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I'm well aware of the legacy of the G&D and its beloved creator, but when did Athearn produce these? I see no entry of it in the Athearn online catalog..
They did a series of them to honor the G&D some time ago. I can't recall exactly when, but I'm guessng it's at least 10 years and maybe as long as 20 years ago. I think there were about 6 cars in the series, including a caboose? I bought them when they came out, and it was quite a while back.
I have one of these! Well, not quite the same markings but it is a G&D Ore Car. It was buried in my late father's collection - I doubt he knew the significance of Mr Allen's contribution to the hobby.
I have one of these! Well, not quite the same markings but it is a G&D Ore Car. It was buried in my late father's collection - I doubt he knew the significance of Mr Allen's contribution to the hobby.
I'm not so sure about that... John Allen was very well covered in the model railroad press, so much so that folks complained about it. If he read model mags much at all, he probably knew of him.
As for Athaern/RH, I think you're right they own them now, but back then they were separate.
MDC/Roundhouse issued a couple of complete sets of G&D rolling stock, one a freight set and the other consisting of three "shorty" passenger cars. Likewise, they offered an 0-6-0 switcher and perhaps a old-time road engine in this same lettering scheme. This had to be at least 20 years ago and perhaps longer. These cars have become more or less collectible, accounting for the generally high prices realized in their sales on eBay.
That 26' black ore care was released by Roundhouse in 1981. It's actually fairly rare compared to the mineral brown version, # 90, that was released in December, 1981. If it's in excellent condition, somewhere around $40 would be the going price. You can see a list of all the Roundhouse G&D releases at http://www.gdlines.com/GD_Galleries/MDC_Roster.html. As you'll see, Roundhouse continued to release G&D rolling right up to late 1995, when I believe the line was sold to Athearn.
