Topics

16

Collector Corner / unlettered olive 601/602 cars

« on: January 12, 2022, 08:41:02 PM »

Thewre are a few sets of unlettered olive 601/602 cars out there. I have a set that came from Lou Redman's collection. I think Mike has a set too.

Here's a video with a set on the shelf at the 6:30 mark.

Interesting. . .

17

Collector Corner / Built Rite Train Scenery #202

« on: December 20, 2021, 12:49:31 PM »

I found this in the closet and decided to use it on the layout. Just something I got over the years and put aside for later.

And now it's later.

Built Rite Toys of Lafayette,  Indiana Copyright 1941. Catalog number 202 60 inch backdrop set.

 

The box has three panels. Two end panels with lake and mountains and a center town section.

 

 

One end section has a tunnel cut out:

 

 

The back of each section has a tabbed edge to help the sections stand up:

 

 

It appears there is some cardboard missing. . .  A bracer for the center of each section:

 

Copyright information is on the bottom of each section:

 

18

Collector Corner / Lionel Toy Fair Invitations 1924 and 1925

« on: December 12, 2021, 11:17:38 AM »

Here's toy fair invitations sent to dealers by Lionel in 1924 and 1925. There was a framed 1925 invitation a few weeks ago on ebay that went for $3300.

Now, a man is offering a 1924 and a 1925 that came from his father who was president of Lionel in the 1970s.

Here's 1924:
 

And 1925:
 

These would be a fantastic addition to any train room, but personally I'd rather spend my money on trains than paper.

ebay auctions are:

1924 https://www.ebay.com/itm/125036686579

1925: https://www.ebay.com/itm/125032122165

19

Collector Corner / Lionel WW2 inventory notes from financial statements

« on: October 19, 2021, 07:29:40 PM »

The 1943 and 44 lionel annual statements are listed on eBay:

1943 https://www.ebay.com/itm/304192089788

1944 https://www.ebay.com/itm/304192096034

The 1943 says in note B that there is 290K worth of raw materials, good in process and parts worth $ 263K for which the corporation cannot convert in finished goods.  1944 gives the amount as $237K in note A.

I'd think most of the raw materials could be repurposed to military uses. The sheet-metal, casting materials, wire, paint, and insulating material don't seem unusable unless it's things like rolls of tinplate designed for the track rail machines.  Maybe I'm missing something?

Goods is process would be groups of parts put together into sub-assemblies, and parts are parts. I think it was unlawful for Lionel to use labor to assemble these parts. That's a lot of parts.

The 1944 says in note the company borrowed $1.2 million in "VT loans" guaranteed by the US Navy.  This is surely for upgraded plant equipment as there is no corresponding increase in the real estate debt. The VT loans were working capital loans structured to get companies money quickly so they could ramp up war production. They placed obligations on the companies about maximum officer pay, and dividend and on company assets on hand. The loans were guaranteed by the navy against the completed work. 

Interesting.

20

General Discussion / Going to a train meet? - Please take some flyers. . .

« on: October 17, 2021, 01:57:02 PM »

I put some flyers online you can give out at train shows or include in your ebay sales. I added a link tio every page of the site in the upper left corner so they are easy to find.

Here's another link:

Flyers To Promote The Forum

21

Collector Corner / 1940 Lionel Outfit 1073W with Dull black 1668 PRR Torpedo and litho cars

« on: October 08, 2021, 09:46:44 PM »

Here's an interesting set. The boxes are typical of what I find after years of a set sitting in an Arizona garage or attic crawl space. Any movement or force on the box causes it to fall apart.  (The two crayons i the photos were inside the 1679 Baby Ruth boxcar. You can see how they've melted due to the AZ heat.)

I like to look at the parts and try to guess when the set was made. The cars have black journals, there is not an E on the loco number plate, and the 1680 Shell tank car is orange. Those are 1939/40 features. The dull black tender means 1940.

There is no date on the setbox or the transformer  box. The instruction sheet for the transformer and the lubricant advertisement are both dated 1940. A quick look at the catalogs reveal the 1940 set came with the 1041 transformer whereas the 1939 set had a 1040 transformer.

Here's pictures.
 

"Dull black" on tender box.  This tender has a nickel plate.  By late 1941 the plates were replaced with cheaper rubber stamped lettering.

 

 

Interesting lubrication advertisement sheet dated 1940:

 

The transformer and boxed UTC lockon. There should be a bunch of track clips with this. That looks like the original black connection wires wrapped around the binding posts. They would have been in two coils inside the box with the lockon and track clips.

 

And finally, everything fits nicely into the set box. The track would have been on top, and a small U shaped cardboard insert or a wad of white paper would have been in the open area to the left of the transformer.

 

22

General Discussion / I've got good taste. . .

« on: September 12, 2021, 02:42:27 PM »

I saw this interesting old toy train:

 

The folks at Bertoia call it a ALTHOF BERGMANN CLOCKWORK UNION LINE FLOOR TRAIN. They don't offer a dtae of manufacture, but I'd guess 1880s or maybe 1890s. Certainly before 1910.

It's old.

I didn't bid on it, but thought it was neat enough to mark it so I could see what it sold for. . .

$29,000

That's BEFORE buyer's premium.  Depending on how the buyer bids and pays the buyer's premium can be 20-28%.   $34,800 to $37,120 after premium.

Here's the listing:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/109788680_althof-bergmann-clockwork-union-line-floor-train

23

General Discussion / 2021 TCA Convention Review

« on: August 22, 2021, 01:35:33 PM »

I got back from the convention last night. I went over Thursday, and then left Friday afternoon.

Attendance was sparse. The regular monthly LA meets I went to before the pandemic were larger in terms of tables and shoppers. The hall opened for sellers a 7AM on Friday. Usually there is a line of people at the doors.

Nope. I just walked right in and until about 7:30 there were only a few people setting up. They let the buyers in at 8:30 instead of 9, and there was no rush or crowd.

The Trains: This show brought collectors in from the surrounding states so there was a much higher quality of trains than the regular LA meets.  Lots of nice standard gauge and prewar. 25 years ago people would have been fighting over the trains, but now they just sit there.

I did two tables of nice stuff, and sold almost nothing. The Flyer standard gauge sets just sat. There were 4 blue litho Pres. Specials, and 3 brown ones.

I bought this little trolley because I am still collecting:

 

Getting it was worth the whole show.

The Social Activities: The restaurants and bars were either closed or set up with distancing and mask requirements so there were no groups of collectors to hang out with. In the '80s and '90s the hotel bars were fun places to hang out in, but as the collectors got older bedtimes come earlier.

I don't do the TCA tours and such. The week before the convention I called and begged invitations to see collections. Because I only had one night to go visiting, I only saw one collection. A wonderful Chicago Flyer collection. I spent  3 hours there and could have easily spent 8 more and not seen everything.

I had fun. I got something neat for the collection, and got rid of some of my duplicates. I got to hang out with other collectors, and see some wonderful trains.

PS I had money in my pocket on my way out so I bought these:

 

I have that 42 with a Lionel Lines stamp on the end, so it's a variation, and it was cheap. The blue on the trolley has been painted over. I looked at it outside in the sunlight and thought maybe I can get the overpaint off. Now that I have it home, I doubt it. It was cheap enough that I can sell it to a restorer for what I paid.

24

General Discussion / Quick Forum Update

« on: August 17, 2021, 08:57:12 PM »

On  August 13th the board automatically updated itself to a new version. (Insert screaming and cursing here.) This caused the picture modifications to fail. I was able to get one mod that allows you to insert pictures into areas of the post to work again, but the slideshow viewer is not compatible.

I haven't had the time to look into replacements. Until I can figure this out continue to upload pictures as you have been doing. Whatever solutions I install will be backward compatible so we don't loose any of the prior images.

25

Collector Corner / Lionel New Haven F3 set 2507W from 1958

« on: August 17, 2021, 08:42:28 PM »

Here's an interesting Super O set from 1958. Lionel 2507W set with single motor 2242P New Haven F3 and matching 2242C b-unit and five cars.

Here's the set with the com  ponent boxes:

Some close ups of the locos:

 

 

 

There should be a billboard sheet with the set, but I didn't get it. I bought this from the original owner. It was a woman. Her dad got it for her when she was 2, but she wasn't allowed to play with it much. She also had a 628 44-tonner set that she was allowed to play with. The 628 set was not this clean.

Here's the cars -- 3444 animated gondola, 6464-425 New Haven boxcar, 6424 flatcar with autos, 6468 New Haven double door boxcar, and 6357 caboose.

 

 

 

Everytime the car boxes are handled the flaps get a little worse. They're all there, but they fall off easily. This is really common with train boxes that have spent decades in Arizona. I think it's air conditioners pulling all the moisture out of the air leaving the boxes dry and fragile.


Here's the set box, component boxes, and small bits:

 

 

 

 

And it comes with a circle of Super O track.

 

This is a neat set that cost $65 new.

26

Collector Corner / Lionel 726 Berkshire Variations 1946-49

« on: August 15, 2021, 01:22:38 PM »

Before I built the layout I put aside a nice 1950 736 Berkshire to run, but when I saw it on the  layout I decided I wanted a 1946 726 loco instead. The '46 berkshire has a cleaner boiler with stantions, an open area for the ecentric crank,  and no protruding e-unit lever.

Here's a 1946 berkshire (Top) with a later version:

 

The 1946 (right) also has a different frame and motor.:

 

Since I wanted one, I've been putting all the 726 locos I get aside with the idea I'd make up a nice one for the layout and sell the others.  The other night I sat down to look them over and found a weird one.

Here's four 726 locos in order with earliest at left:

 

The one on the far right has a simulated coupler on the pilot, but is otherwise the same as the one next to it so it's removed from the following photos.

Did you see the weird one? Here's another view:

 

Here's a bottom view of the the two '46 berks:

 

Might just be a later frame and motor in a 1946 shell? 

Compare the handrails:

 

Here's the earlier photo of the tops so you can  compare the handrails on three locos.

 

The odd one has cotter pins holding the handrails, but no raised collars like the later berk.

I think the parts are interchangable so this could be a construction by a former owner or repair shop. I'd rather have the better stantions, but it's pretty much what I was going to build for my self.

My work desk is a mess since I'm putting up more shelves in that room.  Later, I'll open these up and see what's inside.

27

Collector Corner / American Flyer Wide Gauge Pochontas Set 1928-32

« on: August 14, 2021, 01:02:35 AM »

This si a neat set. It has a bell and a rod that makes the bell move as the larger bell inside rings! You can see a close up of the bell moving in the video.

This set has a 4637 Shasta Locomotive with matching 4340 Club (combine), 4341 Pullman, 4343 Dining Car, and 4342 Observation. The color scheme is Rookie Tan and Green.

Some photos of the set:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Setbox Label:

 

This set was shipped to Knotts Berry Farm in the 1950s as can be seen by the writing on the top of the box:

 

Car boxes are labeled on an end and on top, loco only on top:

 

 

28

Collector Corner / Lionel Outfit 348E 1926-28

« on: August 07, 2021, 10:30:18 PM »

Lionel standard gauge outfit 348E was made from 1926 through 1928. The same outfit without the electric reverse was sold in 1926 and'27. The set contains a 380 or 380E loco and 428 Pullman 429 Combine, and 430 Observation. The cars in this set have maroon windows. 

These 428,429,and 430 cars are heavy and the so the loco has two large cast iron weights in it. I had a photo, but cannot find it now.

In 1929, Lionel replaced the loco with the 9 and changed the car windows to orange from the maroon seen above. There were other changes in the set too. For a comparison of this set with the 1929 9 set see:

1929 Lionel Standard Gauge Outfit 349

29

Collector Corner / Bing O gauge set 523

« on: July 23, 2021, 12:32:40 PM »

I got this set last weekend. I think  it's from the late teens or maybe the 1920s. The box says 523/8/0 on both the top and bottom.  The box has dividers with tin reinforcing clips. The loco runs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a card in the box for a Jefferson transformer, but the set came with this neat General Electric transformer  with "Pat'd Nov. 21,11" on the nameplate.  This has taps that give from 1 volt to 22 volts in small steps depending on the binding posts used.

 

 

 

30

General Discussion / Train Buying Stories and Rants.

« on: July 16, 2021, 06:26:16 PM »

Now that the sniffles pandemic is over, I'm back to buying trains from the public. 

I got 6 boxes of standard gauge on Wednesday morning including a olive green 38. I have a nice one, but put it aside for trades or whatever.  I took 3 500 series freight cars downstairs for the layout along with two 205 LCL containers.  Otherwise mostly junk, but fun to dig through.

This morning I had a call from a man with a late 1950s train set. He told me he'd researched it online and he had a Lionel 58600 loco and some cars. I recognized the cars as postwar cars, but not the 58600. A google search shows 58600 is a LCCA reissue of the 208 blue Santa Fe AA. When I asked if the skirts were broken, he asked what the skirts were. When I asked him what he wanted for the train he refused to say. I told him to do more research and then hung up on him.

It's very difficult to buy trains from people who research them online.

An interesting note is that 3 of the deals I did Wednesday were older people who had layouts and then downsized. They kept the trains after moving,  but, now that they are in their 80s, they are getting rid of them. All three took my initial offer with no discussion, and two of them threw in additional trains after the deal was made.

Note those three men had layouts. I still have a hard time buying trains from men who just bought trains and put them in closets. I'll have to pay more attention to this in the future.

I had a local train guy over today with his dog. His dog comes right in the house and goes and sits by the pantry door.  That's where the treats are! The dog gets a nice waffle biscuit and then we dig through the trains for a while.