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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 11, 2018 11:20:26 GMT -5
With any prototypical railroad, as new engines are added to the fleet, older engines are retired from service. So it is with my layout or railroad. I have 6 GP35's which I no longer use on my layout. They all still run, but I don't use them any more, so I keep them on a section of track in my yard. I have 3 GP 38's, two of which I use for yard switching only and one for my work train. I have 5 SD40's, that I use from time to time in varying lash ups on flat surface runs only because they do poorly on grades. The couplers don't hold together.
I confine all my long hauls to my SD70 and 75's and ES44 AC's. I also have 3 sets of F7a & b units and 2 of the F9a and b's that I use for passenger car hauling, and when not in use, they also sit in the yard. My GP 9's of which I have 6 on another line, will eventually have their own resting place but for now, I bring them out of their boxes and use them for hauling my coal and lumber trains. They will eventually be used for switching purposes only. All my long haul freight handling on this line is confined to my SD40's, 70's, and 75's, and the ES44's.
All my RDC's for both lines I use now and them, and when not in use, they too have, or will have their own resting places.
I know I should probably sell some of my older engines, and I have considered it, but I just can't seem to part with them. I didn't thing it was possible to develop a sentimental attachment to these little grabbers, but it appears that I have.
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Post by ugeesta on Mar 11, 2018 16:28:14 GMT -5
Meh, don’t sell unless you have to. Besides, that’s what kids are for. They can be passed down after you die so let them go through the agony of selling the engines.
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Post by ugeesta on Mar 11, 2018 16:30:21 GMT -5
Meh, don’t sell unless you have to. Besides, that’s what kids are for. They can be passed down after you die so let them go through the agony of selling the engines. Hey!!!!! I’m not a newbie anymore.... and it only took 2 years. |
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Post by domi on Mar 12, 2018 9:41:24 GMT -5
Meh, don’t sell unless you have to. Besides, that’s what kids are for. They can be passed down after you die so let them go through the agony of selling the engines. Ditto. I have lots of locomotives that will finally be of no use on my future mexican layout, including a fair number of F7s, a couple of steamers, a PA1, an E9, 4 Tunnel Motors, etc, but I don't plan to part with. Sentimental affair.  Dom |
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 10:41:41 GMT -5
Read my post on Beneficiary Wanted. I don't have any kids that are interested.
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Post by dazed on Mar 12, 2018 11:03:28 GMT -5
I find that if I'm pondering excess, I will go through an exercise of "what if I had to do a mandatory 10-20% reduction" and see where I am after that. Most of the time, I feel good about getting rid of most or all of that 20% after seeing that I still have a ton left. Bonus is you get some extra funds for maybe a few new/different things, or just saving for a rainy day.
I mean, if you have 6 GP35's it's fine to show them off in a dead-line on the layout, but 4 or 5 versus 6 would likely have the same look and frees up some capital.
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Post by BAZman on Mar 12, 2018 11:28:14 GMT -5
Like the old saying goes: one man's loss is another man's treasure. Sell, sell, sell !
The GP-35's are a wanted breed. With the new MTL SD-40's, there may be renewed interest in older ones
Just be prepared for the 'depreciation' factor, shipping, and 'hey, this is not what I thought I was buying'.
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Post by dave on Mar 12, 2018 11:46:13 GMT -5
Willy...if you have no one to leave them and are not ever going to use them again, post them here for sale. You could probably sell most of it here. Your post does confuse me a bit as to what is going to be retired.
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Post by GmanJeff on Mar 12, 2018 12:31:11 GMT -5
Many people considering Z scale or who are just getting in to it would welcome opportunities to buy well-cared-for, working, well-priced, no longer used items which would help them see if the hobby is for them. If it is, then the locos, track, etc would be getting good use rather than gathering dust. If not, such buyers will likely sell to others who will enjoy them.
Willy, while you understandably would prefer that family be interested, would not the next best thing be to provide opportunities for other enthusiasts who share your interests to enjoy the items which you yourself took pleasure from? That's arguably a better outcome than letting your heirs dispose of everything in an uninformed and uncaring way.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 12:59:30 GMT -5
Selling off my excess engines makes perfect sense I know. The problem being, it's like selling off your kids. There were times when this would have been preferable especially when they were teens. I guess I've become too attached to these engines and while I'm almost at the point of running the bigger engines exclusively, I still like to keep them on a dead track in the yard just for display. What I'd really like to do is weather them, add graffiti, fade the paint, even show one or two in different stages of decay or dismantlement. I agree that someone somewhere might get some use out of them particularly if they are just starting out, it's just, well, they are the ones I started out with. Who knows, I may just decide to run them on a special type of train just for old time sake. You know, like real railroads do to celebrate special events or anniversaries of the line and so on. Excursion type of thing.
If you've read the complete thread on Beneficiary Wanted, you would understand the problems I will be facing in 15 to 20 years. It's not as simple as many believe. I'm not going to go through the entire thing again, but suffice it to say, I have put out feelers to rail museums within a days drive of my place with a donation proposal, and have yet to hear back from any of them. It's just one of the problems many model railroaders face I guess.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 13:08:13 GMT -5
Dave.
All my GP 9's and 35's, some if not all of my SD 40's and perhaps one of my Mikado's. These are the one's that are, or will be retired.
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