$150,000 layout for $1025?

I want it!!

Ask Santa for it.

It looks like it does come with the trains and accessories.

I'm suprised that there wasn't a minimum price on the item.  I wonder if it will sell or if the buyer will suspend the auction before it closes.

Jim

I would bet he will stop the auction before it ends.  No way he will sell it...even if the bid is $2000.

watch the vido there still at auction when vido was made. I guess he figers he would flip it fast

 on e-bay and make quick profit. hope he did not pay alot.

Does the house come with it?

How much is just the trains and buildings worth??? I see maybe $10,000 retail in locs, cars and buildings?!?!?! Bid $5000 and junk the layout!! If not 3000 miles away I might join in!!! No bets that it is canceled before it ends!!!!

" train set is for sale locally so I reserve the right to cancel all bids and auction at any time for any reason without warning."

He can pull it if he thinks he's not going to get enough!

Sorry to be the fly in the ice cream sundae, but this layout just doesn't do it for me.

The layout is large, professionally built, and has very nice trains and accessories, but doesn't seem to have a logical arrangement of certain accessories or track layout. There's some sort of tank farm on the layout, but no hint of a refinery. The track layout does have some nice sweeping curves too, but is still toy-like in it's execution.

Judging from the main line alone I think it would have trouble operating more than 3-4 trains at once- a must for a large layout.

I'm guessing the layout was commissioned by some money guy who caught the O gauge train virus, dropped $100k on the layout, ordered all the trains and scenery he liked, and then lost interest overnight.

Geno

Pipeline tank farms are often located many miles from the nearist refinery.

I would give Coco a few bucks for it

Does it come with a chain saw? How do you move that without destroying it? 

That whole bid canceling thing says to me he's only half serious. Even without a reserve he won't let it go cheap. I see the $150K value, though much of the value of the labor will be lost, and a new investment of time will be needed to put it back together.

I think AMCDave has the right idea. Buy it for the trains and structures, salvage the track and wire, and dump the benchwork and scenery. Hire one of those PODS load it, and get it home. Still a big job!

Dear 72 Blackbird

Please don't use logical and track layout together, it will confuse me. 

I counted 6 locos.  You can hear an auction going on in the background of the video.

John

It's free to list and maybe 10% final fee of the total winning bid.

I don't see 150K in this thing. Example, the tank farm on the mountain... maybe 700.00 for the 4 tanks.

I will not venture to guess the true value but it will be 10K or lower.

But trucking... THAT will eat the Buyer alive. If I recall it's 2.50 a mile. Or somewhat lower for very long distance moves.

If y'all had read the description... it says that the layout is s hit at the trade shows. Obviously it is meant to be broken down and moved.

One should NOT assume! You would think the auctioneer would have placed such an important detail in the listing itself.

When we shipped the Tom SNyder layout it was 5000 for a 53 ft container to be shipped from San Francisco to Paterson

My thoughts exactly.

My big questions are:

1. Why would he sell for only a couple of thousand if it was that expensive to build?
2. What *EXACTLY* is included?  How can anyone make a serious bid otherwise unless they have been watching too many episodes of "Storage Wars" or "Bid and Destroy".

Well, it would be both a lot of cost and effort to move it and set it up.  On the other and, the locos and such, if included, are worth something.

But . . . buying a layout - that takes over half the fun out of everything!

If someone had the space/money reconfiguring some of the sections might be very worthwhile.  I haven't looked at the videos yet but I can see how some of the sections could be "plugged in" to an existing layout or be the basis for new construction.

I'd like to know which trade shows he is referring to. I've been to almost every show in So Cal the last 6 years and can't remember seeing this. I checked my pics of display layouts from local shows and I have none. While I can see the amount of labor involved, his estimated value is crazy IMHO.

Bob

I do not believe it was transported to any shows. The Auction site had a few other photos and the layout looks pretty permanent. The original owner may have been a Porsche or car club member that had meetings at this warehouse.....something like that......but the auction house and new owner know nothing about trains......I would like to know who bought 'framed trains' display case filled with MTH UP Turbine locos!!! And how much it went for!!!  

In the Ebay ad, I find it hard to understand the part about:

 ... this set is the number one attraction at all the trade shows across the nation.

In the video, the layout fascia is painted to match some of the room walls, and there is railroad memorabilia on the walls. It looks like the layout was built to live in this space. It appears impractical for this to be a travelling layout in entirety, but maybe part of it was made to be transportable and operable as a separate unit.

In the video there appears to be a meeting room on the other side of a large window. Maybe this place sometimes hosts "trade shows" ?

The comments in the video imply that someone has just bought the layout. I'm speculating it was bought for salvage value of the trains, but the buyer is taking a shot at remarketing the whole thing on Ebay to maybe pass off the job of dismantling the layout to someone else.

The phone numbers in the video are in Pomona and Riverside CA. The layout appears to have a southern California theme to it. It would be interesting if someone could identify this layout and tell us the background behind it.

It may indeed sell, but at a much, much lower price.

Since we are all speculating, I think Ace is probably right that the layout was bought at salvage value and the buyer is hoping to make a few bucks off the layout itself.  If it was an auction buy, the buyer may have X amount of days to move it, which might make it go on the cheap. 

I hope that someone does buy it, as I hate to see a good layout go to waste.  Looking at the pics, maybe it can be cut into four sections, moved, and reassembled.

Some folks have more money than time, and it definately would be much cheaper than commissioning a new build.

Jim

Go back and read my post. I have the address the layout is sitting at now....but no real need to out it here. And the auction site show more photos. When I Google Earth the address the outside of the building has the Orange stripe running around it just like the layout and room inside! The place where the cars and layout are look like someone left in mid stride......Papers on desks, trains on repair tables, auto engines half finished.......like someone went to lunch and never came back......odd.

After reading all the comments and going to the auction to watch the video, this is a brain bender for me.  It appears that the buyer is shown in the video.  My impression is that someone with very deep pockets had this custom built for the price named considering there was a car collection in the original auction.  I can only assume this is an estate sale where it simply had to be liquidated at whatever yield of return.  I'd say the layout was worth the original 150K building cost after seeing it.

As far as moving it, good luck!  I couldn't really see a way to cut it apart without destroying it.  I've been involved with friends who buy estates and I have yet to see a layout be dismantled without destroying parts of it that don't always go back together well.  Beautiful layout though and it'll be interesting to see how the auction ends.

Phil

Here is a photo of 'Framed Trains' from the auction company.....evidently a different 'lot' than the layout........

Looks like a incomplete set of MTH UP Turbines....

Very nice layout, but is that what he is selling?  He states 'train set' in the description, not train layout.  He talks about boxes also.  Maybe he is just selling the train(s) that are running on the layout.  We shall see..............

KC

It's all the way up to $1250!!

Some interesting background items in the photos.  Longhorns on the floor????   Austin?

From the background sounds, background items in photos and the other items for sale I'd say this is primarily an auto auction business.

Notice that all but 3 of the 18 cars are 924 or 928's???? The least collectible Porsche in the world other than a 914/4 maybe. A super mint 928 goes for around $6K. Not sure what the design in the floor is???

The design looks a little like the University of Texas symbol.   That's why I was speculating Austin even though the auction location states Riverside CA.

Links to additional info on the prior auction.

http://www.premiereauctioneer.com/

http://allworldautomotive.com/...orsche_ots35433.html

Thanks Randall!!! Good info.....and while you were doing that I was looking at the layout. Just some fun speculation about the layout before you posted your info. 

It looks as if the town was the original layout....in the red box. Then maybe the oil area added.....light blue box. The the service area added in the orange box......maybe the mountain and winf farm later. You can clearly see seams on or near the boxes I drew....still a BIG thing to transport more than a few miles.  But it may break down to something manageable anyway....

Matt....I'd still drive a 928 or 924 even......but a quick look through Hemmings and other online auto sellers show a lot of 928 and 928S, all nice cars, none over $7K. And if you know Porsche well you know the Porsche snob turn their noses at them.....Like me....even among a group of AMC fans.....no one will admit to liking a Pacer....even if mechanically superior to their 68 Javelin!

Cool trains....and yes the layout lacks some planning...just to keep on topic!!!!

PS....the other cars were a Bronco, S-10 and a Honda.....didn't miss much!

The Layout is in downtown LA Matt.......the link posted has more info. Up to $1800+ with less than 21 hours to go. Could be a good deal if you have the cash and means to move it ASAP.

Guys,

The layout is on San Fernando Road near the junction of the 5 and 2 freeways. I am going to try and get over there is I can rearrange my work schedule tomorrow. I placed a bid but got knocked off by one of the bid (ee) runners. I will more than likely jump back in the bidding up to a point. With all of the stuff on the layout in terms of Locos, Rolling Stock, Power Supplies and such this could be a real good purchase. My concern is transportation and storage until I can figure what to do with the darned thing.

A friends mother had a Pacer that she bought to replace a Rambler station wagon. It had more room on the inside than a caddy, but in the summer in So Cal it was miserable to be in with the lousy AC system. If anyone remembers the old Police Academy movies, being in that car in the summer was like being the goldfish that got boiled in the Benihanna's. AMC had a rather creative tv and print ad for the Pacer where to show how much room it had they placed a Chevy Nova inside the Pacer.

Regards,

Randall