Our is very private and most people don't think  we have one

My opinion is, that is a REALLY bad idea!  Any nut can see that on faceplant, and eventually find where you live, and assume all your trains are EXTREMELY VALUABLE. Guess what happens then.

Hot Water posted:

My opinion is, that is a REALLY bad idea!  Any nut can see that on faceplant, and eventually find where you live, and assume all your trains are EXTREMELY VALUABLE. Guess what happens then.

While I agree with the premise, depending on how public your profile is this could be a non-issue...until a visitor starts posting on their less private page.

I agree though 100%.  I keep my trains under a low profile. 

I would never put that out there in such a public domain as facebook. Now if you wanted to contact your local Boys/Girls Club such as Boy Scout or Cub Scouts or a boy/girls group from a local church and give them an invite, I think that would be great. I have done that in the past, but it's been a few years. But to just throw out an open invite to all on Facebook, I would use extreem caution in that regard. You certainly don't want to invite the wrong element of society and advertise your collection in such a manner in my opinion.

It's to bad society has come to that, but it is a reality.

I agree with Mustang, Hot Water, and MartyE all the way.  Having been a Police Detective for many years, it is never smart to throw out to the public what you have in your home.   If a forum member or friend asks to bring a kid by to see the trains, I will do so instructing them to tell the kids hands off.  I will not let kids run trains.  I know people who have had some bad situations happen by doing so.  Hopefully your layout will inspire a kid to want trains of his/her own.

If you post about your layout at all on forums like this, you're already putting it out there.

But an open invite to pretty much anyone? Nope, I wouldn't do that. You never know who'll show up.

My layout is very private as am I.  I don't even post pictures of it.

Certainly all members of River City 3 Railers are always welcome in my home. Mess and all (much to my wife's chagrin). Beyond that, there are folks that I have personally met through the OGR forum that are also welcome. You know who you are.

I have and will continue to post pictures on this forum of my ongoing construction. As with anything, there are some things that are not asked, or commented on in polite company.

Call me semi-private.

p51 posted:

If you post about your layout at all on forums like this, you're already putting it out there.

But an open invite to pretty much anyone? Nope, I wouldn't do that. You never know who'll show up.

Agree with you P51. As for your suggestions, Mustang and Marty F, you can't be certain what MartyE mentioned that "a visitor starts posting on their less private page." won't happen with even your suggestions and precautions. Like P51 said, "If you post about your layout at all on forums like this, you're already putting it out there, " and even worse if you post pictures of what you have which can be more enticing to thiefs than a discussion of what you have. Further compounding the situation is if you mention here that you're a tca member since TCA publishes members' names, addresses, and sometimes even phone numbers. Never forget that once you post anything on internet, be it Facebook or a forum such as this one, the best you you can hope for is "an illusion of privacy, never REAL PRIVACY!!!

Michael, I think it is a great idea. The NMRA in Atlanta sponsors a fall festival of layouts. The weekends from October through November advertise the open house for people who have layouts from various gauges. My former layout, The Raccoon Creek Scenic Railroad, has been on display for almost a decade. There are others that have been on display much longer. I have never heard of any problems with visitors, nor the possibility of theft after opening up of ones' homes. It is wonderful to see other folks, adults and children alike, admire the trains and the effort that us modelers put in. And it ranges from simple to elite. Here is the site: http://piedmontpilgrimage.com  Also some pictures of previous open houses. Michael, I am really thinking of opening up the house for Christmas for folks to see my current layout.

Rick

Very public - we are open and run trains every Saturday 10-3 and then other times for groups by appointment. 

Because the O Scale Show is in town - we are running Friday night till 9 of or so - Come visit!

Michael Hokkanen posted:

Good or bad idea to put this out there?

Your thoughts?

Michael, it depends on your personal mind set.  My Run Room is my play room that I enjoy sharing.  All ages can play with accessories and the brave ones are welcome to run trains.  In your small town environment you can get the word out via the teachers you know, friends, displays at events, classroom demonstrations, and business cards.

Set up for visitors and be willing to sustain some damage and doing your own repairs is almost a must.  Put your "collectables" out of reach or out of sight. 

Since I'm in a large metro area I've had the pleasure of sharing with national convention tour groups from TCA, LCCA, and LOTS.  For tours friends help by running trains and helping with accessories.  Word of mouth in my neighborhood brings in children and grandchildren with prior arrangement.  On walks in my neighborhood I give Run Room "business" cards to parents and grandparents.  Children under 5 are not a good idea.   Their attention span is just too short.  A classroom of children would Not be welcome. 

Start my Photo Tours to see how my Run Room is set up for visitors.

I consider myself a pretty private person. I've posted photos here on the forum. I've got no issue with that. Just by looking at photos, you'll never know where it is, unless you know me personally.

My username here has no connection to me. I do disagree with OGR requiring full mailing addresses, etc for membership to this forum. Hence, the address and contact info in my profile is entirely made up.

I have accepted a few visitors in the past, mostly close friends. I always enjoy having them stop by to see things and the door is always open for them. I've had some of the neighbors over with small children as well. Overall, it is very, very private and kept that way on purpose.

I have had acquaintances and neighbors, that I frankly don't like, ask to come by. I've always turned those down. I remember one instance where an acquaintance, who I knew pretty well, asked to stop by to see the layout. I said "sure, come on over" thinking nothing of it. Guy comes over mid-morning or so. I thought he'd be here for around an hour and go on his way. 6:30PM rolls around, and he is still down there running trains. Just watching the same trains going 'round and 'round, hardly stopping for a bathroom break. He WOULD. NOT. LEAVE. Eventually I had to "go out to dinner" and visitor was not only visibly annoyed I ended play time but had the cajones to ask when he could come back, after he blew my day, ate my food,  and took full advantage of the services. I guess I could understand if I had some huge layout with high-end trains I've got a couple loops running on an 8x8 with indoor/outdoor carpet. Needless to say, he was not invited back!

I participated in modular club railroading in public venues for 11 years. 2017 is the first year back to "lone wolf" status. I've been getting a heck of a lot more enjoyment from this hobby doing my own thing than I ever did doing modular club set ups.

I'm certainly not a "loner" or mean. I simply like my privacy and don't really want people I don't know very well in my house. I was asked, by several folks, over the past few months about my abrupt departure from the modular club. Sorry for those looking for juicy gossip but nothing "happened" except the fact that I was tired of it and it wasn't fun anymore combined with a desire to do something else with my life/time. I'm not getting out of the hobby but just want to enjoy my trains on my own, privately. Simple as that.

Also of note - I've met, locally and via the forum, a TON of GREAT guys. Some I've never met personally but I've talked with via phone/email many times, many well known guys on this forum. I wouldn't trade that for nothin'!

Ranger Rick posted:

Michael, I think it is a great idea. The NMRA in Atlanta sponsors a fall festival of layouts. The weekends from October through November advertise the open house for people who have layouts from various gauges. My former layout, The Raccoon Creek Scenic Railroad, has been on display for almost a decade. There are others that have been on display much longer. I have never heard of any problems with visitors, nor the possibility of theft after opening up of ones' homes. It is wonderful to see other folks, adults and children alike, admire the trains and the effort that us modelers put in. And it ranges from simple to elite. Here is the site: http://piedmontpilgrimage.com  Also some pictures of previous open houses. Michael, I am really thinking of opening up the house for Christmas for folks to see my current layout.

 Rick

Just be aware though that things could and sometimes have occured at such "open house" events.  If you're a doubter, talk to Harry Hennings about his experience of a few years ago.

I not saying not to do it out of paranoia but if you do host an open house then take all possible precautions as there's always a first time for an unfortunate incident to occur.

Maybe it is where one lives. I do not know. But if the Atlanta NMRA had had any real problems, I am sure that this wonderful event would have died long ago. I am sorry that so many have to live in fear. There are many terrific modelers that participate in this. Many members of the North Atlanta O-Gauge Railroad Club have their outstanding layouts on display. Some have been featured on the front cover of OGR Magazine. Eric Siegel is also a member who displays. I will continue to do so.

I'd like mine to be more public than it is, because I enjoy sharing it with people. There has always been an open invitation to forum members, and some have taken me up on that. There would probably be a lot more if I lived 700 miles east of here.

I do hand out business cards to people I meet, but they don't have my address on them, just phone and email, and visitors welcome by appointment. No Facebook or any other social media.

I don't worry about theft. I don't have a lot of expensive single pieces, and nobody could carry enough off to make it worth their while in a short period of time. When I had my trains set up at Mall of America, we had over 100,000 people through in a year. When I closed, there was only one piece I couldn't account for. Seems a lot of you guys worry about your trains too much.

I wanted to be able to share my layout online and in the pages of publications, and there are times I wonder if that was a smart move.

My wife is a very private person (so naturally, she marries a historical re-enactor who also does cartoons, writing and consulting for publications and books on the side) and while she's okay with me inviting people I know for op sessions (my layout only can take 3 people max for that), she wasn't too keen when I mentioned a layout tour in the region. It turned out to be moot this year as it was the same day as my Father-in-Law's 70th birthday, but her folks moved to another state recently and that won't be an issue in the future.

In short; I'm okay with people I know coming by but open the layout to anyone? I'm still kind of "ehhhhhh," about that.

There are a few people I've communicated with on this forum who live somewhat near me and they're welcome to come down if they want. But just any random person? Hmm.

I deal with a different set of concerns than many of you here would. I'm not a collector and if someone snatched something off my layout, they'd be hard-pressed to sell it. All my stuff is On30, weathered and lettered for a pretty uncommon RR to model on the west coast.

I'm not a collector like many of you and don't have the expensive 3-rail stuff that could easily change hands and never been seen again.

Not a good idea (and I say that not only because I feel that "social media" has to be the worst invention of the last 2000 years, but just out of common sense).

I believe it was at the PRRT&HS convention there was a list of layouts open for public tour.

I remember the first line of one of the tours listed was something to the effect "premises protected by security system and security cameras".

Sad to say this is necessary but it needs to be first and foremost in someone's mind.

Michael, I think directly and individually inviting those on Facebook whom you know using Messenger would be a great and generous idea. i did something similar a few years ago - less because I wanted to show off the layout and more because I wanted to connect to some neighbors and their kids. I individually reached out to and separately scheduled their visits - I offered refreshments, created things for the kids to play with at the edge of the layout - in addition to driving the trains. I placed everything within arms reach that they could play with and moved things back that were more delicate. Of course, my layout was more toy-train-y anyway. It went well!

Back in the 70's when I built my first big layout I invited our local TTOS group over many times. I was proud of the layout. Then I invited local kids and neighbors in to see the layout.  A few were really interested but most asked things like "do you wear an engineer hat when you run your trains?" "Do you have one of those wooden whistles you blow?" Some of the kids wanted to see the trains crash and thought I should run them faster. I stopped inviting non train people over. Now three layouts later, very few people have seen any of the layouts. Most people never knew I had a one. Only one person in our area now has seen the work I'm doing on my new layout and I was sure he would like it. In fact he has helped me with some electrical things. Some forum members visiting have seen it but that's all. I feel there is no reason to show my layout. Little hands can grab things, it happened to me once with a scale steam engines and luckily I got it before he pulled it down. People can't understand why I would spend so much time building something like that or why would you waist so much room with a train set. There just is no return and I feel my layout is a very personal thing. It's my little world that I enjoy. I don't have time to try and explain why I like trains. So to answer your question, no I don't let people in to see my layout. Don

I post pics of mine on Facebook all the time. Certainly I have concerns about creeps, but not enough that I am going to hide from them. Besides, my sons have had dozens of teenage boys through my house, so word of my layout and toy collection has probably spread pretty far by now. 

 As for inviting people on Facebook, you can specify who you want to see it, or even private message a whole group of them. That way it won't go beyond your intended audience.

The few clubs I belong to I state that my layouts are open to visitors from the clubs and forum members here. Open up for visitors or not when you have posted pics of your layout on places like face book, the forum and all the rest of websites you have made yourself open to all people to know what you have................Paul

Sorry to say that if you open your home to strangers you may also have to deal with petty theft.

scale rail posted:

A few were really interested but most asked things like "do you wear an engineer hat when you run your trains?" "Do you have one of those wooden whistles you blow?" Some of the kids wanted to see the trains crash and thought I should run them faster. I stopped inviting non train people over.

My layout is not in a loop, so the "Indy 500 with flanged wheels" concept would never work even if I wanted to. Most people can't grasp the bragging point of how slow a loco can go, not how fast.

I do have a classic striped engineer hat. I even have a patch for the RR I model sewn to the front. But other than trying it on, I've never worn it. I'm not 100% sure now why I even bought the thing, now that I think on it.

I feel there is no reason to show my layout. Little hands can grab things, it happened to me once with a scale steam engines and luckily I got it before he pulled it down.

My primary hobby for most of my life has been historical re-enacting and living history. I can't count the number of time people would move my 'don't touch' signs so they could pick up what's adjacent to it. Some people can't grasp the idea of mitts off. I have a lot of scratch built stuff on the layout and while things are secured well (I built it like it was a moveable module), it's all very breakable. Any kids who've seen the layout are carefully told to keep their hands off and usually they have their parents, who usually keep an eye on them. Really little kids would have problems reaching up anyway, as the track level is around 49"

People can't understand why I would spend so much time building something like that or why would you waist so much room with a train set. There just is no return and I feel my layout is a very personal thing. It's my little world that I enjoy.

Hardly anyone can understand what my layout means to me, even within the hobby. My family gets it, as it's a representation of where my parents grew up, in an alternate world where my favorite RR had a branch line there that never existed in real life. Outside of my immediate family, I don't think anyone would get it.

I don't have time to try and explain why I like trains.

Oh, a giant AMEN on that. Why do people need reasons to be into non-mainstream stuff? I can't count the number of times I got asked that as I grew up in historical re-enacting. The funny thing is once I'd served in the Army, only then did people understand that, even though I joined the military because of the hobby, not the other way around.

And as for trains? I never worked for a railroad. People can't seem to get a connection. I've responded that most sport fans never played sports since they were a kid, so what's the connection there? Nobody ever gets it, though.

No.  Not at all.  Zero, zilch, zippo.

mwb posted:

No.  Not at all.  Zero, zilch, zippo.

My sentiments exactly! Some years back, we had the up-stairs layout on the "layout tours" as part of the annual O Scale March Meet in the Chicago area. The "visitors" had to have been paid & registered attendees of the March Meet, to even obtain the list of layout tours. My wife put out signs near our house, that ONLY stated "MARCH MEET", for those visitors looking for our house. That worked extremely well, as only the "knowledge" from the meet knew what THAT meant, and a number of folks commented how helpful those signs were.

I never had a problem inviting friends, train guys and the like. 

But one time I had a family BBQ and had everybody down to see the trains from children to adults and for the most part it went well.

But two teenage boys thought it would be cool to steal some items later in the day. I found out about it and confronted the two boys who admitted they took the items. I then talked to their parents who told the boys to give what they took back.

The boys refused and then their parents did not want to push it any further. I told them all to leave and never appear at my door again. 

I wanted to call the police but I was talked out of it, after all they were just toys.

Last BBQ I had for the family. 

Btw they were 3 scale Lionel cars. 

I don't have a layout. At the San Diego 3-Railers we invite people back behind the scenes.  I don't unless they are from another train club or they contact me ahead of time like a family friend. About a year and a half ago, Another member invited some people who he just met in to the layout I was in the back trying to add an MTH engine in on DCS when one of the adult visitors, yes an adult! Flipped a toggle switch and started up my engine sitting on the track caused by the watchdog signal. I shut it off and said to the lady don't touch anything. An adult should know these are other adults toys and people don't like their toys messed with. After that I talked to the other member who invited him in. I was not happy he wasn't with the visitors and said that I'm not responsible for them. He got mad and chewed me out because I told a guest not to flip a switch, really? So it's only people that contact such as visitors from another club and my train buddies on Instagram.

david1 posted:

two teenage boys thought it would be cool to steal some items later in the day. I found out about it and confronted the two boys who admitted they took the items. I then talked to their parents who told the boys to give what they took back.

The boys refused and then their parents did not want to push it any further. I told them all to leave and never appear at my door again. 

I wanted to call the police but I was talked out of it, after all they were just toys.

WTF???

Let's see if I get this right:

• Punk kids steal stuff
• You corner them, they own up and then refuse to give the stuff back
• And then, the parents didn't want to make them do the right thing?

Seriously, the kids and parents actually looked you in the eye with that and their collective argument was it's only toys?

The only way I could have been talked out of that would be by gunpoint.

How you didn't lose your mind staggers my imagination. I'd have alienated the entire family forever, right then and there. Any family member who'd back this insanity, I could do without. I'd have thrown them out the front door, one at a time.

You have the tolerance of a saint, which is all can say as I'm simply dumbfounded by this.

 I always wondered if Harry's "special idiot" still lurks here. The individual is very lucky the man kept to his word.

  I'm sure you've likely posted your things online before on FB? Then many folks already know...will this increase risks? Sure some. I'd skip the home address or phone on FB and start a throw away email for more privacy and info exchanges if you're going "full public". I opened and closed my account in about two weeks many years ago; "Not my thing."

   I've done about 300 Craigslist deals at home. And met two idiots. I used calm pressure and sarcasm and watched one's buddy smack him upside the head after I got paid. He kinda made the punk pay  "What a pal".

   The other joker bought tons without haggle, but pocketed a cheap lure? I really didn't care, lol.......Some folks just have issues. I knew a klepto, basically good, she focused it to folks cigarette lighters, strickly bics when she grew up. Big boot boxes full. She gives them away too. I figured it out when I recognized about 10 or 15 of my own from my teens. She owned up to it being an issue. Really strange and unexpected to find out. I'm more proud she works at it than disappointed.

   If you are going to entertain outsiders, try to start by including freinds of your freinds accompanied by them, so at least know something about someone. The rules are simple...Don't leave temptations anywhere. Put the bathroom medicine in the bedroom, and hide the jewely, but leave a few sacrifices out, and shut doors and count bodies. (Entertaining in multilevel homes is easier imo)

   Anyhow, You're "in a small town". You know the intamacy of it better than us.  You know "Your" kids and a little something about what to expect from them at least. Small group under ? 10?, call first/appointments only, "bring your own soda"? or "no food and/or drink"?,  DON'T TOUCH, because you can always allow it later on an individual bases.

If you still feel comfortable THEN think about more people.

   Make it "special". "Not everyone gets this privilage child". Gramps would say stuff to every kid depending on how they acted...."Don't break my toys or I'll come over to your house and  break yours". Not mean, but spoken as a peer stating a fact and expressing that he wouldn't be any happier they they would be with broken "toys". "Lets see....if I break your Playstation and your bike we will be even"  ...  Provoke thought for respect of ownership. "A real accident would just make me sad" cures most panicked faces

  Entertaining was how Gramps layout evolved. It was planned for 3rs, gradually settled into highrail, and quickly crept closer to Post War with every new operating accessory he landed. Eventually there were #90s everywhere alond the edges, but switched at the controls. It was loads of fun. Club meets were held here too. That's when we had our eyes peeled to tell the truth. Commonly visitors won't know a 2026 from a 700e or an MPC Tuscan/Brunswick GG1 from that cruddy looking Blackjack.

 Hiding builds ghetto, not a villiage...."Dont park the Caddie in the drive and use crappy curtains facing the window, nice ones faced inside, all so your not a target." All over the place here too, but hiding isn't the answer imo. "Home protection" and insurance is, teeth, steel, and your agents phone number. About 300lbs of teeth here, I never weighed the steel and the number of the agency my uncle was president of has never changed.  

  I entertained six surprise group visits after bar closings the last year or so. I don't get out much and really enjoyed the "intrusions" to be honest. 

  All that said. I was told by an officer the percentage of home break-ins where the theif knows the victims personally is about 80%. 

Let's see I have had three conventions see my RR, church groups, local RR clubs, forum members, the local press did a feature on me my wife's school faculty members and individuals who love trains. The one convention we had 183 people come on three buses in one day,see the rr, we fed them 50lbs of Italian pastries,coffee etc. Folks on the RR Facebook groups are aware of my efforts, soooo I guess Iam public and share my hobby! 

Lee,

it happened just as I described and yes I was very upset to think somebody in my family would do such a thing.

A family member who was a lawyer that attended my BBQ did advise me not to call the police citing that beings the two were minors and the amount was only $125.00 at the time it would not be worth my time. 

I have never seen them since which is ok with me. Lesson learned. 

Dave

Don, I do hurt for those that have a community that they feel that they need to be so isolated. I am sure that it has given you great pride that folks have appreciated your efforts. I think the first time we did the Piedmont Pilgrimage we had 156 visitors on that day, most who I did not know. Nothing broken, nothing stolen...only smiles and awes. We fed them home made chicken vegetable soup, cookies, chips, pretzels, etc. It was fantastic, and has been each year since. Maybe I am foolish, but I do not want my work to be seen only by me. The little vignettes on the layout are meant to bring back memories....kids flying kites, a lemonade stand, outhouses, small country church, etc. On the day of the open house I have a sheet of paper that lists, "Can You Find" and there is a checklist to see how many dogs and cats can they find on the layout, a fox?, a wolf, raccoons, skunk, possum etc. 

We often talk about getting youth interested in our hobby. I believe that is one of the last bastions to do so. If no one sees what can be done with imagination, few will ever venture into the hobby. It will be dead. 

Am I worried about someone breaking into the house to steal my trains? I am probably really naive about this, but I do not think any thief would give a rat's you know what about the trains. Sure, they cost a great deal out of our pocket, but there are very few outside the hobby that cares about this stuff. And that is exactly what it is... stuff. Thieves want a quick turn around.  There is no black market sales for my trains. They just aren't interested. So, if I get everything completed that I want...once the shoulder heals....I am going to have an open house one weekend at Christmas time.

Rick

I have opened up my layout for three national conventions with three and four buses for the visits and it worked out well as I am in a very rural area on a private road.I have had the local train club come for a layout tour a couple of times and that worked out ok.I have a small group of train friends and we rotate houses for lunch and running trains and that is the most fun because these people have a common interest as our layouts are a decent size.

Mikey

Our model train layout is part of our home. Our home is where we invite family and friends to share life with us. Sometimes, those invitations include seeing the train layout. We do not accept anybody inviting themselves to the house to see the trains. Period.

My layout is open to visitors at almost any time as long as arrangements are made in advance since my wife had to be out of the public with her cancer treatments at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. 

We have had layout tours for TTOS and NMRA with no issues. We like having guests and frankly nothing I have is that special or irreplaceable. Our guests have been mostly adults and we do let people know that little ones under 5 are probably not going to enjoy the layout but then tell them about the kids corner we have at our monthly meets. 

Our home has been burglarized twice and I am sure ever with bars, cameras, and a full security system if someone wants something they will take it. 

I prefer to be open and have my friends over to have fun rather that worry about the "what ifs?" and people doing bad things. Besides I have caused more damage on my own on accident that anyone could likely do on purpose. I like the feeling of sharing and answering questions on what I have built. This hobby is like any other where some will socialize and others prefer to be alone to enjoy the quiet time. I would say the hobby can handle both easily.

Moonson posted:

We do not accept anybody inviting themselves to the house to see the trains. Period.

Makes sense to me.

I had someone at work declare he was coming over to see my layout, as he'd heard its just been in a magazine.

I never liked the guy much and he wasn't on my team. He just wanted to say he'd seen it because he thought that having anything in a magazine makes you famous. I'm been published plenty of times in various piblications over the years.

I told him to stick it.

How times have changed. Back in the seventies, Every year before Thanksgiving, I would have our local newspaper print a advertisement stating our layout would be open to the public during the holiday season. Please, call before you come. Everyone is welcome. We did it for years. People still tell me today, how they brought their families. A lot of them are surprised, when I tell them, today, I no longer own a train.