This is quite a coincidence.

I started to set up my trains for Christmas and am missing the set I got for a wedding gift, a set of four extra cars to go with it, and an engine my wife bought me for Christmas a few years ago. All three are fairly uncommon. The set of four cars I have never found for sale except for the set I had that I found in Massachusetts a while back. I decided to hit ebay to try and get the item numbers because my wife wanted a police report. A pawn shop 15 minutes from my house is selling the same engine and car set as the ones I was missing.

Who might have scampered off with the items?

How did that stuff get stolen?

Who the Hell sets up Christmas in their home this early?

Hope you're able to get them back. Crossing my fingers for you

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: Who the Hell sets up Christmas in their home this early?

People who are both awesome, and have trains.

I probably shouldn't jump to conclusions but we have had a couple rental properties at the end of the road go Section 8 earlier in the year and several of us have had trouble with the new inhabitants. I am the house closest to the road and the wife has come home to people siting on our porch waiting for rides, neighbors have seen kids playing in our pond, and there is a lot of traffic all hours of the day and night.

Some of it is my fault because a few times a year my basement has flooded and since it has been such a quiet area for so long I had a habit of leaving the door open and the pump running while I run out and leave the house alone. I also lost some things out of the garage I thought I may have tossed by mistake when I was cleaning but now I'm not sure. I have gone around and locked everything up but I didn't move 100 miles away to put up with the same E36 M3 I had at home.

That's bullE36 M3. I berkeleying hate section 8, it's ruined some nice neighborhoods.

In reply to Sine_Qua_Non:

It is too early to put them up but I was stuck home today and it is probably going to be the last chance I get before we have family over for a Christmas party. I'm pretty sure the only reason they come is to play with the trains.

Some old pictures. We've since added a fourth train and some more buildings and light up signs.

Wally wrote: In reply to Sine_Qua_Non: It is too early to put them up but I was stuck home today and it is probably going to be the last chance I get before we have family over for a Christmas party. I'm pretty sure the only reason they come is to play with the trains. Some old pictures. We've since added a fourth train and some more buildings and light up signs.

I was just teasing. Nice Train collection by the way.

People breaking into your house to steal your train set? And doing in such a way you didn't notice it? Doubt that happened. Not saying it's impossible, but it's less likely than you having squirreled them away to that dreaded "safe place", where things never return from.

But, you could always go look at what the pawn shop has.

Sorry to hear about that, Wally. FWIW a guy I know built a small A frame cabin on some property outside of Travelers Rest down here. Nice little place, loft BR, open great room, big glass etc, there wasn't another house visible, the nearest one was about a mile away as the crow flies.

Once he moved in sometimes when he'd come home he'd find that small stuff had been moved around, things like that. He thought it was just his imagination until the day he came home early and found two teenagers in his house at midday, seems the local kids would cut school and hang out in his house to watch TV. They had jimmied a window to get in, seems they and some of their friends had been doing it for a while at other houses in the area too.

He made the comment to me that he'd moved out there so things would be like he remembered as a kid: being able to leave the house unlocked, stuff in the yard etc. Obviously that wasn't the case any more.

did he bury the kids on the property or did he leave them out on the side of the road for the po-po to find ?

foxtrapper wrote: People breaking into your house to steal your train set? And doing in such a way you didn't notice it? Doubt that happened. Not saying it's impossible, but it's less likely than you having squirreled them away to that dreaded "safe place", where things never return from. But, you could always go look at what the pawn shop has.

I have a door to my basement that I would leave open whenever I was working down there, and usually leave it open if I had to run out since I am on a dead end that used to get no traffic. The stuff that's missing is right inside the door so anyone could have walked off with it easy enough. I've town the house and garage apart to make sure. Talking with a couple neighbors this morning they both had things wander off from unlocked garages or cars in recent months.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote:

Wally wrote: In reply to Sine_Qua_Non: It is too early to put them up but I was stuck home today and it is probably going to be the last chance I get before we have family over for a Christmas party. I'm pretty sure the only reason they come is to play with the trains. Some old pictures. We've since added a fourth train and some more buildings and light up signs.

I was just teasing. Nice Train collection by the way.

Then you'd be teasing the E36 M3 out of me. This year is a transition year because we're in a rental house, but at our old home, I'd have started setting up 2 weeks ago. I never counted, but I probably spent 70-80 hours setting up. This year it won't take me much, but next year is back to the mega set up. Indoors too.

Sorry to hear about it, Wally. If someone stole my Xmas stuff, I'd be livid.

Wally wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: People breaking into your house to steal your train set? And doing in such a way you didn't notice it? Doubt that happened. Not saying it's impossible, but it's less likely than you having squirreled them away to that dreaded "safe place", where things never return from. But, you could always go look at what the pawn shop has.

I have a door to my basement that I would leave open whenever I was working down there, and usually leave it open if I had to run out since I am on a dead end that used to get no traffic. The stuff that's missing is right inside the door so anyone could have walked off with it easy enough. I've town the house and garage apart to make sure. Talking with a couple neighbors this morning they both had things wander off from unlocked garages or cars in recent months.

OK, but how is it you didn't notice it when they disappeared? That's why I suspect more likely you've squirreled them away. Again, not saying they weren't stolen, just find it significant you didn't notice them gone until you went to set things up again. Go visit that pawn shop and look. If after looking you're really sure they are yours, report it to the police and see if you can recover the set.

Once I put them away I didn't give it a second thought. I only go into my basement if there is something wrong like the boiler quit, it filled up with water and needs to be pumped out, or the well is acting up. The house is only 900 sqft so there aren't a whole lot of hiding places.

foxtrapper wrote:

Wally wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: People breaking into your house to steal your train set? And doing in such a way you didn't notice it? Doubt that happened. Not saying it's impossible, but it's less likely than you having squirreled them away to that dreaded "safe place", where things never return from. But, you could always go look at what the pawn shop has.

I have a door to my basement that I would leave open whenever I was working down there, and usually leave it open if I had to run out since I am on a dead end that used to get no traffic. The stuff that's missing is right inside the door so anyone could have walked off with it easy enough. I've town the house and garage apart to make sure. Talking with a couple neighbors this morning they both had things wander off from unlocked garages or cars in recent months.

OK, but how is it you didn't notice it when they disappeared? That's why I suspect more likely you've squirreled them away. Again, not saying they weren't stolen, just find it significant you didn't notice them gone until you went to set things up again. Go visit that pawn shop and look. If after looking you're really sure they are yours, report it to the police and see if you can recover the set.

Sometimes that's when you notice things are missing, not everybody pays attention to everything when they walk into a room.

My uncle had some kids that used to mow my grandmas property. He asked them one day if they could take something down to her basement for her while they were there. They proceeded to take my Atari 2600 and the two dozen games that I had in a box stacked with some of my belongings. When I came to get those belongings, I realized that the Atari was gone. They also took a Wooden baseball bat that was a souvenir from Wrigley Field that my grandma got for me when I was a kid and carved the Cubs logo out of it with a pocket knife. I asked my grandma if someone had been there and she told me those kids were. I called up my uncle and bitched him out about it and he insisted it wasn't them. I had no hard evidence, so unfortunately I was at a loss.

If Wally has some shady people in his neighborhood and he left his outside basement door open for various reasons, it's not his fault that some douche came on his property and stole something.

Serious suggestion. Can you get the Police to finger print you and dust the trains for prints? If stolen they probably just took them straight to the shop without taking them out of the boxes. Then the pawn shop should have a list of who brought them in and you have your theif.

Curmudgeon wrote: He made the comment to me that he'd moved out there so things would be like he remembered as a kid: being able to leave the house unlocked, stuff in the yard etc. Obviously that wasn't the case any more.

Ehh, that stuff has always happened. I'm betting the first time someone came up with the word "mine," someone else got the idea to make it "theirs."

I suggest you go buy back your train set and start locking the doors. Maybe a pit bull and a cwh security camera setup.

And nice Lionel 027 set there. I occasionally feel like putting mine up. Maybe I will this Christmas. Haven't had it out for about 20 years. I still remember when I got it. I was 7.

Years ago we had a kid on our block helping himself to neighborhood homes while the owners were at work, and as others have observed, the stuff that disappears is more random and harder to notice than when a pro flat-out robs you. I thought I was losing my mind before I realized what was going on.

Wally, sorry that happened. I'd start with a police report, even if you can't pinpoint date, and insist on filing one.

Margie

Those pictures will look great in the police report.

wbjones wrote: did he bury the kids on the property or did he leave them out on the side of the road for the po-po to find ?

He held them there and called the cops. Since they were underage, they were almost immediately returned to their 'rents who obviously weren't exactly on top of things. Cliff's a pretty laid back guy but their attitude pissed him off; he said that he advised the 'rents that if there was a next time it might not end so well. Seems after that his place didn't get hit but others up there did.

In fact, I had to indirectly run off some kids when I bought this place. Seems they were using it as a neighborhood hangout because it was vacant and has a screened back porch. I came over to find them scampering off a few times, didn't get to talk to them directly.

I met my new neighbor across the street, asked him if he knew who they were. He said he did but wouldn't tell me. Okay, that's his business; I let him know I don't think highly of trespassing, burglary or vandalism, it really torques me and if I get really hot under the collar the repercussions can be serious. No more kids hanging around after that.

I promise you, I once worked a job with a crew who thought it was YOUR fault if they were able to steal something from you. its your responsibility to keep them from stealing. One of them got mad when a junk yard he used to steal from repaired their fences and added dogs. They were an independent sub-contractor so the contractor didn't take out taxes. Guess who didn't pay any taxes? One taught me the value of having multiple drivers licenses when he got stopped by the Cayce, SC popo. Of course they knew all about WIC and foodstamps and when the babys' (more that one) mommas got their welfare check.