Some Interesting Lionel Items

[early0electric]

I'm sure it was for contrast so it would stand out and why they used black ink on the orange cars. None of the other early period O gauge cars, freight or passenger have an orange base except the 603 and 604. The orange 602 and long orange 603 were not stamped on the bottom, at least as far as I know. Never seen ones that were stamped.

[early0electric]

Here's the 602 baggage with the black ink stamp.
 

[Terry]

I bought four Lionel 100 series cars today when I went and looked at trains. The guy had a bunch of overpriced repainted standard gauge which I didn't buy. I did get four cars for $60, and I also got a variation of the 83 signal with a mohave base and some loco wheels and parts for another $40.

I bought a 116 dump and three 112 gondolas.  Two gondolas and a dump were different and I didn't have the signal. I have six with maroon bases but none with mohave!

One of the cars was a gray gondola with black lettering. I looked at all my 100 series cars. Most of them have no stamps on the bottoms, but when they do it matches the ink on the side. I did find a dark green 116 hopper, a light gray 116, and a dark gray 112 gondola with black lettering.

 

 

I think the green hopper is late teens, but the two gray cars are mid-20s cars based on the trucks having dimples.

I also found two orange 32 baggage cars - one with the understamp in black, one in gold.  I have two sets of orange cars all cars have gold lettering on the bodies. The 35 pullmans have no stamps on the bottom, 5 cars - 1X baggage, 2X combine and 2X observation have black stamps. Only the one baggage has a gold stamp. and is an odd car in another way.

 

The 32 bagagge with gold lettering on the bottom has extra doors on the vestibules. This is a commonly found factory error, that I think only comes on the orange cars.  The regular black bottom stamped car has no doors on the ends.

 

I also looked at my other 0 cars. I have no O gauge cars with black understamps. I have early body 610 cars in mohave with oil labels, and a matching observation with a gold stamp on the bottom.

[starfire700]

I noticed the 116 in dark green with early nickel trucks. I also have dark green 116 that is an extra, so I was going to sell it, but it bothered me that it had the early nickel trucks. It seems that dark green is too late for the 100 series type 3 truck, however Standard of the World states this truck was used until 1924. I guess that I answered my own question, but it still looks odd to see the early trucks on a dark green 116.
When you find local trains is it from other collectors in the area, or are there still "original owner" trains in Arizona?

[Terry]

The green car has been around here for years. Some of the cars seem out of series, but there are too many to be explained away by collectors making changes.

Most of the trains I buy are original owners or their children who moved to AZ.  I ask questions when I buy trains. Some observations:

The pattern is the train owner moved out of his parent's house and left the train. When he was in his fifties, his parents  moved out of their house and sent him the trains. Going even further, if the trains are boxed and certainly if there is a setbox the originial owner was an only child. Usually a setbox means a grandmother lived with the familiy when the man was a child.

These trains were from a NJ operator who passed and ended up with the son in AZ.  He went to a local coffee meet - no sales just a bunch of train guys hanging out and drinking coffee - and the club people told him to contact my freind and I  through our AZ train show website. The old man was playing with the trains and repainting them in odd colors. Ruins them for collectors, but he had fun. I bought some items he hadn't painted on yet.

[Terry]

This is my favorite thread on the forum. Probably because I've seen most everything and so something odd stands out. Here's a car I got a few weeks ago:

 

The car in the front is missing the lettering in the white stripe. The other side has the lettering like the car in the rear.  An interesting factor error.

[Terry]

I was moving some cars around and found this one:

 

This car only says "New York Central." EVERY other car and loco I looked at says New York Central Lines like the lower car in the photo above.

This car has stamped brass steps, metal tanks, early 500 series trucks and looks to have had an oil label. I have other green cars with oil labels - all have the same features as this but for the missing Lines.

This car has a bit of masking tape on the bottom that says I bought it in 1985, "No 'Lines"' and some code that means nothing to me today.