Gary, its been a very interesting thread and thanks for kicking it off as its certainly got us all thinking.
I never considered my collection as an investment
I think that this would cover a lot of us, most of us really only spend our disposable income on our hobbies. It could have gone on poker machines, loose women, excess booze, horse racing etc etc
So we are lucky that we actually have something to show for our expenditure of our disposable incomes, that in itself is a lesson that may rub off onto our children and our grandchildren.
Gary, I think you got it right - glad you've come to the same conclusion I have.
I agree Gary, brilliant synopsis.
Gary, I just went through some of your train videos/layout. Absolutely stunning mate, there's a lot of hours in there!
https://youtu.be/KSEfm36ZGmQ
This post really got me thinking too. My shed is packed full of ' junk' I have collected, purchased and built over the years. Some of which are not very valuable in monetary terms but are extremely rare with a few one off examples that are custom made. I have tried to catalogue my steam engines on my website but that's just a fraction of the hobby stuff. My wife does not really bother with my models and knows nothing of their value. I have 2 sons , the older one has zero interest but the youngest is often in the shed with me building and experimenting so maybe he will keep them.
And remember...There are still newcomers to this hobby, who enjoy it very much. And to tell them it is a dead hobby (the same things I heard when I got into Garden Railroads) is a disservice to them- and to your hard work and effort in helping BUILD this great hobby.
I wish all the people who keep outbidding me on ebay thought it was a dead hobby 😁
Haha so true!
I don't see how people say the prices have fallen. I think they've gone up. I haven't seen a good deal on eBay in quite a while.
It is thanks for forums like this that we all do what we can to keep the hobby active. Hats off to Gil.
I also feel there will always be toy collectors out there, maybe not steamers like us... but how many toys have been made from the 70's onward that will be collectible or even survive 50 years? Most of the toys my kids get are junk and don't last more than a few hours... I try to find good old/beat up metal toys at flea markets and garage sales for them instead. I think a lot of the Morton Hirschberg collection went to the tin toy collectors instead of us steamers and unfortunately will likely never be used the way they were intended...
"Prices have dropped a lot since the '07-'09-ish years of the hobby..." <--- pump the brakes
Everything collectible dropped in price during the big recession. It was the worst economically since the great depression. It has nothing to do with people dropping in or out of the hobby. That's 10 years ago too! Euro prices have gone up since I've been searching German eBay over the last year or so.
Honestly, the more I think about it, prices are a terrible gauge of the number of people in the hobby.
That recession took place from 07-09, BUT that was when I observed PEAK prices in steam toys and will admit that I paid a lot more in that time period for some engines than what I should have. Shouldn't the prices have been lower in that period??
