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A co worker came to me last week and tells me a friend of hers uncle has passed away. And in the basement was full of trains and she has no clue on what to do with it. Hundreds of cars lots of engines, mostly older stuff. Shes overwhelmed and wants it to go altogether vs piece by piece. Any advice would be help full. Went to see it today (wow) lots of stuff .

What city and what model train scale is a good start. Then contact the local model railroad clubs and see if they can spread the word.

He may have had friends who would know where to start as well. I hear more and more complaints after someone dies that the family didn't contact the deceased's friends before disposing of their collections, usually for a lot less than the collection was worth.

Moral of the story always make sure your loved ones know who to contact in case of the inevitable happens. Wills are great but actually talking to your family is better.

M.D.Bentley wrote:A co worker came to me last week and tells me a friend of hers uncle has passed away. And in the basement was full of trains and she has no clue on what to do with it. Hundreds of cars lots of engines, mostly older stuff. Shes overwhelmed and wants it to go altogether vs piece by piece. Any advice would be help full. Went to see it today (wow) lots of stuff .

There's guys that will buy estates in one piece - they then use eBay to piece it out over time, and they hope at a profit. Your co-worker's friend wouldn't receive top dollar (the eBay'ers want to make their margin on that) but if she wants it gone this route is an option. Most have adds in the back of the monthly model railroad magazines stating "we buy estates/entire collections" or something along those lines.

I would echo the Club route.. Donate it to a club. Take the Tax write off. and the Club can sell and make some money. a Win Win for all. And also try to contact his friends, that is overlooked as pointed out. Many clubs downriver.. Check out Redford web site as they list other clubs and MichiganRailroad.com, they have a list of clubs under Modeling.. Sad but have been to 3 this year already.. Build a model Railroad, the only place time stands still.. and cudo's to you for helping her out.

~Z~ wrote:What city and what model train scale is a good start. Then contact the local model railroad clubs and see if they can spread the word.

Thanks "Z" Yea that might help. Downriver area, HO scale , full basement, lone wolf railroader, CB&Q, NP, Burlington.
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There's a guy in the Grand Rapids area who will give you half of what he thinks he can sell it for. I know he does shows on this side of the state, but I don't know if he buys big collections like this. It might be worth a call to find out.
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