Intro paragraph

Make an inventory of everything in your collection. It surprises me at the number of long-time collectors who do not know what they have exactly. This is especially important when considering a new purchase. At railroadiana shows, I have seen collectors refer to a list while looking over my offerings to insure they do not buy something they already have. I have found that an Excel spreadsheet works well for this. Record whatever information you need. I maintain records for each piece / issue to include:

-Category (employee TT, public TT, rule book, etc.)

-Railroad

-Division

-Timetable number / form number

-Effective date

-Acquisition date *

-Purchase cost *

-Sell date **

-Sell price **

-Buyer **

* These are especially important if you are a dealer and need to report income to the IRS.

** By maintaining records of what you have had, you are developing your own historical data base that you and other collectors can refer back to.

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Get organized! Once your collection grows past show box size, you need to be able to know not only what you have but where it is located. You can start with a book shelf and then move on to a file cabinet, then multiple file cabinets. Organize it in a way that make sense to you and that you can use. Personally, I separate different form of paper. Employee timetables are in one place, publics in another, rule books etc. I then file them by railroad then division in alphabetical order.