I have tried, Lionel, Kline, MTH for donations of things to run at my ckub, the TAMR, do you have any ideas?
Thanks
What about local hobby shops? Mostly a rather big sized train shop usually have some secondhand stuff or paid-for-but-never-collected things, expaired warranty things etc.
Don’t ask for the best, but some small laying around things could be a possibility.
Ask before they have to invetorize their stock for tax and fire-insurance and they could be very helpfull.
(in holland shops have to inventorize their stock once a year and pay tax for the value it represents. Fire-insurance also uses that to calculate their insurancecosts and most shops try to get rid of a lot of things before that…)
Of course im not looking for fancy stuff, just somethings to run at shows
I would try putting out a discrete letter to the dealers who show up at your shows asking if they have anything to donate. One might have a PS-1 engine or an early 90’s Lionel diesel they can’t get rid of…
The manufacturers don’t normally privide donated items for one VERY good reason: If they did it for one group, they would be expected to do it for everyone. It would definitely be a no-win situation for them.
You may have better success with your local dealer, especially if you have one who is actually doing fairly well.