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Lionel on the European market?

K kiefferOGR Forum Member

Most common Lionel prewar items you find in Europe I think are 1688's and 1689's, sometimes only the engine and sometimes a set or what's left of it: either the passenger litho cars or the freight cars, a baby Ruth, tanker and a caboose. I wonder if Lionel ever seriously gave it a try to set foot on the European market. Or didn't they need it as the US market must have been big enough? I can imagine that US trains were less attractive for Europeans, at the other hand, they were toys. As a kid I didn't bother if a train or car was French, British or German, as long as they fitted on the tracks. And common practise was (and still is) bringing for instance German engines in a British livery, for export reasons.

Lately I saw on an Ebay site (Ebay.nl, that's Dutch) a Lionel steamer. It was a German type BR50. Strange to me, but the seller seems convinced. There was a box with it too. I never heard that Lionel made any foreign engines. This one looked like a rather recent production.

 

regards, Kieffer

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Rob EnglishRob EnglishOGR Forum Member

Kieffer,

 

over the years Lionel exported sets to Canada, UK, as well as Spain.  But not a huge amount.  There are some 8 O gauge documented sets and 7 Standard gauge that I am aware of. Lionel had some catalogs in Spanish and French. 

 

The BR50 is likely one of the 3 locomotives Lionel had made for the Smithsonian "collection" These were made by Rich-Art I believe and were the BR-50, Dreyfus, and K4 Torpedo.  Made in Brass for 2 and 3 rail. The Dreyfus had 20(+) 21" cars available!

 

I recall that the BR-50 is the hardest to find and the highest regarded.

K kiefferOGR Forum Member
Originally Posted by Rob English:

 

The BR50 is likely one of the 3 locomotives Lionel had made for the Smithsonian "collection" These were made by Rich-Art I believe and were the BR-50, Dreyfus, and K4 Torpedo.  Made in Brass for 2 and 3 rail. The Dreyfus had 20(+) 21" cars available!

 

I recall that the BR-50 is the hardest to find and the highest regarded.

Rob, if you're interested you can find the thing on Ebay.nl, it's still on. The price is hefty though, some 1995 euro...

Kieffer

FM Former Member
Originally Posted by Rob English:

Kieffer,

 

over the years Lionel exported sets to Canada, UK, as well as Spain.  But not a huge amount.  There are some 8 O gauge documented sets and 7 Standard gauge that I am aware of. Lionel had some catalogs in Spanish and French. 

 

The BR50 is likely one of the 3 locomotives Lionel had made for the Smithsonian "collection" These were made by Rich-Art I believe and were the BR-50, Dreyfus, and K4 Torpedo.  Made in Brass for 2 and 3 rail. The Dreyfus had 20(+) 21" cars available!

 

I recall that the BR-50 is the hardest to find and the highest regarded.

Rob,

 

They were made for Lionel by Fine Art Models,not Rich-Art.

http://www.fineartmodels.com/f...dels.com/Trains.html

 

You do occasionally see second hand Lionel of all eras in various European markets. I've seen used Lionel for sale at train shops in Germany,Sweden and the UK.

 

I have run into several train shops that are stocking MTH O and HO in Germany.

 

Ricky

 

Currently on assignment in Germany

 

K kiefferOGR Forum Member


 

You do occasionally see second hand Lionel of all eras in various European markets. I've seen used Lionel for sale at train shops in Germany,Sweden and the UK.

 

I have run into several train shops that are stocking MTH O and HO in Germany.

 

Ricky

 

Currently on assignment in Germany

 

Ricky,

Yes, you can find them but most of it are Scouts items, sometimes an FE (and if it's the Santa Fe). At the other hand, you can't expect the variety and volume you find in the US.

MTH, you're right, that's a bit easier.

And there's always the possibility to buy or import from the US, though postage and above all taxes are doubling the price. But that's the way it is. It would have been great if there were shops or dealers around but they aren't. Therefore, the internet is a bless I think.

One minor 'complaint', quite a few sellers in the US don't ship to Europe. Don't understand why because payment can't be the problem with Pay Pal and so on. But they sure will have a good reason I guess.

 

regards, Kieffer

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