fwright Given that there is a bulge of model railroaders in the baby boomer years, disposal of layouts and trains is going to become even more difficult in the future. Some of the lessons I have learned from my own experiences and watching model railroad widows: Disposing of model railroad collections is a huge time sink for those left behind. And these folks have a lot of other things to do, and are under a lot of stress already. The more you can do to lighten the load in advance, the better it will be for them. If you truly care for those you leave behind, you will do the advance planning for them. Unless there is someone knowledgeable enough, and has the time, expecting your collection to be sold off for reasonable value is wishful thinking. Writing up eBay descriptions that will bring out the bids takes time and knowledge. And the only way to get near what your trains are worth is a piece or 2 at a time on eBay or someplace similar. Try to sell the whole lot at once, and nothing near the true value will be achieved. But if your loved ones have been given unrealistic expectations, frustration will set in and the whole thing will end up in the dumpster. I predict the market for used trains will continue to slowly decline as the boomers die off or leave the hobby. Production over the last 2 decades has been sized to the boomer market, which will disappear over the next few decades. And the fact that most of the stuff from the '60s through the '80s is still around in usable condition only adds to the surplus. So what you could get in the '90s for collectible pieces can't even be gotten today. Again, please don't saddle your loved ones with unrealistic expectations. Unless somebody has already expressed a serious interest in taking the complete layout, assume it will go into the dumpster. And get the agreement to take the layout in advance! In either case, some instructions on how to get the layout apart enough in a reasonably amount of time and effort to get it out the door and into the dumpster or truck is a very considerate gesture. True love is doing what is in the other person's long term best interest, no matter what the cost.
Given that there is a bulge of model railroaders in the baby boomer years, disposal of layouts and trains is going to become even more difficult in the future. Some of the lessons I have learned from my own experiences and watching model railroad widows:
True love is doing what is in the other person's long term best interest, no matter what the cost.
Looking at the challenges facing my mother, related to my deceased father's R/C planes, shop, tools, etc., I agree with you competely. When she and I discuss it, she seems to regard it as a major dilema. She wants to be respectful to my father, she wants to get fair value for it all, but it is also a huge undertaking.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
Fred: Very well said. Jim
shayfan84325Looking at the challenges facing my mother, related to my deceased father's R/C planes, shop, tools, etc., I agree with you competely. When she and I discuss it, she seems to regard it as a major dilema. She wants to be respectful to my father, she wants to get fair value for it all, but it is also a huge undertaking.
One thing that you (or your loved ones could do) would be to find someone, perhaps someone young or just getting started, and make it a gift (with assistance getting it boxed and moved of course, that would only be fair)-- and then let those precious items that meant so much to your loved one, help someone else get started in the hobby. Or several someones. Its understandable if the value of the items is seriously needed (and in this economy it might well be). But if not, why not considering helping others get a leg up on the hobby?
My neighbor Al had been a lone-wolf modeler for many years. He did join the NMRA and agreed to host an Open House. His modeling was very good. He would be too busy talking to his guests to run trains himself so I volunteered to do it for him. The day of the Open House, he was amazed and delighted in the questions and compliments. I had a good time myself, just watching his enjoyment.
Unexpectedly, he died a few months later while still in his 50s.
A year later his wife asked if I could help her find a home for the trains. She wanted the trains to go to others who would enjoy them just as much. That was more important than money.
I had train friends with sons in Boy Scouts. I suggested we sell the trains for her at Timonium and she could give the Scouts what she thought was a fair commission. We would set reasonable prices to make sure the trains were rolling again all over the mid-Atlantic area.
She quickly agreed.
Fathers and sons spend a day at her house taking down the railroad and packing up the equipment. At Timonium, we sold it all in a day.
I took her a few thousand dollars.. She asked me to tell her about selling the equipment. Who bought it? What did they say? Were some things especially popular? She enjoyed the stories. Finally, she said Al fondly remembered his boyhood experiences as a Boy Scout so she wanted the troop to keep the money.
And so, that was the end of Al’s trains. The trains went to other train lovers. The money went to the Boy Scouts. There was a nice symmetry that completed everything, or so I thought.
A few weeks later, the Troop Leader called saying Al’s wife had sent him a thank-you note. With the note was a check for several hundred dollars. She said Al had been saving for train shopping so she was sure Al would want the Scouts to have the money now.
Obviously no one knows when they are going to pass away and everyone expects to live to a ripe old age. But it may be prudent to start thinning down your collection and passing on some of your more valuable pieces when your health begins to fade and you sense that it's not going to get any better. Enjoy your trains until the very end. Jim