SPECIAL Copy of LIONEL MAGAZINE

Ron, too cool! Do you know how much it went for? 

Hi, this is Dr. Martin Folb from Los Angeles. A friend of mine told me that this photo was posted on your website and I was curious to see it. Six years ago, I purchased at the Stout Auction what is considered to be the finest Lionel Standard Gauge set in the World: a Set boxed Lionel #433E "20th Century Limited". This train was a special order for a wealthy tobacco man in Syracuse, N.Y. by the name of Howard Bendixen, and was delivered in 1936. I wrote a detailed article for the TCA Quarterly, but a non-edited (the article in the Quarterly was poorly edited and a large amount of significant information and photos were omitted) version appears on the TCA "E TRAIN" web: http://www.tcaetrain.org/artic...es/pursuit/index.htm. Not only was the original set box included with the train, but also a shipping carton. These two boxes featured a manifest of other accessory items that Bendixen purchased with the set. Over the last 6 years, I have acquired many of these and eventually will have all of them! Everyone, like the train, is essentially NEW IN THE BOX!

 

I am the one that purchased this item at Maurer's, as I had to have it to go along with the set and it will be displayed that way. I am including a few photos of the 20th Century here; with the boxs and accessories, it is completely breathtaking!!

Here are two additional photos that show the set powered up for perhaps the FIRST TIME in 70 years, and a shot of the entire train with boxes!

The second Photo.

Thanks for posting this Dr. Folb. Your collection is unbelievable!

Wow!

Thank you for sharing both the magazine story and the set!

 

Peter

Let's get back to the original post..What did it go for? I'll guess $500.

Dr. Folb, welcome to the forum!  You certainly have added some excitement this evening.  I'll bet you can provide us with a lot of Lionel knowledge.  Thanks for joining the forum and providing this additional information.  Have a nice evening.

 

Ken.

 

Here are some photos of some extraordinary trains in operation. How often do you see a REAL Prosperity Special, none the less one that operates (with original boxes too)! I am also including some shots of my Crackle Black 400E running with a like new 381E, a Spec. Green 408E running with 4 State Cars and if that is not enough, how about the same loco pulling 8!!! I also have included a video taken at a friend's house of some of these sets in operation. There are collectors of Ultra High end Standard Gauge sets such as these who would NEVER consider operating them! I handle them with extreme care, work on them myself with great precision and detail to originality, and view them in operation as "MOVING SCULPTURE"!

 

 

 

There is a automotive and musical instrument museum here in Los Angeles called the Nethercutt Museum; San Sylmar. Every one of their 400 + cars runs and they all are driven at different times. If they are willing to operate the $15,000,000 Duesenberg "20 Grand", I am willing to run a $100,000 train!!

 

In the last group of 5 photos you will see a near new Lionel Black 400E pulling 3 Apple Green cars (this was catalogued set #432E and was offered only in 1931 & 1932) in an attempt to clear out the inventory of the now outdated 418-19-31 & 90 series of cars. I also ran my 408E Apple Green set and later combined them to create 6 car sets. Both locomotives pulled those cars easily. The final photo shows the 411E set with the Special Green 408E and 4 State cars. The gentleman on the left, Jim Kurten, is still active repairing and running trains and will be 98 in November!! We meet at his house at least twice a month!

 

 

In answer to the question of the sale price of the Butterfield Souvenir Lionel Magazine, I was fully prepared to spend $2000 for it, and left that bid. The train itself set a World Record for the highest price ever obtained for an American Toy Train at auction; $253,000! So, another $2000 for what I considered to be a fascinating tie-in to the set seemed a small price to pay. I got lucky and got it for $450, and that proved something which I intuitively already knew; Maurer’s is a VERY HONEST auction house to deal with!!

Here is the video of th trains in operation feturing the State Sets, and both a 1930 AND 1931 Blue Comet Set.

I forgot to mention that there is a REAL IVES 3245R Olympian running along with three Lionel-Ives transition 200 series freights.

Wow DOC  you have to be exstatic! Thanks for sharing. 

Patrick, thanks for your kind words! I love your basement space. Here are a couple of layouts shown in the Lionel magazine that I would love to create. BTW, I am a Physicist, Phd from Cal-Tech, and have a computer/electronics company. The trains are my equivalent of "SteamPunk" compared to what I normally work on! lol

I love that Prosperity Special!  That is my favorite pre-war train.   You should cross post this to the Tinplate Forum.

It was neat to see these beauties running in the video.  That is what they were meant to do. 

(I did have to turn the volume off going into the 3rd rendition of the H.A. music).

 

John

Hi John,

 

I just supplied the trains and a little direction for the video. I would have picked a slightly different score! It is Very Cool to see these trains in operation. Collectors who just leave them on the shelves are missing a great deal, and when they are ORIGINAL and in this condition, they are the ultimate EYE CANDY!

They are great!  Thanks for sharing these with us.  So many of these treasures are hidden away.

 

I posted a link to here on the Tinplate Trains Forum.

 

John

According to Louis Hertz, over 300 of these souvenir magazines were provided for a special Lionel radio broadcast in December 1933.  Those that I have examined clearly indicate the "autograph" was actually printed on the cover and is not an actual signature of Bob Butterfield.

 

Bob Osterhoff

www.trainpaper.com

I have to drive over and take some photos of the corner of Beldon and Liberty Streets and send them to you. i do not know what is there today. The streets are where you take your Drivers test in Syracuse.

 

Do you have his home address in Eastwood? I could take some pictures of his house.

Dr. Folb,

Thank you very much for sharing!

Brad

Thank you for sharing this with us. What an amazing collection and an enthusiastic collector. It is always exciting to see and learn about these more unusual items. I also appreciate your quest to pull things together based on the provenance of the set and its ties to the tobacco baron. Outstanding Doc, thanks again for sharing with us and good luck on your quests.

AWESOME!!!!!.

Hi Bob,

I too was curious when I first saw this piece as to whether the signature was printed, signed, or signed with an "auto-pen" (that is how today a large number of letters to people from say a congressman or the President are signed in quantity). Kathy Maurer examined the document very carefully and could clearly seem impressions in the paper consistent with a real signature applied with a pen. You would not see this if it were printed. A little "CSI" type analysis!

Even if it were printed, 300 copies with 80 years between the event and current day, how many could possibly still survive??? Not many!!!

Another of life's (well, MY life's) mysteries solved - I've wondered about that set for quite a while!  Martin, welcome and thank you for sharing.

 

Carlton

I would love to see a remake of Dr. Folb's set by the Lionel/MTH consortium.

By the way, Dr. Folb,do you happen to have roots here in Western Pennsylvania?

 

Norm Rish

Wow!  It is great to see such treasures still being enjoyed for what they are! 

 

Some day, I really have to get a set or two of standard gauge trains...

 

Andy

Glad to see you run those treasures, It is always gerat seeing toy traind doing what they where built for.  While I may never be able to afford items like you have I glad you are sharing them with the rest of us.  On a personal note I like fixing the beat up unwanted trains from the 30's and giving them a new life and hopefully giving them another 80 years to enjoy others

 

 

I originally left a $300 bid Friday night.  Surprisingly, I was able to attend on Saturday.  I had a brief loss of reality, and for some strange reason, I bid $425.  I just had a feeling the absentee bid was much higher.  I am fairly sure the signature is an ACTUAL SIGNATURE.  And I figure it is that of Bob Butterfield, though it could have been signed by anyone I guess(but why).  After all, how many phonies would sign it "Cheerio"???  But I was willing to bid a significant amount of money(to me...a POOR Rite Aid driver). I have many autographs of sports stars...all legit since I personally got them from Mickey Mantle, Brooks Robinson, Johnny U, etc., and can actually remember some of their conversations while signing.  I NEVER will buy an "authentic" autograph certified by some store.  However, in this case, one cannot pass this opportunity to own a very neat piece of Lionel History.  I say it's REAL, and CONGRATS to you Martin.  I am thankful I posted this.  I never expected this FANTASTIC RESPONSE!!!  Hats off to you... Ron Blume.

 

PS...Maurer's is BEYOND REPROACH.  Kathy is carrying on the tradition and honesty of her Dad, TED!!!

I have cross-posted this thread to the Tinplate Trains forum.

 

Fascinating stuff!

Thank you Allan...little did I anticipate "the rest of the story"!!!

This is undoubtedly the the original home of this train:

 http://myvintagesoul.typepad.c...2-a-pastel-past.html

Amazingly, some of the houses almost mansions on James St came from either Sears or Montomery Ward catalogues. Quite a few still survive between Oak St and Eastwood.

 

Not sure if this is the same house or not but there is another back story where a house on James St was left to the church and the contents were left to the caretaker. Ended up the contents were worth more than the house. I heard there was quite a bit of Standard gauge including a Dealer Display unopened in the crate.

I liked the print on How to Build a Log car. The truck in the drawing looks more like a Flyer flexible truck than a Lionel.

Ron and Dr. Folb:

 

Thank you for sharing the images of these treaures with the rest of us.

 

Bob

I passed by that house quite often during my years living in Syracuse.  This topic brings back some great memories--jazz at The Dinkler, tennis on the clay courts at Sedgwick Farms,and of course,Sammy Kee's.

Let's go Orange !

 

Norm Rish 

Looks like a Lionel 500 series truck to me. Some brass chains and details as well as some prototype info:

http://archive.org/details/catalogueno300seatrich

 

will make a pretty neat log car. I'm off to sail the "bay" in search of a 500 series corpse for trucks for this project.

Sounds like you were around late 70s early 80s. Buddy Pine the owner of Sammy Kee's has passed. Frank Leoung the owner of Frankies Chineese Restraunt is still around. The Dinkler is now a seniors home. The Sedgwick area is still doing fine and the Clay courts of Sedgewick Farms are still there.

 

 

If you're not already familiar with John Holtman's superb digital archives series (various subjects related to our hobby), you certainly owe it to yourself to check them out.  They are absolutely first-rate and very easy to use and enjoy.

 

If you're going to the York Meet, John's booth is right next to our booth in the Orange Hall.  Stop by and say hello!

Dr Folb Thank you so much for sharing you photos and knowledge.