General Discussion (Model Railroader)

The layout...not me, I hope!

Trains go to friends, or ebay or...see above.

Just a few sage words.

Those times are very tough for those left behind, so whatever you can arrange ahead of time will be a blessing. Since most people won't have any idea what the stuff is, it helps to have it as identifiable as possible. For this reason I keep all the boxes from locos and rolling stock and put the car number on the box. Buildings and stuff from the layout are  pretty much worthless so whatever to be done should be arranged ahead of time.

Now no offense guys, but having a "train buddy" take care of this for the family is not the best idea. Sometimes they turn out to be buzzards and pick the carcass and leave a great mess for the family. I have seen this several times. Ideally you need someone like a family member who knows what to do ahead of time. If you have a large valuable collection, legal documentation is needed in case things go to court - in some jurisdictions it is mandatory in case of sudden death. Pieces that are valuable to you or which you want to go to someone particular need to be documented as part of a will. Otherwise it could turn into a nasty situation, again not needed for those left behind.

Donations to a museum etc., need to be worked out in advance. In many cases they can't use the stuff, and just dropping it on them results in... Well you know.

Lastly, thinking you are in good shape and don't need to think about this stuff, think again. People get hit by a bus or a heart attack every day. I was only 57 when struck by a disabling illness and left with no income, and no place to live until I got things straightened out many months later. I know of a couple occasions where a modeler took his last ride very unexpectedly.

In my will, I've asked that all of my belongings of value (including my train items and layout) be sold or auctioned off and that the money be equally divided among my closest family members and friends. That's the most reasonable plan I could come up with.

Tracklayer

I was a member at a museum in San Antonio for many years (still keep in contact with them), and folks come in semi regularly with railroadiana and models asking if we wanted them. It seems that a lot of folks simply don't explain what exactly to do with their collections when they pass on.

I know that many of you have also seen the posts on here that go somewhat like this; "My grandfather/father just died and we have boxes of model trains and want to know what it is worth.". I have also seen a lot of those kinds of stories like that with auctions on eBay.

I get buried in my engineers hat.  The kids take what they want, leftovers can be sold or donated.

Enjoy

Paul 

I'm not allowed to die without prior authorization, and unless I see a RIP (report on individual personnel, not the other kind) or orders to that effect, I'll be staying alive.

Well as a member of the armed services, I don't know I guess I've been putting off drawing up a will.  I'm only 29 and I guess part of me thinks that I'm gonna jinx myself if I do before I deploy, on the other hand I don't want my wife and family to have to worry about things.  I guess I'll give my trains to my kids, and whatever they want to do with it is thier biz.  But I have sorta another question along these lines...and again I don't know how to breach the subject really, My Grandfather was the one that got me started down this road...and he has alot of railroad stuff...rolling stock, loco, kits...as well as structures... he was in the process of building a layout in the late 70's early 80's but it got ruined by basement flooding and he never tried to recover.  I got his collection of old MRs....but I don't know how to ask for his train stuff without sounding morbid?  I've even thought of offering to pay him for his things, I just don't know.  Any suggestions on this??

Thanks

Brad

As my ultimate model railroad goal is to found a Model Railroading museum, ultimately I would hope the organization would take on a life of it's own and not depend on my physical existence.    If I should die before that time, I have 80% of it cataloged so it should be fairly easy to donate to another musuem. 

On the other hand, all of you who don't know the fate of your collections might want to hunt up some museums ahead of time.   Generally it would not good idea to donate generally to clubs unless it is a club with historical preservation specifically in their charter.

 I had a dear friend that passed away a little over a year ago who had a nice collection and a large layout all of his stuff plus some of mine a another persons stuff was acutioned off . I found out the hard way that when a person dies all of their stuff plus any of your stuff on their property is sealed until the dispostion of the estate and the stuff of yours becomes part of the estate . I lost several Locomotives and frieght cars . a real bummer.

vsmith wrote:

The layout...not me, I hope! Trains go to friends, or ebay or...see above.

LOL..if your wife finds out that this is a whole lot cheaper then you and the lay-out may end up there

Truly this is worth thinking about.  My neighbour dropped dead at 39 without warning.

Despite the danger of "buzzards' mentioned above, i do think a trusted buddy who knows stuff  is the best arrangement.   Appoint them officially as trustee of the MR, probably a reciprocal arrangement with theirs.

You can make special mention in your will that you want Bob to have the brass 4-8-4, so you can thank special friends.

Make an inventory.  I'm just starting mine - i have an online one on my website so the data is offsite if the house burns down and so a buddy can find it easily - better than a CD buried in papers somewhere.  And yes it is secure, not public.

There was a story a while ago (letter in MR?) about the wife who sent $50,000 worth of brass locos to the dump.

On the other hand, once we are gone what do we care?