NIB Lionel Santa Fe Anniversary Set

Lee,

With a box decorated that nicely that must be one sharp looking warbonnet.

joe

Lee:

I'm somewhat biased, but it's a great set and you should have no problems running it on an 0-31 loop.

The set has a number of firsts - the fully-detailed car interiors with figures and overhead lighting, the "large door" baggage and combination cars, the powered B-unit with die-cast metal frame, the first-time-ever correct decoration on the F-units, and I'm sure a few others that I'm forgetting.

Enjoy!

Todd

Looking at past LiveAuctioneers and eBay auctions, it sounds like you paid exactly what it's worth in brand new condition, if not slightly on the high side.

This set is basically Lionel's 1952 Super Streamliner on steroids. Decked out with every extra car and fully loaded with the top of the line features of the time, even one of the B-units is powered with dual pullmore motors. If you are a fan of the Postwar toy model, then this set is the finest iteration of it ever made. However, if you want a scale-detailed set, then this one is definitely not it.

I'm with you Lee....I can't pass up a Warbonnet.  I've got a bunch starting with a 1950 2343 ABA up to the 2009 Convential Classics 2343 and a whole lot in between.   The 21786 may be my favorite. It's a great looker.  I think the price you paid is very fair.  I've seen it for much more. 

Good luck and I hope you get to enjoy running it soon!

I do hope that someday Lionel makes a Vision Super Chief set: if they put four speakers in a scale A-A centipede set then they could put four speakers - one in each unit of a super detailed scale F3 A-B-B-A set.  Until then, this best-ever reprisal of the early '50s SF F3s I had as a kid will be just as grand as it gets.  

There was a time close to 60 years ago when Lionel Warbonnet F3s were model trains for me . . . 

I can hear my 2353's calling "open the box, open the box....".     

That is a beautiful set.  Get 'em out and let 'em run.  I wouldn't be able to wait myself.  Good luck with your track problem.  I've never heard of that before.  Good to see you're not getting discouraged by it.  Strange hobby, the highs and lows.  I would rate aquiring this set as way above average.  Congrats and enjoy. 

We have written about this set twice in Collector's Gallery and it is my all time favorite among Post-War inspired Warbonnet sets. From its packaging to its then state-of-art electronics to its ABBA diesels and aluminum cars, nothing was spared to make it the best Lionel could produce at the time. It was said by Lionel types that Neil Young influenced its "over the top" contents.  If so, hurray for Neil.

I believe that $1500 is a fair price to pay for the set in that condition.

Ed Boyle

I am sort of the opposite about passenger car size.  I have a set of nine K-line aluminum 18 inch cars with interiors I have detailed, and i run them alot - they were the first set of SF Super Chief cars I got, along with an ABA MTh F3 set.  But anymore I prefer the 15" cars.  They look good - partciularly those provided with this set - I also have a set of seven silhouette 15" Lionel cars from about 10 years earlier.   And I prefer the Lionel to MTH locos for running.  the MTH set is on a shelf for display.

I ran this set for about three hours yesterday, just letting it wear in.  I love everything about it. 

Lee, I also prefer the 15" cars. I just purchased a set of K-line aluminum 15" Reading on the Bay and received them on saturday. I have not run them yet but wow what quality. That Santa Fe set must look great on your new track setting.

By the way, I posted a short video and pictures about a week or two ago.  This is before I started detailing the scenery but I was really enjoying the Super Chief in its natural environment, so to speak.

https://ogrforum.com/d...nt/10299794782897226

Lee:

Congratulations on the purchase of this set, it is a beauty. When it came out, I already had the smooth polished top version of the Sante Fe set from 1992, so I passed. I later added the first scale F3 units from Lionel to pull these cars. Yours have detailed interiors which is an extremely nice feature. I like my set so much that it is a regular main line runner for me, though I prefer 18" and 21" passenger cars.

With the beautiful revisions you made to your layout, this set is perfect for your layout. As David said, you need to add the TW Albuquerque Passenger Train Station.

The TW Albuquerque station is gorgeous, but it won't fit on my layout.  I intend to scratch build a "southwestern style" station that looks somewhat like it that is a bit smaller in all three dimensions - only about 36 to 42 inches long, etc.  All the room I have.