a roundhouse of shelf queens

[victor miranda]

Forumers,

I am thinking you all must have locos you like and do not run for various reasons.

.... I know I have such locos.
a bachmann, an old kato hudson lacking side rods.

do you set them next to the roundhouse?
do you put them back in the box?

sell or (horror of horrors!) toss them in the trash?

I can understand setting an old b-mann 0-6-0 aside.
what does one do with something like the Atlas 2-8-8-2?

victor

[pjm20]

Everything that runs I like!  I currently store all my non running locomotives in my desk organizer, patiently waiting to be evaluated for repair, parts, or eBay.

[C855B]

I don't have the heart to toss my fleet of A1G and A1.5G... but it sure isn't going to see the light of day again. Most of this early stuff doesn't qualify as roundhouse material.

What you pose is quite the dilemma.

[victor miranda]

I am curious mostly.
I have locos and cars in boxes and on various displays.

for some reason my sweet wife took a liking to the b-mann 611 J.

for me most non-operational locos go into the box until I want to try to fix it.

.... I thought it normal.  I have read that such locos get used as part of making the scene.

victor

[delamaize]

With me, with non running locomotives, and one that is unable to be made to run, either get put in the parts box, or get set aside for a future scenery use.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Fortunately I only have 4 old timers sitting on my small work bench in the study.
  An original (first run) Arnold GP7/9 high nose that must be well over 40 years old. It got repainted into the Kodachrome scheme but never made it to the layout. (flanges so big that it would cut all the ties on my code 55 track.
 A re-powered (first release) Atlas GP30 that hasn't seen rails in about 35 years or more.
 A Minitrix U28C that was repainted from red and silver to freight blue that was my second loco that I purchased back in about 1969 ish.
and last but not least a Bachmann dash 8 40C that I kit-bashed into a wide cab that does not run and will never see the light of day on my SFRSD but still sits there reminding me of what I did to it.

[VonRyan]

For me, if it doesn't run, it doesn't get seen.
With my Dapol 0-6-0PT, since the warranty ran out meaning I couldn't get it fixed, I decided to sell it, since I refuse to sink money into it. The person who bought it can deal with it now.

With my brass engines, I got lucky and was graciously offered to have them examined and possibly made to run again.
Of course, I now owe my soul to said gracious person, but that's what kindness gets you, a person's soul.

[glakedylan]

I wish there were fewer people who thought that dumping a bad locomotive on someone else
claiming it to be new on eBay

I mean, really....I had one seller tell me he knows nothing about the locomotive's history
but, having jeweler's lenses and being able to see microscopic views of the wheels, that it is
definitely a new one even though it was last manufactured 3 decades ago

people who have junk should get rid of it the way junk can be handled without burdening
someone else with it

as for me, I put them away for a day when I have the parts and skills to fix them

sincerely--
Gary

[pnolan48]

I had an RIP track behind the roundhouse where I just parked the old steam. Some were partially disassembled, as if cannibalized. I sank a few bashed up shells in streams. Otherwise, everything placed on the railroad stayed there and ran. I had to incorporate a diesel RIP track for all the Bachmanns with split gears.

[jnevis]

Unfortunately right now EVERYTHING isn't running (I can't get to most of it).  I do have a couple older "junk" F units I have every intention of turning into steam cars for a rotary plow, and a B23-7 that will eventually be a drone controller.  There is a Bman 4-8-4 somewhere that will be a "museum" piece at some point.  I got it for $10 on ebay with the intended purpose of running it until it broke then sticking it in a scene.  It only lasted about an hour of run time before the gears split.

[u18b]

I love brass Kumata shelf queens!   

I know how to love them back to life!

 

[Albert in N]

I agree with Gary; don't sell junk to unsuspecting people.  That is what gives train show tables a bad name, plus discourages future model railroaders.  If something is junk, give it to someone who needs parts or sell it a "parts only".  Not too long ago, I actually put a Con-Cor E-8 into the trash along with other household garbage.  It quit running and no parts were available, also it was obsolete and had the old late 1960s Rivarossi body shell with the cast on horns.  If something is obsolete, but runs OK and has no collector value, sell or trade it cheap.  Otherwise, think about trashing it rather than burdening your heirs.  Be realistic.  The standard for current N scale is operating knuckle couplers, DCC ready or DCC equipped, lighted number boards with numbers, prototype finish, and diode lighting.  Availability of parts is a plus.  Junk dealers with high pricing at train shows are like predatory pawn shops.

[nkalanaga]

Before trashing a dead loco, you might look at the body as industrial parts.  Fans, grills, vents, etc can be repurposed in many ways.

[OldEastRR]

Saw a picture once of a Pennsy K4 that was used as a stationary boiler. Not much of the engine was changed, even the tender was still attached. All that was added were pipes bringing in the fuel oil and water and one taking the steam away.

[k27463]

Currently have my Kato 2-8-2 on the RIP track awaiting a drawbar that may never be found...