Lakes and Pines Division - Train Collectors Association
Roundhouse Rick’s
RR Ramblings
#117
Welcome to the conclusion of another fun train collecting season. Our May meeting is May 21, 2017. This meeting is on the third Sunday to avoid a conflict with Mother’s Day. Don’t want to upset mothers. So, I’m starting out this bulletin with a collection for sale notice. I got a phone call from a fellow named Wayne who lives in the Twin Cities area. He wants to dispose of a large Lionel collection, consisting of about 50 boxes of trains, mostly Lionel postwar. Wayne estimates the Greenberg value is above $40,000. Obviously, he knows he won’t get anything near that wanting to sell the whole collection in one transaction. He thinks he
has around 200 items. To get a partial listing of the trains, email Wayne at
wonderfulwayne2466@gmail.com or text him on his cellphone at 952-994-2466. I suggested a buyer such as TrainZ, but first I would pass this information onto Lakes & Pines members.
And now here are some train shows I know about for this summer. Coming up real fast is the Twin City Model Railroad Museum Hobby Show & Sale at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Education Building on Saturday, May 13th, 2017 from 9AM to 3PM. Over 200 tables of toy trains, memorabilia, hobby supplies and more! Next, June 17, 2017 is Railroad Heritage Day and the Spooner Train Show at the Spooner Elementary School, 1821 Scribner Street in Spooner, Wisconsin from 9AM to 4PM. The nearby Railroad Memories Museum is open
from 10AM to 5PM. Tables are only $5. RSVP to David Masterjohn by May 15 via email.
realty@masterjohn.com For more information, call 715-491-5030. There is a Museum Super Brat Feed in Centennial Park beginning at 10AM. There will also be Wisconsin Great Northern Train Rides. Call for times and rates at 715-635-3200. On July 22, 2017 is the 27
th Annual Rail Fair at Copeland Park in LaCrosse, Wisconsin from 10AM to 4PM. Buy, sell or trade model & toy trains, railroadiana, antique toys, diecast models, etc. There will be railroad exhibits & displays with the BNSF Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway also
having displays. Heading south, on August 19th & 20th, is the Southern Valley Railway’s 6
th Annual Model Railroad Train Show at the Plainview Elgin Millville High School Gym, 500 Broadway in Plainview, Minnesota.
For more info, contact Vern & Sherry Kleiber at 507-534-3240. That’s all I got for right now. Happy Training!
SO, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR VALUABLE TRAINS WHEN YOU ARE GONE?
Recently a good friend of mine, John Kennedy, passed away unexpectedly. Luckily, a will was found and his huge collection of trains and train related collections will be saved. His huge collection of slides will go to railroad author John Luecke. His book collection will go to book-seller John Pederson. His collection of O Scale and HO scale trains will go to the Twin City Model Railroad Museum. Luckily John arranged for his lifelong collection of train related items to remain in the Twin City area where he worked and enjoyed his train
hobby. Sometime in the future a book of John’s best images from his vast slide collection will be published.
Have you arranged to have your collections preserved?
Here is the best posting I have ever read on this subject. Greg Phillips wrote this on the Marx Train Yahoo Group last month.
My 2-cents on this topic: I have been very fortunate over the years to have bought many trains at very good prices. Oh a few I’ve paid premium cost, but that was OK. I look at my trains as a form of ‘entertainment’. With that ‘train’ of thought, how much might we spend per year on pay for view cable; or go to concerts; or buying our favorite beverage by the case for the weekends; or on our other hobbies? Folks, that all adds up pretty fast. And then it’s gone, just a memory or in case of those ‘beverages’ – down the drain! But my trains are always down in the train room. I never bought one train as an ‘investment’ as some do. I have no train
that is still ‘sealed in the box’. If I can’t run it, I do not want it. Back in 2007 a friend of mine took a pic of my old basement and joked about my ‘model railroad 401K plan’ that I had going here. He is one of those ‘tight wads’. So, I just considered the source. The following year was the stock market crash and he lost about half
of his investments. I took a couple pics of my stuff and sent it to him stating that I had not ‘lost a thing with my MR 401K – how are you doing? Never got a reply! The point is that I’m having lots of fun with my trains. If I want to take a Marx ‘beater’ and do a repaint or a custom job – no worries! They are a Great Entertainment for me. When I’m gone, my wife or my kids will probably sell them and even though they may get only a third or if
lucky a half of what the value is – we are still ahead simply because of all the Entertainment that they have given ME over the years. It is all about the enjoyment and pleasure the trains give us during our short stay on this Earth! What happens to my trains after I pass on is not a concern. I once heard about a senior citizen who just got his new convertible sports car. He took his friend for an afternoon ride – before reaching the end of his block, he reached up and broke off the rear view mirror and said, “What’s behind me now is no longer
important!” – end of blog. The next post added: I have little doubt that some of the trains I thoroughly enjoy now after buying them from EBay also come from the estates of deceased folks. Enjoy *today*, it’s all we have….!! *Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it… If you have made mistakes, even serious
mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down. **(Mary Pickford, 1892 – 1979)**
HERE ARE A FEW COMMENTS THAT PEOPLE HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE LAST YORK
Clem Clement: “More Blue Comets that I have ever seen!”
Jim Nicholson: “I found a fair #8 trolley and a nice #10 interurban. I also found a Macy’s #8 set.”
Wayne Spiegel responded: “In my opinion the show was softer in attendance. I believe the rains for the week chased away some people. I did not experience any change from the public to attend.”
Another Clem Clement posting: “I did see a tired Prosperity set. One car had the side cut out so the interior could be inspected. Probably a salesman set.”
Jim Nicholson responded: “The story of the car missing the piece was that the original owner needed a piece of brass, so he cut a chunk out of the car side, what a crime.”
That’s all Roundhouse Rick has for this month. Remember, we will have a picnic somewhere in August. If you have a suggestion, contact President Mike Speltz at 763-447-0763.
Roundhouse Rick Krenske.