I bought a Lionel 400E Blue Comet awhile back as part of a big collection. I’ve searched around and in some Greenberg’s literature to nail down what I’ve got here.
I am somewhat familiar with what it is, but I could use some help in identifying more specifically the authenticity of this, and of course all the nuances to such a thing. Ultimately I’d like to sell the item.
Here’s what I know:
Lionel 400E with 400T tender.
Nickel Domes / Trim - supposedly pretty rare
Turned handrail stanchions
Tender ladder has small gusset attached
Previous owner claimed 1935. Literature says likely 1936
Known issues:
The boiler paint has some blotchiness to it. Perhaps this is due to temperature in a warm ga
That’s a really nice engine! Are you sure you want to sell it?
If so, I’d say don’t do a thing to it, leave it as is. Let any future purchaser mess with or replace parts as they see fit.
For pricing, you can check a current Greenberg’s guide, or go on E-bay to see if anyone’s on there selling one and what they’re asking for it. It’s a place to start.
Or, if there’s any auction houses in your area you can try to sell it through them. Many auction firms have specialists in various areas (Furniture, toys, jewelry, and so forth) who keep up with market trends and pricing. You’ll probably have to pay a fee to the auction house though, and an auction may or may not bring the price you’re looking for, it all depends who’s in the “audience” and what their interest is.
One other thing, once you’ve established the price you’d like to get The Train Shop might be willing to take it on consignment for you for a cut of the price. That would be between you and them but I think 25% would be reasonable.
Keep one thing in mind, the antique toy market is a bit “cold” right now. Only the mint condition pieces are bringing top dollar. Lesser condition, not so much.
According to the “Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains: 1900-1942” by David Doyle, Krause Publications, 2005 printing, this is a Type IX 400E.
The desrciption reads: “During 1935, the boiler bands on the blue locomotives, both with and without cream stripe, began to be painted the same medium blue color as the boiler. Previously they had been brass. At the same time, the wheel centers began to be painted black rather than red. The nameplate on the tender, which has nickel trim, began to have a red background painted on it.”
The descriptions of condition in this book follow the TCA standards.
VERY GOOD: Few scratches, exception ally clean, no major dents or rust.
EXCELLENT: Minute scratches or nicks, no dents or rust, all original, less than average wear.
LIKE NEW: Only the slightest signs of handling and wheel wear, brilliant colors and crisp markings; literally like new. As a rule, like new trains must have their original boxes in comparable condition to realize the prices listed in this guide.
MINT: Brand new, absolutely unmarred, all original and unused. Items dusty or faded from display, or with fingerprints from handling, cannot be considered mint. Although Lionel test ran their locomotives briefly at the factory, items “test run” by consumers cannot be considered mint. Most collectors expect mint items to come with all associated packaging with which they were originally supplied.
For the Type IX 400E the book values are VG $2000: EX $2500: LN: $3100 RARITY 5
So I would say the previous owner may be correct in saying it was 1935. Be aware also that Lionel dipped a lot of their products in paint so there can be an unevenness, inconsistency or even drips or runs on prewar piec
So here is the same loco currently on the Bay of E. This will give you an idea of what some are willing to pay. You have to be a Bay member and watch the item to see what it finally sells for as bids can run way up in the last 2 seconds for a desirable item (I have lost several items as a low ball bidder to see the bids go nuts).
Having some real experience with electroplating gold, silver, nickel, nickel does not directly bond well to other metals. A copper ‘strike’ of a few micro inches provides a bonding layer as copper plates well to many metals (I.e steel). So the copper layer under the nickel is likely normal And the nickel loves to bond to copper.
I just checked Mr. McClellan’s link to E-Bay and saw the last bid on that Blue Comet was $366.
No-one’s going to get that thing for $366! Either the bidding’s going to take off once the word gets around it’s available or the seller’s going to pull it.
5 days left to bid. The only time to see what really happens is the last few seconds. Low activity/bids may/will linger until then. No one shows their hand early on. I have lost many bids on Std Ga and other desirable items in the last few seconds when the bids go way above my maximum I am willing to pay. Like many, I wait until the last minute or less to see if I want to up my max if I get outbid. But others (currently 7 bidders at this time on this item) may already have an auto-bid max higher and all you see is your bid failed and you might get a chance to raise it again. There are many times a watcher that has not bid is lurking and if things look reasonable will try to enter a last moment bid. Kinda fun and irritating.
The E-B auto-bid function can go so fast you will not even see where they are coming from.
Looking again at the photos, the item on E-B looks to be the same As described above.
For me Roy has the right idea but I would go a step farther.
Go to Ebay and do an advanced search on it as sold items and you can see what they have fetched
That’s all? I thought it would fetch at least $1,000. I guess the toy market’s softer than I thought it was.
Not such good news for the seller, but on the other hand it could be good news for the rest of us who’d like an original and don’t mind a bit of wear on it if it’s priced right.