7/7/2013 - and end of an era for me

As long as you enjoyed the collecting and owning side of it.  I wish I could have gotten back 53% on what I've bought and sold.

Hoping the reason for selling off your collection is not too serious.  I'm in the midst of a sudden health scare that I've never faced before, but, I'm still buying!

Walt,

Over the years I have always followed and enjoyed your posts and the yearly photos of your Christmas layout .

I would say that you got a good bang for your buck and brought a lot of fun and joy to many people.

Good luck and best wishes.

Norm

@Frank Mulligan posted:

.  I'm in the midst of a sudden health scare that I've never faced before, but, I'm still buying!

I hope things go well for you, Frank.

Peter

A week later on 7/13/13 I was traveling with my wife and son to PNC ballpark and stopped in at the monroeville Greenberg show and bought a MTH Erie Lackawanna RS3 and a railking Norfolk Southern SD70 .From a vendor at the show.

The next day on the way home with my hand stamp just barely visible I went back there and bought a second RS3 from the same vendor…The locomotives were renamed PIRATES and KENNYWOOD and that’s how I later found out that week they belonged to Walt…they still retain those names !

I was at PNC again this weekend with my son and was reminded of that weekend 11 years ago…

7/7/1980 - another great era ended - Zeppelin's last show.  Walt, your Christmas layout and pictures were always great. Glad you got  a return and i hope all is okay.

Walt -    You created such uniquely different layouts each year for the holiday season!!  Your posts of photos of your Christmas layouts certainly brought us miles of smiles over the years.  Those photos will be missed.  I hope we'll still hear from you here the OGR Forum!   I wish you all the very best going forward!  

@walt rapp posted:

For about 20 or more years I was collecting anything that MTH made that was remotely related to Pittsburgh - where I live.

I won't say why here, but I made the decision to sell off all 110 pieces of rolling stock and 11 PS3 engines.  The only cars that weren't MTH were 12 coal cars from K-line.  No regrets at the time because I knew why I did it.

I got a really good return on value.  I was easily able to determine that I got 53% back!!!!

That little circle of track was used to prove to the buyer that all 11 engines performed perfectly.  I didn't want for him to come back later and say something was wrong.   Also, as you can see here, EVERYTHING was in their original boxes.

Now, however, as much as I've grown to love tin-plate, I really miss owning all of that Pittsburgh stuff.

- walt

Thanks for sharing all those memories Walt! I wish you well.

WOW!  Thanks.

BUT.... I ain't going anywhere!  I bought those 2 tin-plate sets and I still set up my 11'x14' Christmas layouts and will continue to do so for, I hope, many more years.

Selling my collection had nothing to do with any kind of health situation.  It wasn't because I needed the  money either.  It was just a very personal thing.

thanks for the kind words and I REALLY appreciate that forumites appreciate and remember the photos that I've posted on my Christmas layouts.

- walt

Walt,

The Forum wouldn't be the same without your posts. I look at them whenever I see them. Please continue to show us what you're doing.

MELGAR

@walt rapp posted:

WOW!  Thanks.

BUT.... I ain't going anywhere!  I bought those 2 tin-plate sets and I still set up my 11'x14' Christmas layouts and will continue to do so for, I hope, many more years.

Selling my collection had nothing to do with any kind of health situation.  It wasn't because I needed the  money either.  It was just a very personal thing.

thanks for the kind words and I REALLY appreciate that forumites appreciate and remember the photos that I've posted on my Christmas layouts.

- walt

Welcome back! 👏

Ditto on everything said above. I’m glad you’ll still be putting up the Christmas layouts. You are an asset to the forum.

I'm going to let my son deal with all the stuff I have.....after I have checked out

Walt, I had gone through a similar down-sizing, mine took place in 2009 when I took a job out west and went through a divorce. Many regrets on selling stuff back then, and none more than structures that I had spent countless hours building and painting. The trains can usually be found again, but not detailed and weathered structures. In your case, Pittsburgh items may be collectable to this day, am not sure. What I am sure of is that Christmas layouts like yours will never go out of style. Somehow, and in some way, Christmas is why some of us are still playing with electric trains and building layouts.

Walt…….always love to see what you come up with every Christmas!

Peter

Walt,

I'm like Peter. Seeing your layouts at Christmas makes me fill young again.

Seeing what you create every year is part of MY Christmas tradition!

-Greg

Walt,

I'm glad you are keeping up with the Christmas layout tradition.  I look forward to the pix every year, but I have to say I miss seeing you at the York OGR gatherings on Thursdays.  Those were some fun (if not dry ) nights closing down the Fridays. 

Andy

Walt when you went through your Count Up recently I thought I remembered your switch to Tin Plate.  I always thought you had just become enamored with tin plate, possibly because of childhood memories.  You never offered a reason and none was needed.  Your yearly Christmas Layout Memories posts often made think back to the switch.

Craig (as in Craignor) and Andy(I hope your pants are finally dry!) - I miss going York but I decided not long after selling off my collection that once I bought the 2 tin-plate sets that ended my buying.  Yes, I miss the socializing though.

I am HONESTLY overwhelmed by the comments made in this thread.  I also can HONESTLY say that I never considered myself on equal footing with most of the members of this forum.  Never thought my posts were anything meaningful to anyone.  HONEST.  But comments in this thread made me feel really good about the Christmas layouts that I've built and shared here.  The fact that some took notice and remember was not something I thought was going on!!!!

So that you all for making me feel good about just having a floor temporary layout and sharing images here!!!!

HONEST

- walt

Have always enjoyed your posts. Glad to hear you will still have a Christmas layout. I understand your feelings and respect your decision, as I am going through a major downsizing situation now, also.

Jeff

Walt,

I'm just catching up with this thread. I'm glad that there isn't anything tragic going on with you that prompted you to sell your items. I hope that one day, I will have a say so in where my equipment goes. I've seen several be in a position where this is not the case.

One thing about your participation on the forum is that you can come back and revisit all of your Christmas creations.

As far as your last statement, if everything on this forum was the same it would quickly lose its interest. The great thing about this forum is that we get to see some great variety. Everything from the ceiling to the floor. Your posts offer what is in that spectrum and I'm always amazed at the variations you are able to design on an annual basis. I was particularly fascinated with the custom homes on your layout this past holiday season. That was some great modeling. I, like many others, gravitate to regular thread authors in anticipation of what that person is doing. Yours have been amongst those.

Look forward to your future posts with the tin plate equipment.

Dave