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0 pointsalnwlsn8mo ago0 comments

Side note, but if you're trying to sell off this stuff, you better do it soon. Train nuts like this are a dying breed. Probably will all be mostly worthless in a couple decades, along with commemorative plates, or the "good china" your parents never use.

Market is hot(ish) now though, or was a few years ago. A friends dad died and he had trains. We helped ebay all of it. Owned a toy store or something, lots of rare stuff (like window displays). We even had a guy buy one of the rare posters, return it for questionable reasons, and then start selling counterfeits. Even so, the grand total wasn't a ton of money, more within the "worth doing" category.

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MrJagil8mo ago

> Train nuts like this are a dying breed.

Why?

To me it seems there are more hobbyists than ever. It's finally "cool" to play DnD, Covid gave hobbies a big boost and people yearn to do something away from screens.

bombcar8mo ago

There have been some articles lamenting that the space isn’t available as easily anymore.

But I think it’s a combination of “toy trains” being pushed out of the “hobby” so fewer new kids are introduced to it (the Lego Train clubs get some heat and hate and generally are disregarded by the “real model trains” for example) and that the “train obsession” has other ways to discharge these days.

Many people who would have built elaborate basement models instead spend their time perfecting Factorio or Minecraft worlds (any sufficiently advanced sandbox game becomes a train simulator).

Symbiote8mo ago

I think the period of the trains might go out of date, with a few exceptions — though it might return to fashion once it's beyond living memory.

So a collection of model steam trains might lose value, as fewer people have remember them in use, but the hobby can continue with high-speed electric trains etc.

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