not contagious

Good news,

I have a disease called,  "Model railroader Disease'.

 Symptoms:  Continual complaint as to need for a constructive hobby.

Patient has blank expression,   sometimes deaf to children and wife.

Always haunts basement, attic or garage.

Won't do chores around family home.

Has nose in model railroad magazines.

Often found wandering around railroad shops with camera.

Mumbles numbers such as 4-6-2

Hides all model railroading magazines from others so as to keep out of OUTHOUSE!  Wink! Wink!

NO KNOWN CURE.

Sounds like you may have the same disease.

What helps me is to sale or donate some of the cheap stock to other newbies to start the Disease in a new location.

Spread the WORD in November also.  National Model railroad month.

Disease not fatal!

Boudreaux  Bayou Crest Express R.R.

Well, you can cull your

Well, you can cull your inventory and sell what you figure you will run little if any.  You can either sell surplus trains on HOSwap or eBay.

One thing I have done to try to get as much of my rolling stock on the rails is to have a lot of staging/storage capacity on the layout.

It is funny.  I know a lot of

It is funny.  I know a lot of people in this hobby who have a ton of cars and locomotives and a couple with so many they can’t count the engines much less the cars.  But that has never been an issue for me.  I could probably triple (or more) my fleet of cars and engines and still have fewer then I could use if I complete my railroad. 
 

I wonder if it is based on how/why we got into the hobby.  My layout is as much about going back to a time/place that I can’t otherwise visit as I don’t have a time machine.  So the engines and cars are just one part of the whole.  Actors on a stage if you will.  Where as I think others view it as the layout is just someplace to park their collection of rolling stock.

As for selling cars and engines… My train group will help the family of its members if the member passes away. In Disposing of the layout, the equipment and what have you,  And the issue with selling off cars is that they take FOREVER to dispose of if you want to get a “fair” price.  So they tend to be sold for a few dollars each.  Then you have low. Priced engines, medium and brass.  The low end do not sell for much the medium (think modern models of desiels or steam with sound and such) do ok .  And brass is a tricky issue.  First off while I may have a reasonable idea of how much C&O brass steam engines typically sell for i am not an expert at it so I can miss why this 2-8-2 is work $300 but that one is worth 750.  And when I comes to engines from a different railroad.. forget it I am clueless.   So it is very hard or takes a LOT of research to understand that value of brass.

I would suggest making a list of you brass (model manufacturer etc) so that someone has a starting point,  not much point putting the “value” as unless you constantly update it the value will shift over time and may give their person a very false sense of the current value.  I saw a person sell a brass engine for about $90 because it said that in the box (dads engine iirc) and it was probably worth 4 times that at least.  But 20 years before when it was bought that was the price (early 70s vs 90s).  
 

So just some thoughts

-Doug M

Addiction

I think a lot of us are addicted to the rush of buying. I definitely overbuy. To control myself I try to limit my scope, only buy what I need right now and periodically sell off a big chunk. I’m absolutely positive the “investment” will never be recouped when I pass away and leaving a manageable estate for my wife to dispose of is also a consideration.

Try to focus on what you have and when you have the urge to buy do a project instead, weather something, wire something, scenic something. It’s amazing how much more I get done instead of spending time looking for more to buy. 
 

More Thoughts

Who is going to or did take care of your parents stuff when they died? How do they or did they feel about it?

Now have a real honest talk with your wife and kids or your brothers/sisters to see how they feel about dealing with your collection.

My own experience, my parents were in CA, so were my sisters so they took care of their stuff because my taking off for a couple of months before retirement was not a good idea. My in laws though lived close to us. When my father in law went he had a huge library of picture books and other non fiction. It all ended up at the library for their bi-annual sales. Lots of electronic stuff also. None of us had a clue what it was or was suppose to even do. Went to a recycle shop.

Now my mother in law is a whole different story. A real collector of paper backs, multiple copies of the same book with different covers. Tye Bears, well over a 1000 +, who knows how many other stuffed animals. Department 56. probably close to 100 of them. All of this stuff is worth what she paid or more thanks to collector value so she thinks anyway.

She and my wife have a booth in a local antique mall. Getting rid of a fraction of it maybe. Most of it will be left for us to deal with. We are slowly finding possible locations for the stuffed animals. A huge amount of it will end up in the dump. Neither one of us or our kids are interested in taking on a 2nd job of selling this stuff anywhere.

Ever watch American Pickers? Interesting show if you are into history. A couple of guys who travel the country buying peoples stuff. Most shows or all of them, are about picking through peoples collections because they died and their kids are trying to unload the stuff or they realize that they need to start unloading it for one reason or another.

Example of the hand writing on the wall...Go ask an antique furniture dealer about prices in years past vs today. Mostly the bottom fell out of the market. Our parents 80-100 yrs old are dying off. Lots of antique furniture. Boomers took a lot of it and now we are dying off too and it turns out our kids don't want most of it. I see a lot of it at the antique mall I mentioned earlier. And a huge amount of it has been there for a lot of years Auction places will give you the same story.

Jack

It’s worth nothing at all

Just sitting in boxes, getting in the way of progress, it’s worth nothing at all, in fact it’s a liability.  Get rid of enough of it so what’s left isn’t in the way of progress anymore.  If you view it as the liability it is, getting rid of it via cheap sale or donation won’t hurt as much.  And you’ll be happier when you have the space back.

Anyway, that’s my personal experience.  YMMV.

Impulse Buying & Additiction

I think a good number of us suffer from this problem, & not just with model trains. The wife & I have often spotted something that falls into the "oh wouldn't that be nice to have category" at train shows, antique shops, craft shows, book stores, etc.

But now we are elderly & realize we really don't "need" a lot of the stuff we've accumulated, including model railroad cars/kits still in their boxes, obscured by dust. We're finding that with a few exceptions, much of it falls into the "it's not worth the time & effort to try & sell it" category. Our children have no interest in it, and we hate to see it go to a land-fill if someone else can use/enjoy it. Hence the dilemma.

A friend was forced to move to a retirement facility due to health problems. His house was similar in size to mine -- not huge but not tiny -- & we both had a lot of "stuff". As I walked into his retirement apartment I successfully hid a look of dismay at the master bedroom-size living area. His first words were, "Start early. Downsizing is very painful."  I'm finding it to be true.

From what you've described you need to ask yourself how much of it do you REALLY need? Will it ever be put on the rails? Would you miss it if it was gone? At my age (80) I'm facing the issues of how much longer can I use the stairs to get to the basement? How long can I stand on my feet? How much bending or stooping can I do? Retrieving something dropped on the floor is a potential medical catastrophe. Then there are the issues of eyesight & hand coordination. Sadly, I may have to give up model railroading, at least the physical aspect of it & go digital.

sad no family. no friends

sad no family. no friends that like model trains. closest club (that i know of) is a good 100 miles away

i have tried to sell off some of my stuff. ( not just trains). i am a collector not a seller. been collecting trains for a good 50 years. ( how many gas turbines do i really need?).

I have a couple dozen,HO

I have a couple dozen,HO locomotives and about 80 or so cars for a fairly small simple railroad... and I am getting ready to sell off another 20. Having been a longtime railroader working mostly short lines I realized you really don't need a lot of equipment to have a satifying model railroad maybe three for each industry of which I have a dozen. So with this in mind I have been "culling the herd" getting rid of too many duplicate cars for another "someday" renovation/change of era/railroad/etc.. because truthfully, "someday" never comes it winds up being excess stuff for others to get rid of.

As far as assigning ownership after I die I place small pieces of tape under a car or engine with the initials of a family member so they get the item after I'm gone or before. I also have lined up a couple of younger modelers/railfans to help my wife and family dispose of the remainder of my stuff with a short list of requiements in order. The man who gets the railroad stuff/books/timetables/etc. (after my family looks it over and chooses) has a name and contact information posted on the boxes while the man who helps selling off the model railroad and removing it gets first choice (after the family) of any of the remaining stuff before sales. Handling disposition of my stuff like this when I pass will hopefully, lead to an orderly and useful procession of stuff rather than throwing it in the trash where nobody enjoys it. Taking these steps also gives me a lot of "freedom" knowing that things I thought were "valuable" are saved and given to others who also will enjoy them.

Just some ideas to think about as we enjoy this hobby.

Barry

Find a disabled War Vet

A couple of years ago I saw an ad placed on one of the forums about helping this fellow that had a good friend (severely disabled vet from Iraq war) get started in the hobby of model trains. I contacted him and offered to make a donation of some of my older surplus stuff. Packaged it up and sent it off,...felt GREAT.

I subsequently discovered the vet never got to enjoy the trains,...so SAD

But I would suggest their are a number of wheel chair bound vets that might very well enjoy getting involved in this hobby. You might have to do some creative searching for a recipient , ...but it could be very rewarding bringing some joy into their lives,...particularly around Christmas.

I guess it is a matter of

I guess it is a matter of perspective.  Assuming you don't have a dependent that absolutely NEEDS every last dollar then what you do with your money is up to you.  I have never understood the argument of selling everything you own to make it simple on your survivors.  My Aunt did that and was miserable her last 5 years.  But her kid got a fair bit of money.

Maybe i am mean but if any of my relatives don't want to deal with a basement full of trains, a workshop full of tools (wood working) or a library with thousands of books in it. Then they dont have to. This is the US no one is responsible for dead relatives.  That being said if they want the paid off house this stuff is located in they can get off  their butts and clean up the mess.

My friends and i took down a layout and sold everything for one family that could use the money and that was nice,  but another time we did it was a total waste of our time,  The family sold the house and tossed out stuff wirth more then the entire railroad collection sold for.  I sometimes feel like i was used.   They didn't want yo work to sell other stuff so they didnt but we worked to give them money.  It was like.. No it is not worth ME working on it, but if you are dumb enough yo do it i will gladly accept the money.

I will be looking long and hard at it the next time it comes to taking down and or disposing of a layout for someone, If they dont NEED the money then they can take it down themselves.  Or pay me to do it.  But i am no longer working for people for free that have more money then i do, just so they can profit.

And as i said if my friends ir family want my house they can clean it out.  Heck they could hire a crew and still make a ton of profit,  So i have no intention of cleaning up/out to make there lives easier.  I bought this stuff because i wanted to enjoy it.  So i am not getting rid of it to make ut easier for someone else to profit from my death.

Now if you have young kids or an elderly wife who need the money (need not want or could use, we can ALL use more money). Then that is different.  

But to carry the argument about giving your family the most possible to extremes.  Then you should never spend your money.  Live in a small one room apartment dont buy anything don't pay for internet or cable or entertsinment or hobbies.  Just invest your money and leave it to your family to enjoy…

-Doug

Too much stuff?

If it's getting in the way of what you want to do maybe list it on ebay and use the money for something you actually need now?  I find that many model railroaders are more dreamers and stock pile'rs of future projects than model or layout  builders so don't feel alone. :> )   I've been working on this problem for years and still haven't fully conquered it. I do have about half as many models as I had 10 years ago so I guess that's something  ....DaveB

This isn't an investment

Having attended countless model train shows as a seller (including one just yesterday), I can promise you that there is very little to be gained in a secondary market for model trains unless you have something really rare or hard to find. Even then, you gotta hit the right seller.

I tell people all the time, never get into any hobby as an investment. What is 'priceless' to you will be worthless to most everyone else.

I knew a guy with an amazing Ho layout with scratch built everything. He never put it into any magazines, which was a crime for the hobby, the way I saw it. Few people even knew of the layout at all. But he croaked, nobody really wanted anything he had as everything was so unique to his imagination (sort of G&D-ish) that nobody could use it as-is on their own layouts. All of his truly breathtaking structures went to the landfill and the rolling stock went for pennies on the dollar at model train shows.

My wife knows that some of my non-RR-related collection is worth some coin to the right people, but I expect my own layout will suffer the same fate when I'm gone.

Enjoyment

If you enjoy having all that stuff, just knowing it’s im the boxes, great.  If it’s getting in the way of enjoying the hobby (and it sounds like it is from the tone of your first post), then consider driving the 100 miles to the nearest club with a carload of stuff to donate to them.  No hassle of selling, you are effectively buying the opportunity to pursue the rest of your hobby with fewer impediments.

naw i am just venting. sure

naw i am just venting. sure most will rairly find a place on my little layout (12X20 room).

but maybe if i can afford to move out of california and get a little bigger room. then i can enjoy 45 in min ho scale curves.

for now i need to run tight 32 in for my main line. most everything over 40 ft just looks wrong.

but yes to flea bay for lots that i will never use.

...

It's always worth something and something is always wanted by someone.  Some people see dumpsters, some people see gold mines.  The people who see dumpsters typically want money placed in their hand, too, that's the easy way.  Your heirs will figure out what it's worth and that will be that.  

How about this?

I don't know about y'all. But I have a habit of saving all sorts of stuff. Like: the center rolls from tape, toilet paper cardboard centers. Some plastic containers that were designed to throw away. But I save them. When I order a pizza, I ask for grated cheese in those little plastic cups - with covers. I'm sure y'all can add your ideas. Those toilet paper rolls - I use them on electrical cords to keep them lightly organized. Not too tight, in case of heat. Also, they make good oil tanks, etc. Paper clips come in handy for steps, grab irons, etc. A little oversize? So what? Most of the time, no one notices. The brake mast on the end of a freight car. Don't forget medicine bottles. Vitamin bottles. I could go on. But you get the picture. As for models not built. Shucks, sit down some evening, take one out and put it together. I still have a box of Bowser hopper cars yet to be built. I will never need them, never use them. But who knows?

Sorry, say what?

Was there an issue you had with rolling stock?  Looks fine to me! What was the question?                  

Ok, I was being a bit cheeky there but, seriously,  YOU DO NOT HAVE A PROBLEM!

Boxes never opened you say? How cool is that! Look at what you get to "rediscover".

A different way to look at it

How long have you been buying/collecting locos and cars?  Divide your total fleet by that number.  You might find that on a per-year basis, you really haven't been buying that much.

On a Total Heap Basis, my guess is you're somewhere north of the mean, but not by much.  Let me put it this way, you're south of me on THB.  But I've been doing it for 49 years, so you might be ahead on a per year basis.

I have a number of friends with bigger heaps than me, and they haven't been doing it for 49 years.  So you're not that sick.

That'll be $200.

Dr. Blind Dog

Inventory

I have been financing my hobby for the last decade or so by selling off old purchases and replacing them with higher quality purchases.  There are always people looking for bargains and out-of-production products.  It does help to have a well-defined idea of what you are modeling.

Probably shouldn't post this, but...

I've had a few hobbies since I was a kid, and this "he who dies with the most toys wins" mindset has never made sense to me.

Sure, we all wind up with stuff we later realize we either didn't need or we scratch our head wondering, "what the heck was I thinking when I bought/traded-for this?" But when you there's more stuff you never use than what you do, I guess 've never understood that.

Maybe it's because by the time I had to means to do that, I had long before realized it was better to have 2-3 "way cool" things than 20-30 "it's just there" things.

I see model train shows where people bring the same things to shows year in and year out and I wonder at what point do you just cut your losses. Sure, we accumulate stuff over time and usually improve as we go along (hence, all the NOS Tyco stuff in the boxes I saw at the last train show), but I've never understood why so many in the hobby wind up with closets (and in one case I know, rooms) filled to the ceiling the locos and cars that'll never leave their boxes.

Perhaps that's a big reason I went with a O scale narrow gauge concept. That's a landlocked railroad with no interchange and a specific line that never had much rolling stock anyway. I went with some alternate reality stuff to justify some Army rolling stock, but for the most part not much else would make any sense. A standard gauge modeler doesn't have these limits as technically, almost any loco or car could wind up on any other railroad. So I guess that's why so many in the hobby just keep buying the stuff.

I rarely find any wisdom from lyrics in songs, but I've always loved the line from Sheryl Crow's song, "Soak up the sun" where she says:

The first time I heard that, my jaw dropped. Truer words were never written.

Focus and purpose

Graham hit it: It does help to have a well-defined idea of what you are modeling.

The way to avoid or at least limit the inflow is to have a specific idea - OK, list - and stick to it. I model the C&O in 1943, so things that do not plausibly fit in there are immediately in a very different approval category. A beautiful model of a UP 4-12-2 has no place on the C&O in 1943 under pretty much any conceivable scenario (not even initial delivery), so it is hard to justify. This alone eliminates the majority of the opportunities, even if you're into the most popular things like PRR in the 1940s or UP in 2019.

Then if you have even an idea of your layout or better yet a specific set of needs for the layout, make that list and stick to it. I need a very long troop train from 1943: that means older, generally non-AC heavyweight passenger cars. Streamliners are out. So are troop sleepers from 1944-46. Mostly so are wooden passenger cars. How many coal trains do I need? Two long ones, loaded and unloaded. One short one, loaded and unloaded. (Six total.) One "unit" oil train. One and a half (ie main section, shorter Virginia section) of each of the George Washington, FFV and Sportsman. A small handful (3 or 4) local freights, possibly with a coach dangling on the back for the mixed train on the branches. Two or maybe three merchandise trains. If it doesn't fit this list, I probably shouldn't be getting it.

I've held to this pretty well, although I'll admit to having way more heavyweight passenger cars than I need, mostly because I am accumulating them to use as donors for other models that I DO need (but realistically I have more than I need for even that).

If you don't have a specific use for it, think really hard about buying it.

Always searching

If you decide to sell the excess I would be interested in any N-scale rolling stock.

Surplus

Don't know if some of you are aware, but Bill, The Trackplanner has a "will system" available for model railroaders to list all their inventory and each items worth. This list is made to be passed on to the next family survivor so that that survivor will receive at least a fair amount of money for the train items to be sold. He put this program together after a train club surviving wife was really taken advantage of when she disposed of her deceased husbands model railroad collection. The lady really needed some cash for funeral costs, etc but was taken advantage of by ( unfortunately some train club members ) people she trusted. The old saying....The only things that are for certain are "death and taxes" holds true, like it or not. If you are an old geezer like me, this is not a bad idea. Each to their own.