Just received this news. Always sad to see a club's hard work damaged:
http://www.trains.com/grw/default.aspx?c=a&id=618
Rene Schweitzer
Classic Toy Trains/Garden Railways/Model Railroader
Read about this at MLS, really ticks me off.
Its one of the real dangers of having a high visability layout, it makes a tempting target for vandals or thieves. The story hints that they were out to steal items by stuffing them into barrels at their access point, I have never heard of someone trying to fence stolen track? Stock, yes, but track? So that makes me wonder if the perps were trying to get a five fingered discount for their own RR. Scum.
This is a good reason why I dont have sound, dont want sound, and never will have sound. I am also planning a higher fence in the area of my layout to sheild it from prying eyes. Lets just say I dont want the neighbor kids to know about it, they may be OK kids, but I really dont want to take the chances.
Same for Open Houses, you really dont know whos coming into your yard, so its a risk your taking that someone isn't casing your place to see how easy it would be to come back an pilfer. With my new layout, I'm considering that while I can leave the freight cars in a storage rack in the garage, I'm more than likely going to keep the locomotives in the house under lock and key.
There was a story on MR forum about a guy who while selling an item, showed his layout to a potential buyer, who later returned and burglerized him of several brass locos, turns out the sale was a ruse to determine what else the guy had. BTW they caught the idiot when he tried selling the stuff to a LHS who knew the guy who was robbed. Moron.
Sad, but thats the world we live in today.
Have fun with your trains
I printed a copy of Rene's post and plan on giving it to my local train store since I know they take trains on consignment. I would suggest you print and take a copy to your local store. Things have a way of traveling all over the world. I don't buy any trains via the internet auctions, so I don't have any accounts, If you do Please send them a warning about this travisty.
David
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Being a ex-Texas Peace Officer seeing this does not shock me.
Why you ask??? The kids today! The trains were in view because of his/her business (tryn to bring happiness to us G scalers) and some smart kid thought he/she needed them.
They will catch them. I been through (and I think there is another police officer on this board) CSI training which finger prints work wounders, boot/shoe, etc...lot of stuff to look at.
Sad to see it though, really anything I hate to see anymore.
I am taking several copies to people I know and emailed all I knew that might possiable see them. Team work here people, there is no I in the word!
Check eBay and all of the other auction houses. I will be searching eBay every Morning and Night.
Yeah, it chaps my hide, insurance or no insurance, it still hurts! We have to work on the auction houses guys/gals!! See someing call!!!
Sad all right. I sincerely hope they are caught...and quickly. I too will keep an eye open. Later eh...Brian.
Certainly watch Ebay, almost goes without saying what was stolen will be offered for auction.
There is nothing lower in this world than a thief. The Romans crucified them, the Byzantines burned them alive, and even today in Saudi Arabia a thief is publicly executed. No sympathy from me, none at all.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
Sad to hear about that but it happens all over the world we in England get 1 or 2 a year. But you never get it back. E bay as a lot to answer for people will buy with no questions asked. We over here try to make sure we are well insuried as I have said we will not get our stuff back.
SO MAKE SURE you are well coverd
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
I didn't bother to look at it or view any of the details but i wish it hadn't happened and i am sorry that it did.
Rgds
Rene, can you call and see what type of track and if they remember which dozen cars they was?!
Cleared eBay @ 04:45 cst.
William
Its been mentioned that these jerkolas might have been pullin up track to sell at a scrap metal dealer. Guess scrap dealers dont ask where the stuff come from.
vsmith wrote: Its been mentioned that these jerkolas might have been pullin up track to sell at a scrap metal dealer. Guess scrap dealers dont ask where the stuff come from.
There is a lot of theft for scrap since prices have gone so high. Around here people are regularly taking aluminum siding off of vacant houses....and some people are even breaking in to steal the wiring and the plumbing!!!
underworld
I'm the one who wrote the post from Rene. I'm the president of the San Diego GRS and also a retired San Diego PD juvenile detective. We have other cops and sheriffs as members. I think we've plugged everyone and everything locally. The only physical evidence found were two discarded water bottles and I found some construction boot foot prints where they were throwing stuff over the fence. They were a size 12-14, but who knows. Fortunately, one of our members is a captain in the Sheriff's Department in charge of the area just west of Poway. Hopefully these crooks will try to fence the property at a swap meet or hobby shop, or, for that matter, at a scrap dealer.
I'd like to thank everyone for their support.
".......and some people are even breaking in to steal the wiring and the plumbing!!!..."
When I was in the private sector we got properties that had been stripped of copper wires and plumbing, these guys would steal electrical wiring while it was still LIVE!
Cleared eBay 10:32pm CST.
I have just returned from the Andersen Nursery in Poway. They are offering a $1,000 reward, which has been matched by another $1,000 by Crime Stoppers for info leading to the arrest and conviction of these suspects.
Also, Andersen's has another store in San Diego. This one doesn't have a garden railroad display but they, too, were victims of a theft with the same M.O. as Poway was. Similar plants and Tiki statues were taken. This occured in the same time frame as the Poway store.
The way this thing is going, it looks like a very good bet that the suspects may very well be landscapers that are building someone a garden railway to be included in the rest of the job. We have 2 SDGRS members who build railroads professionally and they are keeping their ears open.
I forwarded a complete list of the loss to Rene S. yesterday, she will probably post it Monday.
AGAIN, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND CONCERN. We REALLY are a tight knit group.
Tom Rey has sent me the complete list of stolen items:
> armour meats reefer car......rich red with white lettering>> needham packing reefer car.....light blue with black lettering>> kink packing reefer car....orange with black lettering>> finicks overalls reefer car......gray with black lettering>> Eat More Butter reefer car.....white with black lettering>> Maccar truck reefer.....gray with red and black lettering>> Del Monte reefer car....... Green with blacl and yellow lettering and the> Del Monte logo>> Walter Anderson reefer....... LGB car, light blue with dark letters (with corporate logo of store)>> A. G. Edwards boxcar.....LGB red with white lettering>> Air Tech Filtration LGB boxcar..........dark blue with white letters>> LGB European Passenger car2nd class, blue and white>> 3 LGB heavyweight Santa Fe passenger cars>> 3 aristocraft log cars>> 2 Aristocraft track cleaning cabooses>> 1 USA track cleaning caboose>> one yellow tool box with misc tools>> 5 #16050 LGB switches>> 2 #18050 LGB switches
Thank you Rene and Tom Rey for providing me with detailed info. which I will be checking eBay every night since this happened.
Again, Thank you,
Tom Rey here. Yesterday I wrote an e-mail to the San Diego chapter of the California Landscape Contractor's Association with all the info we have so far. They produce a newsletter for all of their members. Hopefully, we'll have a bunch of landscapers keeping their eye out too. Thanks again.
Tom
If these guys had done this in New York, they would have committed a Class E Felony (Grand Larceny), Punishable by a $5,000 fine and/or two years in prison as well as several Misdemeanors. But then I recently worte a story about a pee-wee soccer coach who stole $32,000 from his league and got comunity service! I sincerly hope that's not the case here.
When these guys are caught and convicted, let's hope they get a strict judge, go to prison and have a felony on their record. At the very least I hope the nursery's innsurance pays for the loss.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
Grand Theft is a felony here in CA too. The loss in rolling stock alone is almost $2,700. Furthermore the vandalism committed in order to remove(or attempt to remove) the track is great enough to also be a felony.
The trick is to catch them. If the suspect(s) were free lancing to build someone a garden railroad who isn't a member of our fraternity/sorority we my never solve it. Hopefully, the reciepient will join a local GRS(ours or one nearby) and host an open house. Unfortunately, then they, in all reality, become a victim of sorts too. This is because they'll be in possession of stolen property(another felony in this state) and lose everything. If it can't be proved that they knew it was stolen property they wouldn't be charged, but they will still lose the property they probably paid dearly for. The good news would obviously be that they could say who sold the stuff to them.
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