Cleaning Out Files

Over the years I've accumulated quite a bit of railroad research material, which I've organized in files. It includes a lot of photocopied stuff from Model Railroader issues that I didn't own; when we lived in Oregon for 25 years I worked in downtown Portland and spent many lunch hours at the main library going through their extensive collection of MR, which went back into the 1930s. Any article that looked useful I photocopied and filed.

A lot of it was useful at the time. For example, articles on Northwest railroads, equipment, structures and scenery were helpful when we were in that part of the country, because I've always preferred to model the region where I live. Now, in Texas, planning a Gulf coast port switching pike which will very probably be my final layout (which I hope to operate into my 80s, health permitting), I no longer have any need for such material. So I spent this afternoon thinning out my files, purging them of items I know I'll never use, such as very large track plans, plans for large locomotives, etc. There were scenery articles with methods that are long outdated. Articles on handlaying track with techniques I've long ago learned. Plans for electric locomotives, of all things! Ideas for making signs, now obsolete because of the computer and the Internet. You get the idea.

I also have a lot of magazines...mostly Model Railroader, but also quite a few issues of Railroad Model Craftsman, S Gaugian, S Gauge Herald and some copies of Trains. Fortunately, we have an extra-large garage where I've placed four old bookshelves, and the magazines are arranged by type and date for easy reference, especially when using the on-line Model Train Magazine Index. There's still plenty of room on the shelves, but I can see the time coming when I'm going to have to prune my collection. If for no other reason, my wife and I don't want our children to have the burden of getting rid of a bunch of "stuff" on our behalf years from now. And, seriously, will I ever read or refer to it again? So I will try to take a little time each month to go through the magazines and clip out and file what I need...or realistically might possbily need, such as plans for cars or structures...and dump the rest.

It's hard for me to part with books and magazines, but I also dislike clutter and I enjoy being organized.

However, I do wonder why I didn't start this process before we moved!