xboxtravis7992I think since many of the older Baby Boomer modelers are reaching towards the end of their lives, it is something many of us younger people in the hobby will have to deal with since we might get called in to clean up or dismantle the layouts after the original owner has passed (as a previous poster talked about in this thread). I can't imagine the kind of work that requires, and I am sure there is a somber mood about it.
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It is usually very sad and an awful experience.
The worst experience I ever had removing a layout was not after the owner had passed, but he was confined to a wheelchair and then suffered a stroke. His widow was also in poor health and their children were moving them to an assisted living facility.
The layout had to be removed so the house could be put on the market.
During the layout removal one of the children brought their dad by to see it one last time, but we had already cut out the engine facility with a sawz-all and it was destroyed. It almost literally broke the old man's heart to see this.
My last layout will be built only 36 inches from the ground, and the layout room will have a 33 inch wide door. My house is getting a wheelchair ramp, regraded (wheelchair access) driveway, and safety bars in the bedroom and bathroom. I am not going to let my dream layout become something I can never enjoy again if things take a turn for the worse.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I've bought locomotives, rolling stock, structures, and scratchbuilding supplies from estate sales, but have never inherited such things and wouldn't be interested in inheriting a layout at all.
Wayne
If this counts I inherited my Dad's 5' x 10' operator pit HO layout after his death in '68..I salvage the structures and pitched the layout and sold his models around five years ago to a collector.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
This issue of MR the P&W layout part of it the one in the office trailer had a layout in it when the owner got it.
Russell
I have seen and talked with the people at Exactrail/Trainlife about their purchase of Pelle Soelberg's old layout a bit, but have not had the experience myself of buying a used layout. Personally though, I don't know if I would go out and buy, inheret, or obtain somebody's old layout. If it was like Pelle quality like Trainlife got I would love to get it, but if its some half finished 4x8 from somebody who just started out in the hobby; I would probably tear off anything usable then scrap the rest of it. I don't really have any family members involved in the hobby, but if I did I guess I would try and preserve an old layout I inhereted maybe for sentimental reasons. (?) I also think with digital tech there is a divide between modern layouts and anything built pre-DCC. If a layout needs to be completely re-wired to run DCC equipment, it might not be worth the expense of trying to save unless the modeling itself is of noteworthy quality. Ultimately though, I think layouts are best built by the user themselves. It expresses the indivdual thoughts and priorities of the builder(s), and is always fun to go back and play with because it has such a unique connection to the builder's ideas. Again, mentioning what I have heard talking with the Exactrail/Trainlife folks about Pelle's layout; they had a bit of shock to see how spartan the build is in real life. They were used to a bit more detailing and fun on their own layouts and were a bit off put by the emptiness of many of Pelle's scenes. So that goes to show that even when you have a piece of work from one of the hobby's best builders, it can still clash with the intrinsic ideas of what makes a layout interesting in the opinion of the new owner in the case of a second hand pike. Well I guess that got a little bit more philosophical of an answer than I was expecting. Ah well.
EDIT: I also should mention the thought of "what will happen" regarding layout owners who pass away and their widows being in charge of the layout's fate has crossed my mind too. I think since many of the older Baby Boomer modelers are reaching towards the end of their lives, it is something many of us younger people in the hobby will have to deal with since we might get called in to clean up or dismantle the layouts after the original owner has passed (as a previous poster talked about in this thread). I can't imagine the kind of work that requires, and I am sure there is a somber mood about it. I guess in the best possible situation, a family member of the deceased can keep the layout operating as long as possible; but eventually many layouts face a final demise.
In the early 1990s I purchased a huge layout from a widow. The local club insulted her with a low ball offer. My offer made her happy. I packed up about 250 vintage freight cars, 30 passenger cars and 30 steam and diesel locos, about a dozen structures. Thankfully there was no scenery, but lots of track on the 18 x 18 foot layout. It took me about 30 hours to dismantle it. A decade later I bought one of Woodland Scenics layouts. It was completed and included all the building, some frieght cars and 2 Athearn BB diesels. I kept the structures, engines and freight cars and sold the layout for almost what I paid for the whole thing.
I don't know if this is what you mean by inheriting a layout or not.
I have removed several layouts for widows after the model railroading husband had passed away. My payment for this service had always been just what I could salvage from the layout.
So I received layouts following the departure of the builder, I guess that is inheritance.
I have saved a few well built structures from these layouts, and had some rolling stock and locomotives from these layouts serve me for years. Salvaged controls and switch motors were handy.
I never saved or used any portion of the actual layout. All these layouts were built to be permanent and had to be destroyed to be removed. I also always wanted to get them out as fast as possible.
I have since changed my desires, and I no longer want to run other people's items, so I do not remove layouts anymore. It is too sad and I don't get anything out of it anymore.
Apologies to those of you who have heard this story before.
I inherited my older brothers' Marx O scale train set if that counts. I wouldn't describe it as a layout exactly althought there were some crossing signals, and there was a big (at least by my standards at the time) passenger station with a whistle in it.
When they were first given the train set I was too young to be allowed to operate it, according to them anyhow. I was ordered to keep my distance! I think I was about 3 years old. Talk about being frustrated!!!
By the time I was old enough to operate the train set the motor had burned out so I never had a chance to operate it. The train set was boxed up and put away in storage. My parents never threw anything out. (I could write a book about what they left behind for us to take to the dump!!)
Years later my mom asked me if I wanted the train set. Of course I wanted it!! It was finally mine!!! I was able to find a couple of working engines at a train show (for peanuts I might add), so I assembled the set on a couple of sheets of plywood in the garage. It ran great, sparks and gear noise and all!!
Within less than two days I realized that O scale tin plate was not for me. In my opinion it was just way too toy like. I wanted something with more details. So, I took the set apart and packed it away which is where it still is.
That would have been the end of the story except my wife, bless her soul, decided to buy me an HO train set for Christmas the following year. She got me Bachmann's Hogwarts Express, and I was thrilled!! (My dear sister-in-law who was in attendance at the family Christmas celebrations thought that me playing with trains was ridiculous! Just goes to show how little some people appreciate the hobby).
Anyhow, here I am 18 years or so after she bought me Hogwarts Express and 60 years after my brothers denied my access to the trains, and I am totally happy!!
Apologies to the OP - no layouts were involved in this story.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Out of curiosity, how many of you here have ever bought or inherited (Either it was given to you or bequeathed to you in a will) someone else's layout ? Do you or did you use it as-is, or did you modify it to your tastes, and if so, how much?
Note that those who paid a professional layout builder to make a layout for you does not count here, as *technically* the layout is your own, as no one else owned it before you did.