[SEL] What do you think? Get rid of my engines or not?

[Orrin Iseminger]

-----Original Message-----
From: stationary-engine-request at oldengine.org
[mailto:stationary-engine-request at oldengine.org] On Behalf Of Paul
Pavlinovich
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 12:13 AM
To: stationary-engine at oldengine.org; The SEL email discussion list
Subject: What do you think? Get rid of my engines or not?

I have a bit of a dilemma - over the years I've collected a number of 
engines. Since returning to involvement with my local steam railway and 
becoming a Scout Leader I've not touched them in the last three years or 
so. I've not had time to play with them. I've not had time to go to any 
shows (although I plan on taking the troop to a show this year). The 
engines just sit in my shed deteriorating. I've become the kind of 
person I was disappointed to meet when I was trying to acquire machines 
- a hoarder who does nothing with his machinery. The nearest I get is 
these two email lists.

My boys are 10 and 12, but neither have any interest in the engines.

Should I keep them and give them to the boys when they're older or get 
rid of most of them?

ps. don't offer to buy them - I'll be ignoring any self-interest answers :)

Paul

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul -- 

I found myself in much the same situation.  My engines don't owe me
anything, but they were crowding me out of my garage; so, I went halfway and
sold the biggest ones.  (Mounted on its cart, one of them took the space of
a small car.) I'm too sentimentally attached to some of my toys to part with
them.  Every now and then I'll roll them out and put on a mini-show for just
the wife and myself.  

The day might come in which your boys become interested.  Nostalgia won't
set in until middle age; at that point they'll remember dear ol' dad and his
engines and wish they had one or two in order to keep their father's memory
alive. 

Regards, 

Orrin

Orrin Iseminger
Colton, Washington, USA
http://users.moscow.com/oiseming/lc_ant_p/menu.htm
So many projects.  So little time.