Bargain Or Bust? My Latest Lionel Trains Ebay Find!

Is this the best bargain I've ever purchased on eBay? Or is it a dud? Let's find out on this episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. Hello again, this is Mike with another episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. I have been on a long losing streak on eBay. It's partially my own fault because I'm, well, cheap. Or maybe I should be more diplomatic and say that I'm frugal. But in any case, time after time it looked like my strategy of making ridiculously low bids on items and hoping they would hold up seemed to be working. Until I would get sniped with seconds to go by another bidder. But then it seemed like my luck suddenly changed. I came across a post-war train set for sale with a low starting bid and pretty reasonable shipping. The photo was very dark and the locomotive was partially hidden behind the cars. It was also obvious that everything was very dirty and of course it was listed as untested. I think many potential bidders passed it by because at first glance it looked like a common scout type set. And no one wants to invest the time and effort to clean and possibly to rebuild one of those. But something about the shape of the locomotive boiler caught my attention. It looked like a 2025 or a 2035 style steamer and if so at this price it would definitely be worth the effort. So I submitted a ridiculously low bid and hoped for the best. Much to my surprise there were no other bidders and this mystery train set was mine. After waiting anxiously for a week and a half while the package, according to the tracking information, got lost somewhere in Detroit for several days it finally arrived. Hooray! So let's find out what I actually bought. Is this a bargain or a bust? First out of the box is this very dirty and somewhat banged up Lionel 6257 caboose. This was the next to the bottom level SP style caboose. No lights, no stack, and no battery box except on a few rare variations. But it did come with at least one brake wheel. A few had two. These were made off and on from 1948 through 1964 in different color and lettering styles. This body and lettering style along with the staple in trucks dates this one to 1950 or 1951. Next out of the box is this also dirty number 6465 twin dome tank car. Notice that it has steps at each corner. These Sunoco cars were made from 1948 to 1956 with slight changes along the way. These frames with steps on the corners were discontinued after 1949 as the steps were frequently broken and it was an additional expense to manufacture. And it's very unusual to find a car with all four steps intact these days. Interestingly the particular staple in trucks on this car indicate 1950 or 1951 production. Either both of the trucks were swapped somewhere along the way or this is an example of early 1950 production as Lionel was using up leftover 1949 frames. A previous owner made an interesting coupler repair with a nail. I'm going to replace this truck with one from my scrap box that is identical to the other staple in truck to preserve the interesting history of this piece as much as possible. This number 6462 gondola is also kind of interesting. These were made in black from 1949 to 1954 so that's not the interesting part. Like the tank car this model uses the early production frame with steps at the corners and staple in trucks which were eliminated in mid 1950. However it uses the type 2 body shell decoration with only two lines of car data which that's usually found on bodies with no steps made later in 1950. So again this car has either undergone a truck swap or it's some kind of transition piece between the two styles of 1950 production. And next is this number 6466 w whistling tender. Again the staple in trucks indicate 1950 or 1951 production. The rollers and wiring appear to be in good shape so hopefully the whistle will work without much more than a cleaning. We shall find out. At last the reason I placed my bid in the first place this number 2035 264 steamer. When I zoomed in on the original photo I thought that it said 2025 on the cap so I was expecting a non-magnetraction model from 1952. Instead this is the regular model with magnet traction from 1950 or 1951 similar to the one I featured a few months ago in another video. Like the rolling stock this one is filthy. Also one classification light is broken which is not uncommon on these. And the clip that holds the smoke box door in place is also broken. I could probably use some sheet brass to fabricate a new one but instead I immediately put in an order to the train tender for a replacement part. By the way this is not a paid endorsement but a train tender is my go-to source for Lionel parts. Jeff provides excellent service and fair prices and I always check first to see if he has my items in stock before I try other sources. In any case I'm hoping that the problems with this locomotive were only cosmetic but I'm setting it aside for now to work on the rolling stock first. I'd like to take a moment now and ask that if you're enjoying this video so far please like it so that YouTube knows that you enjoy this kind of content. Also subscribe to the channel and leave a comment about your greatest eBay find. Oh and a quick note beginning in March 2025 the what's new in Ogage feature will be spinning off into its own separate channel. If you prefer these long format videos subscribe to this channel and you will still get this video series. If you enjoy receiving updates about new Ogage product releases follow the link at the end of this video to the new what's new in Ogage channel and subscribe there and click that bell notification so that you never miss an update. Now back to our video I can't wait to see how it ends. Starting with the caboose I separated the shells from the frames for cleaning. For the caboose simply remove the slotted screws in the middle of each platform. First I gave the shell a simple bath under running lukewarm water. There was an immediate improvement but there was still some stubborn grind inside the details and nooks and crannies so a second bath was in order still with lukewarm water but this time assisted by a little liquid dish soap and a soft toothbrush. I used a heat gun on low setting to dry the shell before water spots could form. A hair dryer would also work. Now to add a bit of luster to the finish and to protect the 75 year old paint I used a microfiber cloth and rubbed on a coat of automotive spray wax. I have used both Armorall and Mothers with good results. On the frames and trucks I rubbed off any surface rust I could find with a cloth then gave everything a liberal coat of WD-40 allowing it to soak in for a few minutes and then wiping off the excess with a clean cloth. Then I reassembled. I repeated the process on the tank car removing the two screws that secure the tank to the frame. Then I removed the truck with the bad coupler by popping off the small horseshoe clamp that holds it in place. I replaced this truck with a twin from my scrap box and re-secured the horseshoe clamp. I followed the same cleaning and drying method as with the caboose and reassembled the car. I also cleaned the gondola as with the other cars but I did not remove the shell from the frame because the four little clips that secure the shell to the frame are in my opinion a real pain to get on and off and there's always the risk of breaking the plastic tabs on the bottom of the shell. I also cleaned the tender shell in the same manner as the caboose and tank car removing the four screws that hold the shell in place then removing and cleaning the shell. While the shell was off I tested the whistle but first I used a cotton swab to clean out the air intakes as they were full of gunk. I put the tender on the track powered it up and the whistle worked. The motor had a bit of a growl so I oiled the armature shaft which helped quite a bit. I decided to leave well enough alone and I did not disassemble the motor to check the brushes or commutator. The last thing I did for each piece of rolling stock was to put a little bit of oil on the axles and wheels just to free them up and let them roll well. Then the locomotive. At first the motor hummed but the model did not move. After a minute or so of applying and reapplying power it did start moving under its own power but with great effort. After a few more minutes it was running laps around the layout but it took a lot of power to get it running so I knew I needed to service the motor. For these models any maintenance other than changing the light bulb involves a lot of disassembly. Work slowly, keep track of your parts, and take photos as you go so you remember where everything goes. For the sake of this video I will not be giving a blow-by-blow description of assembly and disassembly of the locomotive. The reason? When I open up the model for servicing I discovered that the smoke unit was dead. The resistor and the wicking material and the gasket all need to be replaced. I figured the best way to tackle this issue would be to buy an upgrade kit that would not only provide a new resistor, wicking material, and gasket but also make the unit work better with modern smoke fluid rather than the expensive original smoke pellets. Since I will have to open the model back up for that procedure I will provide the step-by-step details in that video which will be coming soon. As I completed the reassembly of the steamer my new spoke box door arrived from the train tender and here it is. With proper classification lights, a new clear headlight lens, and a bright new Penzey keystone this model looks great. So what exactly do I have here? Well since the locomotive is a 1950 model and the cars and all appear to either be standard 1950 models or 1949-1950 transition pieces it's safe to assume that these pieces all belong together and came as part of a set. Checking my copy of the standard catalog of Lionel train sets by David Doyle for sets from 1950 I found the number 1469WS four-car freight set led by a number 2035 with 6466W tender and including a 6462NYC gondola, a 6465 Sunoco twin tank car, and the number 6257SP type caboose. The only piece missing was the 6456 Lehigh Valley hopper car in black. Then reading the notes I found this quote there is some evidence that production or at least component production and procurement of this set actually began in late 1949 unquote. Bingo this is my set. This particular set was priced in the middle of the 027 line in 1950 with a retail price of $39.95, $25 more than the basic scout set of that year, but $28 less than the top-of-the-line 027 set the five-car steam set led by a number 2046H. And my price in 2025? Well the new smoke box door cost me $12.50 and the smoke unit upgrade kit will be about $15. And the set itself? Well including shipping my purchase price was just over $28. So when all is said and done I will have a great looking great running steamer with a new smoke unit plus two classic cars in the caboose all for under $60. So to answer the question of bargain or dud I'd have to say bargain but maybe not my best ever since I did have to purchase a few repair parts. Still as you see if you look hard enough and are willing to put in a little work even railroaders on a tight budget can add to their layouts and collections. And that just about wraps up this video if you'll excuse me I'm going to practice some three rail therapy and run my new 2035 set for a while. Keep the trains running and we'll catch you next time with more toy train tips and tricks.