[daughter]

Hello model railroaders,

My father recently passed away and left boxes full of HO paraphernalia (including trains, tracks & models - some still in boxes) as well as paint, paintbrushes, and other things I don't even know the names of. My mother and I are hoping to sell it, though have no idea how much it's worth.

I'm sorry to use this forum as the opportunity to sell stuff, but I figured this would be the best way to get his collection to the people who might make the best use of it.

I'm located in the Toronto area, by the way.

Please feel free to contact me if you'd like more info.

Thanks!

[email protected]

 

[shaygetz]

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry for your loss.

Right off, the things you want to look for are metal versus plastic, which cars and loco motives are which. Are the metal ones brass or diecast? If diecast, do they have names like Mantua, Aristo-Craft or Bowser? If brass, look for names like PFM/United, Tenshodo and Ken Kidder. Look on the kit boxes for names like Red Ball, Fine Scale Miniatures, Ambroids and Scale Structures Ltd. All these and several others are very desirable. Please resist the temptation to sell it all as one lot, at worst, take it to an Ebay commission type store and let them do the work. Feel free to contact me with questions, take good pictures if possible. If you choose to sell them, Ebay is a very good option, one that I can walk you through. A local model railroad club might have some help available...again, please resist the temptation to sell it all as one lot unless you really just want to get rid of it all.

Again, I am sorry for your loss, if there is any way I can help you and your mother through this sale, please feel free to email me anytime through here, my blog or my webpage.

 

[daughter]

Thank you for your response. I had considered ebay but we're in such a rush to pack up that I'd like to be able to deal with it more quickly than that would take. I like the idea of leaving it with an ebay commission store, however, and based on your advice, found one in the neighbourhood. I'm sure we'd get more for it if the situation were different, but this seems like a much easier solution. It's such a shame to not be able to keep it all, considering dad's hard work and passion.
Thank you again for your condolences and for your advice.

 

[shaygetz]

Thank you for your response. It's such a shame to not be able to keep it all, considering dad's hard work and passion.
Thank you again for your condolences and for your advice.

You are welcome, I only wish it was under better circumstances. I lost my father's collection when he died, nothing was salvaged, even the pieces I made for him were destroyed. I hope you find a piece or two for some kind of keepsake. Peace to you and yours, BC

 

[eagle37]

Boxes of Stuff

I think you are probably going to have to be more specific about what
you have before anyone could make a worthwhile suggestion. For example,
are the models in kit form, already assembled, painted? What do the
trains consist of? Locomotives? Steam or Diesel? I'd suggest eBay, but
there are hundreds of offers posted there you'd be competing with. There
must be several hobby shops in Toronto. Again, if you come up with some
sort of inventory, one of them might be able to suggest an outlet for the
items.
eagle37

 

[Stan kolak]

HO Para.

There must be model train shows in your big metro area. Go to one, and have a person there come to your house and give you estimates. Again, seperate the plastic from the metal, die cast & brass sets. Sell off the expensive sets seperately, rent a table at the train show to sell off the cheaper sets, buildings etc. I got a good buy from an unfortunate situation like yours on buildings at a train flea market.