Traditionaly My old layouts get destroyed, either the track work is so bad, that it isn't worth saving, or it is just not worth it. this layout I am working on now might be the first one woth keeping around. I would say sell it, if no one buys it, savlage what you can, recycle the rest.
You are not alone with your family not loving or even liking trains. My current layout was located in our smallest bedroom, which I had used as an office for over 10 years. One day my wife decided that she wanted the room for an exercise room, and I was to move my office and layout upstairs to the area outside of our bedroom. Moving would get me more real-estate for the layout. Unfortunately the bench work would not fit the new area, which meant starting over (I liked the track plan I had). Before I had the new plans drawn the railroad was evicted from the house.:confused3:
Although this scale is not in my leauge, I have to add my 20 cylinders to this thread. I have my own house in which I totally own in my name alone, I can do anything I want to this place and would still not hang that layout on one of my walls. I totally believe in resell, recycle and reuse for something else. I read everyones repsonse in this thread and can't believe some of the family non support in trains. Every year I visit the East Coast Large Scale train show and just when you think that girls or wives just don't like trains I saw a Dad and Mom shopping for G scale trains for their daughter who looked about 12 to 13. Needless to say she picked out a USA Trains F3-A unit in the Atlantic Coast Line purple theme and what a pretty locomotive it was. My point is maybe if you got your families involved in trains by showing them how they run, using switches, going to train shows or museums, take them on a train ride somewhere, they might be more understanding. I have some family members who don't get it either, but then there are some who do and regularly visit my layout, especially at Christmas time. My little girl begs to go to the train museum, at least for right now and loves to play hands on with thomas trains. She has a full size G scale train of her own, but would much rather play hands on with Thomas. The train hobby is not a raditional hobby like it was in the past just for boys, it now should be a fammily hobby in this day and age. The last thing, just remember to share a little, let them control the train and take different routes and switch the tracks, if they don't know how, teach them. I garrauntee you to get all the train space you need by doing this.
I’ve taken all the family to train shows, rail-fanning, etc., over the years and they all have the same response. Now some of my grandchildren, 2 boys and 1 girl, are interested (the others, 1 boy and 2 girls, are still to young) in the trains. Still the railroad got evicted. I guess it skipped a generation.
Well, so much for the garage sale. One woman was interested in it as a Christmas present to her 10yr old nephew for $50, but she wanted all the houses and a complete train to go with it. I had to decline. The neighbor kid wanted to make a Godzilla movie filming him driving his ATV over it, but he only had $5. I think I am going to hang it on the wall, but it will be in my garage for now. I also like the idea of mounting a train on it. I have an old Bachmann train set that I’ll mount on it somehow. I also liked Bernard's idea of donating it, but I don't have the time to make a display case for it right now, I have to start thinking about setting up our Christmas display. My daughters think trains are silly and don't want anything to do with them. EMD Trainman did have point though. Last year I was having some health issues and didn't want to put up the Lionel Christmas train display. Well there was a family uprising, they said it just would not be Christmas without the trains. I was going to give it to my son who has made a career out of the military and is currently in Iraq. If he ever settles down he might want it, but for now he moves around too much. I don’t know when he will be back, seems like a very long time.
Bernard, that's exactly the way I think. And it doesn't have to be a library. What about a children's hospital? Think of all the smiles it would bring to the faces of children with illnesses and injuries. Or an inner city Boys and Girls Club... kid's whose parents probably can't afford a train set and there wouldn't be room in their apartment for a decent Z scale layout if they could? Hang a layout on a wall? What good is a train layout without trains running on it??? Best!
