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  • Newb with questions on historical PC documents that I own

  • Discussion relating to the Penn Central, up until its 1976 inclusion in Conrail. Visit the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society for more information.
Discussion relating to the Penn Central, up until its 1976 inclusion in Conrail. Visit the Penn Central Railroad Historical Society for more information.

Moderator: JJMDiMunno

 #1111339  by Ohiopyle
 
I have a "treasure trove" of schematics from PC, pre and post Conrail. Included are:
1) four 8 foot diagrams of automatic signals, from Altoona (MP 237 to MP 399) to Torrance PA,
2) highway crossing location and power circuit diagrams 1973, PC Norther Region - Detroit Division, Garfield road crossing 17 x 29 on vellum
3) NYCRR northern district, flashing light signal 1964, 17x 29 on a coated paper?
4) Reading Lines , Tamaqua, PA Interlocking track Plan 1975, on paper 17x29



the list goes on more than 100 documents.

I am a railroad buff, but overwhelmed by the amount of documents. Do they have much value? If so, any recommendations on a sales venue?? Ebay just seems a bit low brow. Any and all guidance is welcome.

Cheers
Attachments:
PC-altoona-to-E-portage-8-foot.jpg
PC-altoona-to-E-portage-8-foot.jpg (10.69 KiB) Viewed 8490 times
Penn-Central-crossing-device-scematic-for-web.jpg
Penn-Central-crossing-device-scematic-for-web.jpg (8.32 KiB) Viewed 8490 times
 #1117528  by theastralcity
 
Wow son I wouldn't put those too near that gas range haha!

I think what you have there will appeal to a very specific kind of collector. It's good stuff don't get me wrong, but most people these days who are modelers or just curious go looking online for that data. I will say though if we can't find it in an online database, ebay is where I check first after that. I don't think it low-brow at all, in fact some of my favorite models came from ebay and I am a regular buyer especially when something is hard to find. It all really depends on what you want to do with the documents. I am sure the PC Historical Society would love to have them donated if you're more in it to contribute to general knowledge. If you want to make some money off of them, I suggest checking ebay to see what similar items are selling for, and then list each one individually in order to maximize what you get for them. As for the actual dollar amount, I have no idea, it's a small market you're looking at and on top of that you may have to list them several times to find a buyer. It's a standard rule of economics that something is only worth what someone will pay for it. Try your luck, see what happens. In the end you'll probably make some modeler or old hand a very happy man.
 #1160566  by BR&P
 
I have found that such things have great value in terms of information and historic detail, but that seldom translates into dollar value. While there ARE some exceptions, in most cases you're just not going to make much money selling railroad paperwork. BUT - don't throw it away. There are museums and historical societies which would gladly accept the right type of stuff. And there are private collectors who may be eager to get them and maybe even pay something. Just don't quit your day job!
 #1172978  by Tommy Meehan
 
The person who posted this question -- any recommendations on a sales venue for the various diagrams and schematics he owns -- hasn't checked in again since last November. But if anyone else is wondering, I do have a suggestion.

Take a sample of what you have, visit train shows and talk to the dealers there. Most buy and sell. They usually have a pretty good idea on an item's attractiveness, saleability and price range. Most dealers at train shows are pretty friendly, too. I don't think you can be a successful dealer unless you're pretty good at getting along with other people.
 #1173022  by Noel Weaver
 
Tommy Meehan wrote:The person who posted this question -- any recommendations on a sales venue for the various diagrams and schematics he owns -- hasn't checked in again since last November. But if anyone else is wondering, I do have a suggestion.

Take a sample of what you have, visit train shows and talk to the dealers there. Most buy and sell. They usually have a pretty good idea on an item's attractiveness, saleability and price range. Most dealers at train shows are pretty friendly, too. I don't think you can be a successful dealer unless you're pretty good at getting along with other people.
I think this is good advice. I collect timetables and some other paper but would have no interest in items of this nature BUT that does not mean that there are not folks out there who might have interest in this paper.
Noel Weaver
 #1355212  by Ohiopyle
 
Howdy folks, I did go missing from this forum for a while. Had relied on being notified if their was a reply posted. That never happened, so figured no one had commented. I am going to head to the Transportation show in Gaithersburg, MD this Sunday and take a shot at selling some documents along with a whole menagerie of other RR items that are not my primary focus of interest. Does anyone have first hand experience with the Golden Spike show? Thanks,