Upcoming Stout Auction

[Pacific Limited]

Great looking stuff!

Its a reminder friends, we can only enjoy our trains for life. All that money will not buy immortality.

It is another beautiful day!

[SWrailroader]

Yep. Our purchases are more like rent for the duration of your life.

A personal issue is that I cannot always remember what I have. In the process of moving, I discovered that I have five USH PRR 2-10-0s.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Our purchases are more like rent for the duration of your life.

I'd guessitmate that better than 50% of my inventory could reasonably be parted with at any time and that the array of structures noton my actual layout could depart now. My level of separation anxiety with my build models is declining.....

A personal issue is that I cannot always remember what I have.

Not a problem here; my wife runs my inventory and prints labels and does all in Excel.

However, finding specific models can be a bit of a challenge.

[Chris Webster]

I discovered that I have five USH PRR 2-10-0s.

Wow - that's *almost* enough 2-10-0s to move two trains out of Altoona and up the east slope!

[Chris Webster]

Lot #7546 is for seventy-four (74) pieces of 6 ft long sections of Micro Engineering track -- I didn't know that they sold track in 6 foot long sections! -- so whoever buys that one lot is going to end up owning 3.5 scale miles of track.

Those 74 pieces of track sold for $1,650.00..... which is $22.30 per piece of 6 ft-long track.

I'll also be watching to see how well the lots of Atlas 7056 track sell. Most of those lots are for two packages of 18 pieces of 40 inch long track sections, so each lot is for 120 feet of track.

Those lots all sold for between $500.00 and $675.00. That works out to $15.97 to $18.95 per piece of 40 inch long track, *before* Stout's commission.

Flextrack in most scales has gotten really expensive, at least judging by feebay prices.

I had no idea.... Deadrail is looking really attractive right now.

[DaveJfr0]

My observations:

The Pantera IC 7-car set went for $4400+$836(19%)+ either tax or shipping. Sounds about right. I don't own any Pantera's, so I'd be curious to see one side by side with a like recent release from GGD.

Most of the O-Scale final bids are a bit more than even I would have imagined for most of the lots, especially on the structures and some of the varnish, but everything looked to be in immaculate shape and are of the highest fidelity in this scale, so makes sense. There were some exceptions. I'm perplexed as to why some of the Key models did well and some others did not as well.

3rd Rail's plastic diesels don't seem to really recapture their original cost. Seems like you can expect to get 50%. I mean that one E7 that had all of the stainless plates fall off (or were removed) sure, but the other ones looked like they'd never been run.

I don't know the HO brass market, but a lot of that stuff looked like firesale prices. Then again, there are so many museum quality HO RTR models out there now that it probably pushed down unpainted brass prices considerably.

The brass structures. Sky-high pricing where you'd think some manufacturers or even 3D Printer guys would want to recreate these and make better fidelity models for much less cost. Especially something as easy as the vertical oil tanks and sanding towers. Out of your mind if you'd think I'd pay $400 for some of the simpler designs. I know there were $80 weaver sanding towers at one point. I'm sure woodland scenics could do one RTR with weathering for $100 or less. A bit more for the fancier double track towers. Also eye-popping to me was that NJCB Yard Tower that I've seen go for less than $100 at times on OSYS and other online forums, but in this auction got $375. Like how?

O-scale is definitely not dead and some deep pockets for this hobby most definitely still exist. That's promising.

[SWrailroader]

The auction was kind of surreal. I mean plastic stuff was selling fairly high. At shows I see plastic rail cars sell for $10 each but were $20-30 each before auction commission.

There were some decent deals on brass cars I picked up some really nice weathered brass box cars for $40 each. Also surprised at the number of people bidding, up to 400.

Not a big fan of passenger cars but was astonished at the prices. It may be time to unload my Pecos River articulated SP diner set of three cars.

[Pacific Limited]

Wow!...Plus 30%.. and shipping .

O scale 2 rail brass is far from dead as I keep hearing from all that want to buy it and can't afford it.

Short selling, that this stuff is going end up scrap pricing because all the guys are going to die is big crazy. Its still art, and demands attention to new generations of young wealthy buyers. Quality is quality and some buyers especially these days could care less about the price. If you have to ask, you likely cant afford it. Not a hobby for the budgeted.

Good for them. I have some of this stuff and have been told, I better hurry up and sell, because in 5 years its gonna be worthless. That was 5 years ago I heard that from a guy who offered up 350 bucks for many items on this sale that was above 1k before the 30%. Go away dood.

I buy it because I want it, not because its going to increase or decrease in value. I do not care, I love my trains and whatever some blow hard says about the quality of my models can stuff it. MWMW or the slander bunny troll monkeys that cried out tried to disrupt the market some time ago with all the slander. Ok then, start building all my models better than ever, I am waiting, still. Point being its highly unlikely we will see most of these models ever made again. Ever. Not in my lifetime. Im 50.

This is an Investment into my happiness; hey, in retrospect if only I could buy those beautiful Wasatch cars for 200 bucks a car! Haha.. ain't gonna happen! !

I am happy for us, great sale.

[86TA355SR]

It was about what I expected. A few surprises. You just never know about an auction…. This is the largest two rail O scale auction I can recall since the 2017 Jim Seacrest one. The overall quality of the models was exceptional.

I watched the entire auction live, saw at one point just shy of 450 bidders. Guess the West Coast guys were waking up, haha!

Took into account the 26% total for Premium + tax prior to auction. Had numbers I did not exceed with that in mind. Glad I didn’t for the most part. Only one item I may have done differently if given the chance again, but it’s in the past.

As mentioned, some of the brass car lots were decent bargains. PFE combos as an example.

The 21 IM PFE cars were a good buy.

The UP 350 ton Coal tower at $2300 plus fees-thought it’d bring more, especially in its condition. The Ogle tower brought $1K plus fees, more than expected-along with many other buildings, towers, etc.

The Key stuff on my “list” I passed on, far exceeded my desire to own at the realized price.

Wasatch cars with DP treatment were incredible, never saw so many in one auction. Plus you didn’t have to wait years…

Bid on a few track lots but learned a lesson last year about that-shipping track is ridiculously expensive. The surcharge for box size needed was a killer. So, even though a few track lots appeared as “deal”, after 26% fees, then unknown shipping costs, it quickly negated my desire to own. Needing a LOT of it, The lack of track availability made it even more difficult to quit bidding. Who knows when/if we’ll see it again in the near future.

Overall, a day well spent enjoying O scale and watching others enjoy a new piece. Congratulations to the successful bidders on owning superb models and a “legacy” from a great man. I’m sure he enjoyed watching us go crazy over the models he enjoyed also. RIP.

[sarge]

Good for my widow, not so much for me.

When basic layout building materials such as flex-track and plastic buildings on the secondary market become commodities, it means the reason for the existence of the hobby and the health of the scale is under threat. The lack of not only supply but of the supply chain itself for material to build a layout should be very concerning regarding our hobby's health.

It's a two edged sword now; collectors are rejoicing but modellers should be watching as their hobby quickly goes beyond their means. If you are a hobbiest, an artist, a builder, an operator, I'd be worried, not elated. If you're a collector and this is merely a portfolio, time to cash out or time to hold is your only concern.

Of course, if you are in the same situation as Bob or me, it's all academic because we are both well beyond the threshold of SABLE*, but very soon O Scale will become nothing but a collector's scale at this rate (he said on a forum mostly given over to collectors. GRIN!)

I'm not a collector, so I'll disagree with the sentiment that I should be "happy for us. Great sale!" I see this as a (not unexpected) sign the scale as a builder's or operator's venue is in danger.

(*SABLE (Noun; acronym): Stuff [sic] Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy)

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Good for my widow, not so much for me.

When basic layout building materials such as flex-track and plastic buildings become commodities, it means the reason for the existence of the hobby and the health of the hobby is under threat. The lack of not only supply but of the supply chain itself for material to build a layout should be very concerning regarding our hobby's health.

Yes. It's one component that has been a part of my decision to never build another layout or even an expansion on the existing one. There were times when expansion was a glimmer of thought/consideration, but that has been firmly discarded.

It's a two edged sword now; collectors are rejoicing but modellers should be watching as their hobby quickly goes beyond their means.

It's moved just beyond my willingness to spend for many years now. Fortunately, there's precious little that I want/need other than the detail parts to complete projects. This goes back to the supply chain point. Less and less seems available and what is available just gets more and more expensive. Looking over some recent prices of traction models and parts forces me to contemplate visualizing the end point of my building traction models. In theory the advent of quality 3D printing should have alleviated that cost issue, but has really failed to deliver thus far.

I'll disagree with the sentiment that I should be "happy for us. Great sale!"

If you are a hobbiest, an artist, a builder, an operator, I'd be worried, not elated. If you're a collector and this is merely a portfolio, time to cash out or time to hold is your only concern.

I am past worried, but reality is rarely impacted by my worries, so this reality has been accepted. One must know that the demands of adjudication are not for the weak.

Back into my shop for an hour......to build.

[up148]

You guys have covered it.........big bucks for most items, but they were mint or new in the box. Wasatch domes bringing $1850-1950 per each is a new record by far...........usually $1500 is the max they bring anywhere. Obviously the late OMI diesels (SD70's) brought incredible money IMHO, but I don't know that market.

I thought the IC passenger set was bought right. Built by Dan it would have been as nice as the Wasatch cars and super rare. The coal tower brought what I expected and would have brought more with the original OMI box.......I can't believe Larry didn't keep the box and most likely still at his house.

All in all a real eye opener for O scale brass values. Way more than I would pay.

[Chris Webster]

3rd Rail's plastic diesels don't seem to really recapture their original cost. Seems like you can expect to get 50%. I mean that one E7 that had all of the stainless plates fall off (or were removed) sure, but the other ones looked like they'd never been run.

Dave is referring to this E5/6 B-unit that sold for $180: 3rd Rail 2 Rail Santa Fe War Bonnet E5/6 #2 Power B Unit.

Interestingly, a matching A-unit -- with detached stainless steel plates -- was just listed on TrainZ's website: Sunset Models O Scale Santa Fe E5/E6 A Unit Diesel Locomotive #12 (2-Rail) VG/Box

[up148]

I saw the E6 listed on the Stout auction and I forgot to ask...............but what is going on with what looks like glue all over the sides of these models? Is this where glued on panels came off?

[Chris Webster]

but what is going on with what looks like glue all over the sides of these models? Is this where glued on panels came off?

That's my impression as well -- I think the builder used contact cement to attach chromed pieces to the brass shell and the contact cement has failed.