Are there any books that give current values on model locos and rolling stock? I would like to insure what I have, mostly Proto and Broadway Limited. Thanks!!
To insure them, look at their current replacement prices. Should be relatively easy. That's what it will cost you to get them....today. If you can stand to eat some of an unfortunate loss, say 50% , than insure them for 50% of replacement cost...of today.
Don't forget that deductible! That will be a cost to you as well.
Essentially, what risk can you bear? The rest, in dollars, is what you would need from the nice man in the hat.
Hello All,
I don't think there is a "Blue Book" for model trains per se.
You could try contacting Trainz.com with a list of your inventory and see what the current "street value" of your items are.
The NMRA offers Model Insurance, through J.A. Bash & Company. You need to be an NMRA member to participate.
Unfortunately, you need to provide the value of your equipment for coverage- -which doesn't really help your situation.
Your best bet is to save the receipts/proof of purchase of all your items and base your coverage on that dollar amount.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
I agree that if you really believe insurance is necessary, then assume 50 percent of replacement as the amount. While there are valuation books on Lionel & American Flyer, I don't know of any for HO or other scale equipment.
Having sold several thousand dollars of HO stuff in recent years, if you can get 50 percent of retail you are doing good, so replacing said items would tend to cost you about that much.
All said and done, you would have to have a ton of good stuff to make it worthwhile to add a rider to your insurance. Frankly, I've never heard of anyone doing that, but it is possible of course.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I seriously doubt they are worth insuring.
I have A LOT of trains, but they are only about 50% of what I have in wargaming supplies.
Insurance was checked into, and it would be a huge job just to catalogue what I had. They cannot be insured like art or jewelry. They are just kind-of-expensive toys.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
First, what is the amount of "personal/household items" covered under your standard insurance policy? Take a full household inventory and see where you stand. If you have modest furnishings you may already have enough coverage. If you have a lot of family heirlooms, you might even want to add to your standard coverage.
We had a fire and if I had had "colllection coverage" on my Lionel items I could have listed items for their collectors value, (several 6464 series box cars were valued over $125 @, pre-war loco over $1500), but collection insurance costs extra. Fortunately I did not lose it all.
For HO, unless you have some very special brass, just cover it your standard coverage.
A suggestion to everyone, modeler or not, is to make a full household inventory and have a copy somewhere it is safe, away from your main home (safe deposit box, children, parents or in-laws homes) then if your home burns to the ground or floats away (recent storms locally) you don't have to sit down for hours and think about all the things that were in the house as we did. It doesn't have to be perfect it will save a lot of time and headache.
Good luck,
Richard
cowmanA suggestion to everyone, modeler or not, is to make a full household inventory and have a copy somewhere it is safe, away from your main home.
This full inventory can just be pictures. If anything does happen, you can then make an itemized list from the pictures if need be. You can photograph everything in your house in less than a day with teamwork.
This is how it worked for me)
Insuring my trains was mentioned to me. I checked with 3 major insurance companys, one of which I already use for other types of insurance. They were Allstate, Farmers, and Liberty Mutual. The 3 biggies where im located.
I did not check private insurance companys for obivious reasons.
All 3 required photo of each model, appraised proof of current value, reciept of purchase if possible, and a serial number. (Yeah a serial number, like its a home stereo or something - duh!)
All 3 do not consider Model Trains a collectible, yet they are classed as "toys".
All 3 put "toys" under whats called "renters insurance". Which groups them in with things like VCRs, sneakers, and coffee pots.
All 3 charge an exorbinant rate for little to no return.
All 3 charge a deductible (which is misrepresentation and fraud) plus a monthly fee.
Its the same ole insurance racket, but at a steeper rate, and less return. No thank you.
All Stop!
PMR
PM RailfanAll 3 do not consider Model Trains a collectible, yet they are classed as "toys".
Yep, they cannot be insured like rarities, artifacts, or artwork, so they are really going to be tough to get any return out of.
I had art insurance on two original Boris Vallejo paintings I owned, for $20,000.00 each. Art insurance is another racket all unto its own.
There is a company that goes through the nmra that does insure collections. Specifically for model railroad collections. Also if any blue book list existsit would be from greenburgs. Which makes the Lionel blue book lists.
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Thanks for your quick response, and have a nice day!!
While I would be very sad to lose my HO trains which I have spent over half a century acquiring, I never bothered looking into insurance against their loss (when you insure particular things such as art or antiques those are generally called "listed items" by your general property insurance company). I suppose there is a case to be made for photographing or videographing the collection and putting that in a safe deposit box. I guess some sort of generic claim could be filed but it would not pay to recreate the collection.
Part of the reason is inertia and relucance to get involved with property insurance runrounds, but another reason is that if the entire collection was lost in a fire or flood or theft, I think my general attitude would be that I got my pleasure out of them, and have no meaningful thought about trying to sell the stuff I no longer have use for (which is most of it). The time has come to downsize.
I guess technically that means that when it comes to the trains, I am "self insured" meaning not insured at all but I would decide what if any I would try to replace. Certainly not the brass -- the most expensive and maybe valuable of all.
Dave Nelson
Here's a link re the NMRA insurance Shane referred to:Model Insurance | National Model Railroad Association (nmra.org)
In general, it's always helpful to have some sort of complete listing of everything you have, engines, cars etc. If nothing else, it will help the insurance employee reviewing your claim. ("Wow, this guy really did own 300 freight cars!") I know someone who ran a bowling pro shop out of their home, and only having a detailing inventory listing was able to convince the insurance company that they really did lose 200 bowling balls in a fire.
That all being said, generally books and brass are what retain their value the most, unless you have like old collectible Lionel O or Std Gauge trains - a 1937 700-E steam engine or 1930's "Blue Comet" set for example.
As mentioned earlier, it would behoove us to take a few hours and a digital camera (or cell) and take pics of every room of your house, opened closet doors and desk and cabinet drawers, etc., etc. Then, copy them to a couple stick drives, as well as your computer, and put a drive in your car, and give one or two to trusted relatives.
Having gone through a fire episode at age 14, I recall vividly how we tried to remember exactly what we had to submit to the insurance company for reimbursement. The thing is, one just can't completely remember everyday common items one has - especially after a traumatic experience.
wjstixThat all being said, generally books and brass are what retain their value the most.
BrassTrainsDotCom has the function for you too load your collection and they extimated the replacement value.
It is not a legal appraisal, but it will give you something to stand on when dealing with an adjuster.
Hi guys,
Just sharing something that may be helpful. Easy to do with Microsoft Excel.
Below is a screenshot of an Excel Sheet that I made for a friend of mine. Above, where it shows "HO Scale Model" I put his name and pertinent details (which I cut out in the screen shot to protect his privacy ). He was looking for something simple with basic categories that he prioritized. I did the first line for him, as you can see. He likes it and plans to use it for the rest of his loco fleet.......over 250 units!
Two more versions of this sheet will be for freight cars (300+) and passenger cars (25).
Please, by all means, critiques are welcome. This was sort of "thrown together" and some of you are very talented when it comes to business-related forms.
My apologies in that I tried but cannot make the image appear larger. The column labels are:
Powered Y or N / Manufacturer / Prototype Class / Rail Company Name / Unit Price / Unit Number / DCC Sound / DCC (only) / DC / Stock or if it's been Upgraded
I suggested to him that, rather than RR name or protoype class, he list according to the manufacturer, in alphabetical order. I.E: All Athearns first, followed by Atlas, Bachman, Broadway Limited, etc.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
AntonioFP45My apologies in that I tried but cannot make the image appear larger.
????
When I click on it, it opens in IMJUR and is plenty big enough to read.
Thanks Maxman, good to know!
It's odd but on some of my past posts, sometimes the links or images that I provided ddidn't always function properly.
Glad that it's working.
maxman AntonioFP45 My apologies in that I tried but cannot make the image appear larger. ???? When I click on it, it opens in IMJUR and is plenty big enough to read.
AntonioFP45 My apologies in that I tried but cannot make the image appear larger.