[Sunsanvil]

So I'm looking at Rapido's upcoming "The Canadian" release. Gorgeous stuff...but it'll be a cool thousand bucks for 10 cars and a loco!

Thing is, one cant really buy it piece meal over time. I'd love to buy the loco and maybe a couple cars now, and pickup more over time but thats not really an option. Its all or nothing.

Seems that freight is a little easier to "collect" since a mixed consist can be legit, whereas a mixed passenger consist is just plain wrong.

Has it always been thus?

 

[MichaelE]

In Europe a mixed passenger train is very normal. Depending upon the route, they may all be mixed. But, there are many that are not mixed as well.

I agree about not being able to piece-meal some consists over, say, a year's time. They could sell out and when they're gone they're gone except for the used market.

I have done it over a couple of months, but never more than that and I try to buy them all at the same time if money is there.

The times I did buy them over a period of time ended up being from different manufacturers. The good thing is that all are pretty consistent in their modeling of the coaches and one can't tell one brand from another.

 

[CTValleyRR]

Well, yes, the hobby is trending more towards preorders and away from high inventory levels. Something selling out before you can acquire it has always been an issue with matched sets.

Some manufacturers stagger the release dates to facilitate buying piecemeal.

See if you can find a dealer who is willing to let you pay for the first couple of cars / loco and a earnest money deposit on the rest. Then you can pick up the other pieces at a more leisurely pace.

 

[Old_Hobo]

That's the way Rapido does it.....so if you want them, put out the money, because you won't be able to find them later individually, at least at a price that will be anywhere near what it will be released for, if you can even find someone who will re-sell them individually.....

And they will be the most accurate, prototypical passenger cars of that type that has been made in plastic, believe me!

 

[Andreash]

It is nice to have a matching set. I’m lucky that I could put together a neat Amtrak (Walthers mainline and Kato) passenger train. Doing the Canadian doesn’t give you many options. And yes, it’s hard to do if you don’t jump in at the beginning. I look on EBay, and pricing (and in particular shipping) is crazy.

 

[Grzldvt]

I have really started to look at undecorated passenger cars. My goal is to create a Texas Special Line. There seems to be several people willing to custom make decals for the line of your choice as long as they have a photo or something they can copy.
Having said that I have not contacted anyone yet
I just started this quest yesterday so I don't have much yet. I did stumble across a full set of undecorated passenger cars from Walthers. that don't seem to bad and you an buy the cars you want.
My goal is to model that late 40's to early 60's era.

 

[traction fan]

Passenger trains

So I'm looking at Rapido's upcoming "The Canadian" release. Gorgeous stuff...but it'll be a cool thousand bucks for 10 cars and a loco!

Thing is, one cant really buy it piece meal over time. I'd love to buy the loco and maybe a couple cars now, and pickup more over time but thats not really an option. Its all or nothing.

Seems that freight is a little easier to "collect" since a mixed consist can be legit, whereas a mixed passenger consist is just plain wrong.

Has it always been thus?

Sunsanvil;

You might look at Kato passenger trains. They sell the locos separate, a 6-car set, and a 4 car add on set, on several gorgeous models of famous passenger trains. They also don't cost $1000.
Yes, there have been mixed passenger train consists. During the 1970 Burlington Northern merger there were "rainbow" consists with Gn orange and green, GN blue and white, Burlington stainless steel cars all in the same train. It was also common for one railroad to forward sleeper cars onto another railroad's passenger train. Pulman cars were nearly all "Pulman green, even if the rest of the train was a different color. Finally, there were "Mixed trains" as in mixed freight and passenger cars. Mostly freight as there were few passengers on the rural routes served by mixed trains.

Traction Fan :smilie_daumenpos:

 

[Sunsanvil]

So whether Kato, or Rapido, or other, when they set these "preoder" deadlines, is that the end of it (there will never be any on store shelves)? Or is pre-book thing more just a guarantee of getting one of whatever it is?

 

[MichaelE]

It means you'll take one if or when they show up but it doesn't obligate you to purchase.

At least at the Euro shops it doesn't

 

[CTValleyRR]

With most companies, you pre-order it, you have committed to the purchase. They don't want to get stuck with a bunch of inventory if the people who pre-ordered get cold feet when it's time to pony up cash.

Pre-Order are just that -- the date to place your order by. If a manufacturer doesn't have enough pre-orders for a profitable production run, they often cancel it. But anyone can pre-order. Hobby shops can pre-order too, for stock. And a production run will typically be larger than just the preorders. So no, you don't HAVE to pre-order. There will usually be some inventory available... but if you want to be sure of getting one, best to pre-order.