What Trains do you have you Consider Rare

eddie g posted:

Pre & post war collectors don't want to put there rare trains on here for obvious reasons.

Good point. It is not advisable to advertise that you have anything extremely rare or valuable. Although it hardly ever happens, I believe there have been a few cases of robberies of antique trains. 

Glenn Fresch posted:

eddie g posted:

Pre & post war collectors don't want to put there rare trains on here for obvious reasons.

Good point. It is not advisable to advertise that you have anything extremely rare or valuable. Although it hardly ever happens, I believe there have been a few cases of robberies of antique trains. 

yes, by all means hide your trains in a closet or in a dark basement.  why share those treasures of yours with anyone else.  ...you people watch too much Nancy Grace, the harbinger of paranoia in America.

OVERLANDFLYER,

   There is a historical reason the American men own beautiful Gun dogs and teaches his family, the true meaning of the 2nd Amendment, we hide nothing in a closet and life free to enjoy our family treasures, experiencing life to the fullest.  "A man who gives up freedom for safety, deserves neither freedom nor safety. " - Ben Franklin -  America's Greatest Founding Father.  

I would say my A-A Erie Built FMs. Atlas only made them a short time and the ones with the chrome front are even harder to find. Don

My only rare piece is this Mi-Jack Crane lettered for the M&ET, Modesto & Empire Traction. The company that built the prototype cranes commissioned Lionel to make some for the railroads that purchased them.  M&ET is a short line railroad in California.

Bill, heres a shot of the loader. Sorry not a great shot. Don

 one of my rarest sets, never seen another   like new / org.boxes

I had and sold the 1946 operating merchandise car. It is rare. The paint was perfect. It's hard to find one with good paint. The guy that bought it agreed it was perfect. Then he took a dental mirror and looked inside. On one corner there was a very small nick in the paint. Most likely happened when the car was assembled. He wanted some of his money back. Don

A two-level 9123 C&O auto carrier from 1973.   Reportedly only about a 100 or so were made. 

Also have a 2344 NYC F-3 A unit without the nose grab irons.  An odd postwar era factory error. 

I have the complete set of the MTH CWI cars  and each one is signed by the Man himself, Mr. Tony Lash.  Thank you Tony and we miss you here in the DC area and at York.

most any MTH 2 rail steam and some diesels, wish there was a way to find out production quantity. 

is this old? 

To me Rare trains describe trains trains that have been deemed short quantity and sought after for that same reason. I have two sets I consider rare but don't have the boxes to either but don't show up hardly at all on ebay or other places I have checked. I know some say it's not a set without the boxes. I beg to differ. Just because you don't have the box does not make it any more plentiful. There was just a certain amount of them made period. with that said I have the :

1633 Navy set

13028 Super O Space Set.

To me Rare trains describe trains trains that have been deemed short quantity and sought after for that same reason. I have two sets I consider rare but don't have the boxes to either but don't show up hardly at all on ebay or other places I have checked. I know some say it's not a set without the boxes. I beg to differ. Just because you don't have the box does not make it any more plentiful.

I agree with Bill.
But the pieces do need to be in matching condition, and the correct variation.

eddie g posted:

Pre & post war collectors don't want to put there rare trains on here for obvious reasons.

Excellent point!

Forewarned is forearmed.

"Pre & post war collectors don't want to put their are trains on here for various reasons." A sad commentary indeed on society today when such feelings of paranoia run rampant and I'd guess those who feel the  model train theft paranoia see that theft and pilferage of model trains as possibly more likely to be committed by those familiar with our hobby rather than those who are unfamiliar and outside of it. (wording of my original response has been edited.)

ogaugeguy posted:

...when such feelings of paranoia run rampant though I'd guess there's more theft and pilferage of model trains committed by known and trusted acquaintances than by total strangers.

Statistics for your generality?

I have what some would consider "hard to find" pieces but don't consider anything rare and valuable. The days of the PW collector are behind us. We all have to accept that values are falling and eventually the market will shrink to where supply far exceeds demand. This doesn't take away from the joy of the hobby today but it must be understood that the demographics are changing.

I have been looking to add weaver flat cars with 40 foot dry van trailers for some time now.  Nary a one appears except a NYC  trailer for 199.  Do these then qualify as rare?  I would think so.

Miggy posted:

is this old? 

Marx 6" military trains were produced in the late prewar period ('39, early 40's).  it is questionable exactly what tanks were used on the (572ST) flats.  some claim the olive drab version is 'more' correct, but that's one i've yet to snag...

the #5 tank is a lot harder to find.  it should be the OD/red/yellow version shown withOUT the flipping tank feature (there is a more common blue version usually w/ the flip feature) .  the special flat that holds the #5 is also pretty rare.  i was lucky enough to find both pieces separately.

the 'critter' is said to be the rarest of the Marx tank loads.  a plus if you can also find the automatic unloading ramp car, too.  an oddball in itself being the only tab/ slot coupler car riding on type-B scale trucks Marx ever made as a production piece.

cheers...gary

Dennis LaGrua posted:

I have what some would consider "hard to find" pieces but don't consider anything rare and valuable. The days of the PW collector are behind us. We all have to accept that values are falling and eventually the market will shrink to where supply far exceeds demand. This doesn't take away from the joy of the hobby today but it must be understood that the demographics are changing.

I understand what your saying but with the prices I see them going for on the bay I sometimes wonder. And the last Stout auction I watch also. To me it depends what your looking at. I.E. 6465, 6012, etc yes your lucky to get $5 for. But cars that are not that common Still seem to be bringing a nice penny or two. Now are they bringing what they did 10 years ago, maybe not but I believe there will always be a collector value for a lot of the postwar/prewar era. The most common already exceeds the demand but the rare cars like 3820, or 6820, or better yet 6500 there will always be a high price on cars like that in very good to excellent condition. 

I can say the same of these new expensive engines also that your saying about postwar as the amount may not be that many built but they're not keeping their value either. 

Carl C posted:

I have the complete set of the MTH CWI cars  and each one is signed by the Man himself, Mr. Tony Lash.  Thank you Tony and we miss you here in the DC area and at York.

While not signed, I ended up with what is supposed to be the production samples for the 1st boxcar in both road number 0001 and 0002. (seller had a whole series of items that were production samples for MTH items)

I wouldn't consider them terribly valuable, I didn't bid very much on eBay to get them. 

I wasn't specifically seeking the samples out, but I had never come across the road number 0002 car in any other separate sale offering, so it was a good fit for me. The cars themselves passed my (generally critical) condition evaluation with ease.

So while I don't own a standard production model, I guess I would consider the 1st boxcar in road number 0002 rare since I've not seen one for sale in the couple of years I've been looking, though theoretically I believe the road numbers (if 2 are offered)  are split down the production normally, no?

-Dave

I understand what your saying but with the prices I see them going for on the bay I sometimes wonder. And the last Stout auction I watch also. To me it depends what your looking at. I.E. 6465, 6012, etc yes your lucky to get $5 for. But cars that are not that common Still seem to be bringing a nice penny or two. Now are they bringing what they did 10 years ago, maybe not but I believe there will always be a collector value for a lot of the postwar/prewar era. The most common already exceeds the demand but the rare cars like 3820, or 6820, or better yet 6500 there will always be a high price on cars like that in very good to excellent condition. 

I can say the same of these new expensive engines also that your saying about postwar as the amount may not be that many built but they're not keeping their value either. 

A lot of participants on this board like to put down postwar Lionel trains, and Collectors. Truth is, there are still plenty of collectors who are interested in prewar and postwar Lionel. And the number of collectors who want the earlier Modern era Lionel trains is growing. All this is evidenced by the activity and prices realized at auction and on EBay.
Collecting takes up less room than operating, and collecting things in general is a popular hobby. Folks collect all sorts of things. IMHO, collecting toy trains will outlive "O" gauge model railroading by many years.

It was inevitable that prices would fall on all but the best stuff. Prices were over inflated, and for the most part, the bubble has burst.
There is good news in that bubble bursting, it makes the hobbies of "O" gauge model railroading and collecting affordable for more people if they can look past having the latest and greatest stuff. It may not be good news for the wholesale/retail "O" gauge toy train industry, as  lower prices on used trains makes the prices on the new stuff seem even higher.

For years I've been saying, when the prices collapse on trains, that just means I'll be able to buy more stuff. Hurrah!

clem k posted:

most any MTH 2 rail steam and some diesels, wish there was a way to find out production quantity. 

i'll definitely agree here.  the last two MTH models i bought were when they were still making separate 2-rail versions and i recall getting two or three calls beforehand wanting to confirm that i actually meant to order the 2-rail model as they were going to produce exactly the number pre-ordered and no more.  chances you will only see one of these when the original owner passes; i know mine aren't going anywhere in the foreseeable future.  i'd put any of these models in the rare, but not terribly valuable, category.

cheers...gary

This thread is supposed to be about rarity, not market value.  It isn't the stock market. If you bought for an investment-good luck and quit complaining.  People keep putting nails in the postwar  collector's coffin but it keeps perking along.   Probably out live us all plus our grand kids.  Enjoy your hobby.

For me it's a set of MTH Milwaukee Road EF-2 4 unit Electric boxcabs (all black version). When they were first cataloged back in 2005 and I couldn't afford to spring for both the Hiawatha colored and all black versions at the same time. I ordered the Hiawatha version and figured I'd pick up the other set in a few years. It took me eleven years to find them.

I see MTH is doing another run of these engines in there current catalog but not the all black set. I believe I was very lucky to have found this set especially in new condition.

MILWRD, I'm not wild about such engines, but that does look good. Real good.

Richard E posted:

Originally Posted by breezinup:

Originally Posted by Richard E:

I have a pair of K-Line brown & orange Illinois Central Alco FAs. I am not sure how rare they are but I've never seen an other set.

In the 90s K-line made several AA sets of these small Alcos, including those ICs you have and also some Northern Pacific Loewy passenger scheme models, primarily to match several baby streamliner passenger car sets Lionel made at that time. Lionel only made some small steam engines to go with their cars. These FA engines are around, but I suspect most people have them with the passenger car sets and they don't come up all that often. These are the Lionel cars they were meant to go with:

 

I have the passenger cars as well. I also have the K-Line Northern Pacific Alcos and Lionel Passenger cars. Some years later K-Line offered an Alco B-unit

I have a complete set of IC K-Line Alcos and Lionel IC cars I also have a complete Northern Pacific Lowey train A few years later K-Line offered a matching B unit. They also offered PRR and NYC Alco AA locos to match Lionel's short streamliners.

#Overlandflyer

thanks Gary... rare for me.... "the critter" Bob, i'll take whats behind door #3

ChiTown Steve posted:

My CTA subway crème tops. There are lots of green tops out there, which I have and love. However my crème tops are the only ones I have ever seen.

 

These never made full production: http://mthtrains.com/content/30-2888-1