Man! This layout thing can be a short run.........

That was my question as well.......

Eternity is a long time to have been wrong.

So true!

Certainly leaves a whole lot of unanswered questions. I'm sure others will agree.

Yes, unanswered questions indeed!!  I recycle track, switches, wire, wood, etc, etc.

I guess I come by it honestly.  When we were cleaning out my dad's shop last summer, I found  for shelving he had used plywood from my first layout that I started in the late '60s.  I could still see the brown and green colored sawdust I had glued to the plywood 50 years ago!  Before the layout, I helped him build a doghouse out of the old living room flooring which dated back to 1888.  

I’m surmising from reading this that these are other people’s layouts.  What are you, some kind of Repo man??!!  

I found it easy to infer from the original post that this layout belonged to someone that is no longer with us.

I THINK I HAVE ENTERED THE 'TWILIGHT ZONE'  

Yes....💣💣💣why did the layout have to go? Your inference was it belonged to someone else, but as others asked...what was salvaged/recycled?

The whys are as variant as the owners:  coronary condition, memory care, cancer, botched surgery, aged,  tired and downsizing, discouraged.

Sorry,  I did not see the reasons to be that important.  What struck me was the issue of the fragile nature of our empires. 

Only the lumber and the Atlas 2rail switch machines were trashed.  The rest to the auction house this time.

Generally speaking,  RR merchandise gets recycled in all cases.  Much of it recycled through the Strasburg 0 scale show which is coming up in April.

No, I am not a repo man just one who has been called upon on numerous occasions to remove layouts no longer wanted.   Something hard for many of us to realize is that to many family members the layout is just a  pain that needs to be eliminated to sell the real estate. 

Way b/4 I got back into 0 scale, contracting with real estate companies I had to dispose of many train layouts.  In that process I came across a beautiful 2r engine that drew me into this game 27 years ago. 

The initial post was only my experience.  There are one or two 0 scale estates for sale at almost every Strasburg show.  The reality is that many are leaving the hobby due to a number of reasons. 

It's just that the most recent layout disassembly was one I helped the owner build in '12,'13 & '14, so there was the irony of "Now you see it and now you don't".

One of the things that speaks volumes to me is the manner in which dealers from around the country have stepped up to provide widows and other family members with immediate funds for final expenses.

Tom Tee posted:

It's just that the most recent layout disassembly was one I helped the owner build in '12,'13 & '14, so there was the irony of "Now you see it and now you don't".

Must be disheartening to see a layout you helped to create disappear after such a short time.  I’ve seen photos of GRJ’s nascent layout and your work on that is impressive to put it mildly.  I build furniture for fun (desks, bookshelves, cabinets, etc.) and I like to think they will be around long after I’m gone.  I sure would hate to see them trashed.

Additionally, there have been two large inchoate layouts featured on this forum recently which were razed.   Could make one ask "Is mine next to go?"  I am just having a sobering moment after losing my friend to memory care and a couple of rough days tearing up our work. 

You know things are going in the wrong direction when  you break out the Sawzall.

I built two layouts in one basement both about 25x13 and the other one 21x12. They only lasted 6 years and were trashed. Of course the trains and tracks were saved and then sold off , Just never had space to rebuild.

Yes I miss my O gauge trains but that is life

David

Life situations change. Sometimes the space occupied by a large layout is needed for other family life. In my case, it was providing for my mother-in-law who could no longer live by herself.

I am fortunate that the layout was well documented in the pages of OGR magazine and OGR layout videos over the years. That definitely eased the loss.

Jim

Tom, Knowing you build layouts for others, I realized you were dismantling someone else's layout.  I built my first layout as a teenager, 4x8.  I have never had room for even a medium size layout. In fact this 11x11 space I have now is the largest I have had to work with.  Moves, growing family, needing space for other things have stalled several projects.  To date, the longest any layout lasted was 5 years, and the town scenery wasn't halfway along.  I built it in 2 modules and moved it, but was not able to find the space to get it running again.  I guess it was easier to give them up, when they were small, and I had the aspiration of building again; though many years passed between some of them.

I think what's more important is the enjoyment a layout gives, regardless of how long it was up.

Rusty

Tom Tee posted:

Just finished ripping out another layout.....couple dozen cases of track,  101 turnouts, 7,000 feet of wire, dumpster of wood, uncounted hours of effort and the whole thing was only 8 years old.  Fifth one in the last couple of years.

Very sobering as to the amount of time and money one spends on these things.  Yet trashed in two days.

No matter how much money you have or how many trains . Enjoy it no matter how large or small, the end result is still the same.

 Over the past few years I've noticed prominent past members have gone silent, their items showing up on here and the auction site. Some have passed, others have deteriorating health. A sad reality.

No of my buisness ,but theres something to be said about a modest layout that can be completed and enjoyed.

Maybe for those building "monstrosities" the enjoyment is in the building aspect rather than the operating.

I just picked up some stuff from a guy that was tearing down a huge 2-rail layout, I wish I had seen it before he started hacking it up!  In this case, he was moving to a retirement community and the layout had to be gone and the basement restored to sell the house.

Just a simple fact of life, isn’t it?

Something I did on my present and last layout, I used modules.    In preparation for building I mounted knees along all the walls on which to set the modules. Like so in my present layout:

Thanks Tom Tee.  Now we know the rest of the story.

Yep, I used modules as well. If we ever have to move and I wanted to take the layout with me, I can do so. I've watched too many heartbroken people have to take a hammer to layouts which they never thought they'd be moving from.

I also know plenty of people who'll build massive room-filler layouts and right at the moment they start to run trains or have operations, out comes the saws and hammers. That's the way they like it and they intended it that way all along. That never made sense to me. Even if I was like that, my wife would put her little foot down (for such a little foot it carries a lot of force) and stop that after the first time. And I wouldn't blame her a bit if I did that!

I build a new layout every year. It doesn't have great detail or scenery, but it's always different and exciting. And I always reuse everything year to year

Rusty Traque posted:

I think what's more important is the enjoyment a layout gives, regardless of how long it was up.

Rusty

TedW posted:

Just a simple fact of life, isn’t it?

Yes. There are lots of sayings about the quality of time being much more important than quantity of time. The question isn't how long it lasted, but how valuable it was to the person while it lasted. There are many physical possessions, collections and otherwise, that may end their existence at any time. 

There are lots of things in life that end too early, far more important than train layouts - young lives (of various ages!), marriages, peace, etc. etc. That's an unfortunate but real aspect of human life. Hopefully those whose train layouts terminated prematurely devoted more time and resources to the more important things in life while they had the opportunty.

I've been working on my layout about 10 years. More now that I finally retired . It about 2400 sq feet and I know ill never finish it to the point I can say I'm done. I built my house for the layout because it was always a dream of mine to have a layout that was a vision of my childhood when watching the Lionel D 265 layout in late 50s. Don't know what will happen to it when I'm gone but its fun for now and that's really all that counts.

This is the state of the hobby in general, lots of "grey hair" among the active modeling community.   I see plenty of young folk at shows, but very little buying by that group for various reasons.  While it is sad to see those passing on or leaving the hobby for whatever reason.  Its a prime time for those of us looking for trains to add to our collections.  Its a vicious circle that constantly repeats itself.  All we can do is help the family or ailing modeler to best dispose of the items and keep moving forward.  I have a friend myself that has a huge double deck HO layout that fills a 2 car garage, along with a garden railway and extensive G scale/live steam collection.  He turned 68 last month and is in failing health.  I know the time will come soon to deal with this exact issue, as do his other friends from the HO side of the hobby.  Money or trains, we cant take either of them with us when the time comes.   Enjoy it today, as tomorrow it might be your turn.    Mike the Aspie

"the fragile nature of our empires."..... well said.

In the last five years I've:

1. listened to a friend lament having to take a jigsaw to a beautiful N scale layout. The builder was medically challenged on several fronts and couldn't do it any more.

2. spoken with a museum group that had a 12 x 24 HO layout donated in a will, and has it stored in pieces, unsure of the next move. It was not built with removal in mind, of course.

3. seen one of our local train groups approached by the family of another friend who recently passed for valuation of his varied HO collection. It's a delicate and diplomatic process sometimes.

So what's my point? I suggest doing what I've seen some ladies' sewing/quilting groups do. Members have a "living will" of sorts that distributes their collection of materials and hardware amongst their group. All this is done in consideration of their families not being saddled with their chattels and unsure of what to do with it all.

Can this be done with our trains? Few of us build with a layout move or dismantling in mind, never mind dispersal of our worldly layout goods. 

Modular layouts aren't everyone's cup of tea. However I think layout design can be sectional, semi-permanent and disposable or recyclable, especially with modern materials. Just my $0.02 or less, and yes, I'm incorporating such ideas as I build my layout. 

Nicely stated, Dodger & Firewood

I would also add, while nobody likes to plan their own demise, its a good idea to put plans in place for what to do with your trains and stuff once your gone.  That way your wishes can be attended to, and it puts less of a burden on your spouse or family who probably know nothing about the hobby or where to turn to dispose of the trains.  This can be in the form of a living will, giving models to friends and family prior to ones passing, phone numbers for family/spouse to contact for assistance with selling off the trains.  This is very important as end of life arrangements are expensive, and this can help defray the bill for those we leave behind.  My wife knows several places to call should something happen to me after I am gone.  I will be riding shotgun guardian angel  for every steam crew I can once I am gone!  Toy trains will be but a memory.  Mike the Aspie