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 Posted - March 01 2010 : 11:49:29 PM
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I recently purchased these at the Great Train Expo. I paid 150 for the set of loco, dummy loco, and cars. I probably could have argued the price down, but maybe not since it was the first day. The bottom line is that I am a Santa Fe fan and I wanted this. It all works fine, so I am happy.
But...this was a "collector" oriented show, based on the pricing and the conversation I heard. So I'm asking for opinions--was this a "good deal" or did I pay too much? Either way I still love the set, but I need a frame of reference for future purchases. I want my money to go as far as it can.
Here's the 8020/8021 AB Locos. When I bought it, I didn't even realize it had an E-unit. I thought it was a manual forward/reverse. At first run, it was a mess. I finally got it locked into forward, but it didn't always start up without a push. After simply cleaning under the rollers, it's fully functional with forward/reverse and a clean startup:
The cars are another story. As far as I can tell, they're newer than the locos. They're made in China. Also, they're customized. From what little I've seen on Ebay they were originally Pennsylvania cars. Someone put a strip of plastic over the Pennsy lettering, then put Santa Fe stickers on. They also painted the gray stripe on the side. They look great at distance, but up close you can tell they aren't factory originals. But they still light up and the Observation car has working red LEDs on the end. It makes a great looking little train:
Pictures aren't the best. So what do you think? Also, what's the age on the loco and cars? Info seems to be scarce on the newer Lionels. If anybody knows a good source of info on newer Lionels I'd love to get a link.
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Posted - March 02 2010 : 5:25:52 PM
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You did "good"....not terrific "just good".
Your 8020 was worth back in 1992 ....190.00
your 8021 was worth 95.00....back in 1992.
Sorry for the old reference but I sold all my MPC back in 1994 and thats as far as my reference material goes.....bear in mind prices started to "soften in the early 2000s so the numbers Im giving you are slightly inflated.
Your locos came out in 1970 or 71 right after General Mills bought the company (Lionel) so besides being "Cu cu for Cocoa Puffs" they were now in the train business.
Your loco was the second best Item in the 1970 line up just after the "headliner" item a Illinois Central GP9.
Hope this helps
BT
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Posted - March 02 2010 : 8:54:09 PM
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That's cool. I just wanted to be sure I didn't get completely ripped off, since I know little about the MPC era stuff. I'm still really happy with it all, especially the 8020/21.
I've gotten a lot of info from postwarlionel.com, but it doesn't cover any MPC. Do you know of any online resource to learn about the MPC era?
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Posted - March 02 2010 : 9:15:48 PM
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quote:I've gotten a lot of info from postwarlionel.com, but it doesn't cover any MPC. Do you know of any online resource to learn about the MPC era?
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Not at this time...They made a lot of stuff in that 16 year period...but nobody seems to have enough interest to document it. (on the web anyway) Your local library might have the latest Greenberg Guide on that era.
BT
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