What was your most unique purchase?

This tree house and Department 56 Diner, purchased at a gift shop where there were no trains, but I like the look of them together on the layout:

Arnold

This one is simple. My Dynamometer Car by Brother Love. Thankfully NWHS had the blueprints available. And Weaver was still selling Scalecoat paint. I have 1 of 4. An absolute work of art. My 3rd Rail N&W 2300 was incomplete without it.

Second place, my Natty Boh cars. I have 2 of 256.

Probably not as unique as some, but here are two MTH products.

American Rolling Mill Co. 'ARMCO' caboose for the former Armco, now AK Steel plant a mile from our house in Butler.

Mon Valley Works - Edgar Thompson Steel Mill in Braddock tank car, where my uncle worked after returning from WWII until 1970.

Nice topic, John.

This illuminated campfire. However, it may not have been a purchase, but rather a throw in when I bought something else at a train show, so it may not wa qualify as a unique purchase:

Arnold

I am pretty sure it is a brass Sykes rail bus, probably brought in during '50's-'60's, maybe as a sample. Have never heard of another.  Wish l had a handy photo, and a McKeen car to go with it.

I guess this would qualify. A co-worker was clearing out his parents house last Spring and came across his Dad's old trains. He knew I was a O gauge nut so he asked....I don't think he finished asking before I said YES!

Both vestibules and the original transformer and rheostat are in the bag. 

The bonus was he threw in his childhood Scout set that he didn't want any more.

To date, my most unique purchase was my two Weaver DLW Poconos and matching DLW Keyser cabooses.  All are excellent scale representations of the prototypes. I waited a lifetime for them to be made and doubt that they will ever appear again. In second place would be my 3rd Rail Erie S3 Berkshire and matching Dunmore caboose.*

All  were fulfillment of lifelong wishes and represent part of my family history.  Here ends my train bucket list.

Earl

* I was born across the street where the Cabooses were assembled.

A C-D (Cleveland) Models S Scale 4-6-0 from the late 1950's, by way of two Estates.  The boiler is wood, cab smokebox front and tender shell are embossed cardstock.

It has a rudimentary constant lighting circuit and runs just fine.

Rusty

My most unique purchase I have not received yet. It’s a Lehigh Valley C420 in yellow and gray with a black roof paint scheme. Only 25 made from MrMcmuffin trains

Gilly@N&W posted:   Second place, my Natty Boh cars. I have 2 of 256.

 

Like Gilly, the two Natty Boh cars are my most unique purchase.  The whole experience was unique.

Mine was a case of not knowing what I had. About 5 years ago, I saw a brass New Haven Pacific on flea bay. On close inspection of the photos, I saw it had lots of great detail and looked in excellant shape. It had no box or known maker, but had sound and a very reasonable price. So I bought it, figuring at some point to research it. In testing it after arrival, I found that it wouldn't run on my layouts curves, so it went into in train display cabinet and forgotten until I sold it for what I had in it to make room for another engine.  

Shortly there after, I ran accross a photo of that engine and descriptive info indicating that it was a late Weaver Models Brass I-4 New Haven Pacific with TMCC & Railsound that had very limited production.   Oh well...win some, lose some.

Rust,

Your 4-6-0 is impressive. I would like to see a thread about custom and kit made engines from the past. The old O-scalers had some of the most unique engines.  We don't see much of them anymore.  Thanks for sharing. Earl

Like TRAINBOB above, my most unique purchase is one of the special NYC J3A Hudson engines offered by Pat's Trains.

Santa Fe 60' heavyweight baggage car from an American Standard kit assembled and detailed by Terry Nelms.  Awarded Second Place(Passenger Car) at the March Meet several years go.  The four white lockers are steel bars.  The roof has four magnets aligned with those bars keep the roof in place.  Last photo shows this masterpiece  with a bashed X-42.          John in Lansing, ILL

Lionelski posted:

What was your most unique purchase? Mine was actually unique in two different ways:

1) Everything was wrapped first in tissue paper, then in tinfoil (!?), then stuffed in their boxes. Has anyone else found trains wrapped in tinfoil? Might have been a good idea as the trains were in perfect condition.

2) The other unique thing about this "collection" was a very well made flat car. Early postwar coil couplers and trucks, a sturdy sheet metal frame, and hinges spot welded to it to make fold down sides. I wonder if anyone here made it? 

Here is another unique purchase I made.

My SUV had TOYTRN vanity plates on it when I took it to my favorite pinstriper. He asked about the plate and asked if I buy old trains. I told him that I did and he took me into another room of the warehouse he did his pinstriping in. There on a huge table was the biggest pile of trains I ever saw.

He said $1,000, I said yes immediately. (As I went through them later when I got home I found that they were worth at least four times that). I went to the bank for cash and stopped at a supermarket and two liquor stores for boxes - every inch of my SUV was filled with trains, from the front passenger seat to the rear compartment.

Unexpectedly buying such a large amount of trains at one time may, in itself, have been unique, but there was something really special here. THIS WAS THREE GENERATIONS OF TRAINS: His grandfather's Standard gauge, his father's pre-war American Flyer O gauge and his postwar Lionels

I purchased a Lionel 1862 4-4-0 General and tender with the homemade wooden cow catcher and cab at a TCA train show in Ponchatoula, LA.  Someone went to a lot of effort and a did good job.  I wonder what, if anything, happened to the original plastic cab and cow catcher.

Charlie

Choo Choo Charlie posted:

I purchased a Lionel 1862 4-4-0 General and tender with the homemade wooden cow catcher and cab at a TCA train show in Ponchatoula, LA.  Someone went to a lot of effort and a did good job.  I wander what, if anything, happened to the original plastic cap and cow catcher.

 

Charlie

I love it Charlie, one of a kind

The first time I rode the TX CHIEF/LONE STAR, I had change trains in Newton KS for the train to Dodge City.  Sitting next to the platforms was a crane car and tender.  I had to have one....

The first time I went to Chicago on Amtrak about 1975, there was a hobby shop next to St. Peter's Inside the Loop Catholic Church on State Street.  They had lots of PW all over the store.  There was this huge ABA ATSF F# passenger train with 2500 series cars with Lionel Lines in the CAL ZYP type font.  OK, I just got off the SW Limited, the new name for the SUPER CHIEF.  But the set was $500.  No way.  But there was the red 8 wheel crane car and matching grey work tender.  About $50.00.  Liked it, but walked away...

Got back to Houston.  Could kick myself for not getting it.  Next year I took Amtrak and ended up back in the Windy City.  Got it.  They wrapped it up well.  Went home on the PANAMA LTD and SUNSET.  Come home in one piece...

A Western Pacific 4 axle in the dark green color scheme.  It is smallish but it is 3 rail.  Lionel with tmcc and sounds.  Horn is startling, runs perfect.  Never seen another one for sale.  Anyone here have one of these?

DM,  love Newton Kansas, great old depot and long platform, still has the turntable in use. 

A western coil and electric Zephyr from a small town paper ad. With diaphrams and original wooden tied track, which I found my brother burned 4 yrs ago. 

A western coil and electric Zephyr from a small town paper ad. With diaphrams and original wooden tied track, which I found my brother burned 4 yrs ago. 

KMT Santa Fe f-units

wb47 posted:

DM,  love Newton Kansas, great old depot and long platform, still has the turntable in use. 

And Middle Div HQ railroad direction just E of the station?

Also saw a U30CG in Bluebonnet...

Thread drift.  But that combo reminds me of 2 nights over 40yrars ago....

To add to the thread drift, we are looking at a house in Newton, KS...

Unique - adjective - 
being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.

An item is either unique, or it isn't.  There are no shades of grey.  One item cannot be more unique than another.

Sorry - I kept trying to not post, but it is in the title.

Well it's not a train; but it's certainly the most unique Lionel item that I ever bought.

I just picked it up on the bay after reading about it on TTML last week.

I sure dont want to get anyone upset about unique, but here goes my stories.

I was brand new in the hobby and did not know what a Hellsgate bridge looked like.  I bought a nice collection that had a large bridge with Lionel track screwed to it.  There was a 38 water tank and several nice motorized units.  

When I got home and looked up Hellsgate bridge it wasn't close.  This bridge was single track, in 3 pieces, and 71 inches long.  It had no markings at all.

I took it to a TCA meet thinking someone would know what it was and tell me what it was.  Many people did know what it was but they just wouldn't tell me until I sold it to them.  I learned a lot about TCA people thst day

It turned out to be a Marklin 1 gauge bridge hand made and hand painted in 1907.  It was worth several thousand dollars.  I sold it at York to a man from New Jersey who was honest with me and gave me a bunch of information on it.

The other item was a postwar merchandise car that throws out cubes.  Supposed to be silver with Blue letters.  The night before going to a train show, I was reading in a Greenberg book that there were 12 known that had red letters.  First table inside the show had one red letter car in a early postwar set.  I didn't hesitate to buy the set just to get that car. 

My post unique purchase to date is from the Metca "9026" Spirit of The Union Pacific Run. Always a looker next to its 1943 counterpart. 

vash44 posted:

My post unique purchase to date is from the Metca "9026" Spirit of The Union Pacific Run. Always a looker next to its 1943 counterpart. 

I'm flattered to have my brainchild mentioned in the post above.  Everyone that has the 1943/9026 combo loves the look of them double-headed as shown in the picture.

We're sold out of those loco's but if anyone wants the matching 9026 Spirit of Union Pacific LionScale PS-1 Box Car, we have 4 left and they're in stock.  Go to the METCA store:

https://metca.org/store.html

Stu

NOT LionelLLC posted:

vash44 posted:

My post unique purchase to date is from the Metca "9026" Spirit of The Union Pacific Run. Always a looker next to its 1943 counterpart. 

I'm flattered to have my brainchild mentioned in the post above.  Everyone that has the 1943/9026 combo loves the look of them double-headed as shown in the picture.

We're sold out of those loco's but if anyone wants the matching 9026 Spirit of Union Pacific LionScale PS-1 Box Car, we have 4 left and they're in stock.  Go to the METCA store:

https://metca.org/store.html

Stu

 

This, and a number of other posts here like it are nice, and I'm glad that you shared, but I was looking for unique items in this thread.

Perhaps there can be a "favorite item" thread created for these non-unique treasures?

Lionelski posted:

NOT LionelLLC posted:

vash44 posted:

My post unique purchase to date is from the Metca "9026" Spirit of The Union Pacific Run. Always a looker next to its 1943 counterpart. 

I'm flattered to have my brainchild mentioned in the post above.  Everyone that has the 1943/9026 combo loves the look of them double-headed as shown in the picture.

We're sold out of those loco's but if anyone wants the matching 9026 Spirit of Union Pacific LionScale PS-1 Box Car, we have 4 left and they're in stock.  Go to the METCA store:

https://metca.org/store.html

Stu

 

This, and a number of other posts here like it are nice, and I'm glad that you shared, but I was looking for unique items in this thread.

Perhaps there can be a "favorite item" thread created for these non-unique treasures?

Happy to hear you enjoyed the post John. Wish it was more unique (a 1 of 50 or so). I don't have anything that is truly unique in the sense of a 1 of 1 but do look forward to future posts.

I don’t know if this thing is unique, but I know I haven’t seen another. A few years ago, I was wandering a flea market, and I stopped in front of a bunch of train stuff a guy was selling. He wanted to offload all of it, and told me he would take $400. I wasn’t really shopping, and I didn’t respond, so the guy continued negotiating with himself until he got down to $100.00. I packed up several boxes of stuff and went home. Found this old gondola in a generic box. Seems like it is made of wood, has Lionel pre-war trucks, and the word Westbrook on the bottom. Sadly, two of the body “seams” have fallen off, but it is otherwise in nice shape.

I never saw one like that Chris.

Thanks for sharing

Chris, Westbrook was a two rail O scale manufacturer in the forties. They made above average kits.  Doug