Hello from the past...

[kyphur]

Hey guys,

I hope a few of you still remember me, it's been over 2 years since I've posted here.

As you may remember things in my personal life went south on me and I ended up putting my Lego in storage while I figured out what's next for me.

Well here I am, divorced and the little guy who used to enjoy my trains with me is no longer in my life because him mom has decided to be spiteful ND punish me but I don't want to get into that.

I still love trains but sadly can't pull out the trains he used to run with me because they remind me of him too much. I'm just now getting to the point where I can deal with the trains that I have.

At the point I have 3 goals:

1. I have previously started designing a train museum that would go on my layout but that massive layout will probably never happen. I still want to do the museum in honor my little guy Gabby. I will resume this project with the classic trains I got from another member here. It will be designed to fit on a set of 3 x 3 baseplates and once completed I will donate it to a Lego Train Club.

2. Build my modernized version of my favorite train, The Santa Fe Super Chief. I will be redesigning it 8 wide and modern colors, ncluding versions of all of the official engine and cars. I will also do a "B Engine" and Pleasure Dome.

3. This is probably the hardest one. I will liquidate my official train sets. There is just too much emotional baggage attached to them so I can't bring them out of storage to enjoy. I never understood collection something to just hide it away so I'd rather see it all go to good homes where it will see the light of day and bring smiles to people. I the coming days I'll post a thread in the Bey, Sell & Tread forum.

Sorry for my absence, this is a great group of people and I have missed all of you.

[Duq]

Welcome back!

And really sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately I know what it's like; I spent a year in court with my spiteful ex before I got to see my kids again...

Looking forward to new builds!

[kyphur]

I'm focused on moving forward. My oldest daughter just got married at the beginning of the month and my gift to them is the original Santa Fe Super Chief (the whole shebang). When I told her she was like, "but that's the heart of your collection" and she's right but I explained to her since they are both AFOLs they can either enjoy the awesome train or they can sell it to help with the down payment of their first home. I just know I would have trouble selling g that train myself.

I am also looking forward to the new builds. Not sure if I'll buy any F the new official trains or just become a MOC train guy...

[Murdoch17]

Glad to have you back, but I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I can tell you from my experience as a child of a divorce that it's not fun... and being Autistic (if i recall correctly, your son is too?) doesn't help on bit. Personally, I would keep the trains he played with the most. It may really hurt to use them now, but in the long term it may help you heal to keep them around... and who knows, maybe somewhere along the line, many years from now, your daughters' future children might possibly like them too.

[Lego Dino 500]

Glad to have you back, but I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I can tell you from my experience as a child of a divorce that it's not fun... and being Autistic (if i recall correctly, your son is too?) doesn't help on bit. Personally, I would keep the trains he played with the most. It may really hurt to use them now, but in the long term it may help you heal to keep them around... and who knows, maybe somewhere along the line, many years from now, your daughters' future children might possibly like them too.

I agree, I'm under similar circumstances (autism, divorced parents).

Keep those trains, and if you can't bear to face or resume handling them, keep them in storage for your son. Things can change very quickly, and on the chance that things turn around for you, he's going to want them eventually, be it now, 2 years from now, or when he's 18 and can choose to be with you again for himself. It's extremely kind of you to donate your builds, and sell your collection, but your son will want them in the future. Being able to pull them out and say "These are the exact same ones that we played with when you were much younger" and being able to pick up right where you left off will be amazing for him, as him seeing you is an inevitability, not a chance. Every child I've known with divorced parents, under worse circumstances, eventually realizes what their mother is doing to them. She can't keep the wool over his eyes forever.

If you need any emotional support or legal advice on regaining custody of your son, or dealing with your former spouse, reddit.com/r/mensrights is a solid resource, despite the controversy surrounding the whole MRA thing, and I can personally attest to its community, and how its helped me with issues before. Things will get better, I promise. My heart's out to you and your son, I hope things get better soon enough.

[Man with a hat]

Good to see you back. Hopefully you can look forward and focus on the future now. Well. Easier said than done, I know.

And hopefully you wait will with goal 3 a bit. I understand it but you may regret it later. I regret doing something similar anyway (not LEGO though).

So hopefully some new builds form you soon.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

What a sad news ...but welcome back!

[pirzyk]

This is sad news but welcome back! I would add +1 to store the original trains away where you won't find them for a while. Maybe have your daughter store them again for your your son or their kids in the future? I will thank my parents was not getting rid of my Classic Space sets from when I was a kid.

[BMW]

Hi and welcome back. Divorce is painful and sorry to hear about this.

The train museum is a great idea as you can mix so many diverse prototypes.

As for selling your sets - I agree with the others that you might wait a few years before doing this. With time the pain will recede but the original fun you found with these sets will likely remain. I've known men is your situation who have parted with various hobby items and later regretted it. Perhaps your daughter can hold onto them.