Questions About Four Dorfan Cars

Suggest you post photos, good photos from different angles, if you want some useful feedback.

Thanks for your response, ACE.  

Here are some sample photos.

The cars are just as I got them.  They need to be cleaned.  But I don't know the best way to do this and I don't want to damage them.  

Very interesting. I don't have personal knowledge of Dorfan items but someone else here is sure to comment. Would be helpful to show additional pics of the ends and underneath the cars. You can probably slide the caboose roof pieces back into their proper position.

center the small and the large roof on the caboose. they should be in the middle with the large roof overhanging both ends. I think this is the only Dorfan car with that style of trucks. Almost more Fandor-like

Thanks for your responses, Ace and Jim O'C. I hadn't noticed the roofs were off center.  (I thought it rather rakish!) Below, please find a new photo of the caboose with the roofs centered.

Before I take additional photos, it seems like I should clean them.  Could you offer me any advice on this, so I don't damage them? 

Thanks!

they look pretty clean to me so I wouldn't "soap and water wash" them. Maybe just a light dusting or wipe with an ever-so-damp lint-free rag. place them in your wife's oven on warm for a few minutes to evaporate any moisture from the damp rag. Then you could polish them with a thin application of liquid carnuba car wax or coconut oil. Sometimes the wax residue is harder remove than the dirt at the initial cleaning, so the choice of wax is important.

Thank you, Jim. 

Dorfan & Fandor are the same company, only that Fandor started in Germany, then in 1924 moved to U.S., and merely flipped the named which came from the owners mother's names. Fanny and Dora.

If you are going to really going to sell them, sell them to me! They are darling. Let's talk off-group??

I see you've just joined the forum. Unless you have experience cleaning trains, I suggest you leave them alone. More than a few trains have been ruined by improper cleaning.
Leave it to the purchaser to decide whether to clean / polish them, and how to do it.

Ever watch Antique Roadshow? How many times do the experts tell the participants that they have devalued their items significantly by improper cleaning / polishing.

Also...since you are new to the forum...perhaps you didn't read the TOS or the For Sale rules located in that category.  Any items that you are looking to sell should be posted there....with prices. 

Carey TeaRose posted:

If you are going to really going to sell them, sell them to me! They are darling. Let's talk off-group??

Be careful, Dorfon O can be addictive   Guess how I know that little fact.

C W Burfle posted:

I see you've just joined the forum. Unless you have experience cleaning trains, I suggest you leave them alone. More than a few trains have been ruined by improper cleaning.
Leave it to the purchaser to decide whether to clean / polish them, and how to do it.

Ever watch Antique Roadshow? How many times do the experts tell them they have devalued their items significantly by improper cleaning / polishing.

Thank you C W Burfle.  Yes, I have seen that show and I do feel that fear. 

OGR Ad Man posted:

Also...since you are new to the forum...perhaps you didn't read the TOS or the For Sale rules located in that category.  Any items that you are looking to sell should be posted there....with prices. 

Thanks for your guidance OGR Ad Man.  I hope I have not violated any rules. These train cars are currently not for sale.  Before today, I knew nothing about these trains. With the guidance from other members, I am learning about these trains so that I may proceed intelligently on behalf of my mother's friend. 

Armorall is safe to use to clean and shine up litho.

TeleDoc posted:

Dorfan & Fandor are the same company, only that Fandor started in Germany, then in 1924 moved to U.S., and merely flipped the named which came from the owners mother's names. Fanny and Dora.

Close but not correct.  The two companies had family connections BUT they were operated independently from one another.

Ron M

Nice-looking cars, they just need a loco. The caboose roof can be straightened with a little work - best done by someone with bodywork experience.

MrNabisco posted:

Armorall is safe to use to clean and shine up litho.

good to know. thanks

MrNabisco posted:

Armorall is safe to use to clean and shine up litho.

i would try this on one piece you really don't care about first.  personally i hate this treatment; hard to describe, but you will see what i mean.  i have used plain hot water and dish-washing soap to clean tinplate for decades.  it does nothing to a patina surface besides removing dirt and grease.  i will follow this with a prolonged blow-dry.  it's ok to get the metal fairly hot to the touch which will evaporate any remaining water.

i will use alcohol to clean unpainted wheels, axles and motors/ gears, but it will destroy a lithographed surface on touch so the car body stays in another room while that's going on.

cheers...gary

Macfugu posted:

A friend of my mother's has asked me to sell four Dorfan cars. They seem to be toys that were played with but were well cared for.  

 

My mother's friend considers them to be quite valuable. Looking at concluded eBay sales, they seem to be worth about $10-$50 each. Does this seem about right?

 

What would be the best way to conclude a fair sale quickly?

 

Thanks!

 

John 

there was not a wide variety of Dorfan narrow gauge (their term for O gauge) freight cars.  in fact you're close to having half the known fleet.  the gem is the NYC boxcar.  having a few nicks to the roof is actually a good sign.  the boxcar roofs were apparently very susceptible to flaking and many in collections have repainted roofs.  a dead give-away when you see one in perfect condition.  the tank, gondola and caboose are the more common pieces, but no Dorfan, especially in the condition your pieces are in are very common.

the only differences in Dorfan freights are in the trucks and detail parts.  trucks can come plated, enameled (with or without Journal box slots) or enameled with either brass or nickel journal boxes.  yours looks like either Type II or III; black enameled with (III) or without (II) the holes for the journal box covers.  detail parts like ladders and door frames can be found in brass or black enameled finishes.

so you can get a little nuts collecting variations, but there were basically only 9 different cars, three of them only being different boxcar roadnames (UP, PRR & NYC).

Dorfan motive power is the challenge to find, but i run my freight cars behind a modified coupler (tab/slot) Lionel 258 (the 2-4-0 early model) which fits nicely with the Dorfan car size.

cheers...gary

here is the NYC boxcar with journal box (Type IV) trucks...

the Derrick and Lumber Flat are likely the hardest NG freight pieces to find.

And then there is this little guy.

I use Meguiars Detail Spray which is completely non abrasive and is for show car paints. I have run my Dorfan cars behind a 259e prior to getting some modified Dorfan engines which are re-motored with a Williams power truck.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

And then there is this little guy.

The coaches look a lot like the early 4 wheel Lionel ones.

Boy, those are pictures of some very nice trains. 

these Dorfan lithos are all terrific gentlemen! Papa, did I spy one or two Pride Lines Passenger Stations?

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

And then there is this little guy.

The loco reminds me of the Katz 515 in size.

That Katz passenger set looks like a rare item. The set box in photo says, "The Wonder Toy Electric Train of the Century". 

I've sometimes substituted different locomotives of a different make but similar profile to go with old train cars that were an incomplete set. Just need to adapt the couplers.

Captaincog posted:

I use Meguiars Detail Spray which is completely non abrasive and is for show car paints. I have run my Dorfan cars behind a 259e prior to getting some modified Dorfan engines which are re-motored with a Williams power truck.

a great collection!

overlandflyer posted:

Macfugu posted:

A friend of my mother's has asked me to sell four Dorfan cars. They seem to be toys that were played with but were well cared for.  

 

My mother's friend considers them to be quite valuable. Looking at concluded eBay sales, they seem to be worth about $10-$50 each. Does this seem about right?

 

What would be the best way to conclude a fair sale quickly?

 

Thanks!

 

John 

there was not a wide variety of Dorfan narrow gauge (their term for O gauge) freight cars.  in fact you're close to having half the known fleet.  the gem is the NYC boxcar.  having a few nicks to the roof is actually a good sign.  the boxcar roofs were apparently very susceptible to flaking and many in collections have repainted roofs.  a dead give-away when you see one in perfect condition.  the tank, gondola and caboose are the more common pieces, but no Dorfan, especially in the condition your pieces are in are very common.

the only differences in Dorfan freights are in the trucks and detail parts.  trucks can come plated, enameled (with or without Journal box slots) or enameled with either brass or nickel journal boxes.  yours looks like either Type II or III; black enameled with (III) or without (II) the holes for the journal box covers.  detail parts like ladders and door frames can be found in brass or black enameled finishes.

so you can get a little nuts collecting variations, but there were basically only 9 different cars, three of them only being different boxcar roadnames (UP, PRR & NYC).

Dorfan motive power is the challenge to find, but i run my freight cars behind a modified coupler (tab/slot) Lionel 258 (the 2-4-0 early model) which fits nicely with the Dorfan car size.

cheers...gary

Thanks for sharing this fascinating info, Gary! (A lot of terms I need to look up!)

Carey TeaRose posted:

these Dorfan lithos are all terrific gentlemen! Papa, did I spy one or two Pride Lines Passenger Stations?

Carey

That is the Pride Lines Two Dome Station. I just position the domes differently.

Steve

Jim O'C posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

And then there is this little guy.

The loco reminds me of the Katz 515 in size.

more like the elusive #7 Hummer...

tinplate, clockwork boxcabs are a tough find.

cheers...gary

Ace posted:

That Katz passenger set looks like a rare item. The set box in photo says, "The Wonder Toy Electric Train of the Century". 

....

my favorite boxtop claim... "A Long Run for Little Money"!

though the Katz 515 proved a strong competition.
their ad line featured "a $1 train and a $1 transformer".
quite a deal for an electric train of that era.

cheers...gary

those look great. just what does the owner think they are worth?

Steamer posted:

those look great. just what does the owner think they are worth?

She believes they are worth more than $100 each.  Looking at concluded eBay sales, they seem to be worth about $10-$50 each.  

I've learned a lot about these cars on this forum.  I'm hoping I might also learn what is a fair price to ask for them, for her. (She doesn't use the Internet.)

Your price range is not far off. Most of mine are pretty nice and the price range  I paid is $19.00 to $40.00 for the type of cars she has.

Steve

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Your price range is not far off. Most of mine are pretty nice and the price range  I paid is $19.00 to $40.00 for the type of cars she has.

Steve

 

Thank you, Steve.

speaking only of Dorfan, the gondola is probably the most common freight car seen followed by the Indian Refining Co. tank.  the caboose is a nice feature because i frankly see more freight cars than cabooses to trail behind them, though it is the small bobber caboose.  the tank car is also missing the brake wheel and overall the cars have the non-journal box trucks.  despite the trucks, i'd tend to put the NYC boxcar in a higher class than the rest with the original paint and if the other side looks as good.

if i were selling these cars i'd group the gondola, tank and caboose as a lot and offer the boxcar separately.  my guess would be that both lots would bring about the same price in an auction.

good luck...gary

overlandflyer posted:

speaking only of Dorfan, the gondola is probably the most common freight car seen followed by the Indian Refining Co. tank.  the caboose is a nice feature because i frankly see more freight cars than cabooses to trail behind them, though it is the small bobber caboose.  the tank car is also missing the brake wheel and overall the cars have the non-journal box trucks.  despite the trucks, i'd tend to put the NYC boxcar in a higher class than the rest with the original paint and if the other side looks as good.

if i were selling these cars i'd group the gondola, tank and caboose as a lot and offer the boxcar separately.  my guess would be that both lots would bring about the same price in an auction.

good luck...gary

I very much appreciate your informed advice, Gary.  

I will post more pictures tomorrow.  (After receiving various conflicting advice, I've decided not to try to clean the cars myself.)

Happy Trails (tracks),

John