My first Collectible Engine

Mike, your story rings true.  I was never concerned about whether an engine is collectible, but like you want to run my engines instead of leaving them on a shelf.

I didn’t know you only came to O gauge in recent years.  I was like you, I built 2 HO layouts and an N scale layout in between.  I had trouble with track reliability, and N was worse than HO.  I came to O gauge and OGR in 2012, and like you found out I had a lot to learn.  At least my first purchase of O gauge was from a reliable dealer, Dave Minarik at his Mercer Junction Train Shoppe.

My involvement with this hobby hit a delay, which ended up being much longer than I would have originally thought, that started when my kids moved on from their trains fascinations as they exited their preteens years in the early 2000's.

Coming out of the delay I began to pull things out of long term storage back in 2016.  The first question in my mind was "What do I buy as I reconnect with the hobby? "  I went with 'collectible' knowing that, if I chose wisely, I could always sell it if my preferences went back to being the operator that I always was.

What popped up during my first search after making that decision was an sealed-from-the-factory Pere Marquette 1225 (6-11203) with two tenders (one each PM, 6-11204, and Polar Express, 6-11151).  These items were expensive but I knew that as a collectible the investment would be worth it.

Fast forward several years and I was now firmly back in the groove as a operator, and was adding used, but lovingly cared for, engines and rolling stock to my collection on a regular basis.  All were perfect for running and remain so to this day.

The collectible came in very handy in the end.  During the height of the pandemic, with so many newbies entering our hobby (because they needed something to keep them busy while locked up at home), I put them up for sale as a set.

They snared almost triple what I paid.

Conclusion: If you're an operator there's is a benefit to doing a little collecting while you run, as long as you're very careful with selecting which collectibles to invest in.  Of course you may have to be a little lucky at the same time.

Mike

Doing a little research on the 1939 - 42 700E, a few things became apparent:

Lionel really did make very few of them, and all before WWII.  The 700E was the most expensive thing Lionel ever made, so the market was small as well.  Lionel (and the hobby) were far smaller then, making the probable numbers of units even smaller.

Then, of course a percentage of them became toys, played with, on the floor etc., even though they WERE very expensive toys for the times.  I am sure some ended up in attics and basements.  If they looked worn, maybe Mom threw them away when she and Pops moved away?  How many were thrown away (sniff) just like many other "train sets" after the owners grew up, moved from home,  and went their own ways.

Sadly, some of those owners probably never came home from the war.

Diecast in the toy industry was new.  So, the Hudsons of the day had some issues with warped frames, making the engine not even usable - the "zinc pest" even back then.  If you had a toy, that no longer ran, was a little beat up, paint worn in an old thin cardboard box- you might trash it, too.

Bottom line- the 700E IS an expensive, rare collectible.  So, there seem to be some copies,  partial reproductions and others that I would be leery of.