Railroad Collectibles and Railfans

We're Milwaukee Road collectors, meaning we buy-sell-trade ephemera, tools, tins, bits and pieces of linens, bags, books, rubber stamps, and even kerosene and charcoal car heaters that are marked CMStP, CMStP&P or Milwaukee Road. Mostly we buy because Chuck can't stand to part with anything train related once he has acquired it.

We've branched out into Chicago & Northwestern and even some Amtrak collectibles in the last couple of years as more opportunites come our way. We finally discovered some great sources for finding treasures that most railfans may not know about unless they are serious railroad collectors.

For example, if you are a member of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association and go to the annual convention, there is an opportunity to bid on some great items at the auction, and there is always a room full of quality vendors setup for leisurely shopping within the conference facility. Some things are only available to members so membership is worth considering if you are begining to collect Milwaukee Road railroadiana or ephemera such as train schedules and other bits of paper like tickets, baggage claim tickets, brochures and other train travel related items.

Chuck has collected little paper drinking cups from The Milwaukee Road as well as wood pencils, mechanical pencils, pens, badges, conductor hats and he even has two classic Milwaukee Road conductor uniforms. Not to mention all the train schedules, brochures, maps, head-rest and hand towels, matches, tickets, passes, box car tags, writing tablets, ledgers, blueprints, old photographs, depot memorabilia, and just about every Milwaukee Road book out there. I'm sure there is more I'm not thinking of at the moment.

Many of the fallen flags have historical associations and/or museums that have memberships available for nominal annual fees. We also belong to the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL which isn't too far from home. Chuck loves the weekends down there with his video camera in hand. Some clips are featured on this site. 

Finding cool old railroad items in antique malls, thrift shops, and even garage sales is still possible every once in awhile. Sometimes when old railfans get off at the last station, their family is unaware of the value that a collection may have and they may just want to get rid of the 'junk'. There are some collectors who know how to ferret this information out and get into a position to purchase many great treasures at incredible prices.

Because railfans are a close knit group, other times when the family is well aware of the value of the collection but wants to keep it together, they might sell the lot at an undervalued price or sometimes donate the entire collection to a museum or historical association. Duplicate items donated to railroad groups are often auctioned off at conventions or sold to dealers to help fund other areas of preservation or conservation. It pays to belong to groups that are of interest to you.

It's the smart collector who knows to sell off non-essential items to pay for the stuff he wants to keep and maybe have enough left over for the next great deal that comes along. We'll get into this in more detail too, but the most consistent place to find railroad collectibles of any kind is eBay. If you haven't ever used eBay but you collect railroad items, this will be a good time to learn how to use eBay to add to your collection and sell off your non-essential items to fund your hobby.

Author Credit:
Pauline and Chuck Trabert are serious railfans living in southeastern Wisconsin. Their articles include topics of interest to railfans such as railroad collectibles and railfans.

Copyright 2006 © Pauline Trabert Railfan Train Schedules