From this morning’s Easton (Maryland) Star Democrat:
An Easton homeowner is offering a reward after several model trains were stolen from his home between March 23 and 27. Maryland State Police responded to the home on Oxford Road to find someone had entered the home and stolen several model trains and nothing else. The owner is offering a $500 reward for the return of the trains. They include a silver Burlington Zephyr, a green Southern Ry. Mikado 2-8-2, and a Southern Pacific GS-4. Anyone with information should contact Maryland State Police at 410-822-3101 and ask for TFC Scott Moore.
These things usually end up with the thief attempting to sell them on-line. I’m going to call the trooper this morning and let him know about this post, and also to ask about the scale of the trains (could be N or HO, possibly O… not sure.)
So put on your Sherlock Holmes Hats and get out your Junior Detective Kit. We got us a bad guy to chase down.
Well, today’s eight-year-olds are tomorrow’s teenagers. I say this calls for action and now. Nip it in the bud. First sign of youngsters going wrong, you’ve got to nip it in the bud.
Bad boys,bad boys whathca gonna do,whathca gonna when Sheriff Lee comes for you?
Who said they was youngsters? Judging by the stolen items I suspect the bad boy(s) knew exactly what to look for especially when those mention models are high dollar items.
As far as E-bay…What not HO yardsale as well?
Of course the thief/thieves could have had a ‘no questions ask’ buyer as well.
Sadly I doubt if this is high on the case list of the MSP.
Has this person’s layout been featured in a NMRA convention tour or similar event within the past few years, which could have resulted in the stolen items being put on someone’s ‘wanted’ list?
A club member here had thousands of dollars worth of trains stolen out of a storage locker a few years ago. The police reaction was, “contact your insurance company.” None of them were ever recovered.
Exactly. Somone knew where they were, how valuable (stated or intrinsic) they were, and where to find them. Was anyone in the house for about two months before the robbery?
I don’t think fellow modelers or train collectors are responsible. We just don’t do things like this. Seriously, who among us would envy another fellow train fan’s collection so much to steal from them? Thats just so sick and bizarre.
Its probably just your average low life robber who had their eye on these things after staking out the house for a few weeks from a little distance away. The person probably figured they could get major cash from a few collectibles alone, less trouble and hassle for them, easy quick cash, no major looting of the house necessary.
Whomever it is, I hope they get caught and that the owner gets his collection back.
Based on my GF’s recent experience with a break in, the police out in this part of the country (well, at least in Vallejo, CA) don’t investigate property crimes. The burglar(s) took money, jewelry, and a registered handgun, totaling about $25,000. The police never bothered to come to the crime scene or make an effort to interview the victim. Procedure was for victim to file a police report via Internet and make insurance claim which covered 40% of the loss.
There was nothing else in the house? He didn’t have a TV or computer or any other electronics? Was the house ransacked? How about jewelery and money? I’m not saying it did not happen. Maybe I can tell the guys in blue someone broke in my house and stole my Brass collection too. Then the insurance company can buy me some locos I always wanted. Wow I got it all planned out. There are always empty brass loco boxes on Ebay. Wait a while before calling the cops. Show the empty boxes as proof. Collect the insurance.
Definitely sounds like the person who was into the train hobby. Most people don’t know how much a good engine can cost. So this is no common thief. Or possibly it’s a lil-brat just looking to play with someone else’s toys.
Most thieves would have taken cell phones, TVs, Jewerly, and computers.
See thats where I respectfully disagree, I just can’t see a fellow hobbyist stealing someone else’s trains for any reason. We all share a certain camaraderie as train enthusiasts, I just don’t think that any one of us would cross that line. Unless of course, it happened to be a bitter person who perhaps used to be in the hobby at one time, and decided to sell them for some cash. Or maybe a drug addict is to blame.
Now its my turn to disagree. Thieves steal something that is of value either to themselves or their preferred market. In today’s modern homes hobby trains are the least valuable thing in the house to the untrained eyes or the black market.
The thief by-passed everything else and took the trains? And the valuable ones to boot?
I’m sorry but you are kidding yourself. The model train world has the same cross section of reprehensible people that the real world has in it. Either the thief themselves is a train buff or he is fencing to train buyers who have a “don’t tell and I won’t ask” buying policy.
My brother the cop says “hot” items get about 10-20 cents on the retail dollar on the street. Do you really believe that some crook passed up thousands of dollars worth of electronics or jewlery or art to pick up $100-200 worth of hot trains and he WASN’T a model train buff?
Something like this happened in the Western NY area around Buffalo. Individual(s) broke into K-val hobby and took specific items (and passed over others). An individual(s) broke into the Buffalo Model Railroad Club (member at the time), once again took specific model trains and not others. They passed over expensive BLI steam to get modern diesels and modern equipment like autoracks and intermodel. An individual(s) broke into a train show in Lockport and took only specific items, not necessarily the most expensive items.
They thought they knew who took the items from the Buffalo Model Railroad club, due to the fact he visited just before the break-in a few time but never after, but since they didn’t have any evidence to actually get a search warrant the police couldn’t prove anything. As in those cases in Buffalo and the one mentioned here, the person is going for specific items that will work with their collection and will never leave their layout. They probably never show up on ebay, craigs list, or HO yard sale because it will sit on their layout where they will tell you that is their equipment they bought and you cannot prove otherwise.
I’m not saying it absolutely couldn’t happen or that it doesn’t in rare circumstances. Its just so bizarre to even think about, quite frankly, its embarrasing. Grown men coveting another man’s toy train to the point of stealing it so they can claim it as theirs? []
I have to agree with this. When my house was broken into a few years ago, they took the TV, a band live mixer, some stereo gear, my (ex)wife’s doll collection, some assorted knick-knacks, tools, etc. When I went up to my office/train room my heart was in my throat-- I had everything up there in storage-- everything– thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff in boxes stacked in the closet and back room. When I got to the top of the stairs there were two piles of stuff that they had pulled together to take but for whatever reason had not taken-- a fax machine, some old computers, etc. They did take a camera bag w/ cameras, some video cameras, oscilloscope, and other test gear-- but all of my trains were left completely and totally untouched-- even the ones that were out in plain sight or on display-- including the ones on display in the main part of the house. None of the trains were taken. They were completely passed-over.
Of all the stuff they could have taken, they did me a favor and "took out the t
While it may be true that most MRRs are respectful of others property, I know of at least two that didn’t and would steal other’s trains. The real sad part is that everyone saw them as friends until the stupid stuff started happening. If someone covets something strong enough, there is no telling what they will do.
“I don’t think fellow modelers or train collectors are responsible. We just don’t do things like this. Seriously, who among us would envy another fellow train fan’s collection so much to steal from them? Thats just so sick and bizarre.”
Ah so naive, you think it doesn’t happen well go ask Howard Zane who had a brass locomotive and a few select pieces stolen off his layout while he and some of his crew were in the house and at the layout! To top that the scum-wad who stole the items taunted him with emails claiming responsibility for his cowardly actions. It’s believed the thief was also a member of a model railroad club.to boot.
So don’t kind yourself into thinking everyone in this hobby is as right as rain. This incident clearly speaks of a model railroader.If it were a kid(s) they most likely would have stolen a lot more things and not been so specific. As mentioned look very closely at the people or even so called friends who have been there recently. I had one of those so called friends over one night who brought his 16 year old son with sticky fingers. While we were working on laying some flex track his son was sitting at my desk a big no no in my book. You ask permission first well I see this kid playing with a small I pod type radio that was sitting on my desk. I asked him what he was doing with it and to please put it down as it belonged to my son. His father told him to get over and help us thats why he came in the first place. Well later on that night I go looking for the radio to put in the new batteries and it’s no where to be found. giving the b
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