So let’s say you model the 1990s, and your brother gives you a 40-foot boxcar with roofwalks for your birthday… Or you model a 1950s commuter operation, and your wife presents you with an Amtrak passenger coach… Or you model all-steam N&W in the early 1950s, and you find a high-nose N&W SD45 under the tree on Christmas morning…
I’m positive this has been discussed at length on here in the past, but I’m curious- what’s the protocol for a piece of equipment gifted to you that doesn’t fit your layout? Selling it doesn’t seem to be an option to me, because you’ll inevitably be asked “Hey where’s that train I got for you?” Has anyone been in a situation like this before, and if so, what did you do to remedy the issue? If not, what do you think you’d do? Just an interesting topic of discussion with the gift-giving season on the distant horizon…
There is no standard protocol. Different people do different things with gifts from different people at different times.
Whether you tell the giver why it doesn’t really fit your era and type of layout is up to you. The risk of not telling is that the giver will continue to give you stuff that doesn’t fit. The risk of telling is that the giver will feel upset at you not being pleased with the gift. But most people like giving gifts that are appreciated - and learning what you want/like makes it easier for them to give you gifts you would appreciate.
Some of the more obvious options with unasked for cars and engines are are run them, re-gift them, swap them, sell them, throw them away, put them in a drawer and forget them for now (until you some day maybe will build a layout for which they are appropriate), use them for kit-bashing fodder, put them on a shelf as a display item, or make a small diorama to display them.
If it is an old-fashioned model on a layout set in a modern era, you can always make it into a “historical display”. If it is a modern item on an old era layout, you can always stage a “back to the future” scene.
Me, I have just put stuff I have no use for in a box for now. I may some day build a layout where a three truck Shay, or a modern German electric locomotive is appropriate, but they are not going to do urban switching in Minneapolis in the late 1950s
For me, it would depend on the actual piece and who the person was that gave it. So many people when they find out you like “trains” really have no clue or what to buy. I never had issue w/ any large or expensive gifts, these were generally from my wife or children. Never any trouble w/ the kids especially, they would just go to the LHS or ask fellow cluib members what I may be looking at or need. Other odd presents that end up as you know, are from people who wouldn’t know or usually care to see where it went anyway. Of coarse "It’s @ the club or I’m running that in a “special” train on a friends layout would work if pressed. Have no idea how many of those “gifts” went to the White elephant table or just gave to someone that could use it.
This is a good one.My beloved half and I have overcome this possible happening as we both give eachother a list of what would likely please us,and that quite some time before the event,so when the time comes we have no pointers as to what we’re going to receive,although we have some guessing room.
Not everybody do this and offering a gift to someone trying to guess what would please him (or her) is not easy.And yes I did receive an Amtrak passenger car for my steam fleet from my sister and when my layout is finally built,I guess I’ll have it parked somewhere in the yard,not too evidenced though,so that she doesn’t feel she should buy me another one.
We have a speciallized hobby and I think we can’t expect well intentioned people to hit the target every time.So many will stay away from our hobby as a gift idea and offer a necktie,but for those who do,well this can happen.
One strategy I’ve adopted…I’ve already let my lady know that I want to have a huge farm on my layout,for either milk or cattlebreeding (not decided yet),so being the smart lady I know she is,I suspect I might get Holsteens or Herefords sooner than a GP38 or a snowplow.Just hope she doesn’t go for a necktie.
My Other Half and I do the same. Especially for Chiristmas. While we are both into trians {HO for me and N for MOH}, we have different ideas about what is best for our layouts.
I send EMAILS with LINKS to online e-tailers with WHAT I want…so there is little chance for mistake.
Now, should I receive somehting that doesn’t “fit” or that I don’t care for. I will run it anyway!!! {I AM fairly easy as I change out my layout for 3 different time periods so I don’'t get bored and so I can kinda work anything in}.
Like was said, someone is bound to ask “where’s the train I got you” {IF they even remember it} and so it really won’t hurt anything for a SD70Mac to run along side a post-war Pennsy K4 after all!!
One MUST remember that the gift giver probably put lots of thught and effort into their purchase! Chances are THEY bought what THEY thought you might like, or what THEY liked to get for you!
Will it really hurt you to run it Once in a while???
Simple…I simply place the unwanted item on my “treasures” shelf along with the Harry Potter figurines and wand my Grand kids got me(I watched all of the early Potter movies with my grand kids),the Bachmann G Scale 2-6-0 train set,my HO Richard Petty ( #43) NASCAR slot car,my 5 Star War figurines,the Millennium Falcon,two 1/24 Panzers and other such items.
When ask where is this or that at I smile and say “There on my treasure shelf with my other treasures since it means so much to me”.
Era isn’t so much a problem as scale. I get stuff in different scales. But I put it away for the future, set up the Lionel set on a table from time to time, etc. Eventually in a corner of the basement I plan to have an all scales display layout like you see in some hobby shops to display all the stuff not on the regular layout.
Regifting… just remember who gave it to you. Imagine the awkward silence that would follow when they open it and realize that they gave it to you 2 years ago. [B)]
This is a rather unique model, actually. Besides the horn-hook couplers, one of which (not visible) is mounted upside-down, it has the distinction of being inappropriate for any layout, any era, any scale.
Who knows it may be a collectors item some day. I have a few things and like Brakie I have a special shelf for items that may not fit the WTRR, but they were given to me because of love, friendship, a desire to give me something related to trains.
My sister in law is from Japan and she visited her family last year in Tokyo. She could not remember the scale I model, (HO), and bought me an N Scale model of the Bullet Train. It is non motorized but the craftmanship is remarkable, all metal too.
I have a special shelf and display it with pride and I thanked her for it. I mean she bought it with real Yen then transported it all the way back from the Land of The Rising Sun. And I have admit it is a beautiful rendition.
The SP train that I received from my niece and her husband (ex SP/UP conductor) resides in a cassette. When they visit I wipe away the cobwebs, blow off the dust and connect that cassette to the dock. Until they depart it will take its place as a through train that doesn’t change engines at Tomikawa. Once they leave, it will go back into the cassette until next time.
Other `inappropriate’ things MIGHT make it to my display shelf. They also might make it to my workbench (for kitbashing) or the consignment shelf at the LHS. They aren’t likely to get rail time until/unless highly modified.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - including unlikely kitbashes, ex-US prototype)
I keep everything I get as gifts. The way I see it is if someone actually takes the time to go out and get you a train related item then why can’t it go on the layout or on a shelf in the train room. I’ve got some 1/64 scale tractors inside a John Deere dealership and a few other locomotives that were given to me as gifts by friends or family that don’t fit my layout. I got one of those George Bush Union Pacific loco’s as a gift and even though it doesn’t fit my layout I thought it was kind of cool looking. I doubt it would ever hit Canadian tracks, especially the Ontario Northlands but still I thought it was cool.
Well getting items of the wrong era is usually not an issue with me or my layout. Here is why, I model modern day, as in today and I can run an old engine as an “excursion” or “heritage” run every now and then. On one layout I even had a railroad museum with a round house and turntable. I could run steam when ever I wanted and it did not seem out of place.
I also do Modular railraoding and some times we would go to events that had a theme so having steam era stuff along with my modern stuff comes out just fine. I love taking out my N&W 611 and pulling a Powatan Arrow consist behind it!!
One of my most memorable events was at a modular show at a museum in Norfolk where they were displaying the work of O Winston Link and we had to run nothing but N&W equipment. I had the chance to meet David Goode who was CEO of NS at the time and I even let him take the throttle of my 611 for a couple of laps around the layout. It was a pretty good day all and all.
The worst gift I ever got railroad wise was a Lionel railraod x-ing piggy bank. Now the gift was not what was bad the bad part was my mother-in-law bought it for me and wanted me to use it on my layout. This thing stood about 4" tall and had these obmoxious blinking lights and a cheezy ding ding. I think the lights and dings were only supposed to happen when you dropped money into it but if you just looked at it cross it would start up. Great thing to hear in the middle of the night let me tell you. She got really upset when she asked me if I put it on my layout. I told her that it was not something that went on a layout. She didnt realize what it actually was and thought I ment that it was not good enough for my layout. Oh we went round and round over that for a while. Finally a kid of one of my train club buddies came over for a work session with his dad and he really liked it so it went home with
When my family heard I was into trains I started receiving all manner of Lionel stuff. T shirts, stuffed bears, tin signs, you name it. I thanked them and displayed the gifts. Well, after a few years I began to get excited about Lionel post war trains for around the Christmas tree. I didn’t have one as a child but my dad and father in law did. Somehow I’m reliving their childhood for them and my Lionel stuff doesn’t seem so out of place in my train room of HO scale models.
Normally I like just about anything train related. My wife once gave me a spike and a lump of coal for X-mas. she found them along the CSX right-of-way next to her mom’s house. (same year I got the bank) and I still have the coal and spike. The coal is sitting on top of my computer next to my desk and the spike is hanging in my train room. The bank would have stayed around as well but 2 things happened. 1 it would go off in the middle of the night. and after I pulled the batteries it was fine but my friend’s kid really loved it and really wanted it so I could not just tell him no. It had about $2 in the bottom of it and for a 5 year old that was alot of money! Last I talked to him he had it about 1/2 full and it was too heavy to him to lift now. He is now 8 and he still thinks it is the greatest thing. How can you pass up making a kid happy like that?
I’ve received a few rather garish gifts over the years but most fall in the thoughtful category. The items that don’t fit my layout theme wind up in a place of honor right outside the train room
I haven’t received that many railway gifts because when family or friends ask what I’d like for my “train set”, I usually discourage them and explain that I’m very picky about what goes onto the GER as it has to suit 1958 and the location I model. However, if they do buy something without asking and it’s not suitable, then I say, “Why thank you very much, how thoughtful” and quietly put the item away in a drawer.
Wasn’t there an entire ‘Seinfield’ episode about re-gifting? And I think that is the first time I ever heard the term. Seriously, I like Larry’s solution - making someone feel that they have given me a ‘treasure’ makes everyone feel good and, aferall, even treasures can come off the shelf and be used.
We got one of those for my son for his 3rd b-day. Whatever change we have in our pockets at the end of the day goes into it, and that’s how we save up to buy trains.[:D] Our’s seems to work correctly though - no unwanted signal crossings.
