How many of us change our minds over what locos or rolling stock to run or even what scale to model? Well here is my idea to help those of us that keep changing our minds.
How about a loco library?
This would be run by, for example, a hobby club, and you would pay a yearly subscription to join (say $25), then you could borrow the locos or rolling stock for a small monthly fee (say $10 per loco) plus postage. When you had finished with the loco you send it back to the library and borrow another one. The person in charge of the library would maintain the loco’s and the money used could pay for new locos and replace them on a yearly basis. Thus you only pay for the locos you want at any particular phase of your modelling. You would also not have unused locos sitting on a shelf gathering dust.
This would also be useful to try before you buy. If you like a particular loco you have borrowed you could then buy your own.
Has anyone else thought about doing this, or are you already doing it at your club. Of course the other alternative is to buy from online auction sites and sell them again hoping they will sell for more or less what you paid for them.
Do you think I should give up the day job and start a new career!
For those who like to run different roads and scales; probably not a bad idea. Since I model a specific road in a specific scale, it wouldn’t really appeal to me.
Hello looks good on paper. But what if a loco arrives brook then what? Or if bill gets his loco for 10$ and it turns out bill is Fred and the loco and Fred are gone? Will there be late fees? Will they all be DCC or DC can I get more then one at a time? would there be a dopiest?The list can go on forever. Sure I would try it out. Frank
Explain why you think its a dumb idea. There are lots of car clubs around North America that do the exact same thing with high end cars. One week your out cruzin around in a 200000 dollar Lamborgini, the next week your out in a rag top Bentley, next up your picking up your groceries in a Viper then your out for a drive in the country in a Ferrari F430. Personally doing the samething with model trains is not something I would look into but I don’t think it’s a dumb idea. It would let people who can’t afford a fleet of high end loco’s the chance to experience them first hand.
Think about it. The multimillionaires cruising around testing a 200K lambo are RICH. You think they would let some trailer park Walmart shopping hick like myself do that? Dream on.
Same with lending locomotives.
Ok, lets see a credit card. To make this viable, you give me your credit card, I check your credit history out and if you don’t bring back the $200 worth of loco’s then I charge your card. Just like our local video rental store does when I rent out $900 worth of video systems and game rentals for a weekend party. I don’t bring that stuff back, they have my credit card info and charge me 900 bucks.
If I can afford multiple credit cards with a $10,000 limit, then surely I can afford to buy half a dozen locomotives I may or may not use.
Silly or not, this idea has merit as an idea for discussion in a forum situation.
As a business proposition It would probably lack enough serious backers to ever get off the ground as a functioning entity programmed to enjoy future profits. The market just isn’t big enough - even if it was to be franchised througout the country as stand alone businesses at a later date. The market is too small to be able to withstand the costs and frustrations involved - and they would be many. The only possibility where it may work is as an adjunct to say a club - who would source it’s custom from members or as part of a LHS. Neither of these organizations would really want any piece of some business like this because it’s too difficult to control - given that the dark sides of human nature would make this kind of operation a living nightmare - there are too many oportunities for things to go bad and for whoever ran or invested in a MR equipment lending service to loose their shirt and the top 1/16th layer of skin to go with it. Most would say, no thanks, I’ll just stick to my knitting!
Operating a rental company is a specialized business and it is nessesary to have considerable business acuman in order to be sucessful. It’s not the domain for well meaning folks with good intentions to be operating - it’s a minefield for the unwary and the start-up costs considerable.
Just think of a retail business as an investment in stock where you get a return - an income, from your investment. Much in the same way as if you invested money into say the stock market and recived a return on that by way of dividends. Perhaps that’s a crappy example in todays troubled financial times but you see my point, I’m sure.
I believe that most people in a, try before you buy, frame of mind could possibly seek out the free option of talking to fellow modelers and train enthusiasts and do a lot of reading in order to for
That is one very interesting idea. I never would have thought of that. Perhaps you could make it a loco swap. Everyone that joined could swap one of their locos for one the Swap has. Each loco that the Swap would receive would be serviced and put up for anyone else to take.
As most of you will know from reading MR and other mags. there are modellers that swap cars (rolling stock) on a regular basis, with the pretense that they are just interlining cargo to a further destination. This seems to work OK for them. I have not read of any complications in regard to breakage or postage losses etc.
If this library was set up properly with a “Commissioner” “Librarian” or what ever you wanted to call him and with a set of rules and regulations to operate by ( meaning that there would have to be a secure method set-up, possibly through Paypal, for example, where funds could be transfered and a security deposit held in trust in case of loss or breakage. I think it could work, and might be of a great interest to many modellers for various reasons.
It would be time consuming and I don’t see where the person operating it would receive renumeration for their time. Would all have to be worked out and studied in depth, not just here on the Forum.