Im not sure if this is the location on the forum to put this, but I am looking to see if someone can help me find the value of the trains that I was recently given as a relative passed away. I dont know anything about brass trains, so I thought I would try and find people who know a lot about them, which is what brought me to this forum. There are 10 trains in total and I have no idea of any of their values. Any help that you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated. Below is the list as I can best describe. They all look brand new, and I dont think they were ever even displayed let alone run. United : Santa Fe model 2-10-2. United: B&O Power 2-8-0. Balboa: Sothern Pacific 0-8-0 United: C&O 2-6-6-2 Articulated Plain 2-4-2. Nickel plate products: DL&W 4-8-4 United: Southern Pacific 4-6-2 Nickel Plate products: CB&Q 2-10-4 United: Santa Fe 2-8-4 Bowser: Old Lady Constitution 2-8-0 slight assembly required but looks new
The appropriate forum is the Model Railroader general discussion forum. I will ask the moderator to move it there.
The honest answer to your basic question is - whatever someone is willing to pay for them. Some brass, auctioned on E-Bay, ends up going for premium prices. Other brass, under the same conditions, goes for scrap prices. The only way to judge the temperature of the water is to jump into the pool.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with Japanese-prototype brass that I won’t sell for any price)
There used to be a book published maybe 10-15 years ago that gave market prices for different vintage brass. Maybe someone can chime in here and point it out, possilby on amazon or chapters where it may even be available used for a few dollars. However, as Chuck says above, the ‘current’ market is on auctions where their true value, today, is reflected in the bids, but it takes some savvy to compare models and their condition.
It is also possible to get a lead on a local hobby club where members may be able to help if you find you can trust them. Same for a local hobby shop.
Some online hobby shops, such as canadianmodeltrain, and probably caboos hobbies, will take consignments, but you would want to agree to/negotiate a valuation for each item to ensure a reasonable payment.
Just some thoughts.
-Crandell
I only ask because I do know that certain hobbies seem to have set prices on things (if its MISB it is worth X, if its opened its worth Y, if its lightly used…you get the point) or at least estimates on what things are worth. Obviously it all depends on the bidders that are online that day or at the location at the day of how much things are worth, but most of the other hobbies I have can group things like this into brackets and I wasnt sure if brass trains worked the same way. I am not looking for an exact dollar amount, but more of an estimate…if one is possible.
If you look through the ads in Model Railroader magazine as well as other model railroad magazines you will find dealers who specialize in brass. Most have been around for many years and have a good reputations. If you E Mail them a list of what you have with several clear photos of each unit I imagine they will give you an estimate of their current value as well as what they are willing to pay if they are interested in them. Don’t ask for a lengthy reply in writing as most dealers charge for appraisals for estates and insurance, etc…
Well the Bowser Consolidation is a kit, not a brass model. It’s retail value wasn’t very high, but now that the kits have been discontinued you might find someone on ebay that wants one.
For the brass, brass usually holds it value pretty well, but what a particular engine is worth depends on a lot of things. Originally brass engines were unpainted brass and often had less than stellar motors. In recent years, brass engines are normally painted and lettered at the factory and feature state-of-the-art motors and gears and such so run very well. Except to a brass collector, I’d guess a factory painted good-running engine made recently is going to be more desired than an older unpainted brass engine.
I’d try doing an ebay search on each engine and see what they have sold for recently?? You could also go to a local RR flea market and find a dealer who sells brass (especially if he sells used / consignment engines) and arrange for him to take a look at them and give you an idea of their value.
Most of them are worth 500+…go look at my thread,what so big and about bass and why do they cost so much money…theres guy saying prices on there… I bet with that 2-6-6-2 would be 700+… Try to list them on ebay… you’ll get your money from there… A brass PRR T1 Duplex went for 750.00…look around on Ebay at brass trains and that can give you some ideas on what there going for…
John Glaab published The Brown Book of Brass Locomotives, 3rd ed., back in 1994 and for a time it was considered by many in the hobby as its pricing bible…although brass dealers generally regarded the prices as too low (no surprise there! [:-^]). There is a new publication that has only recently appeared that might tend to be more accurate in regard to current pricing BUT the way the market functions now and preceived values of brass has changed dramatically in recent years.
Whereas the marketplace was really under the control of the brass dealers for many year and they could more or less control the pricing, the rise of eBay changed all that, along with making the supposed value and prices paid for brass highly subjective. As was suggested upstream, brass models today are largely worth what some individual is willing to pay for them at a particular time and the figure can vary quite widely. That said, some idea of current pricing may be gathered from perusing the prices paid in concluded eBay auctions.
Incidentally, my copy of the Brown Book does not seem to list most of the models you cited as built by the manufactures you indicate. Perhaps they were produced after 1994.
CNJ831
I am honestly not looking to liquidate these right now, just more curious as to what they are worth if I did decide to sell them. Before I talked on here, I just presumed that they must be worth around $100-$200 a piece…with some being worth a bit more or less. I guess I was off by a bit on this guess.
It really varies, original box or not, any damage, painted, painted poorly or pro painted. Older brass doesnt fetch what it once did and the older Brown Book prices are actualy quite close or in some instances more than what the current street price is. The more plastic/diecast stuff that comes out, the value goes down on brass. Its all about location and model condition. I have seen a brass dealer at the large Wheaton IL train show with prices at pre ressesion levels not selling anything, lots of lookings and comments about horrible prices. On the other hand there are guys selling models from a collection at the same show for resonable prices given the current economic state of the country and they sold most of the models, and it wasnt to other dealers. I picked up a mint in the box, early run PFM/United Southern PS4 Pacific for $175. It was priced at $195 for previous 3 shows and didnt sell, I made an offer and he accepted. All of those are good models, espicaly the PFM/United ones. I would love to have the C&O 2-6-6-2, but its not worth no 500+! More like 275 to 300, they run smooth but very noisy. Better models have been made so the prices have come down. If you decided to sell them to a dealer, you would get 70% at best for each model. Ebay is a crap shot depending on the demand for that model. Do let me know if you decided to sell, I might be intested in the one model. Mike
Hi!
I am not a brass expert but have had lots of dealings with both HO and Lionel (postwar) trains on Ebay - both buying and selling.
Obviously the condition of the item is important, and some of the questions are: does it run, is it painted, parts missing or broken, quality of paint, etc., etc.
Another big factor is if you have the original boxes & papers. When I first got into this I was amazed at how much difference this can make pricewise.
Ebay is an excellent avenue for transactions, and I suggest selling train stuff in December - January to get more attention (& hopefully higher bids).
Oh, one word of sometimes hard to take advice… Various price guides will give you just that, a price GUIDE. While you may realize more, chances are much better that you will get less. In short, something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. Whether its houses or cars or model trains or coins, that is a fact of life.
Hope you do well,
Mobilman44
Those CB&Q 2-10-4’s generaly go between 150-250 on ebay. They are rather crude, even considering their age.
One of the best ways to get the going prices at this time is to check on Ebay and several good brass dealers that handle a good deal of models.
There are several good dealers that have some of the same items listed as you have. Check out the lists of brass on Caboose Hobbies, and The Caboose. The brass trains web site is one of my favorite places, but they are at the high end normally.
http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalog/index_brief.php
http://www.brasstrains.com/home.php
CZ
Caboose Hobbies many times have items with prices that are way out of line. Most are consignment items and have been on there for over a year, I know I have been watching some to see if they sell for the overinflated price! I look at all the model sources as well as speaking to dealers that deal in used brass. Check with Chuck Lambuth of Chuck’s Brass Trains from Kokomo IN. Very fair dealer and intune to what a “realistic” price is for brass right now. Ebay is very good when models are selling. Several nice PFM models on now that have no bids, like a nice N&W Class A with original box, no bids, $599 starting price. Was $699 last go around. Mike
They all look brand new, and I dont think they were ever even displayed let alone run. United : Santa Fe model 2-10-2. United: B&O Power 2-8-0. Balboa: Sothern Pacific 0-8-0 United: C&O 2-6-6-2 Articulated Plain 2-4-2. Nickel plate products: DL&W 4-8-4 United: Southern Pacific 4-6-2 Nickel Plate products: CB&Q 2-10-4 United: Santa Fe 2-8-4 Bowser: Old Lady Constitution 2-8-0 slight assembly required but looks new
I don’t have the Brown Book, but just by looking at the list, it would appear to me that those would date from the 60’s/70’s with possibly a run in the 80’s. However, the “Plain 2-4-2” makes no sense to me unless it was an Aristocraft model which was produced in the 60’s, IIRC. It also was not a brass model.
While it’s true that a brass locomotive is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, the idea that brass is an investment is a crock of rather low grade material that falls under a category of “other than Shinola”. That being said, if one knows approximately when a model was produced and by whom, one can come up with a pretty good estimate of what a model will go for.
The United 2-10-2 is a model of an ATSF 3800 class 2-10-2 in essentially as delivered condition (without the later modifications including disc main drivers and drifting valves). You might be able to get up to $400 for it, but a more likely price is in the $350 range
The B&O 2-8-0 is supposed to be a model of an E-27ca. To the best of my recollection, there are some inaccuracies in it, but I don’t remember what they are. Probably would sell for no more than around $325 or so.
The Balboa 0-8-0 dates from about the mid 60’s and is a model of an SP SE-4 engine. The prototypes were built using the boilers off retired A-3 4-4-2’s which were mated to new chassis. Although the SE-4 is a relatively rare model,
I can give you an idea on at least one of your brass locos, the United ATSF 2-10-2. When it was released around 1963 or so, the list price at my LHS then was about $69.50. The last time I saw one on consignment, several years ago, it was running for about $300. It was a well-made locomotive, nicely detailed for its time, and like most United models, had an extremely dependable drive mechanism, well weighted and balanced. Most United models will run much smoother with replacement of the older open-frame motor with a newer NWSL ‘can’ type.
The United models imported by PFM were reasonably priced for brass at that time, and were generally good runners and very respectable pullers. I have several United models on my brass roster, and though I’ve replaced the motors on most of them, they still remain very good locomotives even after 40+ years of service.
Tom [:)]
Andre,
Thank you for your reply, this was exactly what I was hoping to find. I am glad that I stumbled upon this website.
You guys were all a big help.
You’re welcome, but don’t take the figures I threw out as gospel. Those were ballpark figures and can vary considerably. I’ve occasionally seen brass locomotives go for prices that were so low that I kicked myself for not bidding despite having no particular interest in the item. By the same token, I’ve seen them go for prices that made me wonder what the guy who won was thinking.
Andre
Yeah, but Mike, you’ll never know because it is the second highest bidder that determines the winning price. For instance, suppose there was a once-high $200 bid and the subsequent bid was $500, but that $500 bid will be publicly displayed as something like $205. So, if at the last moment you bid $260 thinking you could win, you would have lost with the final price being $265 by the person who bid $500.
Mark
Yeah, but Mike, you’ll never know because it is the second highest bidder that determines the winning price. For instance, suppose there was a once-high $200 bid and the subsequent bid was $500, but that $500 bid will be publicly displayed as something like $205. So, if at the last moment you bid $260 thinking you could win, you would have lost with the final price being $265 by the person who bid $500.
Mark
Yeah I know that and that’s happened. The maximum I’ll bid for something I want is right around what I think the thing is actually worth. If someone else is willing to pay more, let them them toss their money around like a drunken sailor. There are a lot of people out there with more money than sense.
Going to the Roseville show this weekend?
Andre