Memorable York Purchases from Years Past

Very nice.

Love that D&H set, Peter. One my favorites of the era. Such a colorful combination with that RS3 and the rolling stock.

We had our shop and were a service station (No 224) back then. This was the annual offering one year than and I ordered two cases I think it was. They were so pretty and sold well.

Does it run OK with the truck mounted motors Peter?  We had our concerns that the running gear was not up to the chore of actual extended operations!

So many memorable purchases at the York Meet.  The one that sticks out in my mind was getting a seven car MTH Atlantic Coast Line aluminum passenger car set from Uncle Jack's in the old Yellow Hall, then finding the matching ABA E8 set at Nicholas Smith.

Another memorable find was also in the Yellow Hall during my first ever visit to the Meet.  It was a Williams four car Amtrak Metroliner set from a fellow at the Williams booth that looked exactly like a young Mike Wolf. 

Last year I found a lift bridge, it was been a memory, I had to rewire it!!!  This year I am going for a lot more memories.

2 years ago.. my mission was to find the Lionel 3 pack of the BNSF whale gondolas. Silver...Blue....purple.....white.....red.....brown.......orange......last row....last dealer....Nicholas Smith. Bingo

rat

Late '80's or so when the PW CP 2373 passenger set w/ two coaches instead of two domes from the previous year was HOT, I bought the set in E+ condition from an individual seller with the worst display--used 1x4's stacked on used bricks.  Got it home, ran it, and decided I DID'T like it.  Sold it to a dealer shortly thereafter.

But, it was a fabulous find back in the day!

Last year I was about to leave the Silver Hall to head home when I saw this 3rd Rail Doodlebug.  It was not on my Buy List, but I could not pass it up at the low price the seller wanted.  It has TMCC and a great sounding gas engine.

My attendance at York E.D. shows will soon end, but over the years I have secured some excellent things there. The MPC era NYC F3 A/A that runs on my layout every day was bought there NIB (with a tiny frame paint blemish) for $200. The other score was about 15 packages of O scale hand assembled, highly detailed, wooden telephone poles made by the DMM Railroad Company who sadly closed a couple of years ago.  I've also found switch machines, switches, sensors, old bridges, screws/parts, detail items, OGR items, lighting, scenic supplies and a big assortment of rolling stock.

Best deals for me were a K-Line semi scale NYC Hudson for 80 bucks Then last year it was a Lionel L2a RS5 Mohawk plus die cast caboose from the Empire Builder set for 500 bucks and also the Lionel 3 truck Westside Shay plus three pack of log cars for 400 bucks. The latter two were for friends. Many other smaller finds but these were the most notable.

Pete

Peter, this is a wonderful topic. I think most who have attended the York Meet have a memory purchase at the York Meet that they could share. For me, there are four. Many years ago I found the seven car Texas Special Lionel passenger car set from 2001, and before I left that meet a beautiful MTH ABBA TS F3 set to match. To this day, it is one of my favorite passenger trains. Then there was the year that I purchased the Erie Triplex from Vince that I had been looking for. And just last October, I found two beautiful K-Line 21" passenger car sets, the Great Northern Empire Builder and the Surfliner.

For folks who haven't yet figured it out, the York Meet is "the place". End of story.

I've only been to York once so my memories are not as vast as others yet.  I plan to go back many times to make more memories.  But my favorite purchase from last York is a Lionel Legacy Norfolk and Western Y3.  It was on the list I made of items I hoped to find at the meet.  On Thursday, I found it at a great price at Nassau Hobby Center's booth.  I scooped it up right away.  It was I believe my second purchase at York.  The first was a Weaver Pickwick's Ale boxcar.

C Sam......the D&H RS3 runs very well.

Peter

Too many !

It was April 2001 and I had on my list to find a 12 car set of Weaver coal hoppers. well in one of the member halls a gentleman had a about 6-7 Erie Lackawanna coal hoppers, some had missing wheels and they were rather dirty. We chatted and he had the full set of 12. We struck a deal for $90, and as he was boxing up the cars he said here you get these also and he included 12 Blue Mountain coal loads. That Saturday I had them all apart cleaned and reassembled and running. That set stayed with me for a number of years, In 2007 they were damaged when my basement flooded. the cars survived but the coal loads turned to mush and I replaced them with one I made myself.  A few tears later and sold them along with a few other items to help fund the purchase of an MTH Erie Angus 0-8-8-0.

Steve 

Here's one from York, April 2014.........Silver Hall.......a fellow was clearing out his TMCC engines and going all Legacy........$360. Runs great. TMCC and RailSounds work fine....needs a new smoke unit.

6-28072 from the 2001 catalog

I think that that was a pretty good deal!

Peter

My $50 Blue Comet.  It's a little camera-shy, so I won't be posting any pictures.

Two years ago at the April York I came across a USA Trains Warbonnett PA single unit all covered with dust under a dealer's table off the side of the Orange Hall. I asked if it ran and he said to go test it and it did.

I carried it off sans a box for $100.  One of THE best buys ever!

My most memorable York purchases would have to be the prewar sets I've pieced together.

The first one was started at my first York Meet, in the Fall of 2010. On Thursday, I found a Lionel/Ives transition set of freight cars for $100 (the 1717, 1719, and I forget the caboose number right now). Well, the seller said that the 258 that came with it was shot, so I was on the hunt for an engine for this. I hunted the rest of the day, and didn't find one. The next day I had tests at college, but after they were over, I blew off the rest of my classes (very rare for me) and made the two hour trip to York. I searched for a 258 to be correct, but found a nice 262e for $160. I tested it and the e-unit stuck. The man talked me through the repair, gave me his card, and told me that if I couldn't fix hit, I could take it out and he would fix it at no cost. This engine was my first e-unit repair. 

This left one car that I wanted to get; the Ives 1708 cattle car. I couldn't cheap out and get the Lionel version with this one, since Lionel didn't make it. I searched and searched for a decent one that I could afford, until I found it in an original Ives set at 2014 Saturday Spring York (who says you don't find good stuff Saturday). The set was in rough shape, the engine had mechanical issues, but the cattle car was fairly nice. I bought the set for a fair price, kept the cattle car for my set, and traded the rest of the set here. This set is one of my favorite ones to run, and a regular under the Christmas Tree or when we have guests. 

As if fate, the other set is a passenger set. At Fall York 2013, I came across a Lionel 2640/2640/2641 set in C-7+ condition for $160. It was about 3:30 on Friday, and I needed an engine, since I had none with the box couplers. I am almost running up and down the rows looking for a nice engine for a decent price to pull these cars. I came across a 224E with 2224W that wasn't quite as nice (a few smudges and the letters are a bit faded on the tender), but was still in good shape. The guy said everything on his table was 50% off (it was about 5:30 at this point), so I got it for $75! It's another great set. Unfortunately, this is the best photo I have (it's the top set)

Back in the ancient days, there was a guy from Tennessee at the Holiday Inn bandit meet (when you had to park in the shopping center and walk up the hill) who had all those lovely and generally (then) hard to find MTH 18" passenger cars with the silhouettes in the windows. I bought a bunch of them and am so very glad that I did.

Gerry

I consider two York purchases back in 2004 my most memorable not so much due to the purchase I made but because of the one I didn't make.  We arrived in York early in the week and went to the Holiday Inn bandit meet, I think it was called the Billy Bud at that time, anyway, there on one of the Ready to Roll tables was an engine I wanted.  The first Lionmaster BigBoy and at a good price IIRC.  I didn't buy it because I rationalized, if I did buy it that would use up most of the train fund I had and I just got into town and what I really wanted was a scale K-Line K4s engine.  Well at the TCA meet, I did find a K-Line K4s, Sidetrack Hobbies had it.  I bought the K4s although the K4s was a little more than the LM BigBoy.  I often think I should have bought the LM BigBoy.  Oh well, can't change the decision now.

Can't recall the year, but bought a new in shrink wrap copy of Al Staufer's New York Central Power for $25. Also got the opportunity to chat with the late Ed Duddy a couple of times: $0, but priceless.

Simon

Simon........you made me remember something I have missed at York........in the Purple Hall, right where you go in (on the side of the snack bar) used to be an older gentleman who always had a large inventory of Transportation books.......I made many a good purchase there. Sadly, he's been missing the last 2 Yorks.......I hope he'll be back .....and, it not, I hope he"s well.

Peter

My most memorable purchase was a beautiful hand-built model of the HellGate Bridge I bought from a very talented guy in the Orange Hall a few years ago. Although it is "foreshortened" (like the Lionel/MTH versions), my layout is too small for it. I have it displayed in my train room. It was, IMO, a bargain at $325. I would not part with it at any price (well, maybe $10,000. ).