Consider also donating unfinished kits to your local Boy Scouts of America council or troop. The Railroading merit badge continues to be quite popular, and has a requirement to build a kit of a piece of rolling stock and a requirement to build a kit of a "railroad structure".
Thanks for the thought provoking message, but I'm not getting rid of the train stuff because of the divorce. I haven't touched any of it in years. My interest turned to woodworking (after building much benchwork) and I'll never build the railroad of my dreams. There's no point in me keeping all this when some group could make good use of it.
Hi Wayne, I'm sorry to hear of your divorce. You'll come out on the other side just as I did many years ago. But let me tell you my story before you part with something you at one time loved and were looking forward to working with.
Those boxes you speak of don't take up a lot of room. Consider for a minute you may be acting hastily, giving up as many possessions as you can in an attempt to rid yourself of memories of your defunct relationship. I did the same and I sorely regretted it later, in my case two 100 watt guitar amplifiers (one a homemade Marshall I was extremely proud of) with four high quality speaker cabinets, thrown away to a pawn shop for pennies as I tried to shed my load. And that was just some of what I dumped.
I gave you this example to show how easy it is to pitch away things you really hold dear in an emotional moment. These train items at one time were very important to you and you looked forward to modeling the B&M. Like I said they don't take up much room, so why not ask a friend to store them until you're resettled? Or rent the cheapest storage unit you can find--surely you'll have other possessions you'll need to store?
In short, just take a little more time and think on it. -Rob
I did donate to my local club but they disbanded a couple years ago. Some HO trains went to a former girlfriend's grandson.
0-27 Marx tinplate and structures to a nephew's son.
Bachmann large scale to a daughter for her two son's.
A shop in my small city that sells used stuff. Some older HO stuff went fast that I left.
DCC, I will figure out soon,
When I pass on, nothing to worry about. I enjoyed trains for many years.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Wayne Elliot just replied to me in a friend request:
Wayne: As a new forum member, your replies are reviewed by the moderators, and can be delayed for as much as 24 hours. This lasts a short time, then replies are posted quickly.
You can use the Contact link on this page to e-mail mehttps://railwayvillage.org/explore/model-railroad/
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
WayneElliott I'm willing to donate it to a club, or even an individual that will appreciate what it's worth. Can anyone suggest a club or person that would want all of it? I'm happy to send the spreadsheet to anyone.
As mentioned above, it would help is you could share your location, even an approximate idea would help with suggestions.
At Boothbay Railway Village in Maine where I volunteer, we accept donations of all kinds of model RR things. We are a 501-3(c) non-profit amd can provide you with documentation of a tax deduction. This is the case with many railroad clubs.
That being said, with any donation, you will have to accept the fact that whoever receives you donation will evaluate what is there, and see what they can use. The remainder would probably be sold at train shows to raise funds to support further construction or operation of their layout.
You could try the reTraining Organization https://www.facebook.com/ReTrainingOrganization/ out of Valparaiso, IN. Brandon is a pretty good egg. They put train sets together from used stuff and then hand them out to less fortunate kids as Christmas gifts.
Robert H. Shilling II
There are numerous places to donate it to. Part of it is where you are located. In our case, you may donate it to the Madison County Historical Society in Anderson IN. What we do with materials at times is to sell items that we can not use at Train Meets in the area. This puts it in the hands of people who need or can make ready use of it. Other times we keep it in storage to rotate it in and out of use for display and operation at out Model Railroad "Museum at our Museum of Madison County History".
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =
Wayne:
I applaud your generosity. I suggest donating to young modelers, who may have far less resources. This might foster continuity of the hobby to the next generations. There are several who post here regularly.
JimW
Thanks Mike, but there are over 500 items. I'm not going to unpack everything and take 1000's of pictures, then pack up each and every item to make a few bucks. My goal is to donate it to an organization that will use it, and perhaps they can sell what they can't use. I used to be involved with a local round robin group, but the few people I can located aren't interested and can't offer any leads. I'll try your groups suggestion and see what happens. Thanks
Welcome. If your still up to try and sell, look for groups in Facebook, etc. This is one I belong to, and I've seen whole collections sell.
https://groups.io/g/HOswap/topics
First go to Groups.io, start an account, look for HOswap. It's free. Just be prepared to show lots of pictures. Nobody wants to look at a box full of stuff. Your spreadsheet list will be a great start for posting.
I'm sure Facebook might be good too, if your involved in Facebook. I'm not, but many in here talk about HO sale sites in there.
Ebay is another option, but again, have LOTS of pictures. No matter where you try, locomotive pictures should include a clear picture of the bottom.
I think a place like HOswap would be easier than Ebay. You could have one listing, with the spread sheet, and offer detailed pictures.
If you want to avoid all of this, and just donate, look around in your location for clubs, and, some hobby shops buy out estates and complete lay outs. Check it out.
Good luck!
Mike.
My You Tube
I'm just outside Fort Worth, TX. I was going to model transition era of the Boston and Maine, so many of the engines and rolling stock are of that variety. Is there a way I can post the spreadsheet?
Welcome to the forums. Hope you can stick around even if you aren't actively modeling. Great group of folks here.
I have donated items to a local club that is tax exempt. You already have the hard part done, if you have your items cataloged. They did ask me to give the value of the items, they acknowledged receipt and I was use the donation as a tax decuctable donation.
Good luck,
Richard
to the forum and I am sorry for your circumstances. I saved stuff for 16 years after my divorce. I threw away my saved L girders and control panel, 6 months before I got back into the hobby.
When I visited Severna Park MR Club, they told me people leave them a layout and the sell off the parts to benefit the club. I would imagine other clubs do that. We don't know where you live.
There is a Facebook and a IO.groups page for selling MR stuff. I don't participate with either, but another option for you.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The local train club here in Southwest Florida gladly accepts donations such as these.
.
They sell the items they cannot use on the club layout at their annual show to generate revenue to cover their operating costs.
There might be a club nearby that would greatly appreciate the donation.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
If you have any BNSF or UP stuff from 2000 onward, I'd be interested.
I'm beginning to realize that Windows 10 and sound decoders have a lot in common. There are so many things you have to change in order to get them to work the way you want.
Where are you located?
I spent 10-15 years in the HO railroad hobby and purchased a lot of materials and supplies before starting my railroad. I never got very far into construction, so much of it is still new in box. I stored it all for years, and am now getting divorced and have nowhere to keep it. So far, I've packed about 75% of it in nine 12" x 12" x 18" boxes and created a spreadsheet of all of those packed items. I'd love to sell it all as a package, but since that's not likely, I'm willing to donate it to a club, or even an individual that will appreciate what it's worth. Can anyone suggest a club or person that would want all of it? I'm happy to send the spreadsheet to anyone.