Are Trains Ever Trash?


Breor47

Breor47

Brakeman
I've recently come across a couple projects which will require more time, efforts, and funds than they are worth to fix.

In order to repair lots of other cars, I cannibalized several lesser-quality rolling stock on my N-Scale layout. These cars were given the broken parts or no parts at all in return, and I'm thinking that I'll never get around to finding and obtaining new parts for them.

I also have two locomotives (again, N-Scale) that are in disrepair. One is a nice KATO locomotive, but it has a strange coupler-mount on it, and I don't think I'll ever find a replacement for that. It also has a damaged shell, which only comes (to my knowledge) in an undecorated grey.

Today I thought "What if I just got these off the bench by throwing them out?" It was a strange thought to me, since I've never thrown out any train stuff ever.

Just to be clear, I won't end up throwing these things out - maybe box them up (which is like throwing them out but using more space) - since I could still put them on the layout and pretend they were needing to be fixed by the rail-crews.

Anyone here ever throw out broken trains, or is it just as alien a concept to everyone else as it was to me?
 
I have thrown out one engine shell due to my messing it up, completely. Other than that, I am a bit of a hoarder and kind of think that "maybe I can use that one day". It isn't that I don't like throwing out trains or model railway stuff, because if I had to I would, I just don't see the need to, just in case :)
 
Hmmmm Do you have an engine house or work yard area on your layout? I seem to see a railroad junk yard in the making. They will be off the bench, put to a use but still around if things change and you can repair anything later.

David
 
Any N scale locos prior to about 1990 with the possible exception of a couple of Mini Trix models. Most were junk when they were new..........they ran terrible, if at all, had bad paint jobs and way oversized handrails along with open pilots to allow for the Rapido couplers to swing through curves. A lot of the rolling stock wasn't much better.

As for the Kato loco...........I have a trash can you can throw it in.:)
 
if you just look into the real world, many types of older railroad cars are used past their lives for other things non railroad. there is a place here in texas where they turned several boxcars into a liquor store.
 
And there is a transport company about 15 miles from who hauls both new and old rail cars. They have a number of derelict ones in their yard just sitting there and rusting away :(
 
Burlington Bob said:
As for the Kato loco...........I have a trash can you can throw it in.:)
Click to expand...

I'm sure I sound pretty ungrateful saying I'd throw away the locomotive. The truth is that I am just frustrated with it after making no progress over the last week. My last ditch effort will be to write to the manufacturer and see if they cannot personally help me. Will probably get around to that this weekend. It's got a nice smooth motor, but it's exterior has been decimated.

Normally you can just get a new shell, but this locomotive has the deck/main platform attached to the frame, and that needs to come off. But I haven't found a replacement part for it. And when I search for it on Kato's website, I get a very similar locomotive, but the design and assembly is clearly different.

It looks a lot like this.
 
Here's a good way to show it.

See how these shells have the fencing and platform built in?
Now look at this loco, and you can see where the shell detaches is different. The cowcatcher and platform are part of the base.
 
If a car or locomotive is damaged beyond economical repair, I hold it as a parts source until I use most of the parts from it. I then strip the rest of the potentially useful stuff from it, and toss the remainder in the trash can. It may take 5 years or more before it finds its way to the dumpster, but it most certainly does make it there eventually.
 
Breor47 said:
Anyone here ever throw out broken trains,
Click to expand...
The first Athearn Genesis units with sound in them were pretty close to being trash. I threw a set of F units away once. I got so mad at them I just took them off the rails and tossed them in the trash can under the layout. Of course they just sat there in the can for about a year before I started to put something else in, saw them, wasn't so mad anymore and pulled them back out.
 
For me it all depends on space.
If I don't have the space it gets dumped.
Then again I have thrown out some good stuff I needed later.
I would save anything of use the pitch the rest.
On the Kato, may as well save it all. Ain't nothing junk on a Kato at least not in HO.
 
Call me a pack rat if needed but I will find things while I was at work (now retired), out walking or just odds and ends out in my garage or other folks garages and I would think, hey I could make a nice load out of that, that might look good in the corner of the layout set up like....and so on. So yeah I have collected a bunch of stuff and not all of being used at this time but..............you never know.

David
 
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