
  I stuck my neck out regarding n-scale modelers' interest in long trains on one of the yahoo forums; i.e. said that I think many of us purchase more pieces of rollingstock than persons who model in other scales.
At least, I know I do; I ordered a total of 24 twelve of the FVM B&O wagontop boxcars when the 4 body styles were announced early in 2011.  I reserved a similar order of the round 2 styles which is another 24  twelve boxcars.

I posted this comment because a poll was conducted to determine scale preference of forum participants.  I question the validity of such a poll as a basis for a marketing survey and propose that number of purchases not the number of modellers might be a more reliable indication of the potential market.
Should I be  ?

[ljudice]

I used to think that - but given that BLMA/EXR seemed to both do 24 number of the ARMN cars, I'm guessing that about the same proportion in both scales buy large groups of cars.

They look better in N of course!

[Philip H]

I think it depends on what you model, and when you model.  I actually don't buy much in bulk any more, mostly because I have a switching layout, and 4 kids, and so my resources for space and money are limited.  Were I running with either of the nearby N Trak crowds, I might buy in bulk, since I'd have a place to run.

[sirenwerks]

I agree with you Roger, on the whole N scalers are likely to run longer trains - by nature and nurture. I also agree on the 'that depends' notion. Do I run longer trains than others is so random. A better means of finding out the information would be to poll by scale and length of average train for the modeler, rather than have them compare them self to a proverbial other. Such a poll might even break down types of trains and frequency and car length for local, transfer, hotshot, mixed, unit, freight, passenger, etc. - with these terms standardized so pollees can't redetermine their meaning.

All to often people develop polls so they feed into the desired answer.

[wm3798]

That's not necessarily so, though.  I only run trains of 20-30 cars, which by N trak standards isn't long at all.

But my layout supports the operation of about a dozen of those trains, so I've got a supporting cast of over 400 cars.  Some are obvious repeat buys like coal hoppers and grain cars, but for the most part it's a wild mix of carbodies, manufacturers, and price ranges... sort of like the real railroads...

I'd say the answer is likely to be yes on an individual basis, but it's hard to deny that there's more of "them" than there are of us...

Lee

[conrailthomas519]

I guess I will put my two cents in.......I will also have to agree with sirenwerks.

[Robbman]

I used to think that - but given that BLMA/EXR seemed to both do 24 number of the ARMN cars, I'm guessing that about the same proportion in both scales buy large groups of cars.

Except there is no ER ARMN car in N... yet.

[shamoo737]

I know n scalers have more cars then z scalers. Our cars are twice as expensive. There are no bargains in z, but we dont have junk either. The cheapest car is made by MTL for around $19. AZL is in the middle for around $30, and if you have money to burn, FR's are around $ 130.

[SkipGear]

I guess I resemble Rogers comments.... I am pushing 100+ coal hoppers in B&O alone not to mention another 150 of other road hoppers. The plan was two matching trains of around 40-50 cars, one loaded, one unloaded, and then other random filler cars. Boxcars are much more random so I don't buy as many multiples of them. As far as the Wagontops, from this run I bought 9 of the 12 releases. My cutoff date is in the early 50's so the late scheme doesn't work for me. I may still get some to run on Ntrak because of the perception that all Wagontops should be Red. Gotta make the crowd happy.

From what I see in the shop, our typical HO customer buys one or two cars at a time. N scalers buy runner packs, all numbers of the car of choice, multiples of the same car to re-number them self, etc.....

[sirenwerks]

That's not necessarily so, though.  I only run trains of 20-30 cars, which by N trak standards isn't long at all.

But my layout supports the operation of about a dozen of those trains, so I've got a supporting cast of over 400 cars.  Some are obvious repeat buys like coal hoppers and grain cars, but for the most part it's a wild mix of carbodies, manufacturers, and price ranges... sort of like the real railroads...

I'd say the answer is likely to be yes on an individual basis, but it's hard to deny that there's more of "them" than there are of us...

Lee

I'm not sure why you're saying it's not so. By breaking down train length by type you get a feel for what the average hotshot, or whatever train type, size would be. It may very well be 20-30 cars is average. That train size lends itself well to folded dogbone layouts which may be most popular, as the power disappears from the 'scene' before the caboose so there's a perception of length. An around the room shelf set on the plains, as I envision, is a different story, there's little place to hide just what size you got.

But I like your idea about including total collection size, maybe even adding yard/siding capacity if you want to go all out. Or passing siding size (if one has passing sidings).

[Brakie]

Looking at my HO collection and my  N Scale collection I would say I been buying far more N Scale cars-mostly boxcars,tankers,gons and covered hoppers since those are the cars I need for Slate Creek Industrial lead  industries..I do need  several coil cars but,awaiting Atlas to release their new one.

Back to HO..Before I sold the majority of my HO I had around 350 cars-now its down to 80-I have around 90  N Scale cars.

[SkipGear]

One other reason N scalers buy more than HO........

It's so easy to stuff 20 N scale cars in a box and forget you have them. It's not so easy with HO, they take up 8 times the volume or more.

[Ian MacMillan]

One other reason N scales by more than HO........

It's so easy to stuff 20 N scale cars in a box and forget you have them. It's not so easy with HO, they take up 8 times the volume or more.

Bingo.

Think about it this way....take the "starter" layout 4x8 in HO and N's 3x6 and compare how many you can get on the layout. NMRA  standards modular HO layouts can have the same long a$$ trains as Ntrakers so its hard to use that as a suggestion. I was in a HO modular club in my early HS years and we had people who would regularly run 100-200 car trains.

Its better to look at he average home layout and you can say yes we do buy more of one car lump sum...but with the amount of HOers compared to Nerds, the mass numbers of HO people buying on car can equal our smaller amounts buying 12 cars a wack

[ljudice]

Except there is no ER ARMN car in N... yet.

Robbman - I meant announced... Trust me I have finished assembling my train with BLMA cars!   

Was the EXR version of this car cancelled in N?

[lock4244]

One other reason N scalers buy more than HO........

It's so easy to stuff 20 N scale cars in a box and forget you have them. It's not so easy with HO, they take up 8 times the volume or more.

I have around 2100 pieces of rolling stock (locomotives and cars) in boxes in my 648 sqft condo. I can close the closet doors and you'd never know they were there, though with future purchases, it'll push me to overflowing.

I imagine that would be impossible to do in HO, at least in that space.

Interesting note, I've one box alone that contains around 170 cars! Amazing what you can fit into a box in N, but you need some basic tetris skills