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Dec. 2nd, 2020 01:14 amCurrently, I'm down to 9 working days left in this year. Later next year I get a 5th week of vacation, but because of the week I'm pushing into next year and other juggling acts, I'll be able to make use of that week before I actually get it.
Anyway. While in one of a cluster of hobby shops I've been frequenting, I was talking with one of the employees about model train kits, and he showed me a pile of items that someone had brought in to sell. In this particular instance, the pile of stuff was a lot of older Tyco/Bachmann/LifeLike items, late 70s/early 80s. There was an engine, the typical Tyco C430 with its typical pancake motor, but it had the "Spirit of '76" paint. Unique but not terribly rare or valuable. The hobby shop employee, if he wasn't the owner, was at least a manager with say in pricing. He said $10, and tested it for me (it worked). I spotted the matching caboose; that made it a combo for $12. Sold.
http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycotrains/id22.html
So I get it home, and my previous experience with Tyco engines is that the first order of business is to take apart the motor to clean out the coagulated lubricant, dirt, pet hair, carpet lint, seaweed, and so on. Except when I took the motor apart it was already clean? And the oil was somewhat fresh? It wasn't mint, it had obviously been used, but it wasn't run into the ground either. This thing was taken care of. The most likely scenario is that the previous owner died recently and a relative didn't know what else to do with it or just wanted one less thing to kick around, so off to the store it went for some cash.
That's a situation that occurs regularly, and I should be used to it by now. I know that someday I too will kick the bucket, and whoever has to go through my stuff will have to figure out what to do with the whole mess. But I try to not think about that too much.
Anyway. While in one of a cluster of hobby shops I've been frequenting, I was talking with one of the employees about model train kits, and he showed me a pile of items that someone had brought in to sell. In this particular instance, the pile of stuff was a lot of older Tyco/Bachmann/LifeLike items, late 70s/early 80s. There was an engine, the typical Tyco C430 with its typical pancake motor, but it had the "Spirit of '76" paint. Unique but not terribly rare or valuable. The hobby shop employee, if he wasn't the owner, was at least a manager with say in pricing. He said $10, and tested it for me (it worked). I spotted the matching caboose; that made it a combo for $12. Sold.
http://tycotrain.tripod.com/tycotrains/id22.html
So I get it home, and my previous experience with Tyco engines is that the first order of business is to take apart the motor to clean out the coagulated lubricant, dirt, pet hair, carpet lint, seaweed, and so on. Except when I took the motor apart it was already clean? And the oil was somewhat fresh? It wasn't mint, it had obviously been used, but it wasn't run into the ground either. This thing was taken care of. The most likely scenario is that the previous owner died recently and a relative didn't know what else to do with it or just wanted one less thing to kick around, so off to the store it went for some cash.
That's a situation that occurs regularly, and I should be used to it by now. I know that someday I too will kick the bucket, and whoever has to go through my stuff will have to figure out what to do with the whole mess. But I try to not think about that too much.
