Massive dump of Prewar/Postwar Locomotives in a warehouse

Wow, what a find.
Will he be selling them or is he attached to the trains?

Tell him it looks like a nice collection and I m sure he is collecting/enjoying the trains.

Of course the camera died.   Tell me where this is so I can gas up the van.

I'll notify Frank & Fritz........LOL

In those pictures of the trains you show  above, it looks like a bunch of junk to me.

I don't see anything of interest for a train collector there ? It is more hoarding than something else....

Daniel

"In those pictures of the trains you show  above, it looks like a bunch of junk to me."

"I don't see anything of interest for a train collector there ? It is more hoarding than something else...."

There is more. A lot more. Let me get some more photos for you two.

A good portion of the boxes were unaccessable, as they were either out of reach, wedged under other boxes, or taped closed. I have a video, I might be able to screenshot a few bits of it, too. I was there to help him organize, as he wants to make it all into a museum. If any of you have any spare shelves or tables, message me and I'll give him a call.

RonH posted:

Wow, what a find.
Will he be selling them or is he attached to the trains?

Tell him it looks like a nice collection and I m sure he is collecting/enjoying the trains.

He's keeping them, as he's making it into a museum! I'm there to help him get everything organized, and test to see which trains work and not. It's a big job and could take years.

Berkshire posted:

RonH posted:

Wow, what a find.
Will he be selling them or is he attached to the trains?

Tell him it looks like a nice collection and I m sure he is collecting/enjoying the trains.

He's keeping them, as he's making it into a museum! I'm there to help him get everything organized, and test to see which trains work and not. It's a big job and could take years.

Looks like fun, as I can see beyond what folks call junk.

I like to rebuild and bring stuff back to life.

Just have fun and enjoy the journey and hope the museum works out

Looking for a diamond in a mountain of coal. Is there anything that isn't rusty, HO or broken?

Well, There were plenty of locos still in their original boxes, some O gauge and some HO gauge. Others were in boxes buried under piles of other boxes, wrapped in newspaper. I remember a Marx Mercury set, I believe, as well as a ton of others. There were also some S scale engines and coaches, that were in pretty nice condition. Most of the boxed sets were stacked in the second warehouse, but I only have a few pictures from there. I'll have to post them when I get back home to my computer.

Now, I didn't take photos of just closed boxes, but you can see a few in here. I should call him back, sometime. Maybe I can go back again.

Lots of junk, but I bet some gems are in there.  I like the Marx Fort Apache Set.

Looks like a AM pickers episode waiting to happen.  I did see an O gauge 90 degree crossing in there that caught my eye.  

If you're supposed to get that ready for a museum it could take a while.

There is a guy at York in the blue or silver hall sometimes who has two tables back to back with a huge pile of stuff like this stacked up about 24 inches high.  

1. Lots of stuff but to me it is not even worth looking at unless your collecting old and rusted junk. You can bet the stuff in closed box's are no better. 

I Would get a couple of trash containers and haul it all the away, maybe sell it as scrap if at all possible. 

Besides it is a fire hazard. Also vermin infested, can you say rats, mice and God knows what else.

Dave

Some folks prefer to call their junk, JUNQUE!  ☺

Well, it appears to me that he may have loved trains, but he sure didn't do much to take care of them (at least from what is evident in those photos). While there may be some museum-worthy items in those massive piles, it sure would take a whole lot of time and money to put together anything worthy of the title "museum." After all, there are a good many toy train museums and collections around already, and many with collections that are in pristine or near-pristine condition, or which feature truly rare or select-category items.

Two TV programs come to mind: American Pickers for one, and Hoarders for the other.

I don't see any indication that these trains were "loved". Looks like simple junk hoarding, to me. I watch the "Pickers" show often, and IMO, 25% of the people they visit have serious mental problems.

Of course, there is always a (slim?) chance there could be a true gem hidden in all that mess, but not very likely, and it probably would not be in good condition!

I'm sure with a good layout and a little cleaning, some of these would make a nice addition to ones collection. I'll talk to him, and see if I can get a few trains out of it, maybe buy em from him. I would hate to see these rust away in a warehouse, but he seems to be really adamant on turning it into a museum. He even had a big sign made, and hung it on the front of the main warehouse.

From the pictures, at least if you buy something you know it was well cared for.  

Tinplate Art posted:

Of course, there is always a (slim?) chance there could be a true gem hidden in all that mess, but not very likely, and it probably would not be in good condition!

He just buys everything train related, and most of it doesn't even come out of the box! A ton of the stuff I saw was still in the cardboard boxes he bought it in, still taped up and everything. That's where I found the marx mercury set.

Allan Miller posted:

Well, it appears to me that he may have loved trains, but he sure didn't do much to take care of them (at least from what is evident in those photos). While there may be some museum-worthy items in those massive piles, it sure would take a whole lot of time and money to put together anything worthy of the title "museum." After all, there are a good many toy train museums and collections around already, and many with collections that are in pristine or near-pristine condition, or which feature truly rare or select-category items.

Two TV programs come to mind: American Pickers for one, and Hoarders for the other.

 

Ever the diplomat Allan.

Well, I'll give him one thing. He sure does have a lot of track, which could come in handy if I ever want to expand my layout

 I was asked to go look at a collection like this that belonged to a old timer. He thought everything from the rusty track to the broken Lionel Scout was a rare antique. He bought most of it at rummage sales over the past 40 years and thought he was sitting on Fort Knox.  I did not have the heart to even make an offer.  Stuff like this is not worth more than $5.00 a box or basket. 

Berkshire posted:

Well, I'll give him one thing. He sure does have a lot of track, which could come in handy if I ever want to expand my layout

If you had enough time (and elbow grease) to get all the rust off of some of it!

Berkshire posted:

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Those O22 switches look pretty gnarly to me.  I don't even want to think about how long it would take to clean them up.  I'm sure the Gang Car and LV Hopper aren't too scratched up from being loosely in the box with all that track.

The examples in the metal can look pretty severely messed up too, but maybe it's just me.....(I realize some of the ties may be brown because they are O27, not O, but some also looks like quite a bit of rust).

-Dave

give me a chance to sit down and look thru that stuff. I like other peoples rusty junk.

Ah, life - ever the adventure! ☺

Looks like way it was baught at auction and brought in there and sat right on floor

    I spy a 6050 bank or Libby's and an unidentified red, thick sheetmetal baggage, observation, or "one porch" passenger car I have a match for. Pull toy? Lots of Marx and maybe one mouse turd.  I see worse at shows under the tables.

  It's a hobby, and you've got to start somewhere....why not?   It looks to me to be the makings of Mom & Pop "tourist trap""timekiller" caliber, which I always found fun to visit.  I the guy builds buildings for junk, you never know what else they have up their sleeves.

  I see lots of junk, but I see fun there too   You guys are too picky for fun?  I've saved so much worse and got up to 30 years out of them and counting.

  First thing would be shelves. Those stacks of boxes on concrete aren't helping much. Electrolysis soda/buckets/battery charger/hairdryer, cleaner wax/light rubbing compound, Dawn, Lysol, & oil in bulk

Dmaxdeere87 posted:

Looks like way it was baught at auction and brought in there and sat right on floor

That's what he does, actually.

Those O22 switches look pretty gnarly to me.  I don't even want to think about how long it would take to clean them up.  I'm sure the Gang Car and LV Hopper aren't too scratched up from being loosely in the box with all that track.

The examples in the metal can look pretty severely messed up too, but maybe it's just me.....(I realize some of the ties may be brown because they are O27, not O, but some also looks like quite a bit of rust).

-Dave

Well, a look through an old book taught me that scotchbrite is the best way to clean rusty lionel track. So what did I do? I strapped that stuff to a sander and got to work. Made em nice and shiny in a matter of seconds. I looked through that bucket, btw, and there was some pretty good stuff. A whistle unit, a flatcar, and some spare wheels. I mean, if the trains are trash, might as well salvage what you can from them, and use them for parts.

Adriatic posted:

 

  First thing would be shelves. Those stacks of boxes on concrete aren't helping much. Electrolysis soda/buckets/battery charger/hairdryer, cleaner wax/light rubbing compound, Dawn, Lysol, & oil in bulk

Shelves and tables are what we need at the moment, I've been on the lookout since I've last gone. I remember a while back I attempted to list down everything that was there just from the photos I took alone, but that didn't do much good

Berkshire posted:

"In those pictures of the trains you show  above, it looks like a bunch of junk to me."

"I don't see anything of interest for a train collector there ? It is more hoarding than something else...."

There is more. A lot more. Let me get some more photos for you two.

A good portion of the boxes were unaccessable, as they were either out of reach, wedged under other boxes, or taped closed. I have a video, I might be able to screenshot a few bits of it, too. I was there to help him organize, as he wants to make it all into a museum. If any of you have any spare shelves or tables, message me and I'll give him a call.

The 2 rail track in the above photo looks interesting.  Wooden ties, steel rail, held down with miniature spikes.

Berkshire posted:

RonH posted:

Wow, what a find.
Will he be selling them or is he attached to the trains?

Tell him it looks like a nice collection and I m sure he is collecting/enjoying the trains.

He's keeping them, as he's making it into a museum! I'm there to help him get everything organized, and test to see which trains work and not. It's a big job and could take years.

I agree on "a big job and could take years" and wish you luck. 

Here in this photo is the same track, but with three rails instead of two. Anyone got any idea of what this is?

If there's as much as you say there is, it's going to take a long time to go through all of it. You need to cut to the chase and see what's really there.

Before you even bother to write down any kind of inventory, you should sort things into basic categories:

• O gauge track
• 027 track
• S gauge track
• HO track etc
• Lionel trains
• Marx trains
• American Flyer
• All HO
• Transformers and power packs
• Accessories
• Everything else that isn't listed in the last group

Just make piles on the floor to start. From there you can further sort each pile onto a table. I would get sawhorse brackets, some 2x4's and sheets of OSB to make your own tables. Then you can reuse the lumber to build a layout.

Some stuff may be worth something. If it's common and/or broken, there may still be some parts worth keeping, even if it's only the trucks. Don't waste your time with common junk. Think quality, not quantity.

This may be a foreign concept to your friend.

Personally, I'm not seeing a whole lot of value here except for maybe the two Lionel aluminum passenger cars, depending on how beat up they are.  I'm not sure it would be worth the labor to sort through all this stuff.

Go directly to dumpster, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.00.

Rusty

  I'd seriously look to homespun electrolysis for that much old track. You cant clean inside the tubes any other way really, and it will only be a matter of time before issues return without a ton of power drops as is.

  Save the track cleaning time for other things. Pull the pins and dump it it all in a bucket with washing soda and battery charger.(a metal sive or bowl for the pins), rinse well, dry it fast (oven at 180°? )  I'd dunk/spray in in a super light clipper or gun oil once to boot.

 I'd start with raiding the new and shiny sets, save some the old, scrap the junk, maybe raiding pins ties and insulators. Dealing with rust dust by wire brush really only spreads it around too. Designate a space.

  Attack the engines and cars seperate; keepers, runners, junk runners, projects, parts/supplies, garbage. Soap water heat oil. Then maybe a solvent and polish.

   Craigslist (for free & buy alike), storage, & buisness sales for shelves, tables, display cases, and storage drawers, mabe a few file cabinets for large item storage (file drawers are too tall for train storage IMO. Dressers are better.) 

It's either that or bankrolling something custom (nice, but boring )

  I always wanted to take my separate themed layouts on small tables, and interconnect these little worlds by a perimeter mainline on a shelf.

I see stuff like that it makes me ill and I want to...

As with most hoarders, the stuff they collect becomes useless because they keep it too long.  By the time they part with it, if indeed they can do that, it's all obsolete. Believe me, I know from personal experience.  We have a relative who bought and bought stuff back in the day.  All of it quality, mostly kitchen ware, small appliances, linens and china.  The appliances have become obsolete.  The china has been duplicated off shore, rendering the originals not worth any more than their replacements.  The newer generations see no use for the linens.  

So like John in the post before me, I see nothing but alot of useless work when the time comes for us to decifer it all. 

Trains are one of those things that have not yet become useless or obsolete, only because there are people like us who like to tinker with them.