Many of us collect something. It could be baseball cards, antique furniture, dolls or vintage automobiles. One of the fastest growing hobbies today is model trains, and collecting them is fun, and can even be profitable. In the United States, prototype steam railroads began somewhere around 1825. The first steam locomotives in the U.S. were the John Bull, the best friend of Charleston and the Tom Thumb. Some of these engines still survive in the Smithsonian, or in other railroad museums around the country.

By the 1880s, model toy trains were commonplace and sought after as toys, with many of the models made overseas in Europe. By 1901, Joshua Lionel Cowan founded the Lionel Mfg. Company, and the venerable Ives toy company was in business as well. In 1907 Edmunds & Metzel began making the first O gauge American Flyer trains in Chicago. The first known American hobby model railroad was begun in 1904 by George S. Lee and his son, Gordon, of Massachusetts.

America has come a long way since that first model train. Today there are literally thousands of models available, both in kit and ready to run form, from hundreds of manufacturers. They are made of brass, pewter, plastic, resin and wood, to name a few materials. And they cost anywhere from a couple of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars each. You can go to any hobby store and purchase model trains, or you can buy them through the mail and catalogs or go to actual train shows where models are often sold. The most popular gauges of commercially produced model trains today are N (the smallest), HO, S, O and G (the largest).

Some of the more collectible toy trains include such brands as Lionel, American Flyer, Ives, Marx, Buddy L and Dorfan. Even Tootsietoy, usually known for their model vehicles that are collectible, made some early train sets before 1921 and thereafter. A good way to begin your train collecting journey is see what is available and ask a lot of questions. You may often see vast amounts, many gauges and styles of trains at train shows. Model train shows and conventions are sponsored, usually by clubs, in numerous towns and citities, large and small, almost every weekend. Check your local newspaper or model train magazines available on your newsstands for show listings. Club shows and model railroad conventions are recording record numbers of people of all ages attending shows and collecting trains. As the collecting "bug" has come to other areas of American culture, so has collecting trains.

Once you`ve decided you want to begin collecting, you`ll need to know a few of the reasons why a model is worth what it is. The simplest way to figure what something is worth is by knowing in advance a few things. First is the age of the model. The older the model, the more it is usually worth, but it also has to be something that is rare, or at least rarer than other models. As an example, American Flyer made very few Peanuts box cars in S gauge, but the ones that are now owned are usually kept in a safe deposit box by the owner because they are very valuable. The model is worth more because of its scarcity. Some very early train models made around the turn of the century can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Another factor to consider is condition. A model train can be new in the box, and be made 40 years ago, but it might not bring much because it simply is not rare. Perhaps the manufacturer made tens of thousands of that style train that year, and in fact just about had to give them away to sell them. Collectors know this and can probably buy as many of these trains new in the box as they wish. The price goes down on items such as these. On the other hand, a mint condition train that is also rare, will command a much higher price.

If you want to buy a rare S gauge 0-6-0 steamer from American Flyer, and it`s in mint condition, in the original box, and looks like it has never been run, you could command a much higher price for it. And many modelers would be willing to pay it. Condition of a model includes how it looks overall, if there is peeling paint or if the finish is dulled, if the numbers and letters remain intact on the model, if the model runs, if it has broken or missing pieces, if scratches abound or if it is rusted. Condition of a model is extremely important in determining the price. Another factor in collecting is just what the market will bear. If the economy is down, or if a particular region of the country is suffering from an ecomomic slowdown, you`ll probably find fewer buyers willing to pay high prices for trains and toys. They are keeping their money for the staples of life instead.

What to collect? Many collectors will collect only trains they like. Others will narrow the field and collect just locomotives (steam, diesel, electric), and others will collect only rare, high-end pieces. What you collect is usually determined by how much you have to spend, how specific you want to be, and what you want your "final" train collection to look like. How do you find collections for sale? Try searching for trains in your local newspaper classified ad section, at local garage sales and flea markets and in national train magazines. Other places to find trains include train shows and conventions, the Internet or simply ask your friends if they have any trains for sale. The more you ask about the hobby of train collecting, the more you`ll learn. Remember that it may take years to obtain a decent collection, and it may set you back a lot of money. But it doesn`t have to. You can try to seek bargains, and especially if you just like the joy of hunting for that particular model at the cost you want to pay, you can have a lifetime of fun. Good hunting!