K-line

Here's a start:  http://www.legacykline.com/app...;p_road_name=Holiday

K-Line also did the 12 days of Christmas (there were three 4-packs)

1-4 then 5-8 then9-12.  I had them for the longest time, then sold them as a complete set

They were rather cool - Just sayin!

Ben

Thanks for the responses.     Legacykline.com offered no more info than I already knew.  The 12 days of Christmas cars are what got me started with K-line.  I found them on e-bay (all 12) for a super great price. Two, of the three packs were still factory sealed.  I'm sure if I wait long enough, someone has the answer...    Thanks again!!!

Grumpy Al,

What is the year of your oldest Lionel Christmas car?  I have one from 1976 and have heard differing opinions from local collectors that the first one is either 1973, 1974 or 1975.  Of course, none of the info providers has one in any of those three years, so I'm just wondering what you say/have?

Chuck

Hey Chuck,

My oldest Christmas car is 1986. According to Lionel and a reputable hobby shop near me, 1986 was the first year a Christmas boxcar was offered to the general public. Prior to 1986, the cars were "Employee appreciation", issues. I'm not adding these to my collection, yet, because they're high priced, due to they're rarerty  and I never worked for Lionel.  This is all I know about Lionel, but I still need information on the K-line!!!

Al

Al,

Thanks for your reply, and sorry that I cna't help you with K-line info.

Chuck

Hi, I have been putting together a list of all the Lionel Holiday/Christmas items issued. Here is what I have so far starting with 1974. All the below listed cars are based on the famous 6464 series box cars. All these cars, I show as being un-cataloged

1.) 6-9713 CP Rail "Seasons Greetings 1974"     (2.) 6-9778 1975 Seasons Greetings       (3.) 6-7806 1976 Seasons Greetings

4.) 6-7813 1977 Seasons Greetings          (5.) 6-7814 1978 Seasons Greetings

But I guess if you are a real purist than the 6826 issued in 1959/60 red flat car based on the 6511-2 chassis and had what looks like weeds tied down as the load.

As for the first listed "Employee's" Christmas car I have the 9490 issued in 1985, and it is based on the 6464 and un-cataloged.

All photos from the web.

Hope you find this helpful, and if there are any corrections.....please let me know.

The first Seasons Greetings boxcar was a overstampted 9709 Bangor and Aroostock State of Maine in 1972.

The second is a 9742 Green M&StL 'coupon' car offered in '73. Apparently they did not sell many of them so that was this years choice for a Seasons Greetings car.

The first few years 1 Seasons Greetings car was given to dealers that met a certain amount in track orders for Christmas.

This car that Franksansev shows is also interesting because it is the only Lionel product that has an (albeit unlicensed) Starwars reference in that R2D2. From the year it first came out as well.  It is from when MPC and Lionel were in the same umbrella so they had the right to make model kits so maybe it was OK.

Thanks to everyone for all this great info. If in fact there were "Season Greetings" boxcars issued as far back as 1974, I got more shopping to do and I'm guessing it won't be CHEAP!  They must have been produced on a very limited basis and extremely hard to find because I've never seen any listings on E-bay or anywhere else.

I must have deleted the e-mail from Lionel admitting to 1986 being the first year of production on Christmas boxcars, so I will re-contact them for clarification. In the meantime, I'm not getting any feedback about K-Line ! 

Al

K-line is tricky. They self published one hard cover collector guide and sued to stop anyone else from publishing price guides and now they are gone so any accurate info is harder to get. 

I don't know if an accurate price guide is needed. It's a free-for-all on eBay.  Working with the prior info, I found one listing for a Lionel Christmas boxcar from 1973 and was not surprised at what the asking price is.  I'll just tell people who don't know, that I have the whole collection starting with the 1986 boxcar. I ask forgiveness from the experts. Meanwhile back at the ranch, I have faith someday, somewhere, someone will read my original post for K-line info, and share their vast knowledge.

Al

There is a guy on the forum named something like 'Brianel K-line Guy' surprised he hasn't commented.

Hi Al:

I have a K-Line Collector’s Guide which may be the same one mentioned above by Silver Lake.  It covers K-Line production from 1985 through 2000.  For reference, the attached jpeg file is a scan of its cover.  The attached pdf file is a scan of the page with the info that is relevant to your request and hopefully will provide some new info for you.  It lists K-Line Christmas and Holiday-themed cars along with other cars with the K-Line name.  It shows that they made at least one Christmas or Holiday car every year from 1988 through 1999.  Included for each car is the item numbers, whether or not it was cataloged and what year it was made but not prices or current values.

HTH,

Bill

Hey Bill,

Thanks, that was a great help.

Al

Thanks to all who shared their knowledge with me.  Which leads me to the next bit of info I'm seeking.  A few days ago I posted a request on the hi rail, 027 & traditional 3 rail forum, but since the traffic on there seems to be real heavy, I don't see a response any time soon. So I come to the people I've begun to trust... OK, so I'm looking for a Lionel Holiday Railroad 6-28699 (RED) Mikado engine and tender.  Yeah, I know I'd have better luck being struck by lightning, but I got to try.  If anyone out there has a second one they're not using, give me a shout. Keep in mind, I'm retired, living on a fixed income. 

Al

This is the hi rail, O-27 and traditional 3-rail forum, so I am not sure which forum you thought you were posting to.

It doesn't matter. If you want to buy something from a forum member, don't try to do it here. Go to the sale or trade forum at https://ogrforum.com/forum/for-sale-or-trade

Thanks... I'm new to this.

Al