So, I had a happy dream where I was walking my dog and came across layout parts with track, switches, etc attached, next to someone's trash cans. I opened the cans to find trains accessories, etc.
I found more and more as I sorted through my find, in greater and greater detail as I went along.
In real life I never found trains in the trash - HAVE YOU?
A certain vendor at out local train show frequently claims that he does, I never believed him
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Yep,….I had a paper route as a youngster,…..found A LOT of Lionel, American Flyer and Marx in the trash wee hours of the morning, …..sometimes requiring multiple trips,…..I even befriended the garbage guys and bribed them with free newspapers for life if they found trains to keep them for me,……that actually paid off,…..also being out wee hours in the morning meant first dibs at yard sales,…..way back when 5-10 bucks landed a box full of Lionels……I was that kid!…
Pat
No, but I once found a very nice 1/43 VW Bus van model in a bin in the "last chance" Goodwill Outlet for 25 cents.
No but I have put some in the trash.
@harmonyards posted:Yep,….I had a paper route as a youngster,…..found A LOT of Lionel, American Flyer and Marx in the trash wee hours of the morning, …..sometimes requiring multiple trips,…..I even befriended the garbage guys and bribed them with free newspapers for life if they found trains to keep them for me,……that actually paid off,…..also being out wee hours in the morning meant first dibs at yard sales,…..way back when 5-10 bucks landed a box full of Lionels……I was that kid!…
Pat
Holy poop Pat.
Now THOSE sound like the good ol' days!
That's how Richard Kughn got into toy trains!
Bill
I have some I plan on putting there and do not hope to find them again, but otherwise not really. Found some worthless Model Power 70's HO freight cars in an attic of a house I rehabbed.
@Lionelski posted:Holy poop Pat.
Now THOSE sound like the good ol' days!
Yep,…grew up in Poughkeepsie NY, trash days were Tuesdays and Thursdays,……best days of the week,….the shopping was amazing,…….toy trucks, trains, slot cars, you name it ,…….one of my paper route customers was an American Flyer operator, he’d trade me Lionels for Flyer every time I found some,……I had found some rare Flyer switcher he wanted, and traded me an entire 2343 Santa Fe set with the cars for it,…..I came home like Peacock that just won the lottery,…..still have that set,….I was wheeling and dealing at the ripe age of 12,….😉
Pat
On my last trip to Weaver Models before its closing, there was a dumpster outside with train parts inside. Having no shame, I climbed in and retrieved some rolling stock shells to use as practice for weathering.
In the late 1960's I found a 1033 Lionel transformer in the trash. I also found a couple Marx O gauge cars in the trash that were in perfect shape. A plastic cattle car and a tank car.
My wife and I were out riding our bikes on trash day and she saw a box with Lionel on it. Turned out to be a culvert unloader box and some other box’s all empty. The next day I knocked on the door and asked why all the empty box’s? Turns out they were moving and threw out the box’s because it was easier to pack up. I’m glad I was able to rescue the box’s
In 1964 I was in 6th grade and would stop in my next door neighbors garage whenever the lights were on. They had a son who was into racing cars and I would watch him, ask questions etc. One time I looked into the trash can in the garage and there was a Lionel 1033 transformer. I asked if I could have it and they said yes. His mom said there were more trains in the attic and a set of race cars with track that she gave him for X-mas. She said he played with them that night and never again. I took the 1033 transformer which I still use this day. The rest never panned out. Oh well. JP
Never actually in the trash, but on their way. Was gifted many Lionel trains in 1970’s from people that worked with my father who knew we had a layout. Their kids no longer were interested and they were in the process to getting rid of them via the NYC sanitation method.
I work at a college. One of my coworkers found a G scale set in a dumpster on move-out day a couple of years ago. He runs G scale so he took the set home and got it running.
I had a paper route too but never came across trains in the trash. I have had friends give me their old stuff but no mother-loads in the garbage.
The CEO would say I have enough trash in the basement as is......
Once in the late 60’s, the corner variety store near where we hung out, threw out about a half dozen new, but disassembled Lionel exploding boxcars. I took them home, and managed to piece together a brand new car for my layout. All the parts to all the cars seemed to be there, and I could never figure out why they threw them in the trash.
A friend called me one day and said their was a whole model RR layout sitting out at the curb near his house. It seems a neighbor had moved out of a rent house and put the layout at the curb. I took my trailer and went to look at it. Boy, it was a big HO layout, about 10'x10', and was completed through the track laying stage. It was complete with code 100 Atlas flex and Atlas switches, with switch machines. It was all wired up with Atlas wiring components, like their Selectors, etc. I got it apart into two halves, then hauled it home. Salvaged all the HO off of it, and salvaged all he nice wood it was built with. Used the wood on my current "O" gauge layout, and sold all the HO at a train show. What a deal.
No, but I bought some that should have been in the trash!!! You know me by now lmao
Never found trains, but had a friend who found a bunch of Hot Wheels and track. I found some baseball and football cards. In both cases, it was due to a child being punished. Odd form of punishment; IMO it would have been more of a punishment if the parent gave the items to one of the kid's friends so he'd have to watch someone else enjoy them.
Closest to trains in trash was a garage sale with a Lionel USS set for $10.00. That was the start.
I was coming home from work on trash pick up day. As I got off the bus there was a pile of trains in a cardboard box waiting for trash pick up. I picked them up. What was in the box? A post-war 675, An NYC 2344 AA, A bunch of post war operating and box cars. A G-Gauge steam engine in need of repair and a G-Gauge live stock car. I sold the G-Gauge stuff for several hundred $. I am still running the 675 and 2344. They needed a little TLC, but by and large were in excellent condition.
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