Lionel Prewar sets

My recollection is that chapter 8 of one of the early Greenberg books included a comprehensive list of the catalogued prewar sets by year (1915-1942), for standard, O, and O-27. While it did not provide estimated values for each set, it did detail the set contents by item number. Having those details has proven quite handy over the years.

PD

The highest recommendation (IMHO) goes to Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains, 1901 - 1942, Vol. IV, Prewar Sets by Dave McEntarfer. Out of print. Not cheap, but it is the most comprehensive one volume resource on prewar Lionel outfits. It contains extensive discussion of individual outfits, their history, and lots of color photographs of numerous outfits in excellent condition displayed complete with boxes.

Happy hunting.

Bob

What year was the Greenberg book you are referring to?

@Nick DiSandro posted:

What year was the Greenberg book you are referring to?

It was published in 1995. It is a book containing comprehensive, detailed information on all prewar Lionel outfits with pricing estimates for its time of release. It is not a pocket guide.

Hope this helps.

Bob

This book is THE resource for prewar sets. It's hard to find, and usually prices accordingly if/when you can find one.

Years ago, a fellow employee at the Train store we worked at had the book. I copied all the pages and put it in a 3 ring binder. Ink cost a fortune, but it was a great addition to my resource library. A month or so ago, one showed up as a Buy It Now for $90.00 so I jumped on it and passed my copy on to a buddy.

Steve

I appreciate all the comments. Now I would like to know the exact name of the book so I can search for it. Thanks to all!

Nick: Bob listed the title and author above.  :-)

Last one I saw for sale approached $400.  I do want the book, but I wasn't able to pul the trigger on that one.

YIKES! :-(

@palallin posted:

Last one I saw for sale approached $400.  I do want the book, but I wasn't able to pull the trigger on that one.

The book is expensive, but not that expensive. Roughly $150 is the going price these days. If one is collecting, buying, and selling quality prewar Lionel outfits, it will quickly pay for itself.

Bob

If you're a frequent Amazon shopper, put it in a wishlist so you can monitor the price.  Someone will list a cheaper copy eventually.  I did that a couple years ago and bought one for $48.99.

I have a watch on EBay and put it in my Amazon Wish List. There is no hurry. Just thought it is extremely odd that prewar sets are not included in Greenberg’s price guides. I really think this needs to change. Anyone else feel the same way?

Nick, the place you should check is

https://www.bookfinder.com

if you copy/paste the book title from the prior post and put in the authors name on the search engine you will get the phone book.  At the moment there are 16 copies for sale with prices ranging from $164.98 to $347.55

x

I do have the David Doyle book on Lionel Prewar Trains so all is not lost. I just found it puzzling why they were left out of Greenberg’s books. If I find one at a reasonable price I will get one. Thanks for all the help and feedback.

In the early 2000's when I started to operate reproductions by MTH, I sought out copies of the Greenberg's guides for Lionel, IVES and American Flyer standard / wide gauge trains. I was able to get the Lionel and IVES versions but the American Flyer Wide Gauge guide remained outside of my price range. Once I realized that there was a separate guide for Lionel sets I kept an eye out for that but saw prices climb to near $300 on Ebay at the time.

Each year at a local community college there is a regional NMRA show that is typically the largest of the season. This is the kind of show that has the same dealers who set up in the same location each year. I stopped by a dealer who was set up in the corner of the gymnasium and browsed books that were tucked away in a milk crate. I went about halfway though and came upon a soft cover version of this guide, still wrapped in clear plastic. It was $45 dollars but I didn't have the cash! I tucked it neatly back into the milk crate and quickly left the show to go to the bank. Once I got back to the show I made a beeline to back corner of the gymnasium and purchased the book.

Good luck with your search.

Andrew

I know it will turn up when I least expect it to. I will find it eventually at a reasonable price. The hunt is all the fun!!

I believe the reason that there are no set listings with prices is because there are so few prewar sets available, as compared to postwar.  The big sales years for Lionel were after World War 2 to satisfy all the young baby boomers.  All prewar sets are at a minimum 5 years older than prewar sets so normal attrition would eliminate a fair number.  In addition I suspect a lot of trains ended up in scrap metal drives.  So with so few sets out there it would be very difficult to establish a fair price.