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 Posted - July 07 2010 : 2:30:39 PM
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where would be a good place to post pictures of all the Tyco and other brands of trains and accessories to get an idea of value?
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 2:38:33 PM
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| hi the best place to get a value of anything is ebay,tyco has its moments but only a few pieces fetch top dog prices,there are no hard and fast values for anything,its when you get 2 bidders who really want an item,that you might be lucky,my advice is that if you are collecting to make money,forget it,credit crunches dont fetch best results,hold on till the market gets better and enjoy what you have ken
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 5:29:07 PM
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I agree with Ken, You can look thru the "completed auctions" of Ebay's Tyco and find out what sells for what. On the occasions that I sell a few things on ebay, I am usually surprised at what the items sell for beyond what I figured. However, I am not expecting much and I am certain that I am not going to retire from those sales profits.
My collection is worth a million dollars to me, but it may sell for 50 cents on ebay. Like anything else, if you have the right item you may even make a buck...
Walt
Luck, usually comes dressed in work clothes...
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 6:27:17 PM
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I think you will find that the value is all over the place. HO scale trains don't have the same type of market as the classic stuff like Lionel or Marx. Common trains like Tyco, Bachmann, Life-Like, etc usually sell in lots on ebay for very little. It's not uncommon to find an auction or flea market where you can get an entire Tyco train set for under $10.
One thing to look out for are antique dealers who think any train is worth a fortune. You might see over-inflated prices on items that go for nothing at aucitons or on ebay.
Just to give you a general idea though, at the last train show I was at here in the midwest the locos I mentioned above were going for $3-5 in "needs cleaning" condition and around 10-15 like new. Rolling stock usually goes $3-5 for common stuff, up to 10 for better, more for brand new. Better locomotives like Athearns sell for as little as $3 to up in the 30-40 range, depending on what it is and the condition. Older metal steamers can fetch up in the 60-80 range or more if in good condition.
The flip side is that you can walk into an auction or garage sale and find those same items all piled in a box for 10 bucks. You just never know. Check out our garage sale thread to see some of the deals we've found.
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 7:40:11 PM
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thanks all,
Yep a garage sale got me going again. plus a bunch of stuff i bartered years ago and just got back from a friend who never took out of the box
I had no idea what i was buying, and got it for next to nothing, all in original boxes. Like little did i know that engines and gondolas needed tires, tires are for cars. Never saw steel track before. Good news it's 22inch
from perusing this forum i get the idea that there are serious H O modelers and then there are TYCO collectors.
The former change, modify etc to make them operate better. have elaborate scenery and life like structures.
The latter don't want to change anything as then it has no antique value and use everything TYCO on their layout
Don't mean to be simplistic as i'm sure there are many exceptions in between the extremes .
I want to build and operate a layout and am not a collector. which brings up a question.
Everything i have now is horn and hook couplers, original equipment. So for operations, no good for operating a yard with couple/uncouple. Based on "antique value" if i convert everything to knuckle coupler then the value is lost not to mention a big expense. If i stick with the horn and hook then uncoupling in a yard is impossible.
also will have to modify the trucks with wavy washers as the cars fall off the tracks, again taking away the antique value. How did TYCO get away with problems like this??
fred
So how do i proceed?
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 8:50:06 PM
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First of all, with only a few exceptions, TYCO=no collector value, so don't worry. I think the reason people don't change things like TYCO is more for nostalgia than monetary value. But aside from that, you can do a couple things:
There are uncouplers for horn hooks. Atlas made them, don't know if they still do, but you can surely still find them. Search online for Atlas HO scale dead end uncoupler. It's a track that looks like a rerailer with a special part between the rails that separates the couplers. I wouldn't use it on a mainline, but in a yard they are fine.
Kadee makes a part that allows you to put Kadee knuckle couplers in TYCO and other cars without damaging them. Go to google and search for "Kadee talgo adapter" and you'll see what I mean. Basically, it's a little lid that lets you drop a Kadee in the coupler pocket. Then you could remove it later if you wanted to restore the original coupler. Same for the wavy washers. You could just take them off to restore it to original condition. But since we're talking about something that's only worth a couple bucks, who cares?
Finally, depending on how you want to operate, most people just make a conversion car. Take any piece of rolling stock and change the coupler on only one end to a knuckle. Then you can use it to transition between cars/locos with a knuckle to cars/loco with horn hooks.
Hope that helps.
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 9:32:31 PM
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Thanks for the info.
Here is what i have . The box car on the left is Tyco, on the right Hong Hong???
The two couplers is what the Hobby Shop guy gave me. The one on the right with the larger hole is for engines with body mount screw.
The one on the left was suggested for a replacement for the horn type. It requires carefully lifting the arm enough to slide out the old coupler and sliding in the new ( bad picture). I'm not sure in looking at the Talgo adaptor that i can use it on the Tyco or at least i can't figure how it would work.
Bottom line now that i know there are Atlas dead ends i won't waste time and money and possibly breaking the plastic
fred
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 10:26:59 PM
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quote:
Here is what i have . The box car on the left is Tyco, on the right Hong Hong??? |
Unfortunately, many makers from Bachmann to Life Like used Hong Kong manufacturers to make their stuff, but usually put their names on it as well. Model Power I think also used Hong Kong.
quote:
The one on the left was suggested for a replacement for the horn type. It requires carefully lifting the arm enough to slide out the old coupler and sliding in the new .... I'm not sure in looking at the Talgo adaptor that i can use it on the Tyco or at least i can't figure how it would work. |
there's just a small nub of a plastic pin holding the coupler, plus a plastic tension arm to hold it in. You have to lift that plastic arm to tilt the old coupler up, then pull out, and reverse install the new one. Not sure how big the pivot pin is, but it should be correct. Mine looks small on the BN boxcar and gondola I looked at to compare to your picture. It will be easier to just pull the whole truck off the body and replace it that way.
B
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - July 07 2010 : 10:30:55 PM
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Okay, cool. You're a step ahead of what I wrote. The one on the left is great. Just carefully lift the tab and drop it in. There's no "harm" in that. They were designed to be replaced if broken. The talgo adapter I pointed out would have allowed you to put the one on the right into the tyco truck. The adapter makes a fatter post for the coupler to attach to. I'd use the one on the left since you have a source for them. Sounds like you have a decent hobby shop. Be glad about that, not all of us do any more.
I don't know what you mean about the Atlas uncoupler "breaking the plastic." They simply unhook the couplers the way they're designed to. But I understand not wanting to invest in outdated technology.
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Posted - July 08 2010 : 09:47:21 AM
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""I don't know what you mean about the Atlas uncoupler "breaking the plastic."""
In lifting the plastic tension arm on a small switcher it snapped. I'll have to drill and tap the lead weight, it's the only thing available to screw into, and use the Magne-Matic with the larger hole..
I've already converted one car and it seems to work
That said I found an Atlas HO scale dead end uncoupler on line, a lot cheaper than investing in knuckle couplers. which is the way I'll go.
Replacing the trucks with metal and body mount couplers is more money than i care to invest.
My wife is already keeping track
thank you all
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Posted - July 08 2010 : 10:55:41 AM
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might have spoke to soon.
they stopped making the dead end coupler in 2003. Couple of web sites say they have them but i didn't try ordering
Some where way back in my memory i remember a yellow strip with a wire on each side running parallel. The strip was laid inbetween the tracks.
wasn't that a decoupler?
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Posted - July 08 2010 : 11:04:24 AM
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all atlas,hope one at least helps ken
270602039140,260630062252,290369638423,
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Posted - July 08 2010 : 12:33:45 PM
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hey, nice to know my memory hasn't gone.
I dug through all the stuff i got back from my friend and look what i found and it works.
Thanks Ken
Now to find more
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Posted - July 09 2010 : 10:45:31 AM
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here's a source for the derailer
http://www.internettrains.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IT&Product_Code=ATL-849&Category_Code=HSCTRKSNPATL
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Posted - July 09 2010 : 10:47:16 AM
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| sorry meant decoupler
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