What do you do with your paper Catalogs?

I file them in a filing cabinet by year.  It's fun to look back.  It's a great reference for buying or selling.

My catalogs start in the late 20's and go to current.  I don't have all the latest years, but have most. 

Before they started getting so thick (90's) I put them in a protective sleeve and put the sleeves in a 3 ring binder. Then that goes on the bookshelf. The newer ones just go directly to the shelf. I used to be a lot more into collecting them, now I just pile up whatever Charlie Ro sends me.

Same as Elliot. Clear Sleave and three ring binder.

I store mine in the archival polyethylene sleeves and keep them in a box.  I have from 1930-present; most in "mint" (realizing there's no mint for paper) conditions; the older ones are almost flawless.  Started collecting them in 1975 then took a break for a few decades.

I'd love to have DVD copies of all the catalogs, cuz I really really really don't want to dig out a 1937 catalog just to check something on the scale Hudson.  I understand there were copyright issues with some of the catalogs hence they cannot be electronically scanned.

Funny thing is that the newer items have such desire to operate, I often find myself scanning catalogs from 6-8 years ago to find out when a given item was originally made.

I keep Lionel and K-Line. The rest are given away when the next one is issued.

I have them stored in a cabinet that is easy to get to. I don't often refer to them, but when I want the information contained therein, they are very easy to get to.

I give them away to children at our church. To them, it's a "picture book". From what their parents tell me, most get worn out with their child looking at them.

I have a file cabinet with hanging basket files.....every Lionel catalog from 1946 through 2000 is represented. Every MTH catalog from 1994-2000 is there, too.....Since 2000, I use the Internet for my catalogs and bring the extra paper catalogs (after a year or so) to modular set-ups to give to kids.

I have ditched my Atlas and Williams catalogs (gave them away to kids at set-ups). I have a large pile of KLine catalogs for when/if John of HSL does a KLine archive.

I have an large ROW catalog that is neat......saving it for no good reason other than it is a talisman of a different era.

Peter

About a year ago I took my catalog's to a recycle bin.  As much as I liked having them around I just got tired of dealing with them.

Give them to my grandson who enjoys them to pieces.

Scotie

I have a filing system, but when I have a table at a local train show, I sell them off along with old Model Railroad Magazines.

Gary

Cheers from Michigan

I keep all of my Lionel Post-war catalogs from 1946 to 1959 in plastic envelopes which I store in a glass enclosed bookcase.  I do the same for all of my American Flyer catalogs from 1950 to 1959.  I still take them out quite often and page through them.  Its like a walk through history and I still enjoy them.  I have kept only a few of the modern catalogs such as Lionel's 2000 catalog and the first couple of the Lionel Tinplate catalogs from MTH.  I am a digital subscriber here on the forum but for pure relaxation purposes I still prefer to leisurely thumb through a hard print catalog or magazine.   

All of my catalogs,brochures,railroad magazines,etc. go to my brother in law.  He collects everything. (Rattus pakratius)  Just kidding,he is a great guy with a bunch of trains.

Norm

I collected catalogs from 1945 till they started to go digital

I have Lionel from 1932 to present and MTH FROM 1996 to present and many K Line, I keep them for reference material.

Mikey

I have them in print copy since I re-entered the hobby, about 4-5 years worth. I prefer the print copies to look at and select my pre-orders, but I also download the digital copies and keep them on my computer for reference. Not sure what I will do with the print versions when the stack gets too big, still a way to go on that?

There is nothing like the Real Lionel Catalog, or AC Gilbert Catalog, or The MTH Catslog, or The Weaver Catalog,or the Atlas O, or k-Line Catalogs, or Ives, or Dorfan, or What ever.....I like sitting in an easy chair and just thinking about the Good Ole Days of wishing I had that Lionel F3 Sante Fe or NYC F3 ABA......Dreams came true many Years Later....This is the Best of Times, yes This the Very Best of Times.

From one mans Imagination way back before the Year 1900---Through 2015, it's simply Just Gotten Better.....Wow, the trains of this Era are Simply the Most Fun, the Most Realistic, (most Expensive) The Next Thing to standing beside a Real Train.

Tried to give them away - no one wanted them.

So the recycling dumpster gets them now.

I give my to kids.

Try to get them interested in the hobby

Don't part with those K-Line catalogs Peter! "or at least talk to me first"  I would love those on a digital format! 

I invite anyone who has old catalogs, they do not want, to donate them to the San Diego 3-Railers so that we can hand them out to children who visit the San Diego Model Railroad Museum and the San Diego 3-Railers.

Thank you.

great post Tim!!!

I give them to local kids or burn them in the fireplace.

I keep the catalogs of interest in a plain manila folder, which in turn is placed in a hanging folder in my file cabinet.
I've been giving away my "current" catalogs for a number of years now.

"RECYCLE"

This hobby is great - one can study/concentrate/operate in just about any niche they desire - there's no problem as long as you have fun.

Let me just clarify my position on things. I buy trains to operate. Every one of 'em has been on the rails. Yes, I run my scale Hudson remake, but it does sit under a glass case on the mantle.  But I "collect" paper. Stock certificates, catalogs, etc. I collect not so much to collect, but to have a source for reference.

I find it odd that so many of the replies thus far have talked about disposing of the catalogs. True, the newer versions will probably never amount to much of a dollar value, but as I noted in a prior post, even *I* use them for reference purposes.

All that said just to tweak the survey just a little: Do those of you who toss the catalogs also toss your boxes?  As in, I would find it intellectually curious if you toss the catalogs but save your boxes. To me, it's one and the same...

Just threw my 1922 Lionel out by the curb...did the same with a B & O F-3 B unit EMPTY BOX, but my wife scooped it up, and sold it on Ebay last month for $500.  DO NOT THROW PAPER OR CARDBOARD AWAY!!!

I personally hate the online/digital catalogs.  I have yet to find a computer that they work well on.  And the downloadable PDFs aren't much better.  Plus you can't just flip through them like you can with a paper one.  Plus, once I'm done with the paper one, I put it on a low book shelf so that the kids can look at them.  I remember "drooling" over things in catalogs as a kid, why should I deny today's kids the same experience?

I put them to a most constructive use at the bottom of the bird cage,

quote:

All that said just to tweak the survey just a little: Do those of you who toss the catalogs also toss your boxes?  As in, I would find it intellectually curious if you toss the catalogs but save your boxes. To me, it's one and the same...

Interesting question. If I have an original box for a train, it is kept, regardless of the value of the train or the age of the item / box.

Keeping the boxes / packing may not enhance the resale value of an item, but they certainly do make them more saleable and easy to store

I stopped saving catalogs issued after a certain date because:
the product described within doesn't interest me
they have little to no value

I am out of space (most important reason)

Stored for future reference.

I have liked printed catalogs all my life. I like looking at them and reading them. I think it all started with the Sears Christmas toy catalogs back in the '50s when I was a kid and I am too old to change now. There are some old electronics catalogs (Heathkit, Laffayette (SP), etc.) from the '60s or so that I wish I had kept. Would be fun to go back and look at them now.

So, I think this thread has now got me keeping all my train catalogs. Even if the stack does get out of hand as I mentioned earlier. If I make it another 20 years or so (which I am hoping for) it will be fun to go back and see the changes that have been made since I re-entered the hobby in 2011. Look how far things have come in the last 20 years. Can't imagine what the trains will be like in another 20 years or so if it continues this way? As long as there is competition I think we still have many new features to look forward to.

I have mine all stacked up in boxes for the most part. The newer ones I have out in the train room. I was thinking about recycling them until I read this post and now I think it would be better to hand them out to kids like some of you do. 

Ours usually grow legs and walk away (usually young kids grab them) which is why we keep the most current ones in the back room. We freely hand out starter set catalogs.

Dont want or need new MTH or Lionel catalogs anymore. Keep old MTH up to about 2001, Sold off the MTH trains. Only really keep my Lionel catalogs up until 2001. I sold off all but a few postwar Lionel trains and I switched to S scale a couple years ago. I lost interest in O gauge and all the pre-order nonsense.  Also cant justify paying up $50 to $60 bucks for one freight car that came out of the same exact mold/ tooling that was developed in the 50's

I give them to my sons(2 and 4).  They "read" them everyday.

I had a pile of old catalogs - 1950s - 1980s.  They were in good shape.  I put them out at Cal-Stewart and other 3-rail train shows to sell for $1 each or 6 for $5.   Only a couple of them sold.

I have tried giving the newer ones away at train shows without success.  As far as I can determine the only people who want them are the recycle people.  That is where they will probably end up.

NH Joe 

Earlier this year I dumped years worth of magazines that rarely ever got a second look. It gave me a little pause in the moment, but within an hour I was feeling great about the reclaimed space and the prospect of less dust. My stacks of catalogs are next to go. I will scan the sections I want to keep and then walk the paper to the bin. Maybe I will keep one or two that I really like; I did the same with my magazines.

I still hold on to boxes for rolling stock and larger accessories for the simple practical reason that it will facilitate selling and shipping when that time eventually comes.