HO train enthusiasts?

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abdywgn

abdywgn

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I am looking for a site or printed book that would give me an idea of what these boxes of cars/parts are worth. Most are from the late 40's into the 50's. There are some "kits"; some look like balsa wood and others are heavy stock paper for bodies. One batch is possibly stainless steel as they are sleepers and such. a unique item I ran across was a motorized turntable. Opened the box and it is wood with a smaller box of pieces and instructions. As I dig them out and go thru them, I'll post pictures if anyone is interested. Thanks for any help with an unusual request.
 
I used to be into HO stuff many years ago. But, with some exceptions, it's not very valuable. Especially the older locomotives because when they sit for a long long time they need to be taken apart and gone through. The model railroading hobby has really fallen apart. There used to be train shows etc., and now people would rather play video games and throw their lives away on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Tik Tok/YouTube

I think it really depends on the brands. I can't think of any good catalogs. It's not like stamp collecting. Ebay is usually overpriced.
Here's a link with a general outline Charles Cooper's Railway Pages - Disposing of model railway and other train stuff
 
Best bet is follow ebay.

While I agree most wood kits are not exceptionally valuable, if they are built to a high degree, they can be $50-$100 or more. If the passenger car kits are for specific plans they could be valuable. generic kits, probably not.

Agree it depends on brands and condition.

If the turntable is a Bowser, they have taken an upturn in pricing.
I bought a few when they were $25. Now I see them $100-$200 depending on size.

I disagree about the hobby falling apart. In fact right now is quite possibly the golden age of MRR.

There are some newer model companies (Rapido, not the old N scale Rapido, Exact Rail, and Scale Trains come to mind) that offer extremely well detailed models, albeit at premium prices.

Scale locomotives are now sound enabled, have onboard network cards, and can come from the factory with details specific to the actual engine number.
Prototype signaling is becoming more embraced, along with the associated complex logic and detection.

Most of this means older, non-tech capable, non super detailed models are not in high demand.

Pics might help.
 
Looked at the link above.

Decent advice.
 
monthly train show tomorrow, I'll see if I can get motivated to browse, maybe find a price guide or similar pieces and see what their prices are. pictures will come later. I did find two companies that had interesting history: Penn Line and General Model Co. The second was a local company; have two wood carved locomotives from them. Learning history along the way. Thanks!
 
I have a bunch of that stuff from my youth and also a bunch of old ones my dad had probably back in the 50’s and 60’s. Hope to do some stuff with my son when I find a little time
 
some photos of the turntable, not plug and play! guess people had time, or made time to relax and enjoy the hobby.

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took about an hour to walk around the show and look at what was being offered. LOTS of Lionel. Did see some "kits" and most were $10 a box, pretty much what I was thinking to ask.
No GMC products even though the show was in their hometown of Wheaton and not one PennLine Crusader to be found. Looks like on-line searches or good guessing at prices. Sell too fast, raise price. Selling too slow or not at all, lower them. And keep lowering until they are gone.
 
abdywgn said:
took about an hour to walk around the show and look at what was being offered. LOTS of Lionel. Did see some "kits" and most were $10 a box, pretty much what I was thinking to ask.
No GMC products even though the show was in their hometown of Wheaton and not one PennLine Crusader to be found. Looks like on-line searches or good guessing at prices. Sell too fast, raise price. Selling too slow or not at all, lower them. And keep lowering until they are gone.
Click to expand...
Sounds like an hour well spent
 
Caveat- Broadway Limited recently released a new, high tech version of the Crusader.
IIRC it was a brass-hybrid and cost over $700

Before that, IIRC the Penn-Line was the only way to get one.

However I bet that particular model is still reasonably valuable.
 
pics of the Crusader kit:

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there is 4 pages of assembly instructions and a price list if parts are missing or broken.
 
weird this thread comes up now. I am starting out a new model railroad layout with a start 2' x 8' section of plywood.

I have not decided whether to go N scale and get more out of the space or go with the classic HO scale.

I had a 4'x'8 HO set up loooong time ago in my parents house when I was too young to realize what I was looking at. (handme downs from older siblings) There was a lot of classic tyco (my favorite) mixed with a lot of Athearn.

Then life moved on and I grew into a college kid and they sold the setup at a garage sale because I said I wasn't interested in it. Now I can kick my own *** for that stupidity.

Now that I have my own house, I have a bigger bedroom than ever before but I still want to keep it limited to 2x8 for now because that size will go well with the furniture and everything that is in the room.
 
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I am starting out with a cheap HO set I bought from a Garage sale this past summer and then I bought an N scale set to compare from Hobby Lobby.

I know this is really cheap stuff for the pros out there but for my skill level and what I want out of it, this cheap plastic stuff will do just fine and then some.

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In a little more than 2x8 for HO, I'd suggest a "timesaver".

It's a switching puzzle, so you don't get bored watching the train chase it's tail.

John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid Railroad - The TimeSaver

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That's what I did to get my chops up getting back into it in the early 2000's.

I put scenery on mine and added things like a tank car unloading platform, small freight house, team track ramp, etc.

...and mine had an interchange track at the top center.

I also used more realistic looking manual ground throws for the switches/turnouts.
 
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Princess Valiant said:
weird this thread comes up now. I am starting out a new model railroad layout with a start 2' x 8' section of plywood.

I have not decided whether to go N scale and get more out of the space or go with the classic HO scale.

I had a 4'x'8 HO set up loooong time ago in my parents house when I was too young to realize what I was looking at. (handme downs from older siblings) There was a lot of classic tyco (my favorite) mixed with a lot of Athearn.

Then life moved on and I grew into a college kid and they sold the setup at a garage sale because I said I wasn't interested in it. Now I can kick my own *** for that stupidity.

Now that I have my own house, I have a bigger bedroom than ever before but I still want to keep it limited to 2x8 for now because that size will go well with the furniture and everything that is in the room.
Click to expand...
the train stuff was my Dad's. as I never took an interest in it except to set up the Lionel train once in a while for Christmas, he kept his stuff in file cabinets in the garage. After he passed and I moved, everything was packed up and put in my basement. I'm going to try and sell off some of the pieces, but there are some unusual kits I'm thinking of keeping. They may just be static displays though...
I like your round table set-up.
 
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