Time to thin the collection

I had this epiphany about 3 years ago.  I am a K-Line fanatic...the early K-Line before the expansion.  I also favor the semi-scale, or O-27 or toy rail size.  I have thinned out all full 1/48.  I have focused on a few "peculiar" favorites....for example...in ATSF I have one each of Whyte classification steam in O-27. From various manufacturers, but all in black, all ATSF.  Enjoy the depth of what you choose. 

@GG1 4877 posted:  

• Just two two rail GG1s is all I am looking for.  4800 with the rivets and a DGLE streamlined version.   I'll probably keep the other 15 3r O scale ones because I love the GG1. 

In this hobby I am a spritely 51 year old, but I'm feeling the pressure of just having too much stuff.  I'm feeling like it's time to focus on a realistic 2R layout over collecting oodles of trains that look nice when I pull them out of my collection occasionally.

This doesn't mean I won't still be buying trains, just that I'm willing to wait longer and spend more for a quality product over a "good enough" one.

Long message, but does anyone else feel this way?

So, exactly how many GG-1s do you have?

Maybe more than a handful is maybe, possibly, Too Many?

And think of all the money you could save by not paying for storage space? Why, you could buy... never mind!

I've been going through this process myself. I'm keeping the ATSF items (having grown up in San Bernardino). The Lionel space and military stuff as well. But what is left is so much more...! I'll be moving the rest to the sell/trade forum in the coming weeks. 

I agree Jonathan...it's time. It's a time of " agonizing reappraisal"...anybody remember that phrase?

I started off with a goal (scale ATSF and SP equipment from the 1948-1951 time frame) so I was able to focus. I have a collection that doesn't have extra stuff I don't use because I focus on specific items. If it doesn't fit my modeling focus I don't buy it. Keeps it easy to keep track of everything I own and I can run everything I own without having to dig stuff out of boxes.

Jonathan, I'm in exactly the same boat as you (perhaps better to say in the same hopper), and given that I'm a bit older, the impetus is probably even greater.  This is a major project I'll be undertaking over the coming months. As John said, a time of "agonizing reappraisal." It can be very hard to part company with many of these pieces.

Epiphany:

I'm in a boat, too... but my boat's going the other direction. My concern is how much longer I can meaningfully do HO scale. (My current primary scale.) At 68 years of age, my hands aren't as steady as they were a few short years ago, so using .012" drills/etc, handling eenie-teenie parts, placing HO equipment on the rails, and such as that, isn't quite as easy as it used to be.

SO... I'm going to other direction: I'm acquiring Postwar traditional-sized trains as my safety net to catch my butt if/when HO becomes more frustrating than fun. By up-sizing and simplifying the trains, I am inclined to think I can enjoy trains for a looong time. (Provided I don't run into expiration date issues!  )

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, I will be in a "buy" mode as hobby funds permit.

Andre

I keep asking myself "What would I grab if I had a fire?"

Probably nothing, as there's barely enough time for a person to get out of the inferno anyway.  But of the small amount I have, what would be the ones I would go for if I had only 10 minutes to do so?

Engines:

Williams brass N&W 4-8-4 J

Williams brass SAL 2-8-2 Class Q3

Passenger Cars:

GGD Silver Meteor set

Rolling Stock:

Couple of SAL boxcars and caboose

I would surely miss the other stuff, but these are my favs.

In both my professional work and personal life I have had to thin out many times.  The one common push back I get from management, for work or wife, for home is that the items are worth more than what I am being offered.  The time to thin out is when you have time.  I can tell you from personal experience if you wait until a house sale or business shut down or some other external circumstance forces the issue I will take almost nothing just so I don’t have to spend more money to move it.

It is emotionally tough to clean out but I try to be honest with myself and realize hopefully I got a lot of enjoyment from purchasing the item and using it over the years.  That being said I have gotten rid of items and then purchased them again later, really kick myself at times.  I also miss the MTH Erie GP7 I sold.  😅

Matt Irvin's collection, (Pittsburgh area), filled a garage, and several rooms of his home.  The Fort Pitt High-railers, and one of the local auction houses, dispersed the collection.  Sad note, was net, 10% to 15% of purchase value.   My suggestion would be, to at least, leave your sweetheart/and family a plan, or connection to someone who could handle the project.  Bigger picture, family property/estates, as we all age, requires some thought/planning.  IMO, Mike CT.  

Most of us would be about 2 days short of enough time.  

I did a fairly major thinning over the last several months and would offer this:

I sold here on the forum and, as they say in the marketing biz,  priced things to sell. No, I didn't take a bath but my goal was to move the trains. I was getting buy requests within seconds of hitting "Post."

Highly recommended.

I'm in a similar situation with to many lanterns I'll only have room for 10 of them in our new house.

Doug

@laming posted:

Epiphany:

I'm in a boat, too... but my boat's going the other direction. My concern is how much longer I can meaningfully do HO scale. (My current primary scale.) At 68 years of age, my hands aren't as steady as they were a few short years ago, so using .012" drills/etc, handling eenie-teenie parts, placing HO equipment on the rails, and such as that, isn't quite as easy as it used to be.

SO... I'm going to other direction: I'm acquiring Postwar traditional-sized trains as my safety net to catch my butt if/when HO becomes more frustrating than fun. By up-sizing and simplifying the trains, I am inclined to think I can enjoy trains for a looong time. (Provided I don't run into expiration date issues!  )

Therefore, for the foreseeable future, I will be in a "buy" mode as hobby funds permit.

Andre

We're gettin' more boats in the water.  As I've been packing up multiple moving boxes and totes of "nuthin's available in S Scale," I've been playing mind games with myself as to what I could dispose of.

My upcoming downsized digs doesn't have an "instant" train space, so once I'm installed there it will be time for serious re-evaluation after I settle in.   Part of the problem is: I did buy what I liked, (and I liked a lot over the past 35 years...) so it will be no easy decision.  I was storing trains in every nook and cranny in my basement.  Some of it hasn't seen daylight for decades.  Plus being S Scale, it won't be as easy to dispose of as O or HO.

My old railroad was unsalvageable, so anything forward will be a fresh start from the ground up.  Seems like both a blessing and a curse.

Rusty

I have been through all of the same experiences as posted above.  I started out by deciding what stuff I liked the least (hard to do but you can do it) and started selling.  Once you get past the first few sales it becomes easier and easier to let stuff go.  I worked up from the least toward my favorites.  I also decided what would be the top 3 or 4 pieces I absolutely would never part with so I had an absolute stopping point (which I have not yet gotten to).  With all these trains coming onto the market prices are dropping so don't expect to make a killing-think of it as letting someone else enjoy the stuff.  All this stuff coming onto the market probably also helps to explain why the sale of new stuff has dropped and has likely contributed to MTH's decision to leave the market.

Over the years I have been involved with helping at least four different families dispose of train collections after the collector passed on.  It's not easy doing it for someone else and gives you a perspective on what you might be leaving behind especially as the years roll by.  Of course I do have a friend who says he doesn't care, it will be family's problem to deal with.

Enjoy what you have but if the quantity of your collection is beginning to bother you its time to let some of it go.

Jonathan, you read my mind....

@Toro5xi posted:

...........r home is that the items are worth more than what I am being offered. ...............

Newbie, 

Worth can be enjoyment (play value, nostalgic, etc) or monetary. If monetary, any item is worth only what people are willing to pay for it.

I consistently thin out my collection/accumulation as I only have room for so much, and my tastes change/evolve over time. What I do to make room for new acquisitions is look over my displays and say to myself "Self, if I saw that item for sale today would I buy it?" If the answer is "No", off to the next swap meet it goes. 

This has been an ongoing process for me.  I don't expect our new home, where ever that is, will have adequate space for a layout that can include all I own.  My guiding principle is should I pay the cost of moving it?

We're gonna need a bigger boat.......

I started back into trains about 5 years ago. I had HO growing up and still have all my trains packed away but never had time to build a layout while family and career took too much of my time. When I got back into it and convinced the CEO to let me have a little space in our little basement, I went on a major buying spree. Over about 3 of the past 5 years I've bought over 30 engines and tons of rolling stock. I did start to narrow down my purchases to only northeast fallen flags that I like to run but for the size of my layout I have more than enough for now.

Nothing is collector worthy or all that valuable since I've bought everything second hand. I still buy, but am much more selective before hitting pay now on Paypal. When the kids are out of the house I will renegotiate for more of the basement and build a bigger layout and hopefully be able to run more of what I have.

Bob

Perhaps some of you that will be thinning out your collection will enjoy the hobby through a subscription to our magazine!!....

John,You are doing the same thing I did 2-3 years ago. I thinned out nearly all of my 1:48 O Scale items except about a dozen O scale Lionel scale steam locomotives. I sold/traded off all the 3rd rail brass,MTH,Weaver,Atlas scale rolling stock- Just about everything that wasn't USA made.(I kept my Weaver GG1's). I also sold/traded off all my 1950's-60's Mantua/Tyco,Marx HO and my Fleischmann HO collection. We are in the process of downsizing, selling our house in Arkansas and moving out-of-state as I will be retiring soon.

@Andrew-Porter posted:

So, exactly how many GG-1s do you have?

Maybe more than a handful is maybe, possibly, Too Many?

And think of all the money you could save by not paying for storage space? Why, you could buy... never mind!

GG1s ...... I have a lot.  I've been collecting them since I was 14.  In O scale I have 16 scale ones and a 2332 PW Lionel.  In HO I have probably 35 or so.  They don't take up a lot of space and some are quite collectible dating to just after WWII.  In N scale I have 5.

And all the money I save?  I'd have to negotiate with my better half on that!

Although our recent move was only across town, it certainly opened my eyes to the fact I’ve accumulated more trains than I will ever possibly operate — five Maerklin crocodiles... really???  (And just how many GG-1s does one need, anyway?)

I’ve  sold some items over the last few months and am getting ready to list more very soon, only this time it’s going to be my standard gauge:  not much there, but like the old saying, “everything must go,” including my beloved Lionel Classics 400E.

Of course, I’m not giving up on future purchases, but I’m being more focused and realistic when doing so.  In the meantime, I’m confident the trains I let go will find new stables to occupy, new consists to haul, and more smiles to those who see them run.

@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Perhaps some of you that will be thinning out your collection will enjoy the hobby through a subscription to our magazine!!....

Alan I am a subscriber!  This forum is more than worth the cost of a subscription.

@Mike CT posted:

Matt Irvin's collection, (Pittsburgh area), filled a garage, and several rooms of his home.  The Fort Pitt High-railers, and one of the local auction houses, dispersed the collection.  Sad note, was net, 10% to 15% of purchase value.   My suggestion would be, to at least, leave your sweetheart/and family a plan, or connection to someone who could handle the project.  Bigger picture, family property/estates, as we all age, requires some thought/planning.  IMO, Mike CT.  

Mike a lot cars in my collection are from the auction purchases as my mention.  Desert Division TCA did 2 to 3 300 lot auctions a year prior to shutting down for the time being.  The lots are always set up that the car you want comes with two you don't.

@GG1 4877 posted:

I know we all see these posts from time to time, but today was the day I came to realization that it is time to thin my collection substantially.  Over the last week I have acquired some very high quality brass passenger cars and locomotives for very fair prices and it dawned on me that the reality of my situation is:

• What can I reasonably expect to operate over the next 20-30 years of my life?
• Why am I paying for a 10x20 storage unit for trains I may never run?
• I am learning that quality over quantity really makes me a much happier model railroader. 
• My future layout has some very specific equipment needs.  No need to go overboard beyond what I can realistically operate or keep as parts sources.
• There are specific trains I enjoy running at my 3 rail club, but I am very much over invested in 3 rail beyond what I would run there.

.

. 

 

Long message, but does anyone else feel this way?

Jonathan, with age comes wisdom (sometimes ).  I think you are on the right track.  I've been in the process of selling off the extraneous and acquiring what's really needed for the past 10 years or so.

George

Rusty,

We're gettin' more boats in the water.  As I've been packing up multiple moving boxes and totes of "nuthin's available in S Scale," I've been playing mind games with myself as to what I could dispose of.

My upcoming downsized digs doesn't have an "instant" train space, so once I'm installed there it will be time for serious re-evaluation after I settle in.   Part of the problem is: I did buy what I liked, (and I liked a lot over the past 35 years...) so it will be no easy decision.  I was storing trains in every nook and cranny in my basement.  Some of it hasn't seen daylight for decades.  Plus being S Scale, it won't be as easy to dispose of as O or HO.

My old railroad was unsalvageable, so anything forward will be a fresh start from the ground up.  Seems like both a blessing and a curse.

Rusty, you found a place?.

Rich

@GG1 4877 posted:

Alan I am a subscriber!  This forum is more than worth the cost of a subscription.

AND we are very appreciative!!!  Thanks so much for your support....we need all we can get!

I don't want to get rid of stuff - just get more space for it!

Yes, with both my O-Gauge locos and rolling stock and my O-Gauge diecast vehicle collection.  I somehow accumulated vast numbers but gradually realized that quantity is great, it was quality that I really liked.  And, a big "collection" requires both lots of room to keep it, and takes time just to maintain it (if nothing else, to dust all the dang things!).

My experience downsizing was quite interesting, looking back on it. 

Starting two years ago I began "downsizing".  My train and rolling stock collection has gradually dropped from about 160 locos to only about 100 now, and from around 650 rolling stock down to 500.  This is roughly were I want it, if perhaps slightly larger than I will get it to eventually.   Downsizing my locos was fairly straightforward and rather simple to manage.  I did nothing special, just slowly sold off locos if:

If it was so small or "semi-scale" that it did not look good around scale locos and rolling stock.

If the quality was anything less than very good.

If I was just never going to run it because I didn't like it. 

I had more than I needed (one ATSF 2900 is enough, if its a good one. An ABBBA set of Warbonnet F3s is all I could every need, if they are really good ones).

The rolling stock was more difficult.  Where

With the diecast car collection, at its peak two years ago I had around 2000 diecast cars, trucks, buses, construction and farm equipment, military vehicles, motorcycles, scooters, and such.  

@richabr posted:

Rusty,

We're gettin' more boats in the water.  As I've been packing up multiple moving boxes and totes of "nuthin's available in S Scale," I've been playing mind games with myself as to what I could dispose of.

My upcoming downsized digs doesn't have an "instant" train space, so once I'm installed there it will be time for serious re-evaluation after I settle in.   Part of the problem is: I did buy what I liked, (and I liked a lot over the past 35 years...) so it will be no easy decision.  I was storing trains in every nook and cranny in my basement.  Some of it hasn't seen daylight for decades.  Plus being S Scale, it won't be as easy to dispose of as O or HO.

My old railroad was unsalvageable, so anything forward will be a fresh start from the ground up.  Seems like both a blessing and a curse.

Rusty, you found a place?.

Rich

Yep.  The process is in process.

Rusty

I just got back into trains about 15 years ago with a small room to fit a 5’ x 9’ layout.  I just kept adding pieces of modern Lionel (UP, CN, IAIS, BNSF, Amtrak, CP, etc.).  I only ran 2-3 trains and the rest, mostly new, sits in boxes either inside a clothes closet, linen closet, or under the layout.  We are moving in a few months and I am packing up the train room to “stage” differently.  How did I ever accumulate 20 U-Haul extra large (24x24x30) boxes of trains plus two dozen various set boxes?  This will take almost 1/2 of a large U-Haul trailer.  Good thing the new house a larger train room.  But this exercise is making me rethink future purchases.  I don’t consider myself a hoarder but I know I am not far away...

I'd frightfully easy to accumulate an amazing amount of stuff!   My timetable is similar to yours, and my storage dilemma is about the same as well!

Jonathan

Yes I to have crossed the bridge of thinking about downsizing.

I have a large O and One Gauge collection. Vast majority never run maybe tested. All in the modern era. Mostly less than 5 to 10 years old.

I'm 72 and deicide I don't care about the subject . I still like them and the family can do what ever they wish. I still like looking and playing with them when I want to.

I'm fortunate that it's not a family needed money issue.

I knew right off the bat these  toys wouldn't  bring me 25 cents on the dollar at best when I bought them. Many people right on this forum reminded all of us that over the years.

The good point for you is your 51 years young. SO if you want out or to downsize, it's perfect timing for you before you end up with two buildings full of trains like me.

I wish you the best.

Larry

Oh no, I though you can never have too much stuff!!!  

Now what do I do ??  

@Larry Sr. posted:

Jonathan

Yes I to have crossed the bridge of thinking about downsizing.

I have a large O and One Gauge collection. Vast majority never run maybe tested. All in the modern era. Mostly less than 5 to 10 years old.

I'm 72 and deicide I don't care about the subject . I still like them and the family can do what ever they wish. I still like looking and playing with them when I want to.

I'm fortunate that it's not a family needed money issue.

I knew right off the bat these  toys wouldn't  bring me 25 cents on the dollar at best when I bought them. Many people right on this forum reminded all of us that over the years.

The good point for you is your 51 years young. SO if you want out or to downsize, it's perfect timing for you before you end up with two buildings full of trains like me.

I wish you the best.

Larry

 

 

Very similar, if not exactly the same, as my story line. I am also 72 and have more stuff than makes me happy. I will never use most of it. Yet getting rid of it is hard - which to try to dump, and how. yes, I know about the Buy/Sell Forum. Still a pain, as we are not talking about 7 or 8 items here. And, I kind of like odd stuff. It's fun. I do not own any of some of the expected pieces (NKP Berk, PRR K4, fancy GG1, Warbonnet F3's, and many more) - but don't ask me about NYC Hudsons. Too many. I have "custom" brass that no one else will care about....

So, I'll think about it tomorrow. Price-wise, I usually essentially gave it away at train shows, when those existed. Just to get it on the road. 

@Larry Sr. posted:

Jonathan

Yes I to have crossed the bridge of thinking about downsizing.

I have a large O and One Gauge collection. Vast majority never run maybe tested. All in the modern era. Mostly less than 5 to 10 years old.

I'm 72 and deicide I don't care about the subject . I still like them and the family can do what ever they wish. I still like looking and playing with them when I want to.

I'm fortunate that it's not a family needed money issue.

I knew right off the bat these  toys wouldn't  bring me 25 cents on the dollar at best when I bought them. Many people right on this forum reminded all of us that over the years.

The good point for you is your 51 years young. SO if you want out or to downsize, it's perfect timing for you before you end up with two buildings full of trains like me.

I wish you the best.

Larry

Thanks Larry!

I'm definitely not getting out of the hobby.  I'm just becoming much more selective and actively moving into 2 rail O for my personal layout that I hope to build when I have time and space.   I have been fairly good at limiting it to the location of the place I want to model, but I still wander a little here and there both in era and equipment that ran there.  The issue for me is my storage location is remote from my house.  I only get there about 4 times a year.  Mainly it's been putting trains in it!    

Many have said it so well.  This idea of accumulating vs. actual collecting.  I have fallen into the trap of accumulating.  I started this hobby when I was 7 and never got out of it for more than 6 months to a year at any given time.  When most teenagers were chasing girls and working on cars, I spent my time in my attic train room with it's 16x24 HO layout.  That is a lot of time to collect "stuff" and I have N, HO, S, O and Standard Gauge now. 

I don't pretend to get value out of the collection.  I'd simply be happy putting into the hands of those who are interested.  A portion will simply be a donation to my TCA division to auction off since many items came from those auctions to start.  

To make matters more interesting, my father is slowly transferring his train collection to me which is mostly vintage HO and S.  It is larger than my collection, but due to scale it at least has less volume.  However at 78 he still plans on building a layout so what I'm getting is mostly what he wants to clear out to make space for that!

The train collection “downsizing” bug was hit me for a few years now. Compounding the issue is that the storage (closets - no basement) is full. If something new comes in - something must be culled out to make room. Having collected roads from where I had lived - especially St. Louis / opened the gates to Many road names !!! The I also did one offs for whatever I liked.
So I’ve been Slowly selling down but miss the “old friends”. Complicating even more is a move back to St. Louis that involves a dreaded “D” word - Downsizing. And still no basement. And I think the collection will have to become even more focused on even fewer roads. 
No matter. I still enjoy the hobby. 
TrainBub

Of course as I write this I found the elusive Penn Central brass Weaver GG1 on the evil site.  Yes, it is coming to my home.    However, that is one item I have been seeking for well over 10 years and the price was great.

@GG1 4877 posted:

Of course as I write this I found the elusive Penn Central brass Weaver GG1 on the evil site.  Yes, it is coming to my home.    However, that is one item I have been seeking for well over 10 years and the price was great.

Hey my friend....you missed the one that sold about 3 weeks ago and was a great deal ... (check out the completed auctions) ...... wonder who has that one now...