McCoy TCA cars question

Well, I don't know about expertise, but if I were to try to answer your question, I would say: Yes, and Yes.  Convention cars do represent a significant percentage of McCoy production. But even with that in mind, I would agree that the convention cars seem to be over-represented at auctions and train shows as well as online.  I suppose one could speculate as to the reasons for this; but in any case, it would appear to be the case that the non-convention cars tend to find more permanent homes in collections, while the convention cars seem to change hands more frequently.

david

When McCoy first started producing the Convention cars for the TCA in 1966, the total number was minimal. The first few years had only a hundred or two produced for any given year. It wasn't until around 1972 when the number jumped over a thousand and it stayed that way for over 10 years worth of convention cars. So, the numbers are out there.

Now, the 1977 Houston tank car is another story, the TCA over ordered them from McCoy, by like a thousand pieces (2500 total). Some of the excess cars were repainted and re-lettered and offered for sale by the TCA. But still, there are way too many tankers out there and why you will see these all the time.

Regular McCoy production numbers were staggering for a small manufacture, hundreds of thousands of pieces. They produced a lot of trains thru the years in many different road names and types. Some of the regular production cars were produced in the hundreds, even thousands while some were minimal at under 100 pieces. Still, the majority of what you see for sale are the convention cars because they were so prevalent. Plus, many of them were originally sold to non-Standard Gauge members as a memento of the convention, thus adding more pieces to the pot.

So to answer your question, the convention cars made up a portion of their offerings, but hardly their highest percentage. Although they are a concentrated portion, they are some of the highest production numbers of a single car by McCoy.

The thing about McCoy is, there are plenty of McCoy collectors out there, but there's one small problem when it comes to McCoy convention cars. Take the average number of a small run of convention cars produced, say 200-300 pieces. Now, find me 200 McCoy collectors and then you will have a supply & demand issue. Until that point, you will continue to see them in numbers on ebay, at auctions and at train shows garnering low interest (and dollars).

On the plus side, these cars make great display items as they are very colorful. Some people dislike them because of this, but when you put them on a wall together, they really do light up a room. They are also good runners, so you can put them on the layout and not worry about them. These convention cars can be had for around $20-$30 on a regular basis, sometimes less. Some of the cars also make good SG unit trains, like the '77 tanker makes a great tank train... it's a good thing these are cheap! But stay away from the '78 caboose, they multiply like bunnies!

Overall, these are well built cars and easily stand up to any of the abuse you can dish out. Wanna have SG for the kids to play with? Set up a track with these cars on it and you wont worry one bit about what happens to them.

ARNO

Thanks gentlemen! All this info is greatly appreciated.

My winter project is a 390E and a couple of old Lionel cars. The thoughts in the back of my head are a re-paint and detail of a McCoy car or two. I'm partial to the kitchen/bunk and passenger cars, but now that you mention the tank cars...........this SG bug is spreading.....

The bunk/kitchen cars from 1973-75 are plentiful as are the yellow/brown passenger cars from 1982-87. These would make perfect cars to re-do as the availability is high and the collectibility is low. If you need some, let me know as I might have a few lying around.

Standard Gauge is addicting.

ARNO

Interesting read - thanks for the info.   I too have been thinking about buying a few McCoy pieces, but not sure what I really want.  I like the circus cars, but the prices are a little high for me right now.

I think McCoy is still quite a bargain, maybe not always on epay, but in other places are. You can get most regular production cars for $30-$60. Sure, some will be more expensive, but most are in that range. Circus cars are usually a bit more, in the $50-$75 range, but still very good bargain for SG trains.

I agree, at $50 plus McCoy is still a great buy for SG. Unfortunatel, i have never seen McCoy cars at any of the local train shows.   It seems eBay is my only option at the moment.

They do show up. Many dealers get them in collections and don't know what to do with them. They do not bring them to shows because they are not Lionel and such. Ask around, some area train folk just might surprise you. If not, there are people like me who have extras.

ARNO