I was approached by an older gentleman yesterday who is "retiring’ from the hobby. He is giving me first dibs on the whole kit and kaboodle…I’m in the process of getting ready to start a new layout and I’m always looking for more train stuff…here’s the deal
10X15 shelf layout 2 levels primarily industrial switching partially scenicked with 46 remote switches, electrically blocked. 7 engines + 4 dummies 160 freight cars +4 kits, 54 structures + 8 unbuilt kits, 4 piece amtrak train, scenery materials, trees, bridges, numerous scale vehicles, 4 power packs and other miscellaneous items…it is not DCC. He started it 7 years ago and I guess lost interest. I’m going to look at it tomorrow…Hes asking $700 OBO…what are your thoughts.
For me…it would depend entirely on the quality and age of the individual items and layout. The seller may have started it 7 years ago. However, did he buy things new…or did he get whatever was cheap at a local train show. If it’s mostly 2nd and 3rd generation hand-me-downs from a swap meet then I, personally, would rather spend the $700 more judiciously.
You also have to consider the time and effort it will take you to remove and transport the layout from this gentleman’s house AND whether you will run the layout as is or just salvageable what you can from it.
Have the guy make a list of all of the major items such as locomotives, freight cars, structures, kits, bridges, power packs, and remote switches. You need to know brand names. Once you have that in hand, you can determine the original retail prices which will tell you whether $700 is a good price.
If you just stand there and look at the layout, it is virtually impossible to say whether it is worth $700.
The other key question is whether all of this stuff works, namely the locomotives, power packs and remote switches.
well, {conservatively?}, at $20 per switch = $920.
at $20 per loco = $140
at $5 per RR car=$800
at $5 per struct. = $270
well, that is a total of over $2K there…if you bought it piece by piece off Ebay.
If the stuff is all, say, Nickel Silver track, and newer stuff {like present day and not old 1970-80s he bought as “junque”}, Well, I’d say the $700 is worth it.
BUT: anything is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, ARE YOU willing to pay the $700 for it???
I would look at the quality, appearance and operation of the locos. The appearance of the cars, do they have Kadees and metal wheels, neat glue jobs? Appearance of the structures, neatly glued and painted. NS track, brand of turnouts and controls. Brand and quality of power packs.
A shelf layout should be relatively easy to move as long as a vehicle big enough to move the sections is available. Do you have a place you can set up part of the layout as it is?
On the surface it sounds like a good deal. If it can pass most of the suggestions that are listed in these responses, I’d go for it, otherwise, it will need some thinking.
It does seem like a good deal–7 moderately priced locos could easily run $700 by themselves. I’d say take a look and pay attention to whether this feels like the right deal for you. You’ll know right when you see it. Does it match your era? You could hate the road-name. It could be your favorite.
I personally hate the New York Central because it reminds me of the Yankees. I’ve hated the Yankees since I was a kid. I could never run an NYC stable.
I think it is probably a really good deal, but only if you have no particular interest or desire to build your own way into the hobby. For many of us, dreaming, planning, and actually building a layout is what makes up about 70% of the fun we experience/want from the hobby.
Then there’s the question of what limitations are you buying if you buy what he built and what he purchased to run on what he built. It sounds like he runs DC. Is that okay with you, or if you will convert it to DCC, do you know what you must do? Do you already know how blocks work, and can you figure out his wiring system?
Finally, take a critical look at his track plan. Apart from the obvious eye-candy appeal of what he wants to sell you, does his track plan make sense, does it hold interest for you, and will it retain your interest for the foreseeable future?
Who is going to break down the layout? That takes time and should be factored into this deal.
Aside from that, the track and engines are the key. Both can be a huge expense if purchased new. With today’s prices, it is not hard to spend 700 dollars at a LHS.
If the era and road names appeal to you, then it may be a great deal. If not then spend the money elsewhere.
Keep in touch with this guy if you decline. He may part out the layout giving you the opportunity to purchase certain items.
The thing I would be worried about would moving the layout itself. I’ve been involve in moving tens of layouts through the years. In every instance the damage to the track has been considerable especially if there are any bridges. In over half the instances the damage as been so bad they were salvageable. We took off the few pieces of track that could be reused and threw them in the dumpster.
For things like locomotives it makes a huge difference if they are Model Power, Life-like, Bachmann type or if they are Atlas, Genesis, Spectrum, Proto-2000 type. I mean there is good model railroad equipment and there is toy train junk.
However, unless you are planning on setting the layout up exactly as is, I would suggest that you analyse the individual parts carefully. Look at each of the components and add up the value of those pieces to you.
There are seven DC engines. Do any of them meet your needs in terms of quality or road name? If the majority do then there is some value right there. If you are only getting one or two locos that interest you then they might not be a bargain. Also, if you are planning on using DCC with sound, you should add about $100 to each engine minimum to convert them.
There are 160 freight cars. First question is how many more freight cars do you want, and the second question is how many of those 160 are desirable? Do you need to add proper couplers or metal wheel sets or weight? If so, add $ 8 or more to the cost of each car.
There are 46 switches. Those may be the real bargain if they are in good condition. You say that they are remote control. Is that control manual or do you have switch motors? If you have Tortoises per chance then there is $600 worth of equipment right there. Even if the switches are manual there is between $700 and $1200 worth of components depending on the manufacturer. Great value if you need 46 switches, but you could always sell off any surplus on eBay. That obviously goes for the other bits and pieces too.
Structures - meh. You may have a few that really interest you but if you use the whole bunch you will be denying yourself the pleasure of building your own.
Bottom line is that you need to look carefully at the individual pieces before you can decide whether or not the whole shebang is worth it.
Most likely a good deal. What I do in these cases is add up the things I want till the number works out, after that any thing else is gravy, just bought a deal on e-bay like that (a lot smaller though), many pics and there was enough in one to get the deal.
My personal opinion? If you’re going to operate the layout exactly as is, it’s probably a good deal, unless it’s in really bad shape. On the other hand, few of us share interests so closely that you’re likely to be satisfied with someone else’s creation. You’ll most likely end up with a lot of stuff you don’t want.
went and took a look at it over the weekend. It’s a nice layout, nice track plan. He gave me the option to buy the “components” (locos,cars, and all scenery) if I wasnt interested in the layout. The layout interests me but it would be a bear to move. It would require some modifications to the track plan. The “components” on the other hand…a variety of manufacturers of rolling stock. I saw some tyco/mantua junk. There were several athearn, Walthers, limited run and other kit cars. The Locos are athearn, proto, older atlas and misc. All Locos and rolling stock are Kadee equipped
The scenery materials…some nice quality kits, sharp, well put together.He has several shallow “backdrop” buildings (printed, cut out and glued to masonite) They lack the “detail” that I like to add. He has several boxes of tree kits, scenery material and figures.
All in all…not a bad assortment of stuff. I am going back tomorrow night to have another look. If I do anything I will offer to buy the components and keep what I am interested in and dump the rest. I am confident I can recoup my purchase price after I keep what I want.
This is what I came up with based on local train show prices
160 freight cars …Kadee equipped…$4-$8 each
Locos…$20-$60 each depending on brand
Buildings…built…$8 and up…backdrop buildings $3
Tree Kits…$10 and up depending on size
To equip 160 freight cars with kadees is a small fortune in itself, add the other stuff in and it may very well be a good deal. I am strongly considering it.
I’m not a seasoned expert on this but if everything works, especially the switching electronics even if you tear everything up and start rebuilding from scratch its sounding like a financial good deal to me
a lot depends on if you like what you see rolling stock wise and a big one would be if his locomotives are DC convertible…