Hello
At a upcoming local auction they have a Lionel o-gauge Commodore Vanderbilt. It’s a tender 265W Blue GreenTrain Engine, comes with cars 617,618 and also 619. Can anyone give me a idea on value. They do look in bad shape but i dont know anything about these. Thanks
That’s the Blue Streak set. According to David Doyle’s pre war book, it was produced from 1936 - 1938. Check Ebay finished auctions to get an estimate of recent auction prices.
Jim
The Blue Streak set is a wonderful set and was modeled after the famous Rexall train. Anyway, in addition to the restored cab reducing its value, the set is missing a vestibule (the special wheel set that connects the passenger cars). This will greatly lower its value. Also, if the whistle in the tender is not working or damaged will further limit its value. Finally, it would be good to know if the engine actually runs. Basically, I would call this a restoration piece and I wouldn’t pay more than $100 to $150 since I would have to put several hundred more dollars to get it up and running. I’ve seen several restored Blue Streak sets sell for $350 to $450. Still, if I had the time, the passenger cars appear straight and at least with this one picture it looks like a great candidate for restoration.
Hello All!
I would not be surprised if Lionel re-issued the Blue Streak in the Prewar Celebration Series as they now have the New Tooling to make one.(Check out the Flying Yankee & Red Streak Sets in the New Catalog) I hope they do & maybe it will appear in the Next Catalog or in the 2009 Vol 1 Catalog. The above photo also shows why Reproduction Tinplate is an excellent choice for a viable product line in Lionel’s Catalog. To buy the above train, you will have to pay the auction fees,shipping & handling & when it arrives at your door, you will have to locate One Vestibule,One Truck for the Cars & a Rear Trailing Truck for underneath the Engine Cab & if you factor in the cost of Paint for such a restoration you will have just about spent what it would cost to buy a Reproduction & I forgot to mention that the Motor & E-unit could benefit from a overhaul which would likely include a new set of Brushes for the Motor & a Drum/& Finger set for the E-unit. No savings here. Just my [2c] worth. Take Care.
The train comes with the vestibule i think,(its kinda a round thing, that go between the cars) its just in another photo.
I might not even restore this set if it were mine. To me it borders on a line of good enough to clean up replace missing parts paint match the cab and call it good. I would also agree that this type train (condition wise) is probably the easiest to restore since it is not rusty, or dented and most everything is present. The wheels should clean up.