Found A Large Box Of Trains HELP!!!!!


T

TallOneJosh

New Member
Hello I just found a large box of old trains, parts and other random pieces.... I was into trains and such when i was a kid and was given a toy story themed train set, but i have been in the rc car and heli hobby more and haven't really gotten into trains much.
The other day i was going through a bunch of old boxes in my garage and i came across a box of old trains and accessories and i'm not sure what im gonna do with it all. I'm thinking about selling it, but im really not sure what i have or what any of this stuff is worth, so i was hoping that some of you guys on the forums might be able to tell me what i have. Thanks i would greatly appreciate it.

Here are some pics of what i found...
Engines
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dVumZl.jpg

6IMBWl.jpg


Cars
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TShRxl.jpg

OYKqSl.jpg

nuCIhl.jpg

unjQkl.jpg

UnTRHl.jpg

5bXo6l.jpg

4GDmUl.jpg

IZYgsl.jpg


Track Cleaner
Apf3Zl.jpg

xAjgwl.jpg
 
Josh - I would say you've got some mid-grade stuff. No collectable value to speak of. The steam engine if runs its cool. Mantua = Tyco If the stuff runs could be a fun start to a model railroad.
 
I agree with Gary. I believe that Mantua was a better grade of quality that eventually became the lower quality Tyco line of trains. Everything still appears to have the old horn-hook style of couplers. This stuff is probably from the early 80's, isn't it?
 
The IHC and Mantua stuff is basic but will run if taken care of. I rebuild a lot of Tyco/Mantua cars and quite a few locos. I just finished remotoring an IHC C628 diesel and putting Kadee couplers on a bunch of old Life-Like, Bachmann and Mantua cars. No collectors value to speak of but fun to play with and I'm not afraid of breaking it.
 
That Atlas locomotive probably has the highest value of the collection. Not sure who made that particular model - if it says "Made in Japan" on the side of the box then it's one of the nice-running Kato drives. If it's made in Austria then it's from Rocco and won't be worth quite as much.

I agree that it's mostly low- to mid-grade stuff. Of course, there are many modelers out there (cough me cough cough) who a quite happy running it.
 
I know that many people, upon finding some vintage trains, (Lionel in particular), think they have struck the mother lode. I'm guessing that 99.9% have little to no value and probably have trouble disposing of the stuff. As the other posters have mentioned don't quit your day job based on what you have unearthed. Best place to dispose of it is probably at a train show. Don't be surprised if you are selling boxcars etc for 50 cents or so.

Know that you are not alone. I've got shelves full of this stuff also
 
Haha ya i wasn't expecting them to be worth alot, I just know nothing about trains and wanted to see what i had. I'll probably just end up putting the whole lot up on feebay and see what happens, i really have no use for them, soo hopefully someone will buy them and put them to use. The Atlas locomotive does say "made in Japan" soo i guess that's a good sign. Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it.
 
The Santa Fe Atlas Locomotive is worth $40-70 depending on condition. The IHC 4-8-2 is probably in the same range. The atlas car is worth $10, the rest isnt worth much more than $1-3.
 
A long time ago, in the early 1960s I was well into my model railroading with a little more than a 4x8 table. One of my sister's boyfriends told me that he had model train stuff and he would bring it over if I wanted it. Yeah, ok. He dropped off a box of trains, track and a power pack. Well I ran the stuff for a few years, then when I was in high school, I decided trains weren't cool anymore and I separated the train stuff and set the loaner stuff aside and sold all of my stuff. I got on with life, joined the Marine Corps, traveled the world, then one day, 20 some years later started a layout with my young son in our new house in Virginia. I mentioned it to my mother in a phone call back home to Detroit, MI. She asked me if wanted my old train stuff for my new layout. I told her I had sold it all years ago. She, that there was a box of train stuff that they would set up under the Christmas tree each year and she was sure it was some of the stuff that I had on my layout years ago. Ok. My next trip to Detroit I had to see what this train stuff was. She presented me with a box about three times bigger than a shoe box. I opened it and found the trains that my sister's boyfriend gave me. I had intended to return the trains to him back in the 60s but I guess I never got around to it. The trains were the old Lionel HO scale Texas Special train set. Rubber band driven FA1 loco, sprung trucks on flickering nuke waste flat car, cattle car, box car and caboose. I removed the hook horn couplers and installed Kadee couplers and have been running these on the D&J Railroad for some time now.
 
If these items were at our hobby shop, these are the prices I would put on them:

IHC loco: $25
Atlas loco: $30
Atlas car: $5
Other cars: $2


Have fun!
 
You should consider combining the hobbies. The HO scale trains could be combined with 1/87 scale RC cars, trucks and 4x4's together in a single layout.
But, keep in mind, controling a 2" long RC vehicle in a realisticly scaled envionment , at realistic scale speeds, will take alot more skill than running a big RC car around a wide track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5hY73ygun4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCzx-YWdFWQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywHR0tTHuF4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E19_jC58wWo
 
Since there is a Centerline track cleaning car in the bunch, if it is complete, it is worth more than everything but the Atlas diesel. Those cleaning cars really work.
 
^that's right. The centerline track cleaning car might be worth $60 or $70?

I'd recomend keeping this lot as it isn't worth much to sell but you might decide you want it one day.
 
There are some people (like me) who are model railroad beginners on a tight budget, who might be interested in some serviceable low-price used equipment. I don't know what the procedure would be for buying anything from you, though.
 
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