Having spent years building my railway and finally got the chance to stand behind it at an exhibition, I discovered something awful. Exhibiting railways is boring! I'd far rather be looking than operating. Or better still building. So I want to sell the railway and get on with building another one. But how does one go about selling a model railway? I looked on ebay and there isn't really much there. Can anyone offer any advice?
Steve
Exhibit more, with a for sale sign.
It's fun. You're part of the show not the audience.
Until my lung problem I used to go to both an American O-scale convention and the NMRA convention when it was held on our side of the country, with a group of British ex-pats and a modular layout. We made a whole slew of new friends including visiting British modellers on holiday whom we would have been lucky to bump into.
We were part of the "behind the scenes" which had its own camaraderie. We'd help modellers on other layouts and they'd help us, etc.
A different experience than just going to a show.
Unfortunately, selling a model railway has a very small potential market. Most people want to build their own, particularly as it will need to fit their space. OTOH there are a few people who will buy a ready built layout as a nucleus for their own dream layout, providing it will fit in their closet/lounge/second garage.
Probably the best way to sell it is at an exhibition, where people can see it in operation. You need to learn to look enthralled and ecstatic! You should think about seperating the layout from the rolling stock as I'd guess that a layout with rolling stock would fetch less than the rolling stock without layout.
I found exhibiting became more interesting when I added controls so I could operate in front of the layout rather than just from behind. The down side is that you spend more time talking than operating.
Greg.P.
Don't some of the railway mag's and collectors clubs offer free adverts ?
Chris
"Fennelworm" wrote
Couldn't agree more. I exhibited my first model railway in 1971, and have never done so since. Not only was it extremely boring, but it was physically demanding on feet & legs.
On the other hand there are a group of members from the local model railway club whose entire life revolves around the show circuit, and they are out making an exhibition of themselves most weekends.
John.
In the pub after the show?
And it is harder to escape when you get trapped by a nutter wanting to be your friend!
Reminds me of the one time I ever visited the DHSS (to return my late housekeeper's pension book). A man was lecturing the security guard on the sex life of the wild fox or something. You could tell the guard would rather be anywhere else but there.
(kim)
I once got trapped by someone pointing and shouting "Class 37" every time a class 40 came round, lecturing me on how if it had a long nose it was a 37. Pointing out the number of wheels didn't help, and it was driving off people with something interesting to say.
Model railway shows also badly need those portable showers which chemical plants have ready for emergency decontamination....
Arthur Figgis said the following on 01/03/2008 09:43:
Don't they just? You wander into a show and the first thing that often hits you is the smell of unwashed bodies. The scary thing is that after a while you don't notice it!
When I first joined the railway I wondered two things : Why did most Guards, even us freight-only ones, carry loads of those little route timetables they used to hand out; And why did train-crew hide when waiting for trains. I got the answer on Exeter, having just liberated one of the excellent pasties they use to do in the Buffet. A bloke approaches, with family in tow, "Which plaform for the Mallaig train?". "It'll be his one" say I. Getting out my little time-tables I gave him the changes
- I think it was just Crewe in those days, with a split at Castairs, and change at Edinburgh. "Which platform at Edinburgh is it then?". "Sorry, I don't know". "Well you're a lot of help.... etc etc". From then on I hid too!
Cheers Richard
Why do British train shows attract the unwashed? I just got back from my local train show here in Ontario, Canada, and I didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. Don't most Brits bathe on Friday night?
I suspect our show doesn't coincide with that right one of the 52 Fridays...
It was yesterday - always friday the 29th of Feb.
but what makes me wonder is that everyone complains about everyone else !
Cheers, simon
From what I've seen (smelled) around these parts, it is certainly not an exclusively British phenomenon.
Arthur Figgis said the following on 01/03/2008 09:43: > Model railway shows also badly need those portable showers which > chemical plants have ready for emergency decontamination.... Don't they just? You wander into a show and the first thing that often hits you is the smell of unwashed bodies. The scary thing is that after a while you don't notice it!
And here I was thinking that you were referring to the type the germans were rather fond of at one time.
Regards
If you think you suffer from the smell of "The Great Unwashed" what about our son, with his autism his senses, including smell, are greatly enhanced. Our son however has no hesitation in letting someone know they smell !
When I first stated work our company had the contract for the maintenance of the local water reclamation works ( in English that's sewerage works ). The smell at first was a bit strong but you did get used to it, most of the smell came from the ozone mixed in with the local chemical works. If it was an egg smell it was the sewerage, salt & vinegar was the chemical works but if your eyes started to water it was both.
People do imagine smells .... when I used to live on a pig farm when friends or complete strangers go to know they claim they could smell you but :-
I always had a shower & change of clothes prior to going out.
Pigs don't smell if they are kept clean ... which ours were.
Model shows, I have found, are like Pig shows ( yes ! they are shown, washed, oiled and saw dusted for the occasion ) you always get these and other more pleasant characters.
Which reminds of an episode of Dragon's Den.
An entrepreneur was trying to raise funds to produce a doggie bed that didn't stink to high heaven. One of the judges however unwittingly revealed a fatal flaw in his business plan. As a dog owner himself he simply refused to believe that dogs stink!
(kim)
You have a lot of those in the UK??? I did have one who picked up locos as they ran past ... The exhibition committee didn't seem 100% happy with my solution of the cattle prod the next day.
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