Do You Worry About Your Train Stuff Being Stolen?

No worries at all.  My collection isn't that valuable.  Plus they'd take one look at the crappy looking basement and say to themselves "nothing here to see...time to move on". 

--Greg

This is a good point. Definitely something to watch for. I have read that many burglaries, abductions, other crimes etc. are committed by someone known to the victim or family. Also someone that has been in the victim's home before, either visiting, working, handyman etc. You really have to be careful these days, lots of folks around that can't be trusted.

We had a neighbor across the street in the house we moved from a couple years ago that was broken into a few years prior to that. They were gone, they had two big dogs that did nothing to the intruders. Suspected someone they knew and the dogs knew as well. We talked to the police at the time and they advised us to never answer the door for anyone you don't know, unless it's the girl scouts selling cookies. Policeman said all they are trying to do is look inside to see what you have so they can come back later and clean you out if they see anything worthwhile. He gave us a 'No Soliciting' sign citing the 'No Soliciting' city ordinance and told us to put it on our front door, we did. As far as I know, as of when we moved a couple years ago they had never caught anyone for the break in.

Another tip is to change all the locks whenever you move into a new home and to change any alarm codes.  The previous residents or their friends may still have a key.  Yes, there is an expense but it is worth it.  

Joe 

After the break in almost 2 years ago we did some additional things. We already had bars installed on all the accessible windows and doors. Trees and shrubs were trimmed for a better view, gates, and doors were kept locked. Unfortunately we were hit when the house was tented for termites. The rear security door and sliding glass door were ripped from the wall and foundation by the thieves to get in. So in went a full security system, motions, cameras, etc. along with more participation in our neighborhood watch program. In fact the wife called the police today with some oddball knocking at doors pretending to be a contractor installing solar. The police responded and moved him along his way. I would also say it is good to know what goes on in your neighborhood and report anything. We do now.

And call a locksmith. My last stop at the big box stores revealed lots of handle styles, but only one key for each style! To clarify, they all took the exact same key. Stealthy!

At least look around before you buy 

These are very good points.  However, most people don't know how easy it is to pick a lock.  Tools and instructions are readily available.  Someone can use a bump key or a set of small tools and be inside your house in seconds without leaving any sign of forced entry.

Definitely a good idea.  Home Depot is a great store, as is Lowes, but there is a difference with respect to the grades of certain products, and locks are one such product.  A few hundred dollars with the locksmith is well worth the investment, in my opinion.

Dogs. Luv 'em. The more the merrier, in our neighborhood, barking and yapping, the better, as far as I am concerned. I say hello to them all and give 'em a little hug, too, every time we meet.

However, here's a little footnote that might amuse.

Several years ago, the inner-city elementary school at which I taught used a posse of guard-dogs - 2 Dobermans; 1 Rottweiler; 1 German Shepherd - to freely roam the 2-story and basement-level hallways and classrooms, once delivered to the school early each evening. They were removed early each morning.

Barely a few weeks into this practice, the school was robbed of science equipment and the dogs! The thieves actually left us a note at a ground-level classroom door (mine) saying, "Thanks for the dogs."

I kid you not.

All the teachers and pupils ever got out of the use of those dogs were the unavoidable presents left behind for us to remove every morning.

FrankM.

Thanks for that read, CW. So, having read the article, shall we conclude that upon ever discovering an intruder, we should:

a) Announce we have caught him and order him to behave and get out.

b) Pat him down for weapons.

c) If he is possessed of a weapon, compare his size and caliber of weapon with ours to be sure we have not outgunned him.

d) If we are both carrying sticks, let's say, only, shall we compare sizes of sticks to be sure he is not out-sticked and, thus, unfairly treated as a non-guest in our home? (I wouldn't want to be unfairly advantaged, gahfahbid.)

e) May we take his athleticism and muscular build into account, in comparison to our own body-type and age?

(The sarcasm is not aimed at you, sir, of course, but at "the situation." I understand why you posted that link, as fair-warning, at least, and appreciate it.)

FrankM

Let me second this last statement.  The locks you see in the big box stores are, honestly, pretty crappy.  A high quality lock, professionally installed will cost you more money.  No doubt about it.  On the other hand, what is the point of a cheap lock that fails the first time someone gives it a dirty look?

George

The guy in that story was convicted because he baited the thief with the wife's purse in the open garage and lay in wait to shoot them.  That is abhorrent.  

He deserved his sentence.  However, most homeowner use their firearms to protect their lives, not property.

http://www.thedailysheeple.com...with-firearms_012013

https://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/armed-citizen/

My wife doesn't.

On a more serious note, I try to stay away from expensive trains. Since I run them all, I find it acceptable to by used. Same goes for everything else in the house. Good enough. Bang for the buck. Live beneath my means.

If someone were to come into my house and say I am taking it all, I would say please do, and make sure to take that CRT TV too, it costs me $10 to get rid of it in our town. Oh and take those old computers, good grief the mobos are seven years old now. Then maybe I could get some new stuff.

I think it was Sophie Lauren, someone did come into her condo or apartment demanding her jewels, she said no, so they threatened to kill her child. Changed her opinion right away. From then on, she didn't buy expensive jewelry, or if she did, didn't flash it out in public.

quote:

The guy in that story was convicted because he baited the thief with the wife's purse in the open garage and lay in wait to shoot them.  That is abhorrent.  

He deserved his sentence.  However, most homeowner use their firearms to protect their lives, not property.

There was another similar case in the last few years, where a home owner baited some kids or young adults and killed them. I think he was also convicted of murder.

Maybe I am misreading the posts, I get the impression that some folks are writing they'd blow away an intruder, regardless of whether they were threatened.

Its great to read this and know that there are a lot of train folks who are strong believers in the 2nd amendment. And I've got a nasty jersey bull that would like to grind an intruder into the terrafirma if my arsenal wasn't enough. LOL.

Lon

If a would be thief can make it past my dog, guns and wife(she is one hell of a shot) then they can have it

Yes. Yes. I understood the article, and I have extrapolated from there, more broadly, into society, having been made well-aware, through a variety of sources, of crime perpetrated against homeowners and the employed. Home invasions. Car-jackings. Armed robberies. Assaults in parking lots of malls. Church-invasions. Muggings. Attacks on children.

Have I left anything out? I'll bet I have. Do I sound angry? Yuuuuup. And I bet I am not alone.

I have a couple cities in mind, which, I dare you, I will pay you to walk through from one end to the other, at night, un-armed. Heck, some of them, I dare you to walk through at high-noon.

You misunderstand me sir.  I am in agreement with your position.  I was simply pointing out the "story" was being used for a position different from our own.

How is  an intrusion not a threat? I invite folks in, not discover them already there.

Don't want to take this thread into a different direction Although this is a legit.. question and concern.

In this day and age of thieves hopped up on Met and a whole host of drugs there is NO quarantee an intruder is just going for your train collection!!! You would have to be a fool to think otherwise. At the top of my list is the safety and protection of my family.

Too many stories of thieves breaking in and then doing harm and worse to family and loved ones. Too bad!!! Someone breaks in unannounced I have NO problem defending my turf. You haven't seen the ugly side of humanity until you have seen looters roaming around after a Hurricane or natural disaster. These are not the type to have tea and crackers with. MOST of the time a armed person defending his property is enough to keep the "trash" away. That is part of responsible armed persons!!

Best wishes to all and hope nothing of this nature ever befalls any of you!!

If I was the thief, I would worry about leaving in one piece, let alone with trains.  We have a warm welcome ready for uninvited guests.

Scrapiron

With all the big boxes, and OnStar type services, "your neighbor" could likely use your business too.

 Quality locks taken to the lock smith yourself, normally get you re-keyed on the old lock at a fraction of the cost. Usually two tumbler re-keys, and new keys for them are about the price of one new cheapie. He may even be able to make everything match one key.

I've seen the automatic lock pick machines. About the size of a fat Sawzall. Once set up with the right blank, the thing opened a Mercedes in 30 seconds, then it was used to cut a key if you needed it. It read "key chips" too (before those it was honestly cheaper, and faster in total time, to just break a window, and go to the dealer later, if you managed to lock the keys in a Mercedes with an aftermarket radio alarm pad. Great locks, cool tool.)

quote:

How is  an intrusion not a threat? I invite folks in, not discover them already there

thank you for confirming my impression.

I always feel better when we are in agreement, CW. Honestly.

FrankM

My neighbor, a retired two star general from West Point, is also the Sheriff of Putnam county. My next door neighbor is a nationally certified firearms instructor. My neighbor on the other side is a firearms enthusiast. I have completed several firearms training courses. The Sheriff's position is if someone unauthorized has entered your home and you feel your life is endangered, you may take action to protect yourself. I will leave it to your imagination what would happen.  

All of of that assuming the thief has negotiated a very sophisticated redundant alarm system. Truthfully, I am not worried about the trains in the least. I worry about protecting my wife.

CW,

If you found someone that you didn't know, inside your home at 3:00 am and didn't feel threatened, you would be a FOOL.

Part of proper Gun Safety is identifying your Target(and anything beyond it). It is a very Short list of those that should be inside my home after lights out, every situation is different, so to be able to say how one would react is impossible. If finding an "Uninvited Guest", the mind automatically starts scanning for recognition of anyone known to them. If given the distance to command stop, and get down, I will, pulling the trigger is NOT the PREFERED action, but if that "Guest" lessened the distance any more, that would become a THREAT. All the people on that short list of those who have a reason to be in my home after hours KNOW that we own firearms(many of them OWN Firearms as well), and would not react in a manner to inspire their use.

 I personally HAVE been a victim of ARMED ROBBERY, in that situation, had I been armed I had an opportunity to do something about it. The Robber Foolishly showed his gun in his waistband, then covered it again with his down vest, and ordered me into the office. At that point I could have said let me give you my wallet, and produced a gun instead. Once we were in the office, and the barrel of his revolver was literally up my nose, things were completely different, Yes Sir, No Sir, ANYTHING you want Sir.

3:00am someone unknown to me is in my Home, shooting them is not what I prefer to do, but THEIR OWN BAD CHOICE, put them there, and Protecting my Family is ALWAYS my First concern.

The story about the Montana homeowner, he BAITED and waited for that kid, that is a totally different situation, than unexpectedly finding someone in your home, but I do feel that the sentence was a bit much. If that kid had not entered the garage to take something that he KNEW did NOT belong to him, He would still be Alive, and the homeowner would have wasted his time.

Doug

That's one we can all agree with!

Nobody should answer certain questions outright anymore.

 Statements can be twisted to show premeditations.

If you're on someone's land, you better be searching for them. Loudly. 

If you're in someones home you better be yelling "police warrant", or about something important, nonstop.

 Running might help you remain healthy, so run. Not running would be bad.

Happiness is a machete sized pizza knife, extra large, with a "pressing block handle" on the blades back (adds momentum, & weight). Its like a kitchen sword.

Just because I'm tying not to shoot an eye out doesn't mean I can't...or won't.

A .177 cal pellet in the eye, effectively culls big varmints from the woods with a single shot, and very little mess. Second, and third shots into an unconscious animal is merciful. Failure to kill an animal, you may scare it away, or make it even bolder.

My family's safety is more important than my trains.

You also forget about the military whether or not seen combat action about 75% + are trained for situation to defend what is at hand be it there house or there base most are very well trained 

Just putting two and two together here.

The very nature of a large percentage of posts in these forums is; "Show us your (insert model category here.) And we post our model's pictures here. And I enjoy it myself.

Then we get discussions on who's going to York, or what shows do you attend posts.

Okay, now any potential thief knows what we have, and when we're gone.

Goodness knows how many lurkers and trolls manifest themselves here. Some of which we ridicule and treat badly, and ban.

So how cautious and concerned are we really?

On top of everything else, we get a couple email address and physical street addresses should be mandatory for members posts. Might as well leave the porch light on and the door unlocked.

Just thinking. I try not to do that too much, but still.

A newlywed, eh?

rtraincollector

With all due respect "laying low and calling 911" would most likely not end well. Yes call 911 BUT you better make sure you have the means ready to protect yourself.

Read John Lott the majority of times a good person with a gun was able to thwart a burglery or end a break in without a shot being fired!! Most burglers DO NOT want to be shot and will exit the scene ASAP if you brandish a gun.

On the other hand someone drugged up on all kinds of chemicals is a whole different animal. You take a big risk thinking you can lay low and call 911.

Get educated. John Lott is an excellent source he used to be a professor at University of Chicago.

Also read and listen to radio program like "lock and Load radio" with Bill Frady. He is an expert in the field of self defense and has all kinds of nationally recognized experts on who talk intelligently about this issue.

The days of letting criminals have their way is long gone they now will take your wallet, "stuff" and STILL harm or kill you and your family. We can all read those rare exceptions

but the question will remain do you want to take that risk??

I realize we are not talkin trains but this is real life reality. There are criminals who comb obituary pages just to break in and steal from people grieving.

If you can stop a criminal by just your presence with a firearm and a light attached you WILL have saved not only your own but the intruder's life as well as well.

As they say in Little League baseball, "BE READY"!!

That's key, to me, and I agree. The statement in that article that the homeowner "hunted" the thief ignores a factor, IMunHO. How was it that perp's business what the homeowner had in his garage, no matter how semi-open or wide-open the door? Even if the garage door had been left wide-open and a clear plastic bag full of cash, as opposed to a woman's handbag, had been left in clear view of the entire neighborhood, what business was it of the perps to "relieve" the home of that money? Such a bag or any bag/object should be safe even if left at the edge of the driveway nearest the sidewalk! Any decent neighbor or person, at the very least, would go to the front door and knock to notify the homeowners that something valuable had been left in the driveway. Isn't that normal?! If nobody were home, wouldn't a person who did not have spiritual rigor mortis guard the possession and notify police of the problem?

If I left a table full of raw meat at the front of my open garage, I could correctly expect an animal to enter and take meat. An animal is not expected to respect private property. However, in a civilized society, we place the obligation on every other moral human to respect every other person's property and right to live unmolested. Right? No?

When, where, and how do we stop being victims?

The perps are ever-at-the-waiting and ready to pounce. For example, I saw a video-report on TV in which a young man had collapsed to the sidewalk, and immediately a male pedestrian passing by pounced on him, not to help to see if CPR were needed, but to rifle through the victim's pockets, taking his wallet and phone. They're always watching for their moment to harm and take advantage. Tell me no.

Unfortunately, we now live in a society that BLAMES the VICTIMS,(unless of course they are a Victim of their OWN STUPIDITY) anymore the Criminals have MORE rights than the Victims do.

Doug

There's a lot of bluster and misinformation in this thread on both sides of the use of force to defend your home, and much of it could land you in jail or get you killed.

If you don't like the idea of defending yourself with a firearm, then by all means don't.  But please learn about the legal use of deadly force in your state, and learn the facts about responsible firearms use before you criticize those who think differently.

If you believe in being ready to defend yourself, please learn the law regarding what is legal where you live and get adequate training.  www.handgunlaw.us is an excellent resource for legal information, and it lacks the bias that is often promoted by the NRA and various "experts".

I never said I would lay low and dial 911 by far the opposite and I do know the laws in my state.  you need to reread what I said I never even commented anywhere near that I just cleared that military also have the training thank-you. 

Hey Sorry rtraincollector

I went back and re-read your segment and realiized you were quoting from some one else, thats what happens when my kids are asking for money to go to the movies while I am relaxing at the computer!!

I was trained in the military as well!!

Wow.  This thread started out rather train-related and interesting.  Now its, well . . . weird!