I’m avoiding the temptation to get into modeling, so I opted instead to indulge in a few calendars. And a NS 911 license plate.
I already have the 2020 NS calendar, with a BNSF on order and just mailed off payment for a RBMN calendar as well. That should do it for a while.
Collectables can be almost as dangerous as modelling.
Especially when your collection just has to have that authentic CS&LGRR lantern with the green globe…
Or a complete set of Santa Fe’s Mimbreno dining car china!
Timetables, both employee and public, can be equally habit-forming[:-^]
Lanterns. Oh brother, I’m up to 30 of them right now. I had to cool it because I’ve just run out of room!
Although they DO come in handy during power failures.
Timetables are sorta like maps of the rails, right? I found the timetable for our area and it was interesting. Speed restrictions, switches and the like.
Yes, city ticket offices were wonderful sources of passenger timetables from many roads. Employee timetables were, and are, harder to come by. Of course, if you have the money, it is possible to buy ETT’s. Even more difficult were rule books.
Quoting Larry: “Collectables can be almost as dangerous as modelling.” Yes, especially if you collect torpedoes.
I collect books of all kinds, including railroad books. And I actually read them too.
Oh wow, track torpedoes! You don’t see those around too often, probably a good thing.
An old timer I new up in New Jersey years back told me the local railroaders he’d gotten friendly with when he was a kid used to give him track torpedoes. He used 'em as targets for his .22 rifle! He said you sure knew when you scored a bulls-eye!
I collect quite a few paper products: public and employee timetables, maps, brochures, Official Guides of the Railways (a must for collectors). I also collect old tower records which list the daily movements of trains (very interesting) and have a large collection of Conrail dispatch sheets which expands the tower movements to entire divisions…also very interesting.
One of my favorite collectables are old Freight Schedule books which were issued to operation personnel and would list all scheduled freight trains with routings, blockings, etc. The tower records, dispatch sheets, and freight schedules provide a very good look at how railroads were operated, particularly when combined with Official Guides which listed all passenger train movements.
I also have a collection of railroad mechanical pencils, something I can use at my desk.
Ed
Concerning collectibles:
I realize you need to buy from a reputable seller, and expect to pay a good price.
That said, how can I tell for sure something is original rather than a knock off? I’ve seen signs that look about as real as you can get, yet know they are not real.
It doesn’t help that sites like ebay have words like “authentic”, “original”, “antique”, and “vintage”. I looked up ebay’s definitions, and they don’t clear up anything at all. I’m not picking on ebay, because even buying at a railroad show or a store is just as difficult.
Without being an expert, how can I be sure not to get ripped off collecting something?
Making your purchases in person can be important - gatherings such as the organizations mentioned earlier (Key, Lock & Lantern is one of them) are a good place. The dealers with authentic items aren’t going to tolerate people trying to pass replicas off as the real deal.
Once you make a few friends (in person, especially) with folks with similar interests, your resources will grow.
Not everyone can travel to such shows, but learning what the organizations are, and joining those that interest you can be beneficial. Many have Facebook pages that provide a wealth of information. Even though I only have one such box, following the FB page about Gamewell fire alarm boxes is enlightening. And an item I posted about a rare fire truck has garnered nearly 300 responses, including some information about that specific truck.
Another great source of information is www.railroadiana.org
Lots of good information on that site.
And for much more reason than respondents so far seem to indicate! IIRC the common detonants in those things are subject to deterioration or crystallization over time, leaving them much more sensitive to shock or even vibration – potential temperature excursion in storage spaces might contribute or accelerate this, too. With nifty shrapnel from the metal case too…
I’m surprised no one has mentioned watches as a collectible. Useful every day, a delight even for many non-railfans (including prospective heirs), a relatively enormous group of experts both in assessing ‘genuineness’ and FMV, and a fascinating subject in their own right. A properly-‘damaskeened’ Waltham Maximus movement from the early 1900s is as beautiful as a piece of jewelry, and functional to boot; one of the later ‘dieselproof’ Hamilton/Elgin/Waltham watches is a technical triumph of American engineering.
I collected watches too for a while, and Mod-man’s right, the damaskeened backplates from around 1895 to 1905 are a sight to see, absolutely stunning!
Watches are a whole 'nother area of expertise though. Do your homework before you go chasing after them. There’s “railroad grade,” “railroad themed,” and just plain pocket watches. Gold-filled (plated really) silver cased, or german-silver cased (usually called “silverode” or “silveroid”) can be pretty reasonable, but solid gold cased, wow! They can be up there!
That being said, they ARE fun to own and wear!
If you want to get into pocket watches Cooksey Shugart’s books are the gold standard, but there’s so much information in there they can be a little overwhelming. Still, I’ve relied on them for years.
https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Price-Guide-Watches-Professional/dp/0891456570
I don’t think I’d rely on the prices too much, those go up and down, but as a reference work it’s hard to beat.
I’ve collected three of the same book. I bought one and the others were gifts from my wife.
All three have a different cover picture. I was paging through one when the “this seems familiar” feeling hit me. Twice.
Because of that experience she no longer likes to pick up railroad books for me.
We won’t mention the number of duplicate employee time tables and rule books I’ve obtained without knowing. Although I’ve acquired a few duplicates on purpose. Some were parts of a lot where I wanted something else in the lot or maybe to have on hand to trade or give to a friend.
Last count was some 35 rule books, not counting a few duplicates, and a multitude, again not counting duplicates, of employee time tables.
Jeff
There are really only three categories of railroad watch to collect: true ‘railroad grade’ watches from roughly post-1891 that fit Webb C. Ball’s adopted criteria for a ‘real’ railroad watch; “investment-grade” (basically what ‘concours’ is to antique and classic cars, and similarly specialized and expensive; and early watches actually made and adjusted to work in railroad service. You can get into the field comparatively quickly by learning the ‘railroad-approved’ requirements (16-size, open face, lever set, something locking the regulator, adjustment to 5 positions or better) and get rid of 99% of the idiocy, lies and scams at antique stores/shows and on eBay. Yes, there are 12s watches of full railroad quality – they are not railroadiana unless awarded or given to railroaders, and would never be accepted as a service watch. Conversely, in the Depression there are a number of instances of very fancy European watches meeting the standards being recased and used…
If in doubt - start by learning the common and popular types, with the Hamilton 992 and Waltham Vanguard the most popular and the various Elgin B.W. Raymonds not far behind. PM me if you want any detailed advice.
Back when pocket watches were still common, a flagman told me that I could get a good watch by going to a pawn shop in New Orleans, for men, down there for a good time, would pawn their watches when they ran out of money before they ran out of time. I did buy a fairly good watch from an engineer who had a new watch.