When is enough enough?

I've been in this hobby for eight years, and have kept my collection (maybe "accumulation" would be a better word) under control.  I would advise people to stick to one 20-year time period.  And stick to one railroad.

 

I can't help but break my own above rules  from time to time, but it helps me say "no" to myself.

Maybe there are (should be) a 12-step program for rail fans & model railroaders.  

 

1. I came to believe that I am powerless over railroad museums, shows, hobby shops, & model trains and that my life has become unmanageable.  

 

2. Only a higher power (Zephyrus ?) and 12 step program could restore me to sanity. 

 

3. I made a searching and fearless moral inventory (and inventory of model trains, structures, vehicles, art prints, shirts, hats, Sundance pins, railfan books, DVDs, etc).  

 

4. [Please edit the three above and/or add steps of your own.]

 

 

Although I limit my purchases to CB&Q related items, the amount of offerings over the last 20 years are tremendous in numbers.  My basement shelves are also way past capacity and I do not yet have a layout.  Because of the storage space issues, I have to be very selective about any additional purchases.  I find that just managing my inventory is as much work as having a part-time job.  

 

Maybe we should all get together for an OGA (O-Gaugers Anonymous) meeting.  We can use only our first names (or maybe screen names) during our meetings.  Perhaps we can meet at the McDonalds in Wheaton IL after the DEC-2015 Great Midwest Train Show ?   

 

I am a collector and proud of it.  As far as I am concerned:
Collecting isn't about having the most trains when you die. Collecting isn't about buying newly made stuff and storing it in unopened boxes. Nor is it about setting up miles of shelves and putting everything out on display. (but if you want to do those things, that's fine with me)

Collecting is about the activities surrounding the building of the collection. It involves researching the items of interest, and finding them. The endless parade of books and price guides on Lionel have impacted collecting, as has EBay. But those books / guides still don't cover everything, and are not 100 percent accurate. One does not have to use EBay. I buy many things from EBay, but rarely are they for my train collection.

 

When is enough enough? ... when you are spending money on trains that should be used elsewhere. When you are purchasing items for the sake of purchasing them. When you are out of room. When you are finding that you has lost interest in them after only a few years, and always have to be purchasing something new to maintain your interest.

 

Anybody interested in reading what collecting is about might want to find a copy of "The Toy Collector" by Louis Hertz.

 

That is what my son (40years old) tells me about his massive Star Wars collection  almost word for word, maybe he read Louis Hertz book!

Roo.

Too late!  Where were you with this advice 30 years ago?

 

 

 

 

What, me worry?

This topic has come up many times before. One of those 5-6 recurring OGR topics.

 

And my answer is always the same. Based on some sage advice I got many years ago, I try to stick with a road name, theme, era, etc. and limit purchases to that. Admittedly, it has worked with only limited success.    I, too, have the dreaded boxes of miscellaneous rolling stock that I have no memory buying.

My trains are used and modified, so the values depend on who wants them. No way to write that down.

And values wildly go up and down over time for the historical RR and military items in my collection, any of them could be worthless one day and priceless the next, or vice versa. I'm just told her how best to get the most out of it, and a few things I'd like her to give first crack at buying to certain people.

I really should write out a detailed will. We don't have kids, so it'd be pretty easy for me to just write for her what do to with a few things and she can sell the rest. I just don't want her to give away stuff she could get money for.

I've also told her to slam the door in the face of anyone knocking on the door offering to 'help' her get rid of my stuff. I have heard too many horror stories of that happening to others. A pal of mine I re-enacted with passed way young and she was beset upon day and night by people looking to buy stuff, capitalizing on her grief, within less than a day of his passing. She was a smart cookie, though, and found someone to handle it all for her who did a good job for her.

Use your heads guys!Spend money on trains when all else is well and set!Such as:

Your wife has a new Cadillac.

Bathrooms remodeled

Kitchen remodeled

Appliances OK

Roof not leaking

Your Job is secure at least for now(This week)

Just giving a few examples.

NOT including what you have no control over..(IMPORTANT)

ENJOY your trains!…Nick

How many times are we going to be talking about this? One train is too many and a million is not enough..........

quote:

I've also told her to slam the door in the face of anyone knocking on the door offering to 'help' her get rid of my stuff. I have heard too many horror stories of that happening to others. A pal of mine I re-enacted with passed way young and she was beset upon day and night by people looking to buy stuff, capitalizing on her grief, within less than a day of his passing.

 

Yes, things such as this are known to happen. Some folks even brag about the deals they got. Worse still, are those who take advantage of a deceased friend's widow.

 

Well put.  I made the same decision when I came back to trains.  And, glad I did.  It has kept me from purchasing a bunch of stuff I regret.

 

C.W. Burfle was spot on with his comments about why some build collections. Some of us collecting trains don't have a layout for various reasons and it's great fun to search for those pieces and variations.  For example, I have 7 different FEFs because I love the different classes.  Someday I plan on building the many different classes of UP Mikados.

 

I'm having a lot of fun and that's what matters.  At least to me  

I limit mine to family trains, gifts, and the odd piece that has some beauty now but will probably be on its way out in a few years to make room for more.

I would put it this way, just be glad you can buy what you want. Not everybody can do that. I say buy what you like and can afford. 

 

We are not on this earth forever so while I am here it is my fun time and fun it will be. 

Always moderate your moderation. Discipline is overrated. 

The other night a local LHS had some sort of a train night. It was the first time they did this so I decided to attend. The email said "Tips and Techniques" so I thought I might learn something and get to talk trains with folks. Well, there wasn't many Tips and Techniques but I did meet some nice folks and I had a good time. The guy running the show is a nice guy who is very passionate about trains. Most of the show was him going through the MTH catalog talking about all of the neat stuff in there. And Yeah, there were a couple of really cool items even in the Rail King line that I liked. He called this meeting a train club and said whomever pre-ordered anything would get an extra 5% off. It was basically a long commercial.

 

Anyway, my point is if you are someone like me who grew up far away from real trains and the only trains you knew were your Lionels and you got a general love of all trains and everything railroad related you could really spend loads of money in this hobby and accumulate loads of trains and stuff.

 

My budget is not big enough that I could accumulate as many trains as the OP. I just don't have the money to buy everything that I like. If I had a bigger budget and I bought everything I liked I could see me having the same problem as the OP but the cure for me would not be going back to Lionel Postwar trains. While I do like to run my Postwar once in a while for nostalgia I like the modern stuff better.

 

I mainly stick to one road because what I want to accomplish is make a layout showing what the NYC was like. However, I do have a little PRR and CNJ and Raritan River RR. On one occasion I let my guard down and I bought something just because I liked it and it is a SP Daylight. No, it doesn't fit in with my plans but I figure I can allow myself a little lee way. But I must be more disciplined in the future because now I am at the point where it is more important to get the layout built than to accumulate more locomotives. I have 3 sets of passenger cars and that's it. I will try not to buy any more. I don't need any more for my plans.

 

So my advice is find a niche and stay focused. No it isn't easy but it really helps and you may find yourself "wanting what you have". Of course there will be other locomotives and cars you may need to accomplish your goals but they won't all be coming out at the same time. I am more than happy to wait on these items because this hobby is a not a race to see who can accumulate the most the fastest.

I hit the "enough" stage 2 years ago. Trust me...I have far less than most of you, as nothing is "in storage". However, at age 73, trains are not the only thing I have enough of.

never enough

 

IMO, train collecting began in most of us out of a childhood love for the high tech toys of the day that we could not afford to own. As the baby boomers grew to young adults the craving for more trains developed. In the late seventies I began buying trains at a frantic pace until I owned just about every post war engine, piece of rolling stock and accessory that Lionel ever made in that era. Then it was on to MPC, the Kuhn years but when everything went TMCC/Legacy/Chinese, my purchases slowed almost to a halt. Today my purchases are very selective. An item would have to fit my layout of Eastern roads for me to buy.

The evolution of my train hobby has been one from being a collector to a layout artist. That love of trains has evolved into creating scratch built  realistic towns and building a presentation of railroading as it was back in the 1950's that I enjoy sharing with friends. Still run conventional trains 100%.

The vast majority of trains are still in boxes which is a testament to the excess that sometimes happens in any hobby. The market for PW trains is declining so the stuff just sits. Still go to train shows for the social aspect of the hobby but looking back the hobby has given me everything that I expected from it and more.

The niche I picked was Lionel trains, and I focused on buying them.  What's the next step?

There are a lot of smart guys on this forum.  The original post is very well stated.  I got into Lionel trains around 1999 when I bought a NYC Flyer set to go sound the Xmas tree.  I loved how well it ran.  I had always had HO trains in my youth, and even though I read a lot and tried to build a layout every winter, I could never get it to run well.  When I saw how cool the O gauge train was, I immediately said, I've got to build a layout and finally get to the promised land.  TMCC was just coming out, I got into all the IC Control boxes and had a lot of fun with it.  Much trial and error, that's for sure.  I was doing it by myself.  Lou at IC Controls helped a bunch.   I built a bigger layout, which was pretty darn sweet, operating accessories, crane, log loader, Ross track with a good track plan.  I loved the PWC series, classic looks with the latest stuff.  But I just felt I don't need anymore technology wise.  Even a GP30 or C420 with cruise was more than I needed.  I was and still am happy with TMCC Geeps and a few steamers.  I lost interest in Legacy and beyond, although I built three layouts for people that have it.  Just seems like overkill.  I got into prewar original standard gauge last winter and bought some beautiful pieces.  I'm good for now.  I'm selling most of my O gauge, although it does hurt to say that, I like it, and don't really want to, but life being as it is, I may not have another layout for a long time, if ever, so I may as well sell most of it and buy a fishing boat.  I like fishing.  I like Lu

What a thoughtful thread: I appreciate reading everyone's perspective. And it is such an individual thing. This hit home for me last year when I realized I had enough to put together my 'own' train sets - track, transformer and trains - and give them away to family and friends. Which was fun. And cleared out most of what I don't use on the current layout which felt somewhat freeing as I have always been more of a 'runner' than collector. 

 

Without personalizing this too much, I'm always curious about the market dynamics for the producers and sellers of the newest 'cool' and expensive-to-me engines and other stuff. There must be enough people still buying it since it is still being made...