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Posted - December 11 2023 : 3:49:45 PM
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Hi everyone! I wasn't sure where this would fall in the fourm. Does anyone know if there is a somewhat complete list of Tyco products? Something akin to the Lionel price guides (not a price guide per se, just an item list)? Even if it is say broken out by eras (Brown Box, Red Box, etc)? I have a few of the price lists and catalogs that sometimes came with a set but obviously it is not a complete list
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Posted - December 11 2023 : 6:41:15 PM
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The closest thing I came across were Tony Cook's web pages detailing the items Tyco produced over the years. These pages have, sadly, been taken down. They were supposed to have been migrated over to White River Productions web site but only a select few pages have resurfaced there.
Barring that, you might want to loo at the collection of Tyco and Mantua catalogs at HO Seeker. https://hoseeker.net/tyco.htm
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Posted - December 13 2023 : 12:20:08 PM
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Interesting question. Once when I was canvassing the city for contributions to our local model train club a fellow contacted me, he had a thriving hobby shop in the pre-computer game era. I went to his place and his McMansion (as they are called here in El Paso) had the back veranda stacked over my head with Tyco, NIB from the 1970's from rolling stock to structures. I'd thought I'd have a stroke. There was simply tonnage in pristine condition left over from when he'd sold out; I'd gathered he'd seen the writing on the wall.
Like a lot of collectors, he wasn't in too much of a hurry to let much go, although his health was clearly failing and he knew it. He let me and another guy pick up some duplicates, of which there were a couple of hundred, out of thousands, which we dutifully distributed around the club and eBay and so forth.
Shortly after that he passed away, his estate went to an estate sale, unknown to us, and I am told much of this pristine Tyco stock ended up in the dumpster after the three day event.
In a similar case, a man's widow contacted me, and there was fully 1/3 of a three car garage stacked to the ceiling with pristine Red Ball kits and the like, some brass locomotives, and various Athearn pieces and what not. The brass pieces all had major corrosion problems to their motors. On the agreement of 10% proceeds to the club, I moved a certain amount on eBay, where I soon learned the damage and loss rate of USPS was rarely less than 10% of all items shipped. UPS no better. I had to refund 10% of ticked off eBay buyers from the proceeds- that did not go over well.
Eventually, one of the club members snapped up the remaining 4/5th of the three car garage assortment for about 20K, perhaps thinking he was going to make a killing reselling it on eBay (hah, hah, good luck with that). The part that stuck in my craw was that 10% of any sales was to go to the Club. Did you think the Club ever got its 10%???
Knowing what I know now, I'd probably walk away from taking on such enormous tasks. Very frustrating to deal with people going around me, under me, over me, through me. Not worth the effort. Blech.
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Posted - December 13 2023 : 1:01:54 PM
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oh that makes me SICK right there, Chops! I would of been watching that hobby store everyday like a hawk & then when it was being cleared out take everything they don't want! AND searching the dumpster!
I hate seeing the original Tony Cook website vanishing as it was a good source of info on alot of makers including Tyco
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Posted - December 13 2023 : 6:45:05 PM
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Yes, this gentleman just slipped out of sight. I had no idea he had passed, nor about the estate sale. We did cherry pick a few items, but it was very hard for him to let go. Only found about his passing when my friend stopped by to check in on him and found he was gone. A lot of Tyco out there in the landfills of El Paso, just don't know where.
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Posted - December 19 2023 : 11:00:05 PM
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I've never seen such a list. When you consider that Tyco was formed in 1952 and ended in 1993, you've got the Little Trains, Blue Box, Red Box, Brown box and White box eras, that is a lot of ground to cover. The red and brown box eras have price lists that are useful, but I haven't been able to find anything similar for the Little Trains and blue box eras. Good luck, and let us know if you find any useful information.
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Posted - December 20 2023 : 3:43:21 PM
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quote:I've never seen such a list. When you consider that Tyco was formed in 1952 and ended in 1993, you've got the Little Trains, Blue Box, Red Box, Brown box and White box eras, that is a lot of ground to cover. The red and brown box eras have price lists that are useful, but I haven't been able to find anything similar for the Little Trains and blue box eras. Good luck, and let us know if you find any useful information.
Originally posted by Brian4321Â -Â December 19 2023Â :Â 11:00:05 PM
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& on top of that Mantua vanished in 2001!
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