Are the trains for you or for the son? Mine have always been unabashedly my hobby. When my son showed interest, that was fine, but when he lost interest, that did not mean I did. I supported him in his sports and various other activities, and at times did not have much time for my hobby, but I still had it.
Jim, The trains were for both of us, now with him losing interest I am not sure if I am interested any more ....
ADCX Rob posted:Pack it all up and store it out of the way. When he is married & has kids, he will mention the trains some time with a yearning to go back... and so it goes...
That sounds similar to my situation. I have my first on the way (wife is due in July). I used to run my father's post war Lionel with him years ago when I was younger. Now that I will have children, I want a hobby I can share with them. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did before. My dad's post war is all packed away. I hope to be able to run them again when my bench work is done.
My vote is to store them and not sell them.
I've read all these replies..........and my opinion is take a little of each. Save some trains as ADCX Rob said; DO BUILD and around the room shelf layout....it will keep at least a slight memory and I agree with others, you will surely go back to "playing with trains".
And sell some..............it will feel good and be a bit of a reality check (as part of your plan to fully move away from O gauge).
Or keep the trains and sell the son to Medical Science.................might net $94.00
It is cyclical . Trust me and the dozens of others above. If nothing else, (dunno how many pieces you have), sell the lesser-desired ones (HIS desire, not a collectors) and save them.
I had trains since I was one and received the 610 Erie switcher and associated cars from the catalog (wasn't built as a true boxed set). Over my youth, I received some other pieces. No idea what happened to them once I moved out. But I always had that 610 set. In my 20's, rediscovered trains and built a heckuva collection. To operate I must add. Had all the PW desireables - Santa Fe ABA, Virginian FM, ad nauseum.
When starter wife and I parted ways, I sold it all off. ALL pieces, including that 610. Worst. Day. Of. My. Life. Fast forward about 8 years to the birth of our first son. Kid had a roll under the bed layout (no basements here) before he could walk. #2 son came 4 yrs later; he wanted the layout under HIS bed.
VERY gradually added pieces in 1990 and 1996. They matured, drifted away from trains (just no time when they're in baseball, school, band, etc). But I kept them. Occasionally during the leaner times, I'd say I'm thinking about selling the trains. Even though they didn't have their own, both boys (by then in college) about smacked me upside the head to NEVER sell the trains.
Finally built a layout in one of their bedrooms after they'd moved on in life. Yay! Airconditioned, carpeted, etc. Then, about 3 years ago, I got to wondering "wonder what an old 610 goes for?" Checking eBay, not only did I find a 610, but a 610 with every single car mine had with it. For $54. Too good to pass up. I like to think that perhaps the guy (dealer) who bought my set sold it to someone else, who kept it until now. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Unless you bought top of the line stuff, you won't make the kind of $$$ to make a dent in your family's financials, so just sit on them. Let the boy decide what to do with it when you're dead. You just might leave him the best inheritance ever. Oh, and as a side note, so what if Legacy is gone in 20 years. The stuff will still operate, at a minimum, in conventional mode.
Same thing happened to me when daughter and son were young they liked the trains small layout 4x8 and once in a while used to take family along to train shows. Even bought a 2343 SF pair beatup and touched them up with spray paint and handpainted there names on them they loved it back ten.
Still have the pair.
Then they lost interest, thought about taking layout down but did not, sold some of trains but never took down the small layout .
Retired and bought some of type of trains sold back again and since retirement enjoy them quite often tuning them up and so forth in 2002 even added DCS.
Perhaps one day when you retire you may like to revisit yours that is if there not all gone.
Something to consider.
In a few years after Wife and i move to Florida i plan on a slightly larger layout.
Greg you don't need us to make that decision. At the end of the day you're going to do what you've already decided.
My first instinct is to suggest keeping—in addition to your childhood items, and the Thomas and Polar Express sets—your track, transformers/bricks/Legacy controls, and any locomotives, rolling stock, and accessories that might have been particular favorites of your son and/or you. OTH, if space isn't an issue, as others have said, just box it up and store it all for your future grandchildren.
Then a novel idea—really the perfect solution—occurred to me: have another kid, if necessary adopt or become a foster parent. When that child tires of trains, have another. Problem solved. You're welcome.
:-)
When l was a kid, l transitioned through a lot of hobbies, most of which l still have a passing interest in. Trains and cars remain prime, with ebbs and flows. Pack them away, for if he doesn't come back, you or his children might.
You can not stay interested if there is no huge sky backdrop, very little track, very little running room, and not much scenery. You have to add some depth and distance to keep it exciting.
Part of the reason O Gauge made such a comeback from the 1980's and beyond is Baby Boomers recalling aspects of their childhood, of which electric trains played a significant part.
Very few of the people who made it possible for the industry to make such a comeback stayed in the hobby through their teen and young-adult years. Most of them re-visited their trains as they hit middle age.
---PCJ (a statistical outlier who never actually left the hobby)
Whatever you may decide to do with your trains just remember this: Once you sell them
THEY'RE GONE, BROTHER.
and you'll pay a lot more to replace them.
NYCGreg68 posted:Wow! Thanks for all the great advice. I had a feeling that many may have been in my shoes. It seems some of the endings are the same and some are different, which is OK - many of your kids came back at some point, others never did.
I had trains as a kid and never revisited until my son was born. If not for him who knows if I would have ever got back into this hobby. I have only a few items from when I was a child that I will not sell. For my son those items are the Thomas set and probably the Polar Express - those I won't sell. In 10 years I have acquired a lot, including Legacy engines, sets like Metro North, and accessories not to mention a ZW with 4 bricks and a good amount of Fastrack.
Should I decide to dismantle the question pack away vs. sell is an interesting one. In 10 or 15 years will Legacy even be around? Will my command control engines even run? Maybe Bluetooth control will take over. I am the type of person that should I step away and come back I would want the latest technology.
Anyway I have a few months to think through everything before a decision is made. I am into all the things that interest my kids and understand how fast time goes. My oldest is away at college and boy do I miss her everyday. The thread where Rich Battista showed his boy wrestling and comparing him to his first video is a perfect example of how we need to spend time with our kids. I have no regrets in this area - if it is not trains it will be xBox or something else.
Thanks to all that have offered stories and advice.
If others have not already said.... Based on your liking the new technology, when the layout comes down, sell anything electronic first. If batteries die in storage or boards die, it will cost more than the engine will be worth to get fixed. And you will always have YORK and this forum to buy used stuff that works.... I packed away my postwar when I was a kid. It is still packed under the table since I used proto-1, then proto -2, Then proto-3. My sons are now in their 20s and live in apartments with no room. It is a hard decision, but I have started selling lots of stuff with the addage: " let the dealers at york store them. When I need it again (or my kids need it again) there are always lots of them at york to go and get them. Lots of New in box! SOooo at the end of the day. Enjoy your son/daughters whatever their hobby or interest. Maybe keep enough track and rolling stock to put up a small 4x8 at Christmas Time or something around the tree... He will play with again...
It doesn't have to be the end. Just evolve it a bit.
Take down the layout. Make it a game room with TV's and sofa's and games, whatever. Keep 12" of room available below the ceiling.
Build a tasteful shelf layout loop around the top of the room that matches the door and window trim.
What game room wouldn't be awesome with a train slowly creeping around the wall below the ceiling.
Rotate the locomotives and rolling stock every few months. I promise you. Even though his friends will come over to hang out in that room and play games, they'll still think its "cool" when they see it.
You might find that even YOU use the room more than you think! Plus the idea of trains will always be there for when he's older.
I've recently added an extra bedroom in the basement by an addition and when I finish it to be a multi-purpose room with a convertible table/poker table and TV....there will be a shelf ring around the room so I can do exactly that. I'm pretty confident when my buddies come over for a round of cards they'll think it's "cool" too! Especially when it's a different locomotive and consist each time.
I've been following this thread closely as I'm in the same boat, although nobody wants the room the trains take up.
As I've posted before, my interest in the hobby has declined rather significantly in recent years. My layout is small - a 4x8 with a 4x4 "bump-out" on the side. I can run 4 trains and have no more room to expand. It, frankly, doesn't keep my interest. I did not - and will not - renew my membership in the modular club (National Capital Trackers), after 11 years of very active participation. It just was not fun anymore and I was ready to move on and do something else with my life.
Like the original poster, I "think" I'm OK with tearing it all down. All of the trains, when not on the layout, go onto the display shelves on the walls. For the time being, I would just put the trains there and box up all buildings, accessories, etc. The benchwork would go to the trash.
If the OP does go through with tearing it down, I'd be interested to learn his feelings after it happens. Any regret? Happy for doing so? Just sort of thinking out loud here....lots more "thinking" to do!
So I will be a dissenting voice here. Your son has lost interest, you have lost interest, why save anything? Of course you will not recover your cost, think of it as a lease. You paid for the time it was used. If at some future point in time interest returns you will certainly be able to pick up the stuff again at a cost close to what you sold it because the market is softer than a pillow. Or in the alternative newer items will emerge with better simpler controls, battery power, who knows. There is no need to store something that will be forgotten. Move on, enjoy your son, selling does't mean this is forever, just right now.
I was in the same situation as you and even posted on the forum a couple years ago lamenting the fact that my teenage son (and daughter) had no interest in the trains. They wanted a video game/tv/couch/hangout area in our basement and I listened and made that happen. It actually turned out nice and we all watch movies or play xbox, ping pong or air hockey.
That forced me to take down the layout and move it to the back of the basement, take out a wall, and rebuild. The good part is that my son (almost 15) continues to have interest from time to time and I can also work on the layout or run trains even when he is on the xbox and still spend time together. He will come over and run trains, or I will go to him and play xbox or ping pong. It works.
You could always keep the trains and bring them out for the Holidays, or build a shelf layout, or maybe an under couch/sliding platform layout.
Do what you think will give you the most "quality" time with your children. Better to store trains in boxes for a few years than miss out on your kids growing up.
Hi Greg, I can understand what you and your son are going through. This is a decision all toy train families must go through. In my case my son thought my train room would make a wonderful hang out for him and his friends. My wife, whom I love dearly said that if I spend any more money on toy trains she was going to leave me unless I made room for our son who was thirteen at the time.
In our case I got my son a big box to put in the park across the street, where he can live along with his buddies. But, he wisely settled to share my home office as his game room. 
As for my beautiful wife I had a sine made and mounted it on the header as you walked down the stairs to the basement train room, It read "( My wife said if I but one more toy train she is going to leave me. Gee I'm going to miss the old girl. )" There it stood for ten years! 
It came down when she changed her complaint from it must all go to get them running.
I guess we all find our solutions in life.
As for you and your son I'm sure you will work something out considering the fact that you are losing interest as well. That said, I don't think it would be wise to spend a lot of money over the next few decades storing stuff you are never going to use. But, it would be smart to keep the items that have a special place in your hearts, like his first Thomas set that you mentioned in your opening post.
Believe me ninety percent of the items you have are just as valuable as the fun you are having with them right now. I'm a die hard toy train guy and I'm dumping a ton of stuff that is good as new only because they never get played with or even viewed, stuffed under the platform. In fact they have become little more than a pain in the neck because I have to move them constantly whenever I have to clean under there.
So I have been having a blast finding a good home for it and maybe recoup some of the monies I invested in it all. Thus leving me with two tons of stuff I'm having fun with. Toy's are like sandwiches in life, how many can you eat? Remember it's only a bunch of toys and their true value is measured in memories not dollars.
Thanks again for all the replies, was surprised to see this thread back on page one - it seems many have gone through this or something similar. Yesterday in NY we had a major snow storm, schools were closed and I have a job where I can work at home. Anyway my son and all his friends played Star Wars Battlefront for about 4 hours. After I finished work and my son was done with xBox I asked "hey wanna run some trains?" - He said "No dad, I am going to read a little while, then head up to bed". After he said no I looked at the layout, shrugged my shoulders and turned off the lights. I think my decision is made.
I will come back and update this thread after I do a tear down and let anyone interested know how it went and if there are any regrets.
Just think of how lucky the son is to have some power of decision around the house. I wasn't allowed any deciding power until after I moved out.
RoyBoy posted:Just think of how lucky the son is to have some power of decision around the house. I wasn't allowed any deciding power until after I moved out.
I’m from the similar upbringing than many of you, I think. I’m 47 and when I was a kid, NO kid I knew had the decision-making role for pretty much anything that happened to them. Heck, I knew kids who, if they chose the classes they wanted in high school, the parents did something unspeakable to them and would go to the school. The very next day, they’d be in the classes the parents decided. And God help you if you didn’t take the classes they wanted in college if they were paying (or in some cases, even if they weren’t). Kids were totally bystanders in their own lives to a great degree.
That said, my parents allowed me to do all kinds of stuff. But decision making on something like that? I’d be allowed to have an opinion if asked, but in the end, it had no bearing on what actually happened to me.
I guess I longingly look back on my Army days, because I had very little expenses, was single, had money and could do ANYTHING I wanted. I even laid down G scale track on the floor of my apartment when I still had that stuff.
I grew up with under good graces of my parents, and I live today under the good graces of my wife. In either case, I am not the primary decision maker.
Not only do I agree with Witz 41, I have already done it. I never had to dismantle anything because of the kids, but wanted an overhead for the poker guys in addition to a large table layout. A double tracked, 100 ft layout, the boys love watching the four DCS 
trains go by, especially at happy hour(s).
Take my advice...other than to begin drinking heavily, consider a shelf layout....
All the best,
Jerry
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Next step....Girls..... good luck. Don
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JerryG posted:....trains go by, especially at happy hour(s).
Take my advice...other than to begin drinking heavily, consider a shelf layout....
All the best,
Jerry
Yeeeaassss!
O.K. - enough of this - just return the little bugger to the orphanage - problem solved when the games, computers, and girls get done with him - LIKE MOST OF US - he will be glad to return to the trains.
O.K. - enough of this - just return the little bugger to the orphanage - problem solved - when the games, computers, and girls get done with him - LIKE MOST OF US - he will be glad to return to the trains.
If you have truly lost interest, then walk away. I know there are times I will go months without running my trains, but I always come back.
You mentioned doing what your son is interested in. The problem is that he is reaching the age where he isn't going to want you doing all the things he is doing. Then, what do you do with the new found time? Doesn't have to be trains, but it has to be something or else you'll go buggy.
My boys aren't much older, 13 and 16, and they gave up on trains quite a while ago, right after some new friends said trains are stupid. I kept it going for me, and eventually replaced their trains with my own. I won't let theirs go in the hope that when they have their own families they will want them back, if for nothing else than running around their Christmas trees. They both still like to see the Christmas layout, so there is hope. For now, I share the basement. I rearranged it so the largest area holds a couple of sofa/recliners and a big screen TV, so they and their friends have a place to hangout, and the other side has my layout. Seems to work well for all.
Keep the trains even if you dismantle the layout and sell the track. Hobbies do this you can rotate threw them, I know I lost interest for several years, sure glad i did not throw out my trains. it is just being human, in twenty years you will be wonder why you got rid of them. They are not like video games, where today you can buy a modern version, they tend to be run once for a few years never made again deals.
Wow, I didn't know that the OGRR board was expanding into child rearing advise.
Next we'll be into politics and religion.
SURFLINER posted:O.K. - enough of this - just return the little bugger to the orphanage - problem solved - when the games, computers, and girls get done with him - LIKE MOST OF US - he will be glad to return to the trains.
Comments like this really amaze me. I understand that it's probably all in jest, but there is still a level of insensitivity in these type of comments.
You can't force anyone to be a model railroader any more than you can force them into any other hobby. If they interested, they will gravitate back to the hobby eventually. If not, such is life.
My older brother and I were exposed to trains at a very young age. In fact, the trains were bought for him as I was just a toddler. Today, while aware of the hobby, he has no interest in it.
Rusty
Don't do anything regarding trains that will give your son something to resent you for. There are enough serious things that come along in life that will cause issues. Whether it's shared trains or other toys of your child's youth, after the items are gone you may be the next to go. Eventually, kids grow up, come to their senses, and make peace with their parents -- if life provides the chance. If you put the trains in storage, they may be nice to have on that future day.......
I did nothing for a long time and waited to see what would happen, trains sat on the layout with neither me nor my son even looking at them and collecting dust. Over the last few weeks starting packing everything up ... I have two piles 1) the keepers 2) and what I am selling. Pile #1 is very small, it consists of trains I got from my dad and my son's first trains including Thomas and the Polar Express. Here is a picture of pile 2 - I am about 60% - 70% done. I have decided to start with my local hobby store where I bought about 90% of my stuff - He will come by and give me a price to buy everything. I know I will take a beating but it beats running to the post office everyday, I just don't have the time between work and my family. If we can't agree on a price, I was thinking of a garage sale for trains only.
It's time to move on. Amazing how much still I have accumulated in just 12 years.
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