Passenger Cars: Sets Vs. Individual cars...

[delamaize]

So I was going to Hi-jack the this thread, https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=26527.0 , but I decided to put the question here instead.

Whats more cost effective these days? full sets or individual cars? Also Witch seems to sell better? In the above linked topic, their was a joke that MT was going to produce a NCL, (Make a correct one Joe, and I'll buy it, I don't care what era.) and it got my brain running. It seems that come manufactures do only sets these days, (kato) and may add individual cars as an option later. where manufactures like MT, seem to do one car releases, and may offer sets of some kind later, MT Example: Runner packs.

Thoughts? 

[Bob Bufkin]

Depending on the type of cars and roadnames I'll go for either.  Sets are probbly cheaper in the long run but don't always have the cars I want which leave me with spares. 

[peteski]

If a set accurately (or nearly accurately) represents an actual train consist then I prefer sets. After all, no need to search for oddball cars or custom sides if a ready-to-run set is available for a price that is probably lower than modeling the train peace-meal.

But for trains like any Amtrak consist (which were in real life already a hodgepodge of equipment), I prefer individual cars.

[CBQ Fan]

I like both offerings.  I like Kato's sets but I also enjoy picking up a car or two in a couple of different road names.  As long as the sets are too close together and the single cars are not too far apart.  I don't want to have to buy three sets at the same time and I don't want to die on the vine waiting for the next car.

[rogergperkins]

IMHO,  the issue is primarily what the customers will purchase and not the cost to the manufacturer to make singles or sets.
I have purchased 3 each of the MTL B&O heavy weight passenger cars as they were released and thus spread the cash outlay over several months. 
Initially I ran them as 3 separate trains.
I enjoy having all of the cars; I had purchased MTL Pullman heavy weights while waiting for the B&O cars to be released.
All purchases were 2 to 3 cars at a time. 
I do not think I would have purchased multiple B&O trains at once if they had been available.
I made such a purchase of the B&O smooth train from Kato way back when before I retired, i.e. had more hobby budget.
I have several B&O ConCor smoothside passenger cars that I purchased 1 or 2 at a time and again would never I have
made the purchase of the whole train at one time.  The same is true for the B&O heavy weights I purchase way back in the 1970s when I first started.
Those of us who have been in the n-scale part of the hobby for 30+ years have seen cycles of popularity of passenger cars.
I also find the more I study and view old passenger trains, the more I tend to create mixed styles of cars to emulate various eras when the source of railroad revenues became more dependent on mail and cargo than passenger fares.

[babbo_enzo]

Depending on the type of cars and roadnames I'll go for either.  Sets are probbly cheaper in the long run but don't always have the cars I want which leave me with spares.

I agree, but I think it ... depends ... as always
If somebody (as me) is modeling a particular area and era, train sets are limited = for example of all Kato sets, what I can use was just the Dayligth ( I arrive very late in respect to Kato run on my choise, so I've to build the Lark from spare cars or additional 2-4 car sets available on ebay). The availability of single car fit better my options, and so also is valid for "not named trains", HWs , mail trains, etc ..
I never can run a Brodway Limited or a Zephir on my tracks, despite I like it. 

[Fliegerin]

Both!

Sets are nice when they are accurate.  Given N scale lacks in anything but famous trains from popular roads, having kits and ready to run cars that can form other sets is convenient.   

[Alwyn Cutmore]

I would much prefer that the cars are offered in both formats and I think for the manufacturer they would sell a lot more cars. I have two BWL sets I I can say I am darn lucky to have them at the right price but I also have a  number of individual cars that I have been lucky enough to pickup as well at the bay but I would have a lot more if they were individual and unlettered so I can match then in with other general PRR consists that are out there.

Regards

Al

[CodyO]

Correct consist trains are nice such as katos BL

Indivual cars though are also great since it gives you a chance to build numerous other trains

Really I could go either way 

[Fliegerin]

I would much prefer that the cars are offered in both formats and I think for the manufacturer they would sell a lot more cars. I have two BWL sets I I can say I am darn lucky to have them at the right price but I also have a  number of individual cars that I have been lucky enough to pickup as well at the bay but I would have a lot more if they were individual and unlettered so I can match then in with other general PRR consists that are out there.

Regards

Al

Yeah...  Kato could have done well if they offered BM60M, 4-12 duplex, and 21 roomette cars as stand alone cars.  Seems like every consist needs one of these three cars.

[SkipGear]

I think both need to be done, maybe not all the cars in a set individually, but key cars. As an example, if you offer a complete train, you could sell the head end equipment, some of the more common cars such as sleeper and coaches seprate but there is no need to sell the observtion, and other cars unique to just that conisist.

The complete train in a box appeals to the average consumer, we sell a lot that way at the shop. I make it a point to order the components to make complete trains but customers can never seem to put the pieces together. I will build a "complete" train for display and it usually sells within a few weeks. These items could have been on the shelf for months,.sometimes years, but people can't seem to put things together in their heads until you show it to them (slap them in the face with it).

Key individual cars sell well but not everything. To the average person, a 12-1, 10-1-2, and Parlor car from MT all look alike. The RPO, coach, and observation stand out a little better. It's easy to sell a 4 car train, harder to sell a 6 car train of individual cars. The customer can't tell the difference between the 3 sleepers, they just say, "give me one." They will buy they big train in a box because the box says "this is how it was" so they accept it and walk away happy.

[Mark5]

Sets are great for popular name trains.

But for modelers that want the other 80% (or more) of trains that will never be produced as a set (who would order the N&W's Cannonball?), individual cars would be preferred I think. I have been collecting cars for various N&W trains and the "pieces" come from various manufacturers (HellGate, Micro-Trains, Kato, Lima, Walthers, etc).

Mark

[wcfn100]

The problem with individual cars is that you're not guaranteed to get all the cars you need.  It also doesn't require any manufacturer to produce the correct motive power.

I would love a GN Empire Builder with E7s but only as a set.  On the flip side, I'd also like a Gopher/Badger and could only get that as individual cars and would probably have to paint my own E7 in the simplified scheme with snow plow pilot.

There's room for both for sure.

Jason

[robert3985]

I can't speak for other roads, but UP's passenger consists changed quite often.  Take the COLA for example.  When the dome cars were added to the consist, including the dome-observation, it didn't take long (a few months) for UP to figure out that having that car on the end all the time wasn't very efficient, so they modified it so it could be put in the middle of the train.  Other modifications happened quite quickly as cars were both subtracted and added to the consist, depending on need and company policy.

So, from a rivet-counter's standpoint, I'm happy with both sets and piecemeal cars, just like what Kato offered with its COLA, and those piecemeal cars (in kit form) sold out in a big hurry...I mean a BEEG hurry!  A friend of mine and me purchased several COLA sets together to get the additional cars we needed for our particular COLA consists, then we sold off the "leftovers" to other modelers looking to do the same thing as we were doing.

One thing I like about sets, is that the car colors (right or wrong) match.  When I'm piecing together cars from different runs and from different manufacturers, Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray are evidently difficult colors to get right, so I sometimes end up repainting.

[Nick Lorusso]

For the name trains i.e. Daylight, Cal-Zephyr I preferred the complete train. But I also have had some Kato Superliners and would have liked single cars offered so you didn't have to buy 6 sets to make a modern cal-zephyr.

Regards,
Nick