Beam’s train sets and car whiskey decanters, tell me about them. Show yours

Do they run on AC or DC?😁

I'll help you drink the contents if they are full !

@colorado hirailer posted:

Do they run on AC or DC?😁

Well alcohol begins with A so... 

@CHOO-CHOO MIKE posted:

I'll help you drink the contents if they are full !

They are full cept the tender, which I don’t think has a bottle inside.

They made a freight set and a passenger set. Your set appears to have a little from both, which is fine. I've seen many people mix and match the cars. You also have the track which not everybody has. The water tower was another add on piece. They very common and aren't worth very much. If you look carefully you can find them for sale at $15. to $20. per piece. Whether or not they are still full has little affect on the value. The tender was not a decanter.

I keep saying I need to get a set as it would look neat on my mantle.

General & Tender ..Central Jersey coaches.. Also have same log car.

Liquor filled does add to value especially if still sealed

I have had a difficult experience with these trains.  Fifteen years ago I was selling trains on eBay.  I bought a very nice set of these trains with no booze at a flea market for $100 and listed it at starting bid of $1.  The set sold for $100 to an Australian.  No profit there.  It cost me $150 to ship it to Australia.  Lesson - don't sell big heavy items to overseas buyers.  I made great profits on N scale trains.

Ten years later one of good train buddies was killed in an automobile accident.  People in two other cars were also killed.  His widow gave me his Jim Beam trains to sell.  She wanted them out of the house.

I couldn't get any takers at local train shows and garage sales for over a year.  All the cars had booze in them.  I couldn't sell it except in person because of the booze.  Potential buyers told me that they would really like the trains but that they didn't have anyplace to put them.  

His widow eventually gave me permission to auction the trains for charity.  I put his trains in the auction and they sold for $150.  The auction winner was thrilled to get them.  it was a happy ending for everyone.

These are photos of my friend's trains.  NH Joe

I believe I paid $40.00 a car ( empty) at the Liberty State train show MANY years ago. Engine ,also empty , might have been $50.00.. The log Car was a Christmas gift purchased from a liquor store. Also had over a dozen cars ranging from Stanley Steamers to the Space Shuttle. When we moved I kept a Dusenberg and Fire Chief car..My three son in laws are the recipients of the rest including the train.  

I somehow got two of the Casey Jones engines, tenders & cabooses along with a tank car. Both engines and one of the cabooses are filled and sealed. Picked them up at train shows for around $20-$25. Periodically, I look for the green box car.

Charlie

I only have one box car that started out as a Jersey Western. I found it at a local junk store for a few bucks. It was not in great condition so I decided to repaint it. The brake wheel was broken off so I used a G scale part. Decals made by me using artwork from a long gone Facebook page.

Milnyc:  you really did a nice job on that car. 👍

I'm surprised the trains weren't manufactuered commercially w/o the contents after the promotion was over?  Does anybody happen to know if they were Made in the U.S. of A. or if any ads were run in any of the railroad magazines at the time?

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

Does anybody happen to know if they were Made in the U.S. of A. or if any ads were run in any of the railroad magazines at the time? 

The boxes for these say Made in USA. 

I have the Beam water tower, which I think is pretty neat, and keep it on the counter of the bar.  I keep tequila in it, though. (It's on the Santa Fe.)

@breezinup posted:

The boxes for these say Made in USA. 

I have the Beam water tower, which I think is pretty neat, and keep it on the counter of the bar.  I keep tequila in it, though. (It's on the Santa Fe.)

I think they were advertised in Trains, but I recall most of the advertising was in general interest and news magazines like Look, Life, Newsweek, Time, etc.

Rusty

Made in the U.S. of A.  ALL RIGHT!  It would have seemed wierd to pour whiskey that had been aged in the U.S.A. out of foreign made trains. 

Wonder if there have ever been other toy trains that contained a beverage of somekind used in a promotion?