Red wooden barrels

They are Lionel products which were done in sets the same a normal brown stained barrels.  Had the same boxes and item number.  They are not plentiful.  Let me know if you want to sell these four.

I tried to make contact via e-mail but your listed name doesn't work.  I would like to complete a set if you want to sell the ones you found with Flyer items.  My profile data is accurate.

I got one of those barrels in an auction lot of Lionel items back around 2005. I knew it was rare, put it on Ebay and got $81.00 for it. Haven't seen any more since then. Still lookin'.

Rich

Rich,

Thanks for the reply. I guess these are keepers!  What a surprise to find them in a Flyer boxcar. Have these ever been documented anywhere? I couldn’t find mention in Greenbergs or T&M.  I could display them in a 2452 as I only collect coil coupler era Lionel.  I’m going to show them to some long time Lionel collectors that I know too.

Don

Paul Ambrose has an article on these barrels and the other variations in the July 2020 issue of the Train Collector's Quarterly.  Basically - very early production and very obscure.

@ACGilbert posted:

Rich,

Thanks for the reply. I guess these are keepers!  What a surprise to find them in a Flyer boxcar. Have these ever been documented anywhere? I couldn’t find mention in Greenbergs or T&M.  I could display them in a 2452 as I only collect coil coupler era Lionel.  I’m going to show them to some long time Lionel collectors that I know too.

Don

https://www.tandem-associates....l_trains_362_acc.htm

“They also produced the harder to find REDstained barrels. These are believed to have been issued with the first version of the Operating Barrel Car No. 3562-1 introduced in 1954.”

There is currently a set in their box for sale on ebay. Just search Lionel 362-78. 6 barrels and box 1 bid @ $299.99

Those red barrels on E bay closed for $609.99

I wander if Hobby Lobby or Michael's has similar wooden drums for a much lower price.

Charlie

@LIONEL6457 posted:

Those red barrels on E bay closed for $609.99

I'm sorry, that's just stupid. I just can't see paying that price.

@LIONEL6457 posted:

Those red barrels on E bay closed for $609.99

Wow. $100 per barrel

I hope they enjoy 'em. 🥴🙄

$610 and they still get your for $8 shipping, 😄

I don't ever want to hear anybody complain again about how they can't afford the new stuff....😉

@PRRick posted:

...and they still get your for $8 shipping, 😄

Right?!? Oughta be a 5/500 rule. Under 5 pounds, over $500, shipping is free👍😜

Wow ...guess all the collectors have died off, and prices have plummeted ...not!

Oh, there's lots of hoi polloi out there willing to spend money...

Why not make your own? Should be able to on a wood lathe.

I would not pay anywhere near that much for a set.

The thread title made me think of song title that might have been found on a 78 rpm record!

And, yes, I agree, some plain wooden barrels (pick your source) and some paint/stain will do fine.

Repainted barrels is not the same as having the original.  Unless you are a true collector, that first sentence probably does not mean anything to you.  My brother was an avid collector of pre-war Marx, and it was always fun to go to shows with him and watch him hunt.  He knew all the tricks to make a cheap car look like a rare one.  I remember the big celebration we had one night after he found a near perfect example of a very rare car he had been looking for for years.

The red barrel originals are obviously rare and the buyer wanted them and had the funds to buy them, so congratulate him/her for the find.  There were 9 bids, so at least one other person also wanted them. 

Is there anyway to ID the original red barrels and know for that kind of money you're not getting some plain ones dyed red?

@feet posted:

I would not pay anywhere near that much for a set.

You're clearly not a collector.

I wouldn't either but I'm not going to question their sanity if they do.

(Hopefully we have room for both kinds of hobbyists here, operators and collectors.)

Mike

@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:

You're clearly not a collector.

I wouldn't either but I'm not going to question their sanity if they do.

(Hopefully we have room for both kinds of hobbyists here, operators and collectors.)

Mike

I'm not questioning anybody's sanity  or telling them how to spend their money.

Never intended to come across like that.

@feet posted:

I'm not questioning anybody's sanity  or telling them how to spend their money.

Never intended to come across like that.

I'm sure that you didn't intend to have your comments misinterpreted, and I didn't mean to give you a hard time about it.

We could read what you posted in two or three different ways and it's all about understanding what was written.  This is how I interpreted it:

          I would not pay anywhere near that much for a set (so I can't understand how anyone else could.)

Please accept my apologies for the misunderstanding.

Mike

@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:

I'm sure that you didn't intend to have your comments misinterpreted, and I didn't mean to give you a hard time about it.

We could read what you posted in two or three different ways and it's all about understanding what was written.  This is how I interpreted it:

          I would not pay anywhere near that much for a set (so I can't understand how anyone else could.)

Please accept my apologies for the misunderstanding.

Mike

It's all good.