I've stood on the side and admired them for a long time. I was, maybe still am, caught up in all the bells, whistles, chatter and smoke of modern trains. That being said it's time to acquire my first tinplate.
Any tips on what to look for, what to avoid would certainly be appreciated! Thanks!!
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Are you considering O or STD gauge?
@Jeff T posted:all the bells, whistles, chatter and smoke of modern trains.
If you go with MTH repro tinplate, you can have it all and it will have shiny new paint.
Not sure what his inventory looks like these days, but Al Rudman at Sidetrack Hobbies (located in Maryland but does mostly online selling) used to have a lot of tinplate to choose from. And he's a forum sponsor, too.
If it was me I would purchase the real deal prewar Lionel. The paint might not be perfect and it won't have all the bell whistles. But what you will have is a piece of American history and not a copy. You can't compare a reproduction piece with an original. Go for the real deal and when you hold it in your hand think back 100 years ago when America built the best products in world. Your reproduction MTH tinplate will say built in China. UGH.
Perhaps look at catalogs from the era you're interested in first. Keep in mind the track you currently have, the majority of prewar trains run best on tubular track and switches can cause problems depending on what you run through them. Hope it helps.
No single answer fits everyone. Do you want the sound and smell of the original, or new and shiny with digital control? Do you mind some rust and faded paint? A nostalgic vibe or the latest and greatest? Do you like repairing your own trains?
I have about 25 MTH and MTH/LCT locomotives (all O gauge) and a good amount of rolling stock, so I obviously prefer the shiny contemporary stuff with all the bells and whistles. A lot of my tinplate was purchased from Al Rudman at Sidetrack Hobbies, especially when MTH was still making those trains, but even fairly recently I have managed to find items at Al's website.
I like the Commodore Vanderbilt sets from Lionel/MTH. They are smaller in size than the 260E's. The Blue Streak is very cool and a favorite of mine.
https://www.trains.com/ctt/new...-corp-tinplate-line/
These were sold as a set with the passenger cars. Trainz has an engine only for sale. I believe you could change out the coupler so it could pull freight cars or a non-streamlined passenger cars. You could shop around and find original blue streak cars on Ebay. The private car listing ends Christmas day so if it is still there you can pick it up for $359.36 or you could join their Private Car club for $11.00 per month, buy the train and then cancel the membership. I already have the train but I was tempted to buy another one at that price, change the coupler and pull freight cars. The sounds with the chuffing just adds to the cute factor. You will be hooked on tinplate for life. Please buy this now and remove the temptation.
https://www.trainz.com/product...ectId=43653301796986
Scott Smith
Jeff,
I'm also a newbie on prewar Lionel. I decided to start somewhat easy buy collecting what I thought looked good to me and what ran and at a price I wanted to pay. My start is to buy at least one or 2 engines from each decade (or era) of Lionel. I'm looking for changes in technology and manufacturing that occurred during Lionel manufacturing history. I also hope to get some books on prewar Lionel that will help sort through the many choices.
I run tubular O gauge track so that's not a problem if I stay with O gauge locomotives. I have found switches can be a problem so sometimes I set up a temporary track without switches to run all of them. Other than running, I can display some history of Lionel to visitors.
Bob
While my tinplate interest is standard gauge and more recently AF wide gauge, I find the original non-restored pieces speak to me the most. They just have a sense of the history behind them. It is a nice balance to my main interest in scale O.
There is no right answer to this question as my AF set has been restored and it is truly gorgeous while my lowly #8 and four of the dozen or so cars are original. Both have a special place for me during the holidays and probably when I get a permanent train room for my scale 3 and 2 rail trains, I'll be sure to make room for a permanent tinplate layout.
My O tinplate is too all over the place to do much with. A few Lionel pieces in varying condition, some Bing, Dorfan, and early AF. Not enough of anything to make outside of the two Marx tin sets I have.
However, it does bring up a valid question. Have you considered Marx as a starter set? The lithography is excellent and I've always enjoyed the 3/16 items. Just another consideration.
I'm in the same boat Jeff. I would love to find a nice MTH tinplate set with PS3. I never gave it much thought until I started following a topic with @NJCJOE building his amazing layout. He ran a beautiful set at one point when he had his track layed down, plus if I remember right I noticed some fantastic items on shelves in the background. Since that time I have been keeping my eye out for something like that but no luck so far. At least that I am willing to pay for.
Brad
Well, I found a NIB 51001 set for a reasonable price. Now the wait!
One set turns to two sets and turns to three sets and turns to.....
See Post "Delighted by Prewar" read the reply by Gene Maag.
Once you get into Prewar you can't stop.
NIB 51001 set arrived. It is new, with the receipt from Charles Ro in the box. 9-28-90, $490...
It's under the tree, sorting out the bulbs, a couple don't work. It's really nice and bride goes, wow, that's different!! I guess she likes it! 
Congrats and good luck with the set!! I just grabbed the Lionel Classics SG Fireball Set NIB for a little over 700.00 with shipping. Read some reviews on the OGR forum from Tinplate Art and decided to pull he trigger. Some say the Lionel Classics Tinplate is superior in quality...not sure if that's accurate...I guess I'll find out shortly.
Sunrise
Once you go tinplate you will not go back. I like early electrics in O and Standard gauge. Parts are available. I only have and work on the electric loco’s. The O gauge are not that expensive as I pick up old junk stuff that needs work. Here are some photos of a 252 that I did in Lionel colors. I picked up a shell then a frame then a motor. The paint on the shell was bad and needed to be a repaint. Since repaints are not worth as much as original I decided to paint what I wanted. I like the 150 series as they are reasonable and these are easy to get them going again.😊
DwayneB, you have it right. Go with the real trains.
I bought a 2226W tender and replaced the drawbar with a postwar drawbar. Attached it to the frame with a 2-56 x 3/4" machine screw. Bolts under the frame and on both sides of the drawbar to keep the drawbar from flopping.
That allows me to use postwar locomotives like a 736 Berkshire to pull my 800/2800 series consists. I've attached a photo of the 736/2226W combination.
Buy junk tinplate cars for parts. If you have complete or rebuildable cars, rebuild them. These are two junkers I restored. Paint and lettering does wonders.
Brought back from the brink this past fall:
Gotta work on the original passenger cars next.
PD
Well l wanted one set of prewar tin. Look what happened.
@Jeff T posted:NIB 51001 set arrived. It is new, with the receipt from Charles Ro in the box. 9-28-90, $490...
It's under the tree, sorting out the bulbs, a couple don't work. It's really nice and bride goes, wow, that's different!! I guess she likes it!
Now you’ve done it! There’s no turning back! 😝
Photos?
Go to shows to learn what speaks to you. At the most recent show I was at there was a complete Lionel O gauge set, pre-1930 with 4-wheel cars, working, original set box, under $200. It spoke to me, and seemed a bargain to me to boot.
Before I could buy it, I was actually thrilled to see a circa 30-year-old buy it first. I'd rather him have it, since my boys of that age have little interest.
As a kid, I drooled over the original Madison cars in my Dad's old 1940 Lionel catalog. But when I see them at shows, either original or repro, the magic just isn't there anymore.
If you go to shows, between your heart and your wallet, you'll know what to buy.
Some additional eye candy. 
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
