Too much stock - down sizing

[Steven B]

Reallocation of rooms at home means that my modelling space (also know as the spare bedroom) will be swapped with the box room currently being enjoyed as a bedroom by my 8 year old. No major grumbles (apart from the redecorating!) but the reduction in space is causing some headaches - namely I've got far more stock than I'm ever likely to need or will have room to store. The question is can I bear to part with some of it?

 

There's no doubt that the relatively high prices we pay for models today compared to 15-20 years ago has curtailed my purchases to my core interests meaning fewer Rule One purchases. Even so, I'm still left with much more than I regularly run so some of it will have to go.

 

The problem is what to sell on. There are trains that don't fit with my main modelling era & location but I really enjoy watching going around a layout. With current batch production some stuff is unlike to be re-run any time soon and there's only so much space in the loft. There's plenty of stuff already there just in case it's needed.

 

Do I keep the stuff destined for my grand-plan layout or simply accept that if it ever gets built that years will have passed, standards will have changed and most of what I have now will be replaced.

 

Answers on a post card... Philosophic replies welcome - suggestions to build a shed (no room), convert the loft (not an option) or change scales (I already model in N Gauge, switching to T not really practical!), less so.

 

Steven B

[BluenGreyAnorak]

How do you store your stock? I ask because I've recently freed up a huge amount of space in my train room by ditching all of the boxes and using either cassettes, metal 'Bisley' drawers or really Useful Boxes to store them instead.

Edited July 22 by BluenGreyAnorak

[woodenhead]

I did offload a load of OO and N gauge a few years back to concentrate on one thing, still have too much on the layout let alone what's also boxed up.

 

No easy answer, but I have found that whilst I am sad to see stuff go the feeling never lasts as I still have lots left.

 

With my OO first it was the diesels and Southern Region EMUs, then it was SR steam leaving just GWR steam which remained boxed up for 5 years or more now, the longer it sits there like that the less I am likely I think to get it back out.  I am certainly not purchasing any up to date replacements for B-Sets, autocoaches, Panniers, 14xx etc.  And the thought of the space I'd need in my room alongside the N probably means not a chance before retirement or at least not as long as I work from home.  Would I rather expand the N, probably that too so really I should sell the remaining OO.

 

I'd suggest creating a pile of stuff you want the least, put it away and see how you feel about it in a few months, if it's remained boxed up then you probably want it less than you think you might right now.

[njee20]

Is it purely the downsizing driving the sale? If so I would definitely hold off. I've been 'collecting' stock for 10 years. I had a befitting layout for a short period, moved house and haven't had one for 4 years, so it's all just sat in boxes. Building a modest layout now which will house a fraction of it, but I'm still happy hanging onto the rest for a future time.

Of course if the motivation is financial then it's different.

[PeterStiles]

I can't bear to part with rolling stock .. I've just started on a Shelving Replacement project to help resolve the issue of not actually being able to move around in the Train Room... There's always the loft but I can't manage the ladder these days :(

[sncf231e]

Why need all trains to be in one room? Of course you may call one (or two, like I did) of the rooms train room but that is no reason to keep only trains there:

Regards

Fred

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

I can only recount my own experience, since the mid 1970's I have only ever modelled 1 era so all of my stock has fitted within my personal timeframe, I have collected/obtained/squirrelled away/hoarded, call it what you will, quite an extensive selection of stock as can be imagined, but my motto has been 'one day all this is going to come in useful', and lo and behold, nearly 50 years later through a series of events, I have a house with the space for a decent sized layout, and even better the layout to do it justice, Wibdenshaw.

So therefore my advice would be to sit and have a long hard look at your hopes and dreams and see if you can cobble together a long term plan, and if that can be a practical option for you, go for it. Mind you, I wouldn't wish some of the sh!t I've had to endure to get here on you, but don't make any knee jerk reactions you might regret in future.

 

Mike.

[darrel]

I also have too much stock. My layout which still isn't finished is a 1990s diesel depot. 

Yet I have a load of stuff that does not fit the timescale. However it can be run on the clubs various layouts. And then there are layouts I have an idea for in the future. 

I have 5 of the large ikea display cabinets in the living room with most of my models in them. So while I may not be able to run them all just now I can still admire them. 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

7 hours ago, Steven B said:

Do I keep the stuff destined for my grand-plan layout or simply accept that if it ever gets built that years will have passed, standards will have changed and most of what I have now will be replaced.

You have to make your own decisions on your required standard: my experience of the situation in RTR OO 60 years past was that the product was NBG, and with support from a club I constructed the models I wanted to what was then termed  'OO finescale'.

 

These models still operate alongside the current RTR OO introduced since the late 1990s, which is to the standard I aimed at by DIY - not always successfully! (A diversion into EM and then P4 while in DIY mode, was easily 'corrected' when supply of good RTR OO kick started my resumption of model railway activity.) And of course those old models built 40 years and more ago are now incredibly low cost...

[Nova Scotian]

I currently couldn't bear to trim my rolling stock, I feel like I'm just getting started. Hard to find room, especially for "unproductive assets", so I get it. Certain stages of life are hard, I went 15 years or more doing nothing with the hobby.

 

Only thing would be to think about priorities. Eg. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6X8PiGsvST/?igsh=MThxeHI3MjlmczNiaQ== the shed is a room

[Davexoc]

Another vote to keep it here.

I have a similar collection of stock, most fits but some is definite rule 1. I can't put it all out at once, but that was never the plan as I wanted to run through quite a big time span really. There is some stock I could get rid of, but not at the moment.

I logged everything in a spreadsheet, with the purchase price, and 200 odd coaches and 700 wagons comes in at in excess of £12k. If you look at the prices today, then that £12k is only going to replace the coaches, unless you are buying bargain bin brakes and firsts, etc. My collection goes back to the later years of Graham Farish just before Bachmann took over, and as you have already said, batch production nowadays means that some stuff may not get re-run for many years. Look back at the moaning about incomplete rakes of stock and the time it takes to build up an entire train.

 

Is the standard going to climb much higher? Unless we are going to see DCC little people (dis)embarking through carriage doors that open, I think what is being made now is pretty much there for most. I would keep it all, and if something that is a must have does get updated, then sell the existing and replace with new. I have loads of old Farish PGAs, they look like PGAs from a distance, but if a new version comes along I may be tempted. Hopefully somebody on a lesser budget would welcome the old ones....

[DCB]

I have modelled the same era (1957-62 and scale ( 00 ) for the past 60 years, albeit transitioning from 3 rail to 2 and still have some of the models I had new 60 years ago,  I think I have somewhere around 100 locos, (maybe nearer 150) the vast majority bought dirt cheap second hand and detailed upgraded and plenty of storage space and one big and a couple of smaller unfinished layouts so I am probably the  person least likely to understand your situation.  However I have been disposing of surplus stock, on eBay. Some of it very nice, some not, and it's hard work, time consuming, maybe 20 minutes per listing, more if you include packing and posting. They sell best if photographed with a decent layout  as a back drop. If you have the time that's fine but can become a hobby in itself.   If downsizing is the aim I would box it up and send it to someone like "Rails" of Sheffield  (would have said Hattons last year)  or my local shop Cheltenham Model Centre and get what they offer.  OK maybe you get 40% of retail that way instead of 50% but that final 10% means a load of hassle..

 

[leavesontheline]

There must be many, many people on here [insert any other hobby here too!] in the same situation as you. My storage is at capacity and I also have an eclectic mix of stock. In more recent years I have been much more selective but almost without exception, I couldn't start to name 'out of era' or 'out of region' models that I would be happy to part with. Part of my problem is that until relatively recently when I snapped up bargains just because they were bargains, not because they 'fitted'! Those days seem to be over (for now!) but I always seem to be able to justify holding on to something for the 'grand plan'!

 

I admire people who build up stock, build a layout, then have a complete change of mind/scale/era etc and sell everything and start again! I wish I could do that in some ways. In many ways life is too short to just dream about the 'grand plan' but then again sometimes maybe that dream and the chase (in acquiring the bargain in the first place) is half the fun?

 

If you could look at it in pure financial terms, how much would it cost to store a proportion of your collection in a self-storage facility, at least until your child(ren) has grown up and moved away, versus selling off the spare stuff now and then buying again in the future when time and space allows? Over the past 20 years I think model prices have generally doubled every 10 years. Have the quality and features (and therefore 'value for money') doubled in that time? No, in my opinion. Yes the latest releases are a step up from early 2000's models, but maybe not in the same way that 2000's models were compared to early 80's releases. We probably all have our own views on this depending on our age, and I am only referring to RTR here. At any point in time it must be difficult to imagine how models will get better from that point, but they probably will. It just might be incremental over 5-10 years or more.

 

I guess the point I am getting to slowly is that if it were me (and indeed it is!) I would try to find a way to store the models I am not sure about. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all that!

 

Maybe you are asking the wrong crowd!!

[SM42]

I'm in a similar situation, but I've moved to a bigger room and I'm amazed what I got into the small one. 

 

OK it's not stored in the same way and some of the overflow into the spare room has moved too, but still. 

 

I have a storage system of drawers in wheeled cabinets being made by a carpenter friend. 

 

Boxes will then be boxed up and stored in the loft. 

 

I have come to the conclusion that thinning out is required. 

 

Several projects that have stalled has resulted in  a quite eclectic range of stock. 

 

Time to thin out, but how to go about it has meant the selected items for culling haven't yet left SM42 Towers. 

 

Then there is the updated list of items now deemed surplus.

 

Andy

[andyman7]

I feel everyone's pain, I too have far more stock than I realistically need. However I do have periodic clearouts. My 'core' period is 70s/80s but 20-25 years ago much of the superdetail stuff coming out was steam era and looked so lovely to anyone used to old school RTR that quite a few items were bought, including rolling stock (Gresleys, Maunsells etc)
I found once I forced myself to clear some stuff that I could actually quite easily part with this now that so much of my 'core' period has been treated to equally beautiful models, for example, Accurascale Mk2bs, The other thing I have found is that with so many models produced in dribs and drabs I would pick up the latest iteration of certain wagons without keeping track of how many I actually had. Once I dug them all out and had a go at forming up plausible trains I could easily see that I had too many, and I have sold on the surplus.  
Finally, a fringe benefit of the rather hefty inflation in model railway prices in the last decade has meant that some wagons or coaches bought back in the 00's that are in excellent boxed condition actually sell for a fair bit more than they originally cost, not because they are particularly special or collectable bit simply because you don't get modern China-made wagons for £8 or coaches for £15 any more. The money used helps pay for things like the SLW Class 25 so in effect I trade stuff in a pile of boxes I don't have room for one box containing something I really want. 

[Captain Kernow]

Have you anywhere else you could realistically store stuff, properly and securely packed, for a few years?

 

Attic?

Garage?

Garden shed?

 

I would suggest that none are absolutely ideal, but if everything is stored in tightly shut plastic containers, I would have thought you would be OK, provided you can guard against really large extremes of temperature.

 

If there is nowhere at home, could a friend or relative accept securely stored stuff for a while?

 

[Steven B]

Thanks for the comments. It's interesting to read other people's perspectives on the problem.

 

I'm fortunate that my reasons for downsizing are purely because there will be less space.

 

90% of my rolling stock is already in stock trays rather than a manufacturer's boxes (many of these are stored in the loft). There's not much room in the loft, and as mentioned in my original post we don't have space to build a shed. I've already got two boxes of stock on top of my wardrobe and spreading out into other rooms won't go down too well!

 

I need to see what's possible as I start putting furniture into the box room, although I've already identified around 10% of my passenger trains that could be found new homes.

 

Looking at freight trains, do I really two cement trains? One V-Tank, the other Metalair, when what I really want is just a single train of the V-tank PCAs to current standards. Do I need two rakes of BDA? One kit built, the other RTR? Probably not as neither were actually that common along the Calder Valley line! Do I really need a prototypical MoD train of 25 VGA when my class 47s won't haul it alone? Reducing the length of some trains will reduce storage requirements.

 

I suspect I'll sell a good few models with others being put in the loft for longer term storage.

 

Then there's the unfinished projects. Does anyone want a part built Backwoods Miniatures Fowler and some freelance 009 wagons?

 

 

Steven B

[woodenhead]

Just a reminder that hopefully children do leave home to set up their own space eventually.

 

I started out with a kitchen table, then a small study, now a home office/railway room which will eventually be just the railway room and there is still one offspring left in the house.

[2750Papyrus]

May I suggest  that you compile a list(s) of items you are thinking of thinning out and circulating some of the dealers offering second-hand purchase schemes?  I have just disposed of one tranche of surplus items.  I initially sent my list to a local dealer but thought the offer a bit on the low side.  I therefore sent it to three other dealers.  Two declined to bid, the third offered almost 3x the local dealer's bid.  The offer(s) you receive will help you make a decision and at the same time give some comparison with what you might achieve on Ebay.

 

My experience suggests that many dealers concentrate on current/recent RTR production and that there are fewer prepared to bid for older (steam?) prototypes and kits.

[spamcan61]

2 minutes ago, 2750Papyrus said:

May I suggest  that you compile a list(s) of items you are thinking of thinning out and circulating some of the dealers offering second-hand purchase schemes?  I have just disposed of one tranche of surplus items.  I initially sent my list to a local dealer but thought the offer a bit on the low side.  I therefore sent it to three other dealers.  Two declined to bid, the third offered almost 3x the local dealer's bid.  The offer(s) you receive will help you make a decision and at the same time give some comparison with what you might achieve on Ebay.

 

My experience suggests that many dealers concentrate on current/recent RTR production and that there are fewer prepared to bid for older (steam?) prototypes and kits.

One can always sell stuff here.

[RichardT]

Except that the RMWeb classified sales section is still not functioning after a couple of months now. 

[adb968008]

Wow 10 posts all in the same boat, i’ll make mine 11.

 

ive been making hay whilst the sunshines on lower prices but the barn is now full.

Autumn is arriving on the lower end of prices and winter is going to bite.

 

As soon as work, family and vacation allows this squirrel is going to discard some nuts.

Ive simply too much, and not enough time to even let it go.

 

long term though, stuff isnt going to get cheaper, and a lot of things will never get a 2nd retool that weve enjoyed at the prices we have.. so be selective in what to dispose as replacing it down the road might be harder on some things.

Edited July 23 by adb968008

[tractionman]

8 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

so be selective in what to dispose as replacing it down the road might be harder on some things.

 

my sentiment entirely, but then I have the 'luxury' of not needing to shift stuff at the mo... I boxed up all my Southern Railway stock a while back, thinking about selling, but then got cold feet and decided to hang onto it for a while longer, til I am sure (if I ever am!) what I want to do layout-wise, just in case...

[Michael Hodgson]

A friend who collected railwayana had the same problem but his stuff was of course a lot bigger.  So he had it distributed across six lock-up garages that he rented.  Then he was told he had to clear some of them out because the rooves needed redoing.  We were able to help him pack it more compactly into fewer garages but we still had to persuade him that he really didn't need the door off the Gents at a his favourite engine shed!

 

Go through what you've got and ask youself "Do I really want this?"  Once you've put it all back where you found it, go through it all over again and answer the question honestly this time.

[teeinox]

I too have been faced with too much stock and nowhere to put it.  But I took the decision to reduce the amount I had.  This was my approach.

 

The first was to look at the quality of each item.  If it was below par in any way, for instance, badly painted, flawed, or a locomotive that had seen its best years, out it went.

 

The second was whether the item meant anything to me; whether it still had any sentimental or emotional attachment.  This is a technique used by “declutterers”.  If the answer was “no”, it enabled me to unload stuff that I had collected on the way, but really didn’t have any real interest in any more.

 

The third applied to train formations.  If there was a lot of something, working out what formed a satisfying or prototypically correct train formation often yielded a surplus.  The surplus went its way.

 

Finally, make sure you have a destination for what is discarded - the bin, a charity shop or to be sold.  Don’t leave it hanging round to tempt you to change your mind.

 

It all requires a degree of single-minded ruthlessness, though.

 

teeinox