"No longer like a toad in these foul cellars will I secret the venom of hatred -- for you shall bring me love!" - Erik
|
Home
|
Post-War Era Lionel TrainsNote: The trains have been sold at this point. I'm preserving this page for my own remembrances. Thanks to everyone for the interest.  This page documents a train collection that was left behind by my father. My father was born in 1946, but his brother was a little older and it seems their father had already established a nice collection of Lionel O Gage trains by the time my father was very young. I have some pictures of the set fully set up with my father and uncle playing with them as little boys. When they got older, my uncle didn't want the set and gave them to my father. While he fondly remembered the trains, my father unfortunately did not take good care of them. He kept them uncovered and unorganized in a basement that was prone to flooding. He did occasionally set up a smaller portion of them around the Christmas tree when i was younger, but in later years they stopped being used at all and were sadly left to rust in the basement. Now that i am going through these trains as part of getting my father's estate in order, i am alternatively amazed and enraged about what these trains used to be and how little of what they used to be is left. For example, i never knew that the weird brown platform was actually a horse corral where horses could run off of a train, run around the corral, and then back onto the train! And to see a picture of the rocket pad...! I unfortunately don't have the time or space to restore all of these trains. So i am using this page both as a way to remember the trains after they are gone and also as a way to communicate what i am selling. I want to be very upfront that these trains were not well kept and that i haven't tested every piece, so i can't say what's in working condition except as noted below. That said, from doing my research and looking on ebay for how these things sell, i see that there are some relatively rare gems in the collection that might be of interest to someone with the resources and skills to restore them. My goal is to sell the collection as a lot since i don't have the space to keep them and sell them individually. The Tandem Associates website was instrumental in helping me identify these trains. I've linked to the appropriate page on their site for all pieces that I could identify. Here is the control panel, featuring a variety of switches and one of the two ZW transformers. The inside of this homemade box is a bird nest of wires. And i could not get this ZW off of the box to test it due to the fact that the power cord has somehow been threaded through the world's tiniest hole, and i'd either have to cut the cord or drill a bigger hole in the control panel to remove it, and i didn't want to attempt either.  Here's my makeshift test station, using the other ZW transformer. You'll see below a few videos and photos with trains on the tracks to demonstrate how well they work, but i did not test every train.  Locomotives The 224 LOC Locomotive with Coal Car. I did put the locomotive on the train track but it did not run. It is pretty rusty. I didn't try removing the rust. I also didn't think to try the whistle on the coal car.     The 2340-25 Brunswick Green Lionel Pennsylvania GG. I put this on the track and it did not run (no clean-up attempted) but the lights did turn on.   2353 Santa Fe. Again, lights on but didn't run. I know i have one of the trains facing the wrong way.  50 Gang Car. I did test this and it works as well as the 60 Lionelville Trolley (see video below); it moves forward but does not reverse when it hits the bumper. Note that it is missing the two non-moving men.  53 Rio Grande Snow Plow. See video of it working below (i'm using the Direction switch on the transformer to move it back and forth). Note that it is missing the plow shovel.   60 Lionelville Trolley. I found the top part after taking the top picture and recording the video. Note that even with the added piece it is still missing the top. Per the video, this moves forward on the track, but does not auto-reverse when it hits the bumper.    8628 Steam Locomotive. This is not a vintage car and seems to have been bought as a replacement for the 224 Loco above. As seen in the video, this train works great, which at least shows that the ZW Transformer works.   Trains  2460 Bucyrus Erie Crane Car. Obviously, crane is missing.  Some cars from the 2500 Series Passenger Cars. These and the 2555 Sunoco car below unfortunately took some of the worst water damage. I found them sitting in a bin with rusty water on the bottom. You can see major rust on their wheels.   2555 Metal Sunoco Single Dome. Like the 2500 series cars shown above, this car took the worst of the water damage as shown below.   3356 Operating Horse Car with Corral. No horses. Did not attempt to run it (wasn't sure how!).    3444 Animated Gondola Car (AKA Cop and Hobo Car). Tested this one. Below is a video of this train's animation in action.   3642 Automatic Refrigerated Milk Car.    3469 Operating Coal Unloading Car.   3562-25 Operating Barrel Car (Grey).   3562-75 Operating Barrel Car (Orange).   6024 Nabisco Shredded Wheat Box Car.   6342 Operating Culvert Car. Two of these.  
Two of these 153 Block Signals:   The remnants of the 175 Rocket Launching Pad.      197 Rotating Radar Antenna. The Antenna itself can actually be seen below in the Assorted Plastic picture.         345 Culvert Unloading Station.     6418 Bridge (part of Girder Bridge Car, which isn't included).   American Flyer The remnants of a American Flyer Mystic Model Train Station.    An American Flyer transformer. Sorry for the bad pic. Did not test.  Katy trains      Not identified This is a set of three trains that i couldn't identify.   Here is an engine that i could not identify and did not run on the track.     A Virginian but not one that i could find on the Tandem Associates site or elsewhere.   More trains that i could not identify.       And an overhead signal bridge that i can't find on the Tandem Associates site.  Other stuff Some assorted plastic stuff, including track risers, the antenna for the 197 Rotating Radar Antenna (didn't realize at the time that's what it was for) and some more accessories that seem to have been purchased more recently.  Some assorted rusty train tracks. Surprisingly few tracks were in the collection.  The remnants of a plastic church of unknown origin. Perfect for your Ruins of World War II diorama.  A metal plate. Not sure if it's part of another piece here or even related to the trains at all.  A much more modern transformer. Sorry for the bad picture of the bottom; didn't realize the flash obscured the text.    And that's everything! If you have any additional information or corrections, please do share in the comments. I'll try to answer questions but i've already had to put the collection back in the bins due to the amount of space it was taking up. This would have to be for a local pick-up unless the buyer wanted to pay an outrageous amount in shipping. How much?! I am looking for a best offer. Pricing is difficult. I've seen that these items sell for quite a bit on ebay. The ZW transformers alone have sold for about $100 each. The 224 LOC sells for ~$50. The Santa Fe trains sell for well over $100. Even the non-engine cars like the 3562-75, missing all its parts like mine, sold for ~$20. So even if i lowballed it to $25 a train i think i could get $1,000 on ebay. And that's not counting the accessories and buildings. But of course i am selling locally and in a lot, and i don't want to hide the fact that these trains were not kept in good conditions. So i'm considering offers from local folks from Craig's List. If there isn't any interest i guess i will break it down and sell it on ebay. Note: The trains have been sold at this point. I'm preserving this page for my own remembrances. Thanks to everyone for the interest. Commentsdo not have an email please call xxx am very interested Peter, I've deleted your phone number from the public facing comment. I will give you a call tomorrow. im not a local, but would like a shot at it. I enjoy fixer upers. you can call or text me at xxx. thanks, todd please call me at xxx I am very interested. Thank you Hi, I am collector not a dealer looking to buy cheap to make a profit. I clean and fix then play with the stuff. Hope to hear from you. Bob I wanted to send you some pictures of a couple cleaned and serviced items but can't find you email address. If you want to see the pics send me your email address.
Bob, in case you missed it and are checking here, i sent you an email last night. If anything is left for sale, please oontact me via email: mvslovacek@aol.com Best Regards |