a friend of mine asked me for helping him thinning its HO collection, so he just went by and gave me a big box with lot of trains in it. Now i´m in the process of viewing what i got and found a pair of F units, with heavy die-cast shell, moveable paper diaphragms and “Varney 1940” casted at the inside. Can anybody give me some more information about those models? How old they are, how expensive they are today, etc.
I found some streamlined Santa Fe cars in the box too, with metal trucks and the same paper diaphragms, are they from Varney too?
Varney went out of business a very long time ago. The car molds went to Hong Kong and ended up in the cheap Lifelike stuff. B powser ended up with some locos and at least one is still around as a kit. The passenger cars are likely Varney too, again made by Lifelike. There is a whole Greenberg book covering the Varney line.
All I know about Varney is that they often used John Allen’s Gorre and Daphetid to showcase their products. I believe it was the only time John Allen allowed a diesel on his layout. He even had a figure hanging from a tree and if someone asked him what that was about, he just replied “Diesel salesman”.
Seriously though, if you have Varney equipment in the original boxes and the documentation, I would think they would have great value as collector’s items. You might want to consult with an appraiser if you are thinking of selling them. He would naturally charge you a fee but it might prevent you from letting them go for far less than what they are worth. The other option is to put them out on e-bay with a high minimum and see if you get any takers.
Get hold of the Greenberg book on Varney Trains–it lists everything that Gordon Varney ever manufactured and the recent collector’s prices. the book’s about $40, but it’s really worth it. You can probably find it at your LHS, or they’ll order it for you. I have a copy, and I was absolutely amazed at the amount of product that came from the Varney line. I have several old metal Varney freight cars that I run on my Yuba River Sub, and they fit right in with my newer freight equipment with little problem. They were really well made.
Tom [:D]
i think i´m not able to get this book. As you have one, can you maybe take a look in it for me? I made a few images of the locos/shell, it would be nice if you could tell me something about it.
Bowser still makes the Varny 2-8-0 and 4-6-0 Locomotvie kits in kit form. They also have the old sheet brass Varny Box Car and Reefer kits to, THough they currently only list undec instock. But I have seen them on ebay in Roadnames like Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Balitimore & Ohio, and Pennsy.
The Varney F unit pulled like the dickens. The wheelbase of the EMD trucks was not exactly scale and the detail on the F3 is blunt, but if you have one in working order that is powered on both trucks, it really hauls. Alas the zinc alloy castings on mine more or less crumbled into dust years ago.
Varney was good quality stuff in its day. Varney later sold its name to an outfit that was low price, low quality (although some interesting stuff, incluidng an RS11 if I recall right).
There ARE some Varney collectors out there by the way
Dave Nelson
Life-Like isn’t crap. It actually ran better than the Kato trains which I was looking at when I purchased my train. Watch what you say…Plz don’t insult companies!!
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Life-Like isn’t crap. It actually ran better than the Kato trains which I was looking at when I purchased my train. Watch what you say…Plz don’t insult companies!!
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Well, there’s Life Like today and there’s the “Classic” Life Like of the 70’s and 80’s- and there has been a huge improvement! Balky, poorly running and poorly detailed at best, I bought one when I was about 12 and swore it would be my last. I didn’t believe they actually would improve until the first P2K units arrived, and I was happy to see they were getting MUCH better!
But back to the Varney stuff- The F units aren’t that rare, the all metal ones (with metal sideframes and trucks) usually go for about $20-$30, more if they’re factory painted and in nice shape. The plastic versions are about half of that.
The original Varney steam locomotives are getting VERY collectable, especially the “Supers”. Heck, even the original Super motors alone are bringing big money on eBay. A couple years ago you could buy a Super Pacific for $50, today they’re routinely over $200. Even the Economy versions and the old stand bys like the Old Lady and Consolidation are two or three times what they were.
