We are planning a move but don’t know where we are going yet. Been getting rid of a lot of stuff over the years but now is the time to be even more aggresive. Layout is modular but only some parts will go.
That is very loaded question. For me, I might unload anything that isn’t in the current theme/scheme of things. I tend to buy stuff that I have no need for(horrible impulse buyer here!). SO those are the first to go when I do a “purge” of excess train stuff. Obvoiusly, you need to look at the space in the new home and what your plans are layout wise going foward. This should help determine what stays and what gets trashed, sold or given away. Mike
I know folks here talk about Ebay and tables at swap meets – not always practical if you are moving soon – but just a reminder that places like Goodwill or Purple Heart or St Vincent de Paul exist. I have from time to time seen HO and other scale trains for sale there. Seems like a better choice than the dumpster for all but the layout sections themselves.
Dave Nelson
Not really enough information to give good advice.
Some questions to consider:
-
Who is paying for the move? Doesn’t sound like it should be the most important factor, but it turns out it normally is. When we ended our Uncle Sam special paid-for moves, and had to pay for the moves ourselves, our priorities of what we thought was worth keeping changed dramatically. And after the last 2 moves - our own labor as well as money - we’re pretty much in the “2 boxes each and the clothes on your back” camp. Which leads into the next question:
-
Are you just moving across town, or to another state? Realize everything changes when you move more than across town - the types of homes, the culture, the railroad prototypes. Moving from Alaska to San Francisco area to Colorado Springs has changed both what I want to model, and what creeps into my modeling significantly. My prototype is a free-lance narrow gauge common carrier logging line in Coastal Oregon. The standard gauge is a free-lance short line that started with transcontinental ambitions (think Oregon Pacific). The narrow gauge in some ways resembles the North Pacific Coast and logging lines near the Pt Arena and Ft Bragg areas. But the abundance and availability of Colorado information, photos, and models makes it easy for Colorado influences to creep in. At the same time, the quirkiness of railroading in Alaska has a lot of appeal, too.
-
You mention a modular layout but only taking some parts of it. Do you wish to continue with the same theme, era, scale, etc.? Changing any of those could pretty much allow you to dump everything.
-
Are you intending to downsize (smaller home, smaller layout, fewer modules)? This is probably the hardest decision point because you have to choose that which is most important out of what you already have.
In downsizing my model railroad stuff during my various moves, layouts and track we
The only thing I really ditched when I moved here was my paper collection of MR, since I have the 75 years DVD as well as now the online archive, I have no need of the old paper copies. I did bring my whole layout, but it’s going to get tossed anyway. I should have just salvaged the usable components and tossed it then.
I had already whittled my collection down to only the stuff I was going to use (and a couple of sentimental pieces I can’t part with). I no longer have era-inappropriate stuff. I sold off what I didn’t want. If you can decide on what you want to model (and when and where), selling off the stuff that doesn’t fit that plan is a good way to thin the collection and get some cash for new items you actually can use.
–Randy
Yes, it is a loaded ? Since I don’t know where we will end up, there is no planning for the next space. Hope to be moving local but you never know and moving is all on us. Household stuff is easy to decide on what to do, but railroading stuff is just too personal and close to the vest to look at like I should. All the easy to get rid of stuff has been done, years ago, though I always find more. For example I have some high quality 50’ boxcars that fit time and place and even road name, but they kinda look out of place with mostly 40’ boxcars and some smaller.
Already got rid of most train magazines, just tossed last years in fact.
Contact the nearest USO, VFW, church or American Legion. A few years ago, our church was collecting books and magazines to donate to our service men and women. I was more than happy to donate about a year’s worth of Model Railroader magazines.
Read the thread, “already got rid of”. Thanks for bumping though.
There are other places to consider for selling/donating train stuff. You might want to consider the yahoo HO train swap forums. You can easily and quickly sell stuff. Another area is see if a local hobby shop has a place where people can post things to buy/sell. You also might consider a community center or library. I figure the more places you try, the greater the chances of success.
If you know what the theme and era of your next layout will be, it will make the decision process a lot easier. I’m somewhat in the same situation because I have accumulated way more equipment than I really need. Some of the decisions are quite easy because the equipment is either too old or too modern for my current layout. I’ve switched from a western to eastern theme so it’s not likely any of those UP hopper cars would be showing up on my railroad. Other decisions are a little tougher because it can be questionable if certain equipment fits. You might need to do a little research to figure it out.
I am lucky in that my LHS buys used equipment and structures. I already sold one batch and got what I thought was a fair price. If you go that route, keep in mind the retailer has overhead to cover and wants to make a reasonable profit on the resell. If you’ve watched Pawn Stars you know that generally they will offer about 1/3 of what they think they can resell it for. That means if they think an item will sell for $30, they will offer you $10. That’s $10 for you, $10 for their overhead, and $10 for their profit.
Hello all,
I do not envy you and your position.
Definitely a tough decision.
I can only speak to what I would do facing your situation.
Decide on a give space; I’m thinking here of a trunk, packing case or number of boxes for the move/storage.
Tools- -any and all! If you are running DCC I would include any and all decoders, LEDs, wire, shrink wrap, et al.
Next, I would salvage the control system; DC or DCC.
Then I would save the locomotives you currently run.
As has been posted, “Your favorite auxiliary equipment”.
“If” that hasn’t filled up the space I would next consider “projects”. This can range from the secondary locomotives to rolling stock and structures.
The things I would definitely not take would be; track- -and all the accompanying roadbed, ballasting, senicing items and (Gulp!) wiring. (Keep any control decoders, PCBs etc.! I would consider this part of the control system.)
Sentimental items- -Anything that got you into this great hobby, things you treasure/inherited and things you just can’t live without!
Good luck!!!
Hope this helps.
I am planning on moving too. I am planning on carefully pulling up my track and boxing it up for re-use. I will destroy what surface portions are sceniced and save the basic benchwork frames and legs to incorporate into a new layout where possible. My rolling stock is being boxed up and saved; any rolling stock I am not going to need I am selling but that is an ongoing thing so I don’t have a great deal of models to sell, only a small amount.
I do have some magazines I will be getting rid of.
Depends on how far you’re moving and how big the next place is.
I’m moving 6 miles in August. It all goes, the house is about the same size and I am under no pressure/no deadline to complete the move. Movers for the big stuff, I’ll move the little stuff including all the trains.
Paul
Just curious, why the move for such a short distance? Now back to me. I have someone to sell anything that has value. I have gotten rid of cars that I just don’t like, even though appropiate for my era etc. One problem is I have dozens of tank cars (no duplicates, all era correct, down to dates, but I proubly have too many, this can be said for other items too.
Guys,When I move zero(other then mags) gets toss simply because it costs to replace the items tossed because I usually found that once used small pair of vise grips will be surely needed again.
For health/safety reasons, we’re moving from 2 story to 1 story. My wife fell down the stairs in November and is still not fully recovered.
Paul
I am moving a fairly short distance too, although maybe 10-15 miles away. My reason is simple. In the Northern Virginia (DC metro) area, the cost of living is quite high. The closer in you live to DC, the higher the home prices, even a small crappy old house close in will be very expensive - for the same 3 reasons, especially true in bigger cities: 1) location, 2) location, 3) location. For me to afford a stand alone house with a basement, I have to move further away from DC, with a longer commute. That is why the not so far away move. I don’t know where yet because it depends on what is on the market at the time I sell and things move pretty fast around here.
It’s always best to sell things when you are not under pressure to, so you can get the fairest price. HOSwap or HOExchange can work fine if you are patient. If you are in a hurry, you’ll generally get less money for what you sell. As for your other rolling stock - it’s simply a matter of what you think you’ll need for your modeling purposes. If in doubt, save it and box it up and take it with you; you’ll likely lose money if you sells thing you may need later and have to replace it. It seems like a fairly straight forward decision process. Get rid of what you don’t want or need and sell for the most fair price you can and anything you like and fits your modeling needs, box it up and take it with you when you move. Categorize and decide.
I hear you all, just hard to make decisions, for me, of this type. I am moving because last child will soon be leaving and we spend alot of time elsewhere now. An area that was important when you have childern is not as important now and the area is changing, rent for a 1 bedroom is around $3000 a month here (we own), so the people are changing.
Are you being forced to sell hobby stuff for financial reasons? If not, then simply keep the things you see your self using again, and sell or get rid of the things you don’t.
Sure, I understand people locate to certain area’s for children like for schools and other things, but if you don’t need to be there, especially if the cost of living (COL) is high, then you should be able to re-locate to an area where the COL is more reasonable. Cripes, $3000/mo for a 1 bedroom is insane. That sounds like NYC or San Francisco insane. The DC area is expensive but you can rent 3 bedroom townhouse in outlying suburbs for under 2k/mo. You can get a mortgage on a nice 3 or 4 bedroom house for under 2k as well, if you are willing to live a good distance out. If you are retired and don’t have to worry about a long commute to a job, then you can re-locate to an area where you can buy a house, maybe outright, that is good for you and have space for a layout etc.
In a way, I’m moving for a similar reason. My daughter is finished with college and has landed a job as a gov contractor. I had a considerable monthly financial outlay while she in college but now that is done, I’ll be able to afford a mortage on a stand-alone house but it will be further out with a longer commute. That’s basically a fact of life in many large metropolitan areas.