State of the Mart

The twists and turns a thread takes once you have articulated your thoughts is fascinating. I have enjoyed each and every one of the responses to my thoughts and I thank you all for taking the time and making the effort to share your views.

I agree with Ben when it comes to enjoying your trains and not worrying. If my thoughts seem to be interpreted as "worry" or if anyone is concerned that I am "financially strapped," let me be the first to relieve you of your burdens. I am not at all worried and I am doing better than ever. The train sale I am conducting has nothing to do with finances and my love of the trains and the hobby have not diminished at all. You might be interested in the locomotive I purchased last night. More detailed than anything I have and that, in itself, is a clue to where I want to go.

I am in the process of change. Some change is dramatic, and some change is subtle. Sometimes, we journey down a path and we don't know where it will go.

My thoughts are musings and nothing more nor less. I love economics and have studied and practiced what economics teaches. My wife has an MBA from Harvard and so we have "discussions" about where all of this is going. I enjoy the discussions immensely.

I am evolving, changing, as my good friend Frank Mullen observes. I am constantly in motion and love the challenge of something new. As I have gotten more skilled and more creative, the layout has become more interesting. When the layout is "finished," I will need to go on to new challenges. I hope some of you are interested in where all of this will go. I, myself, am not completely sure. I do know one thing, though. I have to create to be happy. Running trains by itself is not satisfying now. I need to build and share with friends.

What I am going to build next, who knows? Not even me.

Ladies & Gentlemen,

   This hobby to me is not about collecting or money, its about enjoyment and memories.  I am so slow at selling or purchasing that most of this business related train talk means little to me.  I just hope there are some good dealers left in business

to keep our hobby stable, and to sell me the trains and track and other goodies I like.

PCRR/Dave 

Like the economy I can't control what the train market is.  I do not worry about it, I buy what I like and can afford.  Working/Playing on the layout is an escape, an escapet to a world where taxes are reasonable all neghborhoods are safe and the food supply is all grown local and organic and the price at the pump is still low.........TALK ABOUT A DREAMLAND.....

All kidding aside, I've looked on as you've created and shared some excellent scenery modeling on your current layout. I'm eager to see what you decide to build next. 

Jumijo,

Laughing !

i like the new Corvette !

This cannot be a mid life crisis unless I plan to live to 130.

Scrappy

"Times,they are a changing"so many have said.

I am enjoying the third week of some much time off from work and travel. I have enjoyed unpacking and running trains I have purchased over the past 10 months.

I am enjoying several Legacy locomotive purchases and have decided to thin out non Legacy duplicates to fund new Legacy purchases.

Here's another shot of your new engine Eliot.She's all packed up and ready to ship out in the morning.

Well, I don't care if this all stops tomorrow, I am having a great time with the trains , they are not an investment, but the rewards of investing wisely. Fred

Change is ongoing and usually imperceptible; and, sometimes, we take notice. Aging seems to have a way of tuning us in a bit; getting us to pause and reflect...

Never thought you were... strapped; just a time of reflection for you.

This, being real, is what I look for, here. I'm a fan of the workings of people. I used to love reading biographies, until I started to feel they were more about the contributors.

I like your thread, Eliot.

Rick

I know about 1% of what the original poster knows about economics. This is what I do know. My ps1 bigboys .Everytime I buy one the price is less. 1.1800  2.900 3. 650 4.525 5.425 First one bought 1998.Last one Bought last week. John

I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread. It's unusually well written (thanks Eliot!) and absent of malice. It's what I wish more threads were like.

I personally fall squarely into the “I don't care what my collection is worth and can't see myself downsizing” camp.  However, you never know, I may continue to evolve and my feelings may change.

Coincidentally(?), I received a long letter from AmbroseBauer auctions today urging me to sell my train collection sooner (as in now) rather than later due to the aging train hobbyist population and the falling prices for collections. While I agree with their premise the letter totally turned me off as the majority of it was tearing down their competition.

As well it should (turn you off, that is).

Boomer . . . . . 

I cannot wait, man.

Yahooooooo !!

Wait until you see this in front of Munoz Station !!!!!

Yessireeee Bob !

Scrapiron

All sounds like the natural ebb and flow of life to me.  Interesting and enjoyable musings for sure.  There is a season for everything, and they come and go.  Life is enjoyable like that, I could never plan it that well.  I always like finding where I end up not intending or planning to necessarily go there in the first place.

Some of life's greatest moments and experiences are those you never plan for or expect.

Brian,

You are correct.

My greatest adventures happened exactly that way.

Ended up meeting the Pope, going to the Oval Office, and meeting my wife on a bus.

All of them unplanned.

eliot

>>>I am constantly in motion and love the challenge of something new. As I have gotten more skilled and more creative, the layout has become more interesting. When the layout is "finished," I will need to go on to new challenges. I hope some of you are interested in where all of this will go. I, myself, am not completely sure. I do know one thing, though. I have to create to be happy. Running trains by itself is not satisfying now. I need to build and share with friends.<<

Joe,

Running trains becoming a boring pastime versus creating a layout is a recognition I faced as well. I made a conscious decision to split what I have gathered into Prewar and Postwar tinplate, modern equipment and MPC rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. This means when I start getting bored off go one type and another takes it's place. For several years this tactic has worked well. As much as I like this era's consist or one particular engine.. running the same type in circles becomes pretty rote and boring. Layout creating is great, and I tend to tip into that facet pretty easily from layout to layout.

Bruce

Model trains started to creep into my consciousness around the early 2000's; used to see nice G scale stuff, at a local garden center. Seemed like an expensive hobby, though, so I held off...

Even though I liked garden sized trains, my early childhood memories(I was 3 yrs old) prompted me to seek out that just right size of toy trains... O gauge.

So in 2004, at the age of 50, I ordered a Lionel Pennsylvania Flyer 4-4-2 RTR set. I clearly remember thinking, at the time, will I get bored, quickly, continuously circling the block... so to speak?

Sometimes, I can actually start to feel tired(my eyelids get heavy...), after a few laps.

For some reason, the urge to have... outweighed that internal foresight.

Rick

I am sure it will become boring and routine to just run trains.  We have designed the layout to hopefully keep boredom to a minimum.  We are installing operating cranes, switch sidings so we can put together consists with uncoupling tracks.

I personally enjoy the building of the layout and it is so large that it will take years to get the layout close to completion.  My grandson loves to run the trains (12 years old) I hope that doesn't stop but he is close to being a teenager, who knows?

The intention was not to have to go down to the layout and spend hours everyday.  The layout is patient and it will wait for our return.  We hopefully put enough thought into the layout on the operation of cranes, loading & switching that it will keep the boredom to a minimum.

We feel that the construction of a layout is a destination, it can be a short time or take years.  We here feel that the fun comes from the journey. 

I'm not sure if they are of the detail level you might be interested in, but there are a number of manufacturers who have produced 1/64 trucks, some of it for corporate special orders, such as Ertl, DCP, Hartoy, Penjoy, and Winross. I get the impression the market is moving towards larger scales like 1/53 and more detail. Also Hot Wheels and Matchbox have some 1/64 product.