Not Valk related - Brass HO scale trains

[NCGhostrider]

A good friend of mine had a pickup bed full of trains and etc given to him.   A lot of it is brass, much of it still in boxes.  The guy he got it from inherited it from his father n law, who was obviously a train hobbyist. 

We have spent some time playing with some of the engines, which have set up a long time, but we have made almost every one of them run again. 

My friend had stopped in at a toy stoy in Fort Worth that specializes in trains to get a transformer and some new track.  The guys there about busted a gut to come look at it....   Meanwhile, I had been looking stuff up on the internet and seeing what it was.  Many of the pieces in good shape bring 300 to 800 a pop for them, and there are quite a few.

So they showed up today, looked at it, and offered my friend 200 for the lot, after asking him several times if he knew what he had and what he wanted for it.   My friend of course declined, and these guys attempt to justify there position with the typical, "this is dirty, we would have to do this...etc."   

I mentioned that I had looked a couple of items up on the net, and they got real pissy.... kind of funny actually.  I had done the math, and what they offered didn't even come to 20 per piece, and I do know some of it is junk. 

You should have seen the look on their face when I told them for 200 dollars we would play with it ourselves and when we got thru, we would take a hammer to the stuff and sell the brass for scrap...lmao

They left in a hurry...mumbling     

Anyone here into trains??   I am contemplating setting up a large track and watching this stuff go round and round....

see ya

Craig

NCGhostrider
99 I/S

[art]

Hi  I recently came into possesion of some HO ,OO narrow gage and "n" gage trains from a collector who had to go into a nursing home.I sold the n gage trains on line and some brass steam locomotives .I didn't get a lot of money but they were worth more.People just will not pay.I guess its the economy.I did keep the narrow "oo" gage.It is an denver an rio grand steam loco painted all brass engine an tender.A train collector priced it between $1500 an $2000. I want to keep it but could sure use the money.It is absolutly the best model I have ever seen.I also sold a complete HO set with steam an deisel  engines an freight cars for $200.I think only real diehard collectors will pay good money for them.If they are good running sets an you have kids that will take care of them it might be a good idea to keep them an enjoy them .

[The Anvil]

I love toy trains, have no room for them unfortunately. Sounds like your friend scored big-time.

Someone built a copper and SS working replica of an 1800's steam engine and it resides in the Boston Museum of Science now. I have pics of it and I'll try to find them.

[art]

My favorite would be a small live steam locomotive.Too pricy for me they are worth many thousands of $$$$

[Oss]

There are several model train clubs in the NY area

One great show/exhibit is held at the Bronx Botanical Garden
there is another one held soon at the Westchester County Center
and a smaller one in Peekskill

I had 027 gauge Lionel hand me down as a kid and later got a big HO setup in the bottom of my parents hi ranch

I remember a minuteman missile launcher car. I also customized a USPO car as I was big time into building models as a 8-11 year old. everything from cars to aircraft carriers  Who new the stuff would be worth something someday  I blew some of them up like the kid on the adams family

check these out

The New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show — 2010	powered by Aeva

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg Teil IV ( 4/5 )	powered by Aeva

[Cruzen]

Craig,

I am a dealer in brass trains so if you email me a list of what there is I can provide you with ball park prices.  You can also check out some of the prices on the web sites of Caboose Hobbies in Colorado or The Caboose in Wolcott Ct.  You can also check out the prices on Ebay.  Type in brass trains and you will get them.  

However, I must qualify the pricing by saying that the folks who collect these items are a bit fussy.  The pricing is heavily impacted by the condition of the model, if it has the original box, the condition of the foam in the box and finally the time of year you are attempting to sell the models.  This can affect the pricing by as much as 30%.  In some cases various manufactures made the same model over the years and the early ones are usually, but not always, worth less than the later models.

By the way in the train community I am known as CWRailman.  Google that and you will get links to some of my work.  I also moderate several Yahoo boards on the subject if you get very interested.

Anyway, like I said if you want some idea of prices email me a list.

 

[scoot]

I have collected HO scale for years. I have a lot of brass steam engines. (The real steam was a work of art.) You should keep in mind these people that work in these hobby shops are usually in it for one thing, and they do it by buying this stuff as cheap as possible. If you want to sell this equipment, and want to get full value you will need to sell it the hard way. Check out some of the local HO clubs. They quite often have swap meets. This will be the best way to go. There are a lot of people who will answer an add in hopes of beating you down for a cheap price on the lot. However, like myself, you may have that one piece that I can't live without, have been looking a while for, or just plan want. There are plenty of people who don't care about condition of the box, (like my Valkyrie on by them with the intention of running them).

[Big IV]

I'm a huge traninfan. I've been running HO since I was a kid. I have not had the room to set up or display a track in years, which is a shame. That is a great hobby. Why worry it selling it? Set it up around the christmas tree and have fun until you can put together a larger set up.

[NCGhostrider]

Thanks for the posts everyone.   I am not sure which way we will go on this stuff, but will probably play with a few of the pieces.  We still havent sorted it all out.

Cruzen, I may send you a list when we get it sorted.  I understand about the foam etc.  If I were a collector, I would be the same way.   I still get amazed just finding things in there original boxes myself!!! 

Craig
 
99 I/S
NcGhostrider

[Cruzen]

Craig,

Be careful when "playing" with the loco's.  Depending on how old the lube is in the gear box you can do serious damage to the drive train or to the side rods on steam loco's.  You can get proper lubricants from your local hobby shop.  A company called LaBelle makes lubricants for these models.  There is also a flexible joint between the motor shaft and the gear box that can break from age especially on older models.   No big deal because it originally was a piece of rubber tubing.  Now a days we use airplane fuel line.  Like our Valkyries, these are just a few of the things to look out for on items that have not been properly maintained or have sat for a while.  Kind of like the rear splines on our Valks etc......

Enjoy you new finds and welcome to that club.