Modern (1976 - Present) Lionel Prototypes, Production Samples, etc. Anyone besides me collect this stuff?

Notch 6 posted:

 I've been lucky enough to acquire a decent handful along the way. I'm just curious if anyone else out there finds the modern era stuff interesting. I'm fascinated by the idea of what could have been or seeing the changes that an item went through before actual production.

I have two RoW PA samples; Erie and Erie Lackawanna.  Also a Williams S2 turbine, a Weaver VO1000 and an Atlas RS1.

Not really sure these have any extraordinary value.  Nothing like post war Lionel.  Its more of a novelty.

Lou N

Lou N posted:

Not really sure these have any extraordinary value.  Nothing like post war Lionel.  Its more of a novelty.

Lou N

Yeah it has never been about the value for me. I deal with "values" enough in my day job. I collect these for the idea of what they are and what they represent in the development of a product. I came to grips a long time ago with the idea that when I'm ready to be done with my trains (I'm 33 now) they won't be worth jack and I'm quite alright with that. 

I've seen enough disillusion people that fed themselves the lie that trains were an "investment"

I try to. I did get a Legacy prototype from a forum member.   Unfortunately a lot of that stuff is out of my price range vs the value for me. I love seeing what folks got though. The ZW was a cool thing to see at the LUG meeting. Glad you shared it with us. 

hopefully someday some of this stuff will be in a museum.

I personally wouldn’t mind having a few prototypes from the Dick Kughn era when the Lionel Archives was getting rid of some of them. I think a bunch of the prototypes from the 1992 line like the Southern Mikado sold in one of his auctions, but I’m not sure. There’s quite a few of them out there.

I’m almost sure TM Books & Video’s Tom McComas still has the cancelled Kraft refrigerator car prototype from the 1980 catalog cover, and Fritz Von Tagen in Portland has the no.5390 prototype Hudson (what would later be changed to 5340) as well as many other cancelled prototypes like the Union Pacific version of the Railscope GP-9.

I purchased SOME MTH "prototypes" [really paint samples] from da Bay. Nothing really that interesting that wants me to Fork over more $$ than what it's worth.

Maybe some people are able to make a profit when they sell their train collection but I would advise them to go ahead and sign up for Social Security.

Other than postwar Lionel the only Lionel products I have are engines that turned out to be made by MTH/Samhongsa.  When the MTH prototypes started coming onto the market a few years ago I thought it was a great opportunity to capture a part of history.  There is little doubt in my mind as to how important MTH has been to the O gauge market.  To own a piece of that history is a privilege.  Hopefully my kids will appreciate it too as the trains will be their problem to deal with.  

A few oddball pieces here and there but nothing all that exciting.

The 26736 Lionel 100th birthday boxcar from 2000.  Some of the artwork is glued paper on the car and it has the two metal door guides vs the single style on the production car (second photo).

I wouldn't mind having a couple of pieces. But I don't think I'd put a high enough value on anything to actually win an auction.
I do have a couple of unfinished or partially finished modern era bodies.