Does your family understand your collection? What should they know?

Not much unfortunately. Mine always just said she would have a yard sale, $5 each. I honestly would not be surprised. Her veiw is more so she could not care less what the sum total could be worth to others, her only goal is to have it gone. 

I realize this may sound harsh, but I suspect I am not the only one with a wife that would have this veiw point.  She has her view, I don’t agree with it, but it is there.

My thought process has always been to consider any of the kids interest in dividing it up if I have that opportunity.

Everything is inventoried in an excel spreadsheet. I told my wife to send that file to various auction houses and online sellers and take the best offer she can get for everything in one shot.

A few pieces that my dad gave me are marked specially to be handed down to my kids if they want them. Otherwise, they go too.

 My family knows pretty much nothing about my stuff. I have sold at some toy shows and a train show, and my always helps me set up and watch the tables, but she rarely gets involved with the selling. My kids pay no attention to it. 

 None of my stuff is super valuable, but certainly some items are more valuable than others. Maybe I should just compile a list of those few, but I am not doing an inventory of everything.

I'm thinking about using a toy train collectors estimate. Family to have chose to sell or disperse. But the worth list, yours and estimated value should be called upon in your decision  

I doubt that my toy trains will be high on my wife's list of priorities when I die. 

Given the decrease in O gauge hobbyists and O gauge resale prices, I wonder if it is really worth worrying about that much.

My son is aware of what I have. He is competent to handle it after I am gone.

Mark

aussteve posted:

Given the decrease in O gauge hobbyists and O gauge resale prices, I wonder if it is really worth worrying about that much.

I guess my line of thinking is that every bit counts considering how much of our money I've spent over the years. If something happened to me I'd want to know that what ever my family chooses to do they know enough to know what makes the most sense. I guess that's kind of my starting point for wanting to know what others have shared with their family. 

I don't even know what I have is worth.

There are dealers that would be fair, understanding of course they deserve a good profit. Find one that will buy it all. Whatever you get is fine, after all it is a hobby.

We have a will with instructions for everything we own. Part of that is a Google Sheets inventory of train stuff. 

This year we’re doing a living will. When do you pull the plug etc. A lot of my answers will depend on where the Cubs are in the standings. If another World Series is possible hook me up and turn on the radio for Cubs games. Once Bryant retires or leaves then adios. 

Honestly, I think my wife would like nothing better than to dump the trains on top of my coffin to fill in the hole. And then spit on them for good measure .

But she knows better and would call in experts to evaluate the collection and liquidate them properly. She is very shrewd and not to be trifled with when it comes to $$.

My sweetheart's plan is to go first so she doesn't have to deal with the basement.

As a more practical answer, I have an inventory with values, but she has seen what's happened to the train market for the past several years.  IMO, a much more realistic approach is to have the financial side squared away so that the trains can be dealt with at leisure, and their value won't make or break the financial situation.  (If the "post-you" finances are dependent upon the value of the trains, it's time for a serious reassessment.)

And medical directives and POA are a must.

At the end of the day my trains are just toys and were never considered as an investment..  If I go first she's knowledgeable to know how to deal with them - everything into the dumpster. 

What they know is what I recently told them: just bury me in the dirt and grit under the train tables in the basement! LOL

My family understands....that I have lost my mind and have become a mad scientist. They also know that they have to deliver food and alcohol to the basement train room. Nick

Can not get the Grandkids to watch the trains run. Never!!

Told my wife that I loved all my trains and when I die, give them away, not to a collector but a church member with small children who may have an interest, does not have to be a church member , just someone with a child/ children who may have an interest.

Brent

 I have contacted five men who may be interested in five unique passenger cars. The executor's instruction are to offer those five cars to the named hobbyists who after seeing the cars  should pay what they think is a fair price.  Everything else will be handled by Stout Auctions.  All boxes are under the layout, some have notes in them.  After the items are liquidated, the proceeds go to the Shriner's Children Hospital in Chicago. 

A corollary is what would you do with items related to your wife's hobby?

John in Lansing, ILL.

My older son has already said that all he wants is this house. While he likely won't run it, he doesn't want my layout to be "destroyed". As for the trains, they know that I want my N&W steamers to and brass cabooses to stay.

Gilly

Derek LOL! U met my son & he knows a place about 20 miles from my home, told him keep what U want & the rest can go here (LINK)

http://www.stoutauctions.com/

Dave Warburton posted:

Honestly, I think my wife would like nothing better than to dump the trains on top of my coffin to fill in the hole. And then spit on them for good measure .

Wow! another unhappy camper.

When a friend passed the widow as described above, called for a dumpster.   I intervened and got her $63,000. 

Just imagine, she was ready to fill a dumpster with Sunset boxes and brass cars!!

Of course she was the type of person who is filled with anger over anything.   I did it for my friend because I knew that is what he would have wanted.  Not too sure I would have done it just for her.

This is always a difficult topic with many aspects to it. First of all, let me say that I am glad you are on the mend after your accident. My wife does like to play trains too. On Christmas day we went down to the basement and played with the MTH bump and go trolley that I just setup on a point to point trolley line. When some more of the track work is complete, she wants to build a little park for the people to have a place to take the trolley to. She bought some Bachman people and park benches for Christmas. She does know the difference between an “o train” and “standard gauge train”, as she calls it. Beyond that she isn’t well versed in what’ is rare or collectible and what is common fodder. I honestly can’t say what will happen when I become worm feed. I don’t worry about her needing the monetary value, she has exponentially more money than most of us combined. What I do worry about is that the few rare and historic pieces in the collection do find their way to a new home and not to the dumpster. I am particularly concerned with some of the early American standard gauge and early European 1- and 111-gauge stuff. I would like to see those preserved for future generations. Again, this is not a monetary concern but a historic concern. Maybe my wife would donate it all to one of the local train clubs. That would be nice but I wouldn’t count on it. I assume she merely believes they are just a bunch of old junkie toys like the rest of the world does.

Nobody in the family knows anything about railroads, trains, model trains and/or "toy trains". Thus, after much deliberation, along with getting too old to work on the stuff anymore, I contracted with Derek's company (Stout Auctions) to sell EVERYTHING, and remove the layout. Not really all that tough of a decision, which now removes the future burden from those I eventually will leave behind. 

Nobody knows anything in my family about my collection of 0 or G trains other than its large.

I have a much younger  friend that knows more about trains than I ever will.

My wife and I have asked him to do whatever ever he thinks best if I go first.

If she is first, then I don’t care.

Larry

The only thing my family knows is that I spent all of their inheritance on my trains!

Donald

 The trains are listed and photographed.  On the list are the names of the top toy train auction houses.  For me, this assembly of toy trains is a source of a lot of pleasure and has been a lot of fun assembling.  After I'm gone it will just be a bunch of stuff cluttering up the house.  My wife knows this, knows where the pictures/list is, and knows I have no problem with her selling the trains for what she can get for them and using the money for something else.

I'm too young to worry about this, but I still do. I should just take solace in the fact that I will have my trains for a long, long time, and I have plenty of time to think about what to do.

One thing is for sure though, my Grandpa's train will have to go to my future sons/grandsons or nephews. It is somewhat of an heirloom.

Having just returned to the hobby I do not have a massive collection or a big layout (yet). If I cash it in my family will keep what they want and ebay the rest through a friend that sells there. They will do the same with my guitars and amps.

My neighbor died  6 months back on the front lawn (heart attack)   A month later his wife had crews over clearing out all his treasures.  Certainly not real treasures, but we as neighbors were shocked at how much stuff came out of that house, garage and back yard.   She loved her husband, but it was clear his treasure pile was a problem.

Catalog it, Write some instructions and hope for the best, but in the  long run if your wife is happy with how she handled parting with your train empire after you are gone, that is all that matters.  You'll be dead with no say in the matter and will no longer be able to say " Get off my lawn"