Have you downsized?

Downsized from 1:29 to 027 when we moved from a huge house with attic , in NW IL to a TOwnHouse in SC .... 

moved to a bigger place and have a 12 x 16 room .. building a more scale , 3rail layout , now .... most likely a shelf ....

im more of a Railfan than an operator , so , a nice doublectrack shelf for me to sit back and watch is up my alley ...

@Jim M Sr posted:

Every time I try to downsize, I end up with more trains!
I have a problem!

Now with retirement looming, planned house sale, and a move planned, I hope I can truly down size!

Have started again selling off little and never used accessories first.

I have the same problem!!

We aren't sure when we will move, but since I retired a few months ago, the only thing keeping us in this house is my mother-in-law lives very close.  Whenever she passes or has to go to a home, we will be looking for a a single floor house.

It was painful but when we sold our home of 49 years, we packed up all my O-Gauge stuff  and sold it to TRAINZ.  Now we live in a condo in Michigan in warm weather and Florida in the winter months.  Each place I have a 4' x 8' HO layout now.

Dennis

@Dennis posted:

Each place I have a 4' x 8' HO layout now.

Dennis

HO equates to more engines and rolling stock than you could ever have amassed in O scale and.....its less expensive if you dont go brass or diecast!

I'm  S L O W L Y selling off stuff. Ouch!

Looking at all those 4x8 track plans in Standard Gauge, G scale, O scale, and S...it's  gonna be tough.

Quick answer: Yes, many times.
but once in your blood...I started up again, it’s a four decade old story.
sell, buy, sell, buy O to N to O scale, to PW to more 2 rail. 
now at 67 my wife asks which one of us is going to Lessen the load? 

here I go again.

My downsizing is like a fat lady on a yo-yo diet.  Lose some, gain some, lose some, gain some. lose just a little, gain a whole lot more, forget about losing and flat out fill the basement.

I am in another downsizing mode right now, age and health is creeping up on me, so this time it is an all out purge.  Kind of a liposuction downsizing.   Selling off fully 1/2 of my collection. 

The first sell off portion will be at the Strasburg PA O show Oct 17th.   Pricing to totally empty my tables.

Downsizing ?,  Oh no way.  I finally have some room to build my first real, to-completion, layout. 

Thought on Downsizing is the preliminary to recycling or finding new participants. I have a neighbor who has been collecting flyer and S scale trains and toys for most of his adult life.  We often have had the “talk” about the inevitable. As we age the conversation is shortened each visit or communication. He says that his wife will just rent a dumpster when he is gone (how harsh). His adult sons have no interest, nor his daughter. My two adult kids, not interested,  my granddaughter just loves the plasticville (she is 6 years old). I already consider all the plasticville hers.
so, to complicate matters we adult owners of electromechanical junk ( which I state with full endearment) have Tentatively decided to leave entire collections and layouts to one another in the possibility of one or the others demise.  Btw, reside in the same neighborhood.  So, this  was an initial relief to our wives!  but there is that inheritance wife (based on who goes first) eventually will have to deal with two (maybe three) collections.
Because there’s a third friend who wants to get in on what he calls the Postmortem train lottery! Lol, that kills me! LOL, he has my former  layout and the postwar Trains, accessories collection when I transitioned to 2 rail.  Plus he has added quite a bit since 2005!  I have recollected the PW Lionel and made the same layout simplified since.
After all is said and done, there will be visitations from reputable Auction house or dumpster companies! Lol.

Most of this is just in jest of course. Should something like this happen we have vowed to arrange with auction house of spouse or relatives choice to rid the burden from each other’s family. Please make  the check Out to family member.  We have agreed to keeping One predetermined Item from the Individual collection as a remembrance, question remaining is for how long? And any of this can be revoked at anytime by surviving family. 

Can’t take  it with you, But maybe it will make someone else happy.

Tom Tee, yo yo diet! LMAO. 
it’s so amusing but true!

I guess I downsized right from the start due to space limitations.  Wait...does that even make sense?

Long have I wanted to have a huge RR empire like those that frequently grace this forum.

At age 69 and with 10 years of retirement behind me, traveling and other interests have limited train time to 3 months a year.  With that being said, I find my 30 year old modest layout and train situation to be currently perfect for me.

Fendermain

Fendermain, glad to see ya! Long time.
Your Spectacular  layout and trains are just the right amount, but who’s counting.  It’s all about balance, like More tone, Less volume. 

love the videos thanks again.

I did save two O-gauge steamers:  a Berkshire, and a Hudson.  They now reside on display shelves.   I just couldn't let them go.

Dennis