Inventory--- what a drag!!

At least you've started your inventory.  For me it's become a thorn in my side.  My wife keeps telling me "if anything ever happens to you I'd have no idea where to start with your trains".  She's right as always.  Non of our kids or grand kids have any interest in them.  Maybe I'll make it my "ONLY" New Year Resolution.  Oh wait ....that was last year's resolution.

I agree guys. Nothing worse than not having any idea what you may have purchased for your collection over a lifetime.

If anything, if you have a substantial collection, it may help others liquidate. 

For me, I started over 25 years ago using a simple spreadsheet that has been enhanced over the years. I record the item number, road name and number and year of manufacture. I do add the price but only as a guide as we know a toy train is not a good investment for the future.

I always take a few minutes and add any new purchases to the list as soon as I get home. My wife also enjoys the hobby so I never have to worry about "sneaking in" with an orange and blue box under my arm.

Donald

I feel your pain.  I've been pretty good over the years about entering each item in a spreadsheet as I go (though I did find things I had forgotten to enter during the process I describe below), but as a collector with some things in boxes for storage, it became evident a few years ago I hadn't done a good job of indicating the "where" most items were.

I started trying to create a system for this shortcoming.  As I went through things, I labeled boxes with codes based on where they were stored and an assigned alphanumeric combination for the box and then added that to my spreadsheet.

That in itself was/is a big task.  I can't imagine starting from nothing at all!  (I also can't imagine the additional time involved for doing the pictures of each thing, including graphics for road names, etc... but whatever works for you is what is best for you!)

-Dave

Everyone should have a inventory with pictures. The main reason , for insurance.

inventory program to the left; MTH product locator on the right so I can cut and paste in everything that MTH has about the engine in the program, photos, catalog location, etc.

Jim, Good point about the pictures.  We had a water leak that damaged a Mike's operating Sinclair gasoline station and an RK Northern along with a few non-electronic items.  I gave my insurance company the factory numbers and prices I paid.  I recommended listing the two mentioned on the OGR For Sale Forum describing the damage as best I could.  They sold within a day.  I shared the SOLD price with my insurance company and they sent me a check for the balance up to a depreciated amount.   John in Lansing, ILL

We started "in the beginning" using a WORD list, then graduated to Acesss .. finally converting to EXCEL.   The only downside is finding out how many pieces one really does have stashed under the tables, in closets, etc.  WAY TOO MANY, as the wife points out with glee.  But she's hooked on them now too, so all is well.  Except the treaty clearly states no more purchases .... for a while.

never kept inventory when in HO.  after loosing what I had in a divorce when I got back into O, I keep track of everything on an excel program.

I know this has been discussed before but it would be fantastic if there was a bar code based inventory program with a database for O scale so that users only needed to scan the barcode on the box for items in their collections. Perhaps even a user based inventory that could grow as the program's users entered barcoded items that were without prior descriptions.

After bring things home from a show that already started inventories of all aspects of my toy train world on Excel.

PRRronbh posted:

After bring things home from a show that already started inventories of all aspects of my toy train world on Excel.

I do the same thing.

-Greg 

Wow this thread sure takes the fun out of model trains  

I always wrote a description, the number, and what I paid. No intention of ever trying to put it on a computer.

I started buying in 1983 and went way overboard with it for years.

I added it up awhile ago, due to a lot of selling and not neat records it is not real accurate but I could buy a new Accord with what I have spent.

Mines on an excel spreadsheet. I keep it on a flash drive with info on the other hobbies so if anything happens to me my family has some idea...

I have started my inventory, at least 3 times. I get about 1/2 way and then it gets to the hard part. The stuff that's is packed away and needs pulling out. That's where it ends lol. 

Pretty sure Yard Office was one I tried a few years ago and I thought it was a pretty good program. Was one of my more favorite ones and I tried all I could find. I ended up with Filemaker database that I hacked from one of their included samples. It works pretty good, but I kind of over complicated it a bit. It needs some slimming down.

I finally have everything entered into it, but I need to take some more pictures of some items. I am now doing as others said above and entering anything new either when ordered or when received. I have a data field for pre-orders and such, 'ordered/have/want etc.' and I change it's status when something is received.

I end up picking up cars to log them, and running them instead 

"Inventories" stopped getting finished at about 100 pieces  

Plain old counting stopped at 180  

clem k posted:

Wow this thread sure takes the fun out of model trains  

why do you say that?

I have fun putting them into a program.

just like posting here.

and

I have a lot of fun letting the wife know she already got a car when I input one already there.

fun is what you make of life.

I started an Excel spreadsheet in the late 90s when I realized writing it down on a legal pad in longhand would NOT work..  It has grown by leap and bounds, as they say.  Now, when I acquire something new, it is photographed, it's details are entered into the Excel spreadsheet and total piece count, approx. value are updated.  The pics taken are listed on two separate files.  The first is a file of pics on computer per a numbering system according to order of acquisition and that number is entered onto the Excel spreadsheet for each item.  A second file for pics has items in order of manufacturer with numerical order of individual item number, Lionel is divided into Prewar, Post War and Modern.  All this is constantly updated as needed and stored in laptop as well as a dedicated thumb drive and new cd copy made every so often, as needed, also.  CD is kept in locked safe with all other important papers, etc.

Works for me, and the effort I put into it is a good peace of mind.

Jesse   TCA   12-68275

And, what a game tonight in this World Series!

My wife and I keep ours on Excel spreadsheets--one for each manufacturer. It's not fancy but it works. We try and make updating it fun after a train meet or other purchase situation and input the item(s) together, enjoying examining the item together. I think it helps keep her interested in the hobby, too, always a good thing. We keep an up-do-date copy on two different flash drives (they go bad with no warning sometimes... ugghhhh!).

Chris

Welll....  For me the pain is not in keeping the inventory.  Everytime I buy something(s) I enter the item(s) into the Excel inventory.

Or so I thought....

The REAL pain is believing you're consistent in keeping the records up-to-date, only to make a substantial purchase and find that...

(drum roll, please.)

...you already have it!  

Worse yet.....that I paid more for it the second time than I did the first time!

Yepper....Old Phartitus, I call it.

KD

I keep my entire household inventory on Attic Manager.  It is not the greatest out there, but it was the only one that would import my Quicken Home Inventory database which also had all my trains. Had to do this since my older QHI program is no longer maintained by the manufacturer and does not load on newer windows computers.  I did not want to reload nearly 700 items by typing it in.

I also keep most of the cars I use on an operational layout, all my red/white/blue items, and all my engines in an Excel spreadsheet that I keep on my kind of smart phone.  I reference my phone at shows to make sure I don't duplicate anything.

Before personal computers and Excel existed, at least in my world, I used a typewriter to put the pertinent details of each item of Amercan Flyer S gauge I owned on a page in a small pocket sized, loose leaf binder type of notebook.  My idea was that if I later aquired another such item, or another car of the same type, I could file the info in the notebook where it belonged.  I kept this up for several years, which wasn't too difficult because my purchases of AF train items were pretty few and far between on my lowly bank accountant's salary.  

In the mid-1970s I had the opportunity to purchase one collection of AF S gauge trains that, alone, would triple my collection, and I was allowed to pay it off at $50 a month.  At about that time, I also aquired a couple of American Flyer Pocket Checklists put out by Ladd Publications.  One list was in numerical order and the other was by item type, and they included some of the basic variations such as color, coupler type, etc.  I started using a pencil to mark down in each  booklet which ones I had of each type and variation.  I would write in the number if I had more than one of an item.

I transferred this information to a new Greenburg price guide after they became available.  Every few years, I would buy a new guide and transfer my notes from the previous well worn copy.  I would keep a copy in my safe deposit box, which wasn't too difficult because by that time my desk was just a short walk across the main floor of the bank from the main vault.

I became fairly proficient in Excel at work, and I have always intended to move my inventory to that platform.  I have been retired for 10 years now, and although my AF collection has doubled since then, not to mention additional items by MTH, American Models, S Helper, Lionel and Marx, I have yet to do so.  I have inventoried my extensive library of railroad and toy train books on Excel, though, so I may yet tackle this project, especially since it has been a good long time since I updated my collection in a price guide.

One key piece of information on any such inventory for me will be "location" since my collection is spread out among seven different locations between two homes.

I better get to it before "The Big One" hits here in Oregon.

Cheers!

Alan

clem k posted:

Wow this thread sure takes the fun out of model trains  

You can say that AGAIN!!!!!!!

Like KD, I keep all my items (collection) on Excel spreadsheet and all the time update it, sometimes just for "kicks"... or so.......

It pretty much goes well, most of the time.  Until... like last night..... I am again going through the items and now doing so to add in information of location in train room ( tub, box, on wall shelves, which wall of shelving, display case, etc. ).  Well, since I did acquire items from local antique stores, flea markets, etc. when working out of state, thought it was pretty much in inventory... LOL!!!!   Just in adding the items on the West wall of the train room, I found 4 items not in either of my inventory files.  And, have other items located in past week I am in need of photographing and put into files.  So, the story goes around and around and you then ask yourself "do I really need that? "   And, naturally, the answer is always the same.. "Yes... I have that hole in the collection to fill... the correct engine to pull that consist..... hey, it was tooo good a buy to pass it up.....etc.

Jesse     TCA   12-68275

But, I have to say, with it all in an inventory, it gives you a reason (as if we needed one) to run all your engines and maintain then as you check them off on your inventory list and maintenance records.   But, that is a different and another subject to take up elsewhere, and Elliot has set a good example.

Jesse    TCA   12-68275

Keep in mind the "20-80" rule.  Approximately 20-25% of your inventory units represent 70-80% of your total value. So if you're exhausted thinking about generating a total inventory, just pick out the really valuable stuff.

I've been using a simple Excel program for years.  My inventory is covered by a homeowner's umbrella policy at a much lower cost than specialized insurance being sold to toy train collectors.

I send the insurance company  an updated inventory every year. I also periodically produce a Shutterfly book showing my rarest and most valuable items.

lewrail

Keep any inventory on a SD card you can lock in a fire proof box or up load to a cloud. Be careful with too many insurance claims too. If for any reason you ever want to change insurance companies, a new company will not accept you once you hit 3 claims with your present company. This has happened to me so now I'm stuck with a company I'm not happy with. They changed the method on how they pay out. Now they want the home owner to pay for the repairs out of pocket, then they'll reimburse you when you turn in the receipt. What if I want to do the work myself?  No more getting a check on estimates. 

Everything I have is photographed and stored on a cloud.

Every box has a dated note in it with price & shipping I paid.

Inventory, ah, they can match the box to the item when I'm gone should they decide to sell it.  

Gotta protect that investment!

ogaugeguy posted:

I know this has been discussed before but it would be fantastic if there was a bar code based inventory program with a database for O scale so that users only needed to scan the barcode on the box for items in their collections. Perhaps even a user based inventory that could grow as the program's users entered barcoded items that were without prior descriptions.

ogaugeguy- There are programs out there that are used in the Facilities Management field that will do just what you are looking for. They use a barcode generated by the program (not sure if the factory barcode would work), and any IOS/ Android device camera to scan the code. The data base will bring up all of the maintenance history for that piece of equipment that has been added to the system. You can also upload O/M manuals, etc. You can even set maintenance intervals and the program will send email alerts. They are not cheap (at least the one's if researched) but might be worth the investment for some of the larger collections out there.

A quick Google search found this

https://www.google.com/search?...7i30k1.0.2eTCmQJfPUQ

Good advice here everyone. Better get going on mine...right after I remember where I hid everything from the CEO!

Bob

 Trains are worth little today and will be worth even less tomorrow. Most guys that I know (and Ill include myself) run maybe 10-20% of their collection, some continue to buy new to replace the old. My question is: how is taking inventory going to benefit you?  

I know this thread started about inventory, but I am going to chime in on backing up that data.

I've been in IT for the better part of 30 years.  I've said on many occasions, "It's not the backup that counts, it's the restore that counts".  Disaster plans include backups, but a backup by itself is not a disaster plan.  The only safe way to protect your data is to have it off-site.  Today's cloud storage makes that simple but if you prefer not to have your data in a cloud provider, a backup DVD or something could be stored at a friends house.  

If you are using some sort of specialized software like Yard Office, you should have backups of that as well (including text files with serial number info).  

Dave Z mentioned a fire proof box.  IMHO, there is no such thing.  They are rated for a certain temperature for a certain period of time.  Depending on where it is in the house a fire can still destroy it's contents.  And I may be mistaken with this comment, but fire proof is not necessarily water proof.  Your basement will fill up with water as the fire department puts out a fire.

For insurance, inventory alone does not cut it.  When you start talking about high-dollar items, they require proof.  Pictures are the best way IMHO.  I have receipts for the majority of what I've purchased but not everything.

A couple of years ago, a very good friends house burned down.  She was always diligent about backing up her PC data.  Unfortunately, the backup drive was in the house with the PC.  She essentially lost everything.  A few weeks before the fire, she asked me to convert a few old VHS tapes to DVD.  On one of the tapes was ~30 years of old home movies transferred from 8mm and super 8 film.  After the fire she called me and asked, "you didn't happen to keep a copy of those tapes did you"?  "Yes I did" was my answer.  Her treasured movies were safe off-site at my house.

Hopefully this didn't come across as a rant, certainly not my intention.

Tony

I used Yard Office for awhile.  Too many things to list so I made my own inventory sheets on  my iMac using pages.  I made a template with the manufacturing logo, road name, photo, manufacturing number, road number, where I purchased it and the price.  I scanned the receipt for the second page.  Simple and works for me.  Would post a picture but I don't know how to transfer it, only shows up as a document and those without macs will not be able to see it.

Started keeping a spreadsheet after I brought home yet another duplicate item.  (If I'm buying a duplicate, I at least like to KNOW that I'm doing it.)  Now, I take a copy of the spreadsheet with me whenever I go to a meet - sorted by manufacturer and item number.  Doing so has saved me numerous times.  I find that doing the update as soon as I bring an item home keeps the process manageable, which reminds me... 

Can't even imagine having a handwritten list.

I keep copies of important items (not just trains) on paper and in digital form in the safe at home, in the safe deposit box at the bank, and I email them to myself as attachments.  If a disaster occurs such that none of those storage methods is accessible, then my train inventory will be very low on my list of problems.

Tony_V posted:

I know this thread started about inventory, but I am going to chime in on backing up that data.

I've been in IT for the better part of 30 years.  I've said on many occasions, "It's not the backup that counts, it's the restore that counts".  Disaster plans include backups, but a backup by itself is not a disaster plan.  The only safe way to protect your data is to have it off-site.  Today's cloud storage makes that simple but if you prefer not to have your data in a cloud provider, a backup DVD or something could be stored at a friends house.  

If you are using some sort of specialized software like Yard Office, you should have backups of that as well (including text files with serial number info).  

Dave Z mentioned a fire proof box.  IMHO, there is no such thing.  They are rated for a certain temperature for a certain period of time.  Depending on where it is in the house a fire can still destroy it's contents.  And I may be mistaken with this comment, but fire proof is not necessarily water proof.  Your basement will fill up with water as the fire department puts out a fire.

For insurance, inventory alone does not cut it.  When you start talking about high-dollar items, they require proof.  Pictures are the best way IMHO.  I have receipts for the majority of what I've purchased but not everything.

A couple of years ago, a very good friends house burned down.  She was always diligent about backing up her PC data.  Unfortunately, the backup drive was in the house with the PC.  She essentially lost everything.  A few weeks before the fire, she asked me to convert a few old VHS tapes to DVD.  On one of the tapes was ~30 years of old home movies transferred from 8mm and super 8 film.  After the fire she called me and asked, "you didn't happen to keep a copy of those tapes did you"?  "Yes I did" was my answer.  Her treasured movies were safe off-site at my house.

Hopefully this didn't come across as a rant, certainly not my intention.

Tony

Tony what if your house would have burnt down at the same time??

Just kidding lol..Nick

Dave Zucal posted:

...They changed the method on how they pay out. Now they want the home owner to pay for the repairs out of pocket, then they'll reimburse you when you turn in the receipt...

No change there. That's only to receive the replacement value for claims over $1000-$2500(depends on the company).   The ACV is payable upon presentation of an executed Proof of Loss.  A supplemental Proof for the difference between AVC & replacement cost is filed once the repairs are done or the actual replacement is made.

I just use a Excel Sheet, though it doesn't take me to long since I don't have many items in my inventory. I just need to figure out about insurance for my Model Trains.

I had a great inventory system set up on a Palm Pilot (remember them?) then I misplaced the darn thing.