Auto Layout from Library for sale

[PeterStiles]

It's sad that repair costs of only £117 took this out of a childrens library:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325664980975?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vT4G80uWSqS&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=v6cpl3kbqqi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

I think I'd pay that to fix it if they'd put it back in the library and encourage children to play with trains...

 

:(

 

 

[Hroth]

Sadly, apart from the faulty coin mechanism, it looks as if it needs a complete scenic refurbishment and possibly sorting out what rolling stock is there.  Its not something the library staff could attempt, and they would need to find some volunteers willing to donate time and material to get the layout back into order once the coin box was fixed.

 

Also, I wonder how many children have spare 50p coins to watch a little train go round and round?  50p would be better spent on a lot of things.  Rather than using it as a revenue source, it would be better to replace the money slot with a timer mechanism to activate the layout and to have some eyecatching gizmos with flashing lights and so on to capture the childrens attention.

 

[PeterStiles]

Pity that Devon doesn't have a hot bed of railway modellers willing to chip in :(

...

[Hroth]

9 hours ago, PeterStiles said:

Pity that Devon doesn't have a hot bed of railway modellers willing to chip in :(

...

 

Well, my brother lives in Devon, but I don't, and he's not interested in model railways! 

 

What I'd do is keep the slot mechanism for donations (any coin would do) and have a sturdy red button to activate the layout for a minute or so, using an Arduino Uno board and a relay board to switch the controller on/off.

 

As for the layout itself, it might be remodelled as something more typical of a local GWR branch station....

 

[Dungrange]

14 hours ago, PeterStiles said:

It's sad that repair costs of only £117 took this out of a children's library:

 

I guess the question is how many people ever put 50p in the slot when it was working?  You'd need 234 people shelling out 50p to cover that cost.  If there was just a couple of children per day, then you'd be looking at five months to recover that expenditure and the layout would probably need some further work (and expense) before the initial repair cost was covered.

 

How much value did children get for the 50p?  Would they think it is worth it?

 

A few years ago we were on holiday in Yorkshire and my daughter, who was about four or five at the time, really, really wanted to go on a ride on 'thing' outside an amusement arcade.  I've always considered such rides to be a waste of money, but we were on holiday and this one was only 50p, so I agreed.  However, instead of putting the 50p in the slot I gave it to her to do.  She hesitated, looked at the slot and looked at the 50p piece. I had to point out where it went and explained that it only started when she pushed the coin in the slot.  She continued to think, then asked me if she could just keep the 50p!  In the end she never operated that ride that she really, really wanted to go on, because she concluded that she'd rather buy something else with that money and the 50p went straight into her pocket and we continued down the street.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Dungrange

[Michael Hodgson]

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

What I'd do is keep the slot mechanism for donations (any coin would do)

 

Sounds like a good way of amassing a random collection of foreign coins and brass washers.

[Michael Hodgson]

51 minutes ago, Dungrange said:

A few years ago we were on holiday in Yorkshire and my daughter, who was about four or five at the time, really, really wanted to go on a ride on 'thing' outside an amusement arcade.  I've always considered such rides to be a waste of money, but we were on holiday and this one was only 50p, so I agreed.  However, instead of putting the 50p in the slot I gave it to her to do.  She hesitated, looked at the slot and looked at the 50p piece. I had to point out where it went and explained that it only started when she pushed the coin in the slot.  She continued to think, then asked me if she could just keep the 50p!  In the end she never operated that ride that she really, really wanted to go on, because she concluded that she'd rather buy something else with that money and the 50p went straight into her pocket and we continued down the street.

So, you're teachng her to value money.  Where better than in Yorkshire? 

Or sorry .... you're not teaching her to be a Yorkshirewoman - you're teaching her to be a canny Scot!🤣

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

So, you're teachng her to value money.  Where better than in Yorkshire? 

Or sorry .... you're not teaching her to be a Yorkshirewoman - you're teaching her to be a canny Scot!🤣

 

I steer clear of comparisons between Scotland and Yorkshire regarding money...

 

Apart from that I think there's no reason for the display to be coin operated.

 

Quote

3 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Sounds like a good way of amassing a random collection of foreign coins and brass washers.

 

Brass washers are worth something!

And foreign (esp pre-euro) coins can be hived off to Oxfam, they like selling overpriced collections in small bags, its almost as if they've picked up some tips from ebay...

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Hroth

[Enterprisingwestern]

18 hours ago, PeterStiles said:

Pity that Devon doesn't have a hot bed of railway modellers willing to chip in :(

...

 

Yes, isn't it a drag?!!

 

Mike.

[009 micro modeller]

20 hours ago, PeterStiles said:

It's sad that repair costs of only £117 took this out of a childrens library:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325664980975?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vT4G80uWSqS&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=v6cpl3kbqqi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

I think I'd pay that to fix it if they'd put it back in the library and encourage children to play with trains...

 

:(

 

 

 

5 hours ago, Dungrange said:

I guess the question is how many people ever put 50p in the slot when it was working?  You'd need 234 people shelling out 50p to cover that cost.  If there was just a couple of children per day, then you'd be looking at five months to recover that expenditure and the layout would probably need some further work (and expense) before the initial repair cost was covered.

 

How much value did children get for the 50p?  Would they think it is worth it?

 

20 hours ago, Hroth said:

Sadly, apart from the faulty coin mechanism, it looks as if it needs a complete scenic refurbishment and possibly sorting out what rolling stock is there.  Its not something the library staff could attempt, and they would need to find some volunteers willing to donate time and material to get the layout back into order once the coin box was fixed.

 

Also, I wonder how many children have spare 50p coins to watch a little train go round and round?  50p would be better spent on a lot of things.  Rather than using it as a revenue source, it would be better to replace the money slot with a timer mechanism to activate the layout and to have some eyecatching gizmos with flashing lights and so on to capture the childrens attention.

 

I wonder if what has happened is something like this:

 

- Layout originally built for library, 50p coin slot perhaps thought to be a way to get extra revenue (because local public libraries, assuming that’s where it’s come from, seem to be perennially underfunded).

- Later, layout not particularly well-used and stuff going wrong (maybe not just the coin box but other equipment wearing out, and possibly space needed for something else).

- More budget cuts/underfunding - selling layout seen as a better way of getting money back than repairing and collecting money from the coin slot.

 

I think in certain contexts it’s nice to have layouts like this, though I do sometimes wonder if they’re not interactive/creative enough as a way of engaging adults and children in model railways (compared to, say, a family workshop making model buildings, although of course this wouldn’t run every day so is a different proposition entirely).

 

It’s the sort of thing that would be good to purchase, refurbish and then place on long term loan to somewhere appropriate (a local museum would be good, especially if it can be modified to represent an appropriate local railway, or perhaps it could go to a heritage railway). If you didn’t need it to be a revenue source anymore you could just convert to push-button operation (i.e. the button is pressed, train runs a few circuits and stops again, as seen on some similar layouts). All it would need then is a couple of volunteers nearby (or willing to visit occasionally) who could do occasional maintenance and the ability to remove it and loan it to someone else if/when it isn’t wanted any more.

 

If anyone on RMWeb or elsewhere was interested in forming a group to do something like this (and a suitable home for the layout could be identified after refurbishment) I would definitely be willing to contribute money and help to refurbish, I’m just not currently in a position to collect it in person from Devon and store it securely while it’s being refurbished.

[298]

£117...? How much does a contactless card reader cost? 

[kevinlms]

4 minutes ago, 298 said:

£117...? How much does a contactless card reader cost? 

Someone has to get an interface to work. Probably not that hard, but likely the library had a commercial quote. That price doesn't solve the problem, that the layout is looking a bit tired.

 

Only the library knows how much interest and usage it received in recent (pre-covid) years. In retrospect, perhaps the library could have given it to someone, as a lockdown project.

[papagolfjuliet]

On 24/05/2023 at 12:19, Michael Hodgson said:

Sounds like a good way of amassing a random collection of foreign coins

 

As a glance into the water features at any National Trust property will demonstrate, the same result can be achieved by placing a small pond close to American or Japanese tourists.

[Dungrange]

On 24/05/2023 at 12:25, Michael Hodgson said:

Or sorry .... you're not teaching her to be a Yorkshirewoman - you're teaching her to be a canny Scot!🤣

 

She doesn't need much teaching.  I think she may have been younger still when her Irish grandmother remarked that she'd picked up quite a few coins from a shopping trip with my wife and suggested to my daughter that she might like 'one or two' of them (to save her taking a purse full of sterling back to Ireland).  She was primarily thinking about the very shiny new two pence piece that she'd received in change.  My daughter surveyed her pile of change, clarified that she was being offered two coins (not one), and then pointed at two very grubby pound coins and asked if she could have these.  Needless to say, her grandmother was a little surprised that she'd been looking for what she thought were the most valuable coins rather than the shiniest ones!  All those days where we played 'shop' meant that she knew not all coins have the same value.

[Michael Hodgson]

55 minutes ago, Dungrange said:

 

 My daughter surveyed her pile of change, clarified that she was being offered two coins (not one), and then pointed at two very grubby pound coins and asked if she could have these.  Needless to say, her grandmother was a little surprised that she'd been looking for what she thought were the most valuable coins rather than the shiniest ones! 

Reminds of the story of the village idiot.  People used to offer him the choice of a penny or a sixpence, and he always took the penny because it was bigger.  When asked why didn't he take the tanner he said if he ever did that people would stop offering him the choice....

[009 micro modeller]

5 hours ago, 298 said:

£117...? How much does a contactless card reader cost? 

Actually I have a feeling the cheaper ones are often only about £50. But possibly not particularly good if it’s being used by kids who may not have their own cards, though I wonder if it might be more reliable.

Edited May 27, 2023 by 009 micro modeller

[009 micro modeller]

5 hours ago, kevinlms said:

Only the library knows how much interest and usage it received in recent (pre-covid) years. In retrospect, perhaps the library could have given it to someone, as a lockdown project.

But if they don’t want it, perhaps someone else with a similar kind of setting (library/local museum/community centre etc.) might?

[Hroth]

13 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

But if they don’t want it, perhaps someone else with a similar kind of setting (library/local museum/community centre etc.) might?

 

I wonder if the library trying to sell it had offered it about, with no takers.  At present, no-one on ebay is interested either. 

[009 micro modeller]

23 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

I wonder if the library trying to sell it had offered it about, with no takers.  At present, no-one on ebay is interested either. 

Always a problem if collection in person is required as it limits who can take it.

[kevinlms]

3 hours ago, Dungrange said:

 

She doesn't need much teaching.  I think she may have been younger still when her Irish grandmother remarked that she'd picked up quite a few coins from a shopping trip with my wife and suggested to my daughter that she might like 'one or two' of them (to save her taking a purse full of sterling back to Ireland).  She was primarily thinking about the very shiny new two pence piece that she'd received in change.  My daughter surveyed her pile of change, clarified that she was being offered two coins (not one), and then pointed at two very grubby pound coins and asked if she could have these.  Needless to say, her grandmother was a little surprised that she'd been looking for what she thought were the most valuable coins rather than the shiniest ones!  All those days where we played 'shop' meant that she knew not all coins have the same value.

Nowadays almost everyone including adults, just wave a card, mobile or watch and it's paid for - hopefully!

 

Actually, I've been surprised on occasion at my miniature railway club, where even very small amounts are declined. It happens one time just about each month. I have actually missed the screen message & realised it too late!

Edited May 27, 2023 by kevinlms
Wrong word