OK, it wasn't a disaster as such, but it was a "d'oh" moment.
I grew up in New Jersey and my Dad worked in New York City. I went to college out-of-state and ended up in the Midwest after school. When my Dad retired, my parents decided to move to the Midwest, too. Mom called me and asked my what I wanted her to do with the boxes of Lionel trains and comic books that were stored in the basement.
Yup, that's right. I told her to sell them or GIVE them to someone who could use them!
Most of the comic books were from the 1950's and early 1960's. Don't remember any first editions. The Lionel trains were from the 1940's and early 1950's, mostly steam. Quite a few operating accessories like log dumps, cattle cars and milk cars.
Who knew that prices for these things would eventually skyrocket? I looked online at some comic books that I remember paying 10 cents for as a kid. Most were in the $5 range but a few were much higher. I've never looked again!
yougottawanta Called an Ex Wife. Not only did she make my HO collection of trains disappear (20 years worth ) she forged my name on the title to mt 68 charger and sold it for a grand. Then took me for half of everthing I owned. Yep that was a train wreck I did not see coming.
Called an Ex Wife. Not only did she make my HO collection of trains disappear (20 years worth ) she forged my name on the title to mt 68 charger and sold it for a grand. Then took me for half of everthing I owned. Yep that was a train wreck I did not see coming.
The trains was bad enough, but a 68 Charger!?!?! SHE should disappear!!
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
After working part time to support my HO railroad in high school, I had a decent layout and a couple of brass locos. After going off to Basic Training for the Army in early 1972, I came home for leave to find out my mother had sold the entire layout. Adding insult to injury, she also sold my comic book collection which include pristine copies of Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos, G.I. Combat, Jeb Stuart and the Haunted Tank and my favorite, SGT Rock. They were complete issues for 5 years each from the 1960's. I eventually forgave her, but never totally got over it. I started collecting N Scale in 1978 and then G Scale in 1990. Now, at 58 years old, I can't complain about the trains I have now, but the comic book collection could never be replaced.
Hi,
I read some of the postings that talked about parents giving their trains away............ Well, "my worst disaster" is kind of the opposite - and all my fault.
I had a sizeable Lionel set up in the late '50s and traded it in for HO in 1960. In 1961, my Dad said that his good friend at work had a "whole lot of Lionel trains" that he wanted to give me. Well, I said "no, I'm into HO now, which is more realistic" (or something like that). Dad kept after me for a couple weeks, which made this 16 year old even more stubborn. Soooo, I didn't get those trains - which I understood were in the boxes and quite a few in number.
Well, about 20 years later I began to think about that, and it festered and festered in me and still does - especially since I built up a large postwar collection in the '80s and '90s. Today, I consider that a personal disaster - one of my own making.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Thanks for that reply?????????