What eventually becomes of your layout ?

My HO layout wasn't built to be removd, so when I get my ticket punched, Jr will have to do what I did when my mom & dad were gone & he'll salvage what he can for himself & some of the items will then belong to their 3rd owner, & he'll have to scrap the rest.  The O gauge layout is not attached to the walls or floor & could be dissassembled & removed. At that point it won't matter to me because I'll have long since departed on the Lionel Limited for points unknown.

Dumpster.

Rusty

Someone with a sawzall and a dumpster will deal with it.  I will have long since gotten the 'fun equity' out of it in full.

Mine  was built out of modules so the base has some value to another prospective model railroader. Still have a few years left before the 4-sale sign goes up

  Reason for me asking this question,was because I was thinking about this problem when my sister-in-law was mentioning her late Granddad's layout.

 It's a very large H.O. layout and her 80 something Grandmother hasn't a clue as to how to deal with it.She's got many fond memories where her and her former husband would spend time down around the layout,but has no clue what to do with it because of it's size.

  My brother said it will probably be a problem or a joy for the next person who moves into the house.

My sons will remove it, repair the drywall, paint then replace the carpet[9x19 attic over garage in Condo].

One man's dream................another man's junk.  Nuff said.

You will have to ask my survivors to get an answer to that one.

  I've heard of houses being advertised for sale based on the layout being in there. Not sure if anyone would really shop for a home that way.

  I do know a friend who worked with his architect & designed his house's basement with a 2 rail O layout in mind. It could be ripped apart for a new homeowner I guess, but it's pretty substantially built with 2 levels & the houses's systems built into & around it, so whoever buys it would have some fun with that. A prospective buyer might even make that a clause in the sale - the seller might HAVE to remove it themselves. 

  I've also heard of wives that had trouble parting with the trains because of the memory factor. Usually they eventually wear down as they get much older & then sell everything off either at an auction or to private collectors, often at a huge loss because husbands have a tendency to hide the true value of their stuff & the wife has no real idea what it's worth unless they get everything appraised & then they usually ask crazy, sky high prices & no one buys it.  

since we are building it in my son's home nothing to the layout probably a huge sell off of pennsy locos. only thing i foresee going to the dumpster is me?? but at that point??

I designed my layout considering it will outlive me. My wish is that it will be given away to my grandchildren, or in the event that they have no interest in it, it will be given away free (less the trains) to another model railroader.

What makes this possible is the modular design of my layout. It is built on 3' wide x 6' long x 40" high benches that are clamped together. The track is sectional, and all of the scenery structures are removable.

The most difficult disassembly task will be removing the Star wiring. However, I made all of the wiring feeds a twisted pair of AWG 18 with enough extra length to accommodate at least 2 repairs of end termini. There no bus wires on the layout.

...And, yet, it has happened.  Wife and I were asked about 3-4 years ago to consider this situation on behalf of the widow.  (For 10 years we've been helping folks in this area dispose of trains estates...just by word-of-mouth).  Well, the HO layout benchwork which filled half the basement was constructed like the Rock of Gibraltar with 50 years of magazines of several publications on shelves below...all of which clearly was holding the house down in strong winds!!  The older HO trains were of minimal value.  The track was all brass...not very desirable any longer. 

The city/country scenes/structures were VERY well done...obviously the 'passion portion' of the hobby for this gent.  However, he had permanently (all glued) built this onto the plywood table top throughout.  We imagined that various scenes...city blocks, the farm scene, the station scene, the engine terminal, etc....would have been saleable as dioramas for another HO layout.  But the sawing and rending of this layout's plywood top would've destroyed everything in short order.

To shorten this tale, at our suggestion the widow found someone who wanted the trains for a reasonable price.  Everything else was left in place as the realtor got to work.

After a few weeks, the realtor...apologetic, as we understood, to every potential buyer for the 'conditions' in the basement...had a young couple see the house.  We were told that when the guy saw the basement, the layout, he went bonkers.  He HAD to have 'the house with the train layout'.  And so they did!  The realtor, in telling us this, was still flabbergast from the client reaction and sale.  The widow was ecstatic to know that her husband's work was appreciated and destined to survive.

It happens!  Worth a try, maybe?

-----

But in answer to the original thread title....."What?  Me worry?"

Nah...hopefully too busy learning how to play the harp! 

Until then.....Yee Haw!!!

KD

Never really thought about it. I'm here now enjoying it. When I'm gone it's no longer my problem.

Great story and outcome, KD...

My layout is quite simple. Goes around the Christmas tree then after a while it goes back inside these huge plastic tubs...  Nice,neat and no worries!

When we are done with it, that will probably be the end. Hopefully, we will be into trains for many years to come and I don't worry about what happens to the layout in the future.

My son helped me build it and is very much into trains.  There is little doubt who will deal with the problem.  If something happens to him????

Art

When we move I will salvage as much as possible, at least the structures, turnouts and track that isn't stuck in the ballast along with toggles.  Basically anything that can be reused.  The bench work will go in the dumpster.  

That's one reason I chose to use ready made bench work (Mianne). Easily dismantled and moved. I will probab;y never have as nice a layout as a lot of folks here as far as scenery and things, would like to, but some simple scenery would probably suit me just fine. that would also be easily moved or disposed of. I am also showing my grandson all the workings of the layout, he might just want it? At least he will know how it is all put together.

We actually did have a buyer for our previous home, layout and all, as the prospective buyer's sons were of the right age to enjoy it and he himself was intrigued by it.  But he backed out for an entirely different reason.  As someone mentioned, few home buyers would be interested in a layout: It stayed on the market for the remaining six months of the contract after that with no offers.

That layout was ultimately recycled/trashed, as I suspect my current one will be some day. 

Most real estate agents would recommend that the layout be removed before the house is listed and showings begins.

A dumpster is the usual solution.

Jim

I've had the sad duty of tearing down a good friends layout when he passed.  The trains went to auction per his wishes but a I volunteered to tear down one of the better post war layouts I've ever seen.

The lumber when it to the dumpster, some went to others for building their on bench work.  The bench work was not easy to teardown, some of it was bolted to the walls in places, tight spaces and the like.

I

The local train has stopped at the switch to the "Dead End" track, unlocked the lock to the switch BUT got orders to re-lock the lock and move on down the track.

BUT when I'm put on the "Dead End" track my trains will go to my son and grandsons.  The train building can to made into a small home (1,000 sq ft with full bath) or work shop.

My youngest daughter assures me that the trains will be gone within a week of me being gone, although now that she has a three year old who lives and breathes trains, maybe not.

In reality I don't care. Trash it , sell it, leave it, run it. 

Hopefully it will end up in the Smithsonian......but more likely it will be the local landfill.

- Mike

Since it's only 5x8, and supported by saw-horses, it would be fairly easy to re-locate. Also, most all of the scenics and the FasTrack are just sitting on it, so they could be sold. Since any move would be to a smaller house, I would not "take it with me".

Right now, I have 2 modular sections I would like to get rid of (one being a Drive-In Movie that some of you have seen), but I would need to find someone local to the Philadelphia area.

18 months ago I had to tear down a friends layout who died suddenly.First we had to get bids on the collection and match the boxes with the correct cars,other close friends helped and it still took six weeks to pack it all for the winning bidder.It was a sad thing to see as he and our group of friends enjoyed going there for trains and dinners with he and his wife who was a fan of the trains and always went to York with him.I hope my family will get the same help when the time comes.

I took care of that problem these past forty-days. I wanted a fast sell of my two prewar layouts. I sold both complete with all vintage prewar accessories. The first layout sold in three-days. The second sold ten-days later. Both were removed by the buyers. By the fifth of October everything was removed and the mess removed by the buyers.

My children took all of my boxed prewar sets. All that's left now is the odds n' ends which includes my workbench and all my prewar parts & tools.

Do I miss it? The answer would have to be, yes. I rest easy now, knowing that my family will not have to worry about the, Estate Sale Vultures. 

Its name says it all...The Ophir and Oblivion

If my wallet was fat enough, I would consider buying houses just for the layout..train layout that is. ( its a joke son http://youtu.be/KTwnwbG9YLE ).

 I traded for a discarded 4x8, no legs, layout recently. Im going to rob it of its goodies, and maybe offer the loop back to the world soon.

 The trains here are a family thing, spanning generations now. They will likely stay in the family(this time*). But my layouts? Hopefully someone would move in, and rebuild Grandpas 12x20 PW layout (if I don't get to it first). My #1, right now, is just sitting on the very shelves that once held one of Gramps best living room layouts (a bi-level mountain scene). They held fishing reels instead of trains for a while. *Most of Grandpas collection, track too, was sold 40 years ago to a local "pal" to avoid family fights over things. An angel?.NOPE!  He took more than agreed upon, wouldn't return one thing, let alone all. Then didn't pay in full, saying the 20% down payment was the agreed upon price . 50 years of collecting to a friend at a fair price? Original retail or less was paid. Anyhow... The framework & base, like the shelves, remained in the house for storage, and were filled.  Now its my place, and Im slowly purging and moving stuff to new locations, or back where they were when I was a kid, so hopefully, I can eventually revive it...and toss all of mine out myself (more likely I would offer them free. I like to trade things on "local lists" for cold 2 liters of soda) It would take some effort to remove it 100%. The engine storage shelves, from layout to ceiling, would take the most effort, but being a PW layout the table is simple.  

 The bed room layout(#2) was mostly just an expansion of old doll shelves to begin with it can be removed just about as easy as a normal shelf. 

When I am gone, I hope that the layout that took me 10+ years to build will survive. While my 2 sons find it interesting they don't have the same appreciation for the hobby as I do.  So what will happen to the layout and the large train collection that took me 33 years to acquire is anyone guess. When they lock the box on you everything about your possessions become a question mark. Maybe we will even see scale Hudson's out on the lawn in a yard sale selling for $10 each!!!

It is my hope that my son would keep it, or at least keep the Christmas trains and pass those traditions on to his kids. Otherwise I am sure that the bride has something in mind

for them.

quote:

too, was sold 40 years ago to a local "pal" to avoid family fights over things. An angel?.NOPE!  He took more than agreed upon, wouldn't return one thing, let alone all. Then didn't pay in full, saying the 20% down payment was the agreed upon price . 50 years of collecting to a friend at a fair price? Original retail or less was paid 

Sadly, this is similar to stories I have heard before.
The stories were not limited to trains, it could be any collectable.

IMHO, the best defense is to have an inventory with approximate values and to talk with your family about how to handle the trains.

Of course, with the way train prices are going, they may not be worth much anyway

Thank's for reminding me of what I have to look forward to…..LOL and by the way can any body tell me which engines's withstand the HEAT the best? I'am guessing Steamers I'll tell my wife to throw a couple in the box with me…….. 

Mine is designed to come apart in 2x8 foot sections, maybe four sections are of awkward shape.all scenery is removable. Layout top is removable from bench work underneath. 

 Size 24x36 feet

Clem k

Foghorn is my all time favorite, a real class act! Liked him since I was a kid. W.C. Fields is another one of my favorites

Sometimes a death brings out the very best in people. It's amazing how greed takes over once someone is gone. It's left many a family on non-speaking terms from that point on. It's really too bad folks have to act this way when they should be mourning the loss of the deceased person.

I just went through liquidating my layout recently.Getting rid of cars and locomotives is fairly easy.A friend of mine was starting to get into the business of selling trains at shows and sold of lot of what I had.

 Problem was benchwork covered much of a 30 by 30 basement.Found a man at a local 2 rail club who had collected pieces of layouts to combine into his future layout. He took the benchwork as we had removed the track , switches switch machines.He plans to combine pieces of various extinct layouts into a new one when he has space.

The layput is in the garage and dismantling (destroy) will be easy.

I hope my 2 sons will take the track, buildings, little autos , trucks and Trains and save for a later day for them.

Brent