A few days ago while searching for some vinyl records in the attic of my inlaw’s I came across a box of Lionel trains. Inside of a reddish-brown box, pencilled with a date from 1949, was a single train. The box itself was in good condition if it is truly 50+ years old and from a quick glance at the train, it looked good too. There was quite a few boxes with trains, some loose, and some other stuff that I didn’t take much notice of. As you can likely already tell, I don’t have any knowledge about these Lionel trains, or any trains for that matter. Today I may go take a closer look and a picture or two. I would like some help identifying what is there and finding a home where they would be more appreciated.
Hopefully this post does not violate any forum quidlines. If a regular poster would let me know that would be appreciated. I wi***o post a reply to this with more detail and a picture or two.
There’s nothing wrong with your posting. You’re far from the first to ask this kind of question.
Until recent times, most toy trains had the model number on the piece as the number of the prototype. So those numbers printed on the sides of the pieces are by far the most important information for identifying what you have.
All good responses so far and I’d only add that I belong to a train club that has several layouts including a three rail (Lionel&Marx) so if you have a club in your area I’d suggest you take your train there. Even though we have only a few members interested is this size there is usually someone there who will be more than willing to look at what you have and give you some information on it. There’s usually a price guide somewhere around the clubroom and we have a track to test equipment. Most three railers are a pretty friendly lot and we probably see some attic or basement Lionel show up at the club nearly every month. Most of it is about what you would expect but once in a while a real gem shows up and that’s really fun for all of us. Ole
Assume they are worth nothing and you might be pleasantly surprised. Assume they are worth their weight in gold and you will be dissapointed.
Your find does sound interesting. If you decide to keep them, fixing them up can be alot of fun. If you decide to sell you can maximize your return by selling them on ebay or to a private party. Some clubs also buy stuff to run on public nights (I know our club in Houston does). If they are not interested usually someone in the club will be. Finally, you can take it to a local hobby store but will usually recieve a fairly low bid (he has to make money to keep the lights on and to stock the item). You might make a little more by selling them consignment instead of outright.
That’s a few pictures. There’s also 2 “lead” cars, or engines. Theres a box with tracks and small stuff like that bridge pictured above. There was also a crossing guard i think it was. It was a guy with a lantern that came out of a door, likely when the train passed it. The only numbers I’ve got so far are:
Looks like a 1946 set # 1400, which included the 221 and the three passanger cars 2430 twice and 2431. The Sunoco dual dome and the gonola were probably add ons picked up along the way, likewise the bridge. The 221 is the first post war production offered by Lionel in 1946, when they got back to the business of making trains.
I’m not good at pricing, so I won’t venture a guess, the condition of the boxes makes me believe the trains would not be considered to be “like New” or “Excellent”, but it’s probably worth more than a couple of hundred bucks.
As a post war fan, I would certainly be interested in knowing what else you find.
Yes, it does sound link it could be set #1400. The passenger cars looked to be in very good condition, with only minor scratches. The engine is likely in fair condition. There was another slightly larger engine that was in better condition. There was also a grey car marked with NEW YORK. There was also a caboose. Shoot…I’ll get the rest of the numbers tomorrow.
The car that is labeled New York is probably teh tender, which should say New York Central- however I believe these were decals and chiped away easily.
If you list all of teh numbers, or as many as your are inclined to, I can get a better idea.
Hi Ken,
All the replies you have gotten look like good advice to me. Only one thing to add. Don’t underestimate the value of the boxes these pieces can in. Good money is spent every day in the auctions for empties. Collecting vintage Lionel is a fascinating hobby but can become addicting[^][^]. As I mentioned in my e-mail, I recommend you watch the auctions carefully before you sell anything to get a feel for the market. A Greenberg price guide is also a great idea.
Prices are from the 2005 Greenberg’s price guide for items in good/excellent condition and do not include value of boxes. They are average prices paid at train meets around the country in 2003. YMMV!!
I have all 3 boxes sitting next to me at this moment. I will post the entire contents within the hour. I truly appreciated the help and kindess of you all!
Thanks,
Ken
The Lionel dealer closest to me assigns a value of 10% of the value of the item for a box. Higher if the box is in really good shape. I’ve got a 6465 tanker with a box; considering the condition my tanker is in, the box is probably worth more than the car.
As far as condition, “Fair” indicates paint loss and probably missing parts. Your locomotive would have to be a lot worse than your other stuff to grade out to Fair.
could be a 1477s set with the 2026. While nothing is uncommon with great value, it is nice find. ANd you did a nice job of whipping the whole works into a site. The station platform appears to be missing teh four billboards that some with it, but it a nice little piece of nostalgia. As is the #71 lamp. I have a bunch of those and am always looking for more to light up a trolley line.
If you end up deciding to sell the trains, I would be interested in several items. Feel free to email me - wallofknowledge@comcast.net.
It looks to me like it probably started out as a couple of sets but there are a lot of add-on accessories there. I suspect some of the cars were added later too. The 221 dates from 1946, while the 2026 is later, cataloged from 1948-1953. So I suspect what you’ve got there are a couple of big Christmas presents and several birthday presents and/or smaller Christmas presents from the late 1940s, especially since one of your boxes had “1949” written on it.
It’s nice stuff. Obviously it was played with, but it seems to have been cared for pretty well. The 2430s and 2431 also date from 1946, so I suspect the 221 and the 2430s and 2431 went together. The 2465 and 3459 also date from 1946, so maybe they were bought as add-ons.
The 2026 went with the other freight cars. The freights are common and cheap–anywhere from $8 to $20. As it turns out, my Dad had a 2026, a 1034 transformer, and the same gondola, box car, and caboose you have. Your 2026 is pretty nice, so it would probably fetch $150.
The only price guide I have handy is the dated O’Brien guide, but it lists values of $17 for the 2465, and $80 for the 3459. But I’m pretty sure I’ve seen black 3459s sell for closer to $100 recently.
The transformers are nothing special. They’re enough to handle the pair of trains running on a 4x8 board, but both trains and all of the accessories running at once is likely pushing their capabilities. But you could add a third transformer to run accessories for not much money–a 40- or 50-watt box typically sells for under 20 bucks.
45N Automatic Gateman (1945) $37/65
71 Lamp Post (1949-59) $11/21
154 Automatic Highway Signal (1945-69) $19/46
156 Station Platform (1946-49) $48/105
221 2-6-4 Steamer, Gray (1946) $80/165
221W (priced with 221)
314 (mentioned in earlier post)
1021 O-27 90-degree crossover (1945-54) $2/5
2026 2-6-4 Steamer (1951-53) $40/80
6466T (priced with 2026)
2257 Lionel Lines SP Caboose (1947) $7/11
2430-1 (mentioned in earlier post)
2430-2 (mentioned in earlier post)
2431 (mentioned in earlier post)
2465 Sunoco tank car (1946-48) $10/21
3459 (mentioned in earlier post)
6012 Lionel gondola (1951-56) $2/7
X6014 Baby Ruth boxcar, white (1951-56) $5/9
6017 Lionel Lines caboose (1951-62) $3/9
6019-1 O-27 Remote Control Track (1948-66) $2.50/10
6019-2 (same)
2452X Pennsylvania RR gondola (1946-47) $6/18
1034 Transformer, 75W (1948-54) $22/38
1046 (no information available)
NOTE: 1400W O-27 Passenger Set (1946) included 221/221W, 2430 (2), and 2431.
1477S O-27 3-car Freight Set (1951-52) included 2026/6466T, 6012, 6014, and 6017.
As before, prices are from Greenberg’s 2005 price guide for good/excellent conditions. The 45S is missing the (black?) finial (cover) that goes on the top of the signpost. The 156 and 6017 would grade much less than good due to the broken roofs. OTOH, the decal on the 2465 looks to be in excellent shape.
I couldn’t find anything on the 1046 transformer in the Greenberg’s price guide (prewar, postwar, or modern), Greenberg’s postwar servcie manual, or David Doyle’s Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains, 1945-69. I’m stumped on this one!
Before you expect to find a bunch of slavvering train fanatics lined up at your door with wads of cash in their hot hands you must bear in mind that if we were all as eager to snap up old trains we would all be either driving Rolls Royces or living in the poorhouse. Just because Lionel trains are old doesn’t mean that they are particularly worth a lot of money. My late mother used to tell me never to play another man’s game. Among collectors the key to the bank is RARITY. Lionel may have made ten thousand blue trains and two hundred similar trains that were red. The red ones might be worth a lot of money(to some victim) but the blue ones are a dime a dozen. Believe me if you get an offer, any serious offer take it. Your trains are not rare nor pristine. They are nice but perhaps you might want to keep them and refurbi***hem and run them yourself. After all, you’ll never find them any cheaper. Odd-d
