Whats your Holy Grail Item or items and Have you found it?

I had been looking for a postwar Lionel baby blue auto forever, and finally found one. That was a hunt that went on for 13 years!

Now I'm looking for an MTH Navy Seabee crane and boom tender.

I have a fondness for the brands less pursued - all these are from the 50s:

Deses Mexican made diecast F units - 2 pair of A-B units in NdeM green/orange

AMT B&O and Silver Streak F units - 1 of each

Thomas Industries metal 4-4-0 and coaches

I hereby award you 10 'Attaboys' for this one, Dave!!  We are of kindred minds/spirits on perspectives...and the 'Good Deal'! 

Way....To.....Go!!

KD

Trying to find an MTH Premier UP/SP Heritage extended vision caboose from the set. I went scale-wheeled on the locomotives and have been picking up the cabooses one at a time.

The last of my "Holy Grail" items that I haven't found is the add-on diner for my MTH/Ives Standard Gauge 3245 passenger set in Hiawatha colors. I've seen a couple for sale but at ridiculous prices.

I was looking for a few other things but found them within the past year. There was the late version of the Weaver brass Hiawatha 4-6-4, with TMCC and a Mars light. I now have two of them plus most of a third, none currently operating. Both the complete ones have cosmetic or operating problems, but with the other parts I will be able to put together one to keep and one to sell, and then see what's left over. I've also been looking for the one-car add-on for the passenger set that goes with that engine - finally found that a few months ago. Paid too much, but not off the planet like the prices for that Standard Gauge diner. My last Holy Grail was a Standard Gauge tinplate McKeen car and I finally found one of those too.

Mine is a Revell Kenworth Bekins tractor trailer in 1/48 scale.....made only in the mid fifties before the mold was trashed for the trailer.  What a peeze !

I been wanting a n&w j for some years now.It was alway out of reach thou price whise.Any way while on the internet.I came across a j for sale.It was early railking I got it and.I am very happy with it.It has a american flyer type smoke unit the pistion type.It looks real cool runing.And will pull with the best of them.I may have a better sounding whistle installed.But that will be the only thing.

Speaking of Standard Gauge, I've yet to come across a Lionel #19 combine car in excellent condition.  Looking for the latest version from '23-'27 in dark olive green.  I've owned the matching coach and observation since the late '80's.  That auction site might have had a handful of 19's in suitable condition in the last 20 years but I don't do auctions.  Most need total restorations and I won't go there.

Bruce

2009 Pontiac G8 GXP 6 speed manual in silver

Atlas RS-1 in Chicago and Northwestern paint -- got it last year after looking for 10 years - now Atlas is bringing the RS-1 back again.

I have been looking for a Post War Red Lettered Western Pacific 6464-1 for a very long time, like 10 years  Found one in great shape right under my nose (less than 30 miles away)last year.

Paul Edgar

My Holy Grail is my Lionel #6-11127 Southern Pacific "Daylight" Legacy, Scale, 4-8-4, GS-4, #4436.  The "other grail" that I search for and would like to find some day is the Sunset Models SP 2472 4-6-2 Pacific.

Matt

Very cool

3Rd Rail UP "Early Challenger." The Fetter's Challenger.  

Wanted: since new in 2001.  

Found: both this year.  

Took almost 14 yrs to hunt them down.  It was the only 'must have' locomotive I've ever wanted.  My UP steam locomotive collection is complete, anything from here is just 'icing on the cake" as they say!

This is the one 

My search for my Holy Grail lasted less than a week after I decided I wanted one. The Leviathan replica spent a week at the Lorain & West Virginia in nearby Wellington, Ohio and it jogged my memory that hidden in the MTH 2009 catalog was a Premier Line model of it! Chances of ever finding one would be slim but the very next week I go to York for the first time with Stockyard Express and what do I find in the Brown Hall? Why an MTH model of Leviathan! I immediately bought it! It had no box but when I got it home it only had 13 miles on it so it was nearly brand new. I tried to find the matching Central Pacific passenger cars but I have yet to find them. I've since settled for the Union Pacific cars which I think look just fine with the engine.

Nice

I finally found mine completely by accident - guess where?

I bid on it.

I was well in the lead - until within four seconds of the auction end two other guys cut in and boosted the price well beyond my bid and I'd no time to increase it. 

Should have gone for "buy it now" in the first place.

Now I can't even bear to tell you what it was! 

I have two K-Line aluminum PRR passenger sets that are both missing one car to complete the set.  One set is made up of 21" cars, and the other is 18" cars.  I've been looking for the 18" car (Chambersburg Inn Pullman) for nearly 6 years, the 21" car (Huron Rapids) for about 3 years.  I couple of times over the years I've seen them in sets, but not by themselves.  I may have to buy a whole another set to get them.

I guess these are my Holy Grails as for as trains are concerned.

My Holy Grail (or retirement) engines are the:

Norfolk Southern ES44AC/ES44DC (Regular Version)

Amtrak Acela

and the R143/R160 subway train

I'm still waiting for at least the ES44 engine.

Since I first got into o-gauge it was a lionel postwar santa fe f3.  mostly because my first ho set was headed by an sf f3, and this book spurred my imagination:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Migh...-Hooks/dp/0027444325

I saved my money and found one on ebay with the AB units, and 2530, 2532, 5333, and the PRR Alexander Hamilton passenger cars.  I have since sold the PRR observation, picked up the silver dawn observation (currently in restoration), and am keeping my eye out for an affordable 2534 silver bluff pullman.

Also always wanted a 282 magnetic gantry crane.  got an original 282R fully serviced and rewired on ebay for $90, it's everything I ever hoped it would be! haha.

now it's more of just the "that would be cool to have" list:

2 car add on for the k-line tuscan broadway limited madison set (shorter version)

postwar lionel n&w J (had one once along with a NH F3 AB set in the master carton, but that's a story for another time)

k-line or MTH (think they made one) NYC empire builder streamlined hudson (i'm mostly a PRR guy, but that is one cool looking engine)

Atlas turntable (not that i have room for it)

some postwar accessories i've had my eye on

and i could go on...

A pre-production Legacy NYC F7 ABA prototype set.

6 GN and 6 NYC ABA sets were made for the 6 members Legacy designers group; these are prototype shells on hand-modified F3 frames and hand assembled to test the Legacy control system...  Corrections to this set were made prior to going into production with the F7s and the Legacy systems.

I was lucky enough to score a NYC set from one of the original team members, design engineer and patent holders of the Legacy system this spring. (If you're reading this, THANK YOU!)

As far as I'm concerned , this set is priceless and represents a major step forward in our hobby.  They are the pride of my collection, and sit in their original boxes and shipping carton.  And, yes... of course I test ran them!

I lost all my photos when my computer crashed, so I'm sorry I don't have any good photos of them.

Thanks,

- Mario