Anyone know anything about Old Lionel trains ????

[Nick2317]

When my dad passed away I inherited his trains which were his fathers so they would be my granfathers trains from the late 40s early 50s and was wondering if anyone on here knows anything about them .....I have been told the one I have is rare and worth a good amount

 

[satman72]

Yes, some are quite rare and worth money to collectors.

You might want to check this site; http://www.lionelcollectors.org/ask-our-experts/faqs.aspx

 

[Montclaire]

Can you post some pictures? I can give you an idea

 

[RustyRatRod]

This would be a good place to start.

http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionelpriceguides.htm

I have been model railroading over 30 years. Lionel values can range from under 20 to several thousand. Some of the most valuable are the girls pink sets. There are repops out now but the originals are very valuable. I tried modeling Lionel, but I could never get past that third rail.

 

[roadrunnerman]

Is yours like the old steam engine? I've heard that can be worth a little bit of coinage.

 

[383man]

I got mine from my dad also. He bought all the ones I have in the 50's. I have the Locomotive with the whistle and smoke. When I was a kid we put pills in for smoke but now its a liquid you drop in. I also have a couple Diesel engines with the dummy cars and these cool very long brown passenger cars. I used to always put them up for my kids when they were younger. I am giving them to my kids now as my oldest is getting married and he wants them as I told him they will get them. Ron

 

[Ron 73]

I had one as a kid, ive heard the same things as some of them now are worth some money, Mine had a coal car behind the locomotive with i think it was 3 box cars and two flat cars, Mine had a liquid that you had to put a couple drops into the chimney for smoke, They were a well built set.

 

[Nick2317]

the one I have is a passenger car one with plastic in the windows of the passenger cars to make it look like there are people in the cars

 

[383man]

I had one as a kid, ive heard the same things as some of them now are worth some money, Mine had a coal car behind the locomotive with i think it was 3 box cars and two flat cars, Mine had a liquid that you had to put a couple drops into the chimney for smoke, They were a well built set.

I forgot about the coal car as I have that with my locomotive. The whistle is actually in the coal car. I have some pics of mine around somewhere as I will try to dig them up. Ron

 

[65 Plymouth Satellite 426]

They Sell Collector Guides For All That Lionel & American Flyer Stuff!

 

[Ron 73]

I forgot about the coal car as I have that with my locomotive. The whistle is actually in the coal car. I have some pics of mine around somewhere as I will try to dig them up. Ron

Cool, I don't remember if the one i had the whistle was in the coal car.. Id like to see your pictures though!

 

[copper67440]

I had one as a kid, ive heard the same things as some of them now are worth some money, Mine had a coal car behind the locomotive with i think it was 3 box cars and two flat cars, Mine had a liquid that you had to put a couple drops into the chimney for smoke, They were a well built set.

I think we have the same set. I'm 48 and still have it. I post a picture later

 

[Montclaire]

There were DOZENS of different sets per year, all are worth something, but they are not all worth their weight in gold, either. Again, I'd be happy to give you an idea of what you may have, but you need to post pics before I can tell you anything.

 

[69a100]

I'm also into Lionel, some of my stuff was my Dad's as well. My oldest Loco was made from 1919-23. Lots of Pre-war and postwar trains. As a matter of fact, I'm getting ready to put the layout up for the holidays/winter. It's starting to get to crappy to play with Mopars let alone outside. You can find out more about what you have here. http://www.postwarlionel.com/ The number on the car or loco is what your looking for & have. Post a list!!!

 

[Bruzilla]

My grandfather was the ultimate train collector. His whole basement was just one big platform about three feet off the ground that came up to the foot of the stairs. When you got to the bottom of the stairs, you had to get on your hands and knees and crawl to a little 5x5 foot area in the center where he would control hundreds and hundreds of trains.

I have found that train prices are a lot like our car prices. My grandfather gave my Dad and uncle American Flyer Frontiersman train sets when they got married, and told them they would be worth thousands some day. My Dad went to his grave thinking that train set was like gold, and he had no idea sets that were LNIB were selling for about $300 on ebay, and I just got a set without the box but with two extra cargo cars for $80.

Speaking generally though, I think Lionel was like the General Motors of trains, and American Flyer was Chrysler. Lionel produced thousands of sets for every set American Flyer put out, so American Flyer sets bring higher prices than Lionel most of the time. My Dad had an American Flyer New Haven set with the double engine that he used to run to save wear and tear on the Frontiersman set, and that New Haven set is worth a ton more than the Frontiersman.

 

[copper67440]

[SUB][/SUB]Here a couple pictures of my set and something else stored with it.

- - - Updated - - -

Another pic

 

[Bruzilla]

The Allegheny set sells for $50-$80 or so.

 

[copper67440]

.

 

[YY1]

Lionel was O (actually 0) gauge, which is a very old standard.

American Flyer, was S gauge, relatively new at the time.

S is still somewhat limited, but is really popular with narrow gauge and logging modelers, who are some of the most detail oreiented modelers alive. Not unusual to see board by board scale lumber construction of buildings, some with working shop equipment.

By contrast, O is still mainly a "toy train" market.

 

[Ron 73]

[SUB][/SUB]Here a couple pictures of my set and something else stored with it.

- - - Updated - - -

Another pic

I don't have the one i had but i remember the locomotive appeared older in the set i had, big bell shaped chimney i remember and i don't think the end car (caboose) was yellow, been 50 years ago for me or so.. memory not that good lol.. Thanks for posting the pictures though!