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HOBill
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 Posted - October 14 2010 : 10:34:01 PM
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Hi everyone. My grandfather passed away last year and left many, many trains behind. My grandmother is now moving out of the house do to health issues, so we are planning on selling the trains to help with her bills etc. I know a good bit of the trains are Tyco, and Mantua. But there are others like AHM, Bachmann, Rivarossi, and some others. I really want to make sure I do right by my grandfather and help my grandmother, and don't sell one of his prized trains for dirt cheap. The problem is I know very little about pricing the trains other than what I could find on eBay. Even then, many of the trains he has don't show up on eBay. Would anyone be willing to help me, or know of a good website where I can find prices?
Thanks
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Posted - October 14 2010 : 11:24:58 PM
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I think any of us will give advice if you post some pictures. It's much easier when we see what you're talking about.
As for prices, they're all over the place right now. Ebay is a pretty good place to get an idea of what they're selling for, but in some situations they can go higher or lower. In general, HO trains aren't as valuable as the bigger ones, like Lionel. It all depends on the situation and what you can get someone to pay for them. In the past few months, I've paid $5 for locomotives that go for $25 on ebay, and are marked $50 in the antique stores. At an auction, you might pay $25 for a whole box of them. I've bought entire collections at garage sales over the summer for anywhere from $20 to $150. Like I said, it's all over the place.
Pictures will help a lot, but in general I can give you some tips. Tyco/Mantua diesels are mostly cheap (as in worth nearly nothing), and the steam engines are worth more. At train shows, Tyco/Mantua steamers go anywhere from $35-100, depending what they are. That's why pictures will help. AHM is the same way...diesels are easy to find cheap (like as little as 5 bucks) while big steam engines can go much higher. Bachmanns are junk. Only the very big ones or the "Spectrum" series have any real value. Even then, they aren't that hard to find cheap. As a rule, I only buy Bachmanns if they're basically giving them away. Rivarossi is more interesting. The big steam engines get pretty good prices. All of them are worth at least a little more if they have the original box.
Bottom line: post pictures and someone will help you. There's a lot of stuff that is worth very little, and a few things that are worth a lot.
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HOBill
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Posted - October 14 2010 : 11:50:27 PM
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Thanks for the advice. I will try to get pictures up, but I can't tonight.
I do have some of the Bachmann Spectrums, like the EMC Gas Electric (Doodlebugs) B&O engine, and a few others. So maybe someone will bite on that haha.
The main one I was curious about, which I will undoubtedly have to get a picture of, is this "The General 1862" Engine I got. I'm pretty sure the manufacturer was Mantua, but all I can find online for trains called "The General" is Lionel. It looked really old, and even came with a little paper cover book about "the General".
But I will have to try to post some pictures. Hopefully tomorrow. If not, thanks for the round about pricing. It will come in handy.
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HOBill
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 6:16:21 PM
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Here are some pictures that I took with my phone. I hope they are good enough. These aren't all the trains, but they are the ones that seem to be worth something when I googled them. Some of the others, I couldn't even find at all. Maybe that's a bad thing haha. Either way, we just want to get what we can for these. I appreciate any imput.
AHM engine
Proto 2000 caboose
Spectrum Doodlebug
Mantua "The General" in a special grey box with a little story about it
Tyco "The General"
Lionel Operating Crane
Lionel Flat Bed?
Rivarossi engine
Another Rivarossi engine I think (pretty sure this one only says Made in Macao on the bottom)
Rivarossi log car
Spectrum Nickel Plate Road engine
We also have a few other Bachmann Spectrum cars that look similar to the Doodle bug engine. I can't remember if they said Baltimore and somewhere else on them.
Thanks!
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 6:50:33 PM
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the "flat bed" is called a flatcar  yeah I knows We's a bunch of nerdy railroad geeks but nice stuff there 
Edited by - microbusss on October 15 2010 6:51:27 PM
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HOBill
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 7:51:38 PM
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Flat cars. Got it
Don't worry, I'm the same way with reef tanks. But I figure if you want to know what people would pay, you go to the source.
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 8:30:43 PM
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| The one you have marked Rivarossi is actually an Athearn 0-4-2 L'l Monster from the 1960s. This guy has one that has been superdetailed >>> http://cgi.ebay.com/HO-RARE-STEAM-ENGINE-0-4-2-SUPER-DETAILED-TESTED-KDs-/120573313960?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item1c12bac3a8 Someone might think it's worth what he's asking. Been looking for one myself but I already have a set price in mind. I'll find it eventually.
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HOBill
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 10:16:16 PM
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quote:
You mean this one? /tyco/forum/uploaded/HOBill/20101015221458_IMG00114-20101015-1204.jpg
Sorry, I didn't know the pictures were so small. It doesn't matter that this one's got markings and the one you linked isn't? Thanks for the help. I think this one was in the $10 pile...
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 10:24:15 PM
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the loco is a 0-4-2T T as in tender Looks like the Ebayer left that out 
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HOBill
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Posted - October 15 2010 : 10:38:47 PM
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Here's the larger pictures, in case it was too hard to see. Sorry, I was uploading this all from my phone. Any ideas about "The General"?
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Posted - October 16 2010 : 10:03:36 AM
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quote:
You mean this one? 
Sorry, I didn't know the pictures were so small. It doesn't matter that this one's got markings and the one you linked isn't? Thanks for the help. I think this one was in the $10 pile...
Originally posted by HOBill - October 15 2010 : 10:16:16 PM
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The markings on yours appear to be factory original, the eBay one was simply left unlettered by the builder. All the original owner did on that one was put a few wire bits and Cal-Scale castings on it to gussy it up. Work like that only adds value if well done. $99 is, shall we say, a bit enthusiastic.
As was pointed out, DCC (a form of digitized electronic operation that few of your pieces could be modified for) has made a fair dent into the hobby, leaving many of the pieces your grandfather had only of worth to old school modelers like me. Your best way to get the most money would be eBay. I always start mine at $.99 and walk away, knowing the market will take care of getting the best price. I've been disappointed a time or two, but never burnt by the final price. If you need any further help in this regard, please feel free to contact me via PM.
As for that Lil' Monster...if $10 is what you are asking, I would like to pick it up as it was one of the first steam engines I weathered many years ago. Alas, the original is long gone but, I keep looking. Either way, I'd be more than happy to walk you through the sale as best I can. I'm easy to find on eBay.
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Posted - October 16 2010 : 2:57:23 PM
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That's a nice collection your grandfather had, Bill. He really didn't have any junk. The cheapest loco is the AHM UP SD40, which might grab 15 - $20, just off the top of my head. The Doodlebug should go for about least twice that, and the Rivarossi log buggies should go for a decent amount, since people are always looking for sets of those for their logging layouts.
The two Generals are also desirable, because that is the only scale model of a pre-1900 4-4-0 not produced in brass. I've seen them go for over $70, but of course as B77 pointed out the lousy economy has really dinged disposable income, and auction prices have been varying widely of late.
The Rivarossi 0-4-0 is a simplified (less linkage) B&O Dockside from the late 50's or early 60's that looks to be in very good shape. Many of these had the cylinder/boiler weight casting disintegrate over the years due to impurities in the metal that lead to something known as zinc rot, so one without any cracking and no broken front or rear steps should go in the $20 range, I'm guessing. Shaygetz has already filled you in about the Li'l Monster, another cool vintage steamer.
I would suggest getting your hands on a decent digital camera and taking very clear, well-lit photos if you put them up for auction. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to assess condition because of dim or blurry pictures, which can affect final bid prices almost more than any other factor.
The Tyco Depot
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Posted - October 16 2010 : 3:18:15 PM
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| i agree with nickleplate759,a good picture is worth a thousand words,ie the buyer makes his own mind up saves you saying needless words,ken
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HOBill
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 Posted - October 16 2010 : 11:52:36 PM
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Yeah, my mom's fiance is going to take pictures with his expensive camera haha. I was in a hurry so I just snapped a few with my Blackberry. We had a big garage sale today, and I was able to get some really good prices on some things. But I believe most of the stuff I have pictured didn't sell, likely cause of the price tags. I do plan on putting these things up on eBay in the not-too-distant future, and if anyone is interested I'll post a link here I guess. I'm not sure what the forums rules are on selling and stuff like that.
I really, really appreciate the help guys. With just the non-photoed items I was able to get my grandma about $150. Still got a bunch of trains to sell, and I think I might just hold on to one or two to remember my grandfather by. Who knows, maybe I'll get into HO scale trains haha.
But I will likely return with BETTER and CLEARER pictures, and maybe a link to an eBay account
Shaygetz you may be getting a PM from me once I get time to get this eBay thing set up.
Again, thanks guys.
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Posted - October 17 2010 : 12:12:53 AM
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| Glad it's worked out so far, I'll be waiting on the PM...
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Posted - January 06 2011 : 7:02:31 PM
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nice collection...i have the union pacific AHM loco...i think it was manufactured in yugoslavia...
~Sohan24
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