Train Show Bargains! What I Bought For Under $100!

I've said many times on this channel that I find the best train bargains at local train shows, and last weekend's show was no exception. Hello again, this is Mike with another episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. If you're lucky enough to live in an area that has regular train shows, I highly recommend them. I do prefer locally sponsored shows over the large touring national shows, as the local shows attract not only area train dealers, but often collectors who are wanting to thin their collections a bit, and they'd rather have your cash in their pocket than to box up their trains and take them back home. The two shows in my area that I always attend are the annual fall show hosted by our local chapter of the National Model Railroad Association, and the annual spring show sponsored by the local Train Collectors Association. I can count on there being a wide variety of O-Gage items at each of these shows, from brand new Lionel and MTH products all the way back to pre-war Lionel, American Flyer, Musk, Marks, Williams, and even lesser-known manufacturers like Cousin and Unique Art. There were even tables of Thomas the Tank Engine and Lego items at this weekend's show. Different hobbyists have different shopping strategies for shows. For a multi-day show, you can find more of the rare and unusual items early on the first day. These items generate a lot of interest and don't hang around very long. Bargain hunters, on the other hand, tend to shop late on the final day, when the dealers are willing to wheel and deal to get what cash they can before heading for home. On the other hand, selection is more limited at the end of the show. While I do enjoy bargains, I tend to shop on the final day because it fits my schedule better, not just because I'm cheap, which I am. I try to arrive as early as possible on the final day to increase the variety of what I'll see. At any show, don't forget to check the junk boxes under the tables. There you can often find parts you need for projects and the occasional diamond in the rough. And if the dealers are willing to chat, be sure to pick their brains for information and ideas. If a dealer has 37 different Lionel operating boxcars, he's probably a collector who can inform you about the many available variations. And try to take a shopping buddy. I went with my father, who's a fellow 3Rail hobbyist and, of course, the source of my train habit from an early age. And also one of my teenage sons, a three-generation family affair. With three sets of eyes, it's easier to find what you're looking for. All right, enough waiting. Here's what you tuned in for. The breakdown of my purchases for this show. So, what did I get for $100? So, here's the first item I picked up at the show. This is a Pickens Railroad boxcar, number 9789. The Pickens is a short line in South Carolina. But in the mid-70s through the mid-80s, Pickens boxcars were literally everywhere. Due to a loophole in ICC regulations about rates, they made a lot of money on those. Although, those particular boxcars were modern 50-foot boxcars. Not the 40-foot traditional size here like Lionel, but close enough for 3Rail, right? This car isn't exactly rare, but it isn't one of the most common. It was only available in the Rocky Mountain Express set of 1977. Never available for separate sale. So, we don't have a box, but it does seem to be in pretty good shape. This set me back $10 whole dollars at the show. And this is a road name that I've been looking for for quite a while, so I was very happy with this $10 purchase. And next, we have a Chattahoochee Industrial Railroad boxcar. This is another short line in southwest Georgia. These were not quite, there were not quite as many of these out and about as there were the Pickens, but these did show up just about anywhere. The slogan here, the better by a damn sight. This was on the earlier version of their new 50-foot boxcars. Some people complained, thought it was inappropriate, they took that off. The other thing is that this is the Lionel version. It's on a silver car. These were actually white. Caneline did them in white, but still, I like this with the logo, the slogan, and so this is kind of another unique car. Now, at the show, one of the dealers had Caneline version of these, had three of them, all in the rocks, marked at $20. I thought, well, he's got three of them, maybe if he came down to $15. But I was going to check out other stuff at the show, and so before I got back to try to talk that dealer down to $15, I found the Lionel version for $15. We've got the original box, we are in excellent shape, and it's a car I've been looking for for a while, so more success. So another car that I've been looking for for a long time, a Railbox. Again, starting the about 1973 up through today, really, Railbox cars were common. They were especially common in the late 70s, early 80s, due in part to that same loophole and the ICC regulations that helped pickins and the other short lines. And this one had the bonus of being an operating car. I didn't realize that at first, but this is a Caneline operating car built in the early 90s. Nice graphics, better graphics than on the comparable Lionel car. This was nice, and even if I don't get a man to put in here and turn it back into a regular operating car, it's still nice graphics. A road name I was looking for, and this one cost me all of $12. So I was happy with that as well. And my ultimate purchase from the show, this is a Lionel number 2035 Stever. These were made in 1950 and 51. This is the later version of the 2025 or 675 that had come out previous. The 2035 has magnetraction, among other things. This also has smoke. The headlight, although the headlight is burned out, that's not the only thing mechanically that is wrong with this. The numbers are a little faded on that side and almost completely gone there on the other side. You know, a little bit of chipped paint here from over the years, but in pretty good shape. And so most of the 2035s at the show were in the 100 to 125 range in comparable condition. But this one I got for an incredible price of $60. Now, what accounts for that difference? Well, first of all, this would have been less interesting to collectors because it has the wrong tender. This tender came out starting in 1953. It is a whistling tender. This 6026W, as someone has immediately marked there on the bottom, the tender does whistle, it does work. But this came out later. This was more from like 2055, 2065 and those types of steamers. And also, again, because the lettering is fading pretty badly, that would make it less interesting to collectors. But as far as operation, I've already tested it and it runs beautifully. The only thing I need to do is swap out the headlight and there's a little bit, a little bit of damage there to the keystone on the smoke box. So something that I call not in room collector condition to get it up over that $100 mark, but a really nice purchase. And again, even in this condition, most of the other examples at the show were more in that 100 to 110 range and in better condition were 150 and up. There were quite a few of these at the show. For me, $60 for a good 2035 with a whistling tender, a really, really good purchase. So this is Lionel's interpretation of the Pennsylvania K4 Pacific. The wheel arrangement is wrong for a Pacific. A few other details are wrong, but just as the 221 New York Central Dreyfus Hudson isn't exactly a Dreyfus Hudson, a 262 among other things, but it's close. It's an interpretation. Same with the K4 here. And even for someone like myself, who I'm not really a Pensy fan. I know that's blasphemy for some folks. I'm more of a central guy. The look of the K4, yeah, it's a good looking locomotive. Very distinctive with the bell pair. Firebox represented here and the Pensy nose with a high headlight. It's just well proportioned. And these are excellent runners, by the way. So there you have it. A great running classic 70-year-old Lionel post-war steamer, two 45-year-old MPC era short line boxcars, one of which can be a challenge to find, and a T-line operating boxcar that just needs a figure. Not a bad haul if I do say so myself. And great new items to pass the time on cold dark winter evenings. As always, I hope you enjoyed this video and the shopping tips. And if so, please like the video, subscribe to the channel, tell your friends and neighbors, and comment on the great bargains you would have found over the years. Most of all, keep the trains running, and we'll catch you next time on Toy Train Tips and Tricks.