I’ve wanted a classic looking Lionel die cast metal train for a while. Something o-gauge with a traditional power and operation method.

Other than that, I have no idea what I am looking for.

What I don’t want is some current $800+ engine Bluetooth, voice controlled, blah blah train. I also do not want a ready to run plastic set.

This will see limited use at Christmas time but I want something like what a kid in the 50s or 60s would have played with.

Any tips?

Is there a model train club near you? There is a large one in Cochise county here that has open house visits. While it's not a specific answer to you question, it would be a good place to check out and talk to members about what is available, assuming there is one around you somewhere.

Check out the Lionel PWC (Postwar Celebration Series). They are more recent manufacture of the old school sets. Some will have TMCC which pre dates Legacy/Lionchief/Bluetooth. They can still be run with a traditional transformer but the remote option is there. They will also have Odyssey Cruise. Ebay would probably be the best bet, they are 10-15 years old

I still have my first Lionel train (Christmas present from my grandfather, 1952). The engine is cast iron and all the cars have plastic bodies.
You will have to go pre war for what you are looking for, or go to large scale metal Christmas trains.

I highly recommend the Electric Train Depot as a source of possibly the largest inventory of vintage and modern trains: http://www.electrictraindepot.com/
The company is the hobby of the owner, so you will be dealing with a person with passion for trains.

He also has a great in-store working layout that my grandkids love.
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Does it have to be Lionel, or would MTH Railking be ok?

MTH is normally a bit cheaper, since it doesn't have the Lionel name. Googling it, I see that some MTH are die cast.

I’ve still got my electric train from a Christmas morning when I was a kid, but mine’s an American Flyer, much like the one redleg described. I don’t know what the premium would have been to upgrade to Lionel, but my folks did the best they could to make our Christmases nice. Just a couple years ago I took it out and set the track up in a circle around our tree.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
I’ve still got my electric train from a Christmas morning when I was a kid, but mine’s an American Flyer, much like the one redleg described. I don’t know what the premium would have been to upgrade to Lionel, but my folks did the best they could to make our Christmases nice. Just a couple years ago I took it out and set the track up in a circle around our tree.

Re: “my folks did the best they could to make our Christmases nice.”

Such a nice thing to say. My folks did that too. They weren’t wealthy. The engine of my Christmas train set had a spring motor. I was very happy to have it.

I see what looks like classic Lionel train sets for about $300 on eBay. I don’t think you need to go too old- I bought a set new for my son in about 1995 or so, and it’s what I would call classic. I am not a train aficionado, but it had the cast metal engine, made smoke by burning oil, classic metal tracks and a traditional transformer.

I think we gave it away a few years ago and remember checking at the time and they just didn’t seem to worth too much at the time.

I would suggest looking at local estate sales or garage sales.

Do a search on Ebay to get a look at different models. After deciding what you might want, look at Facebook Marketplace. There should be a lot at both sites. Prices are a little softer now than five of ten years ago. Not cheap but lower than before.

You just made me think about the Lionel train set I had as a kid in the 70’s. It is still boxed up in my mom’s attic. I wonder if it still works and what it might be worth. They were good size trains and I loved setting them up.

Detroit Model Railroad Club in downtown Holly might be a good starting point, on Saginaw Street.

They have a website.

Lionel Twain?

Not sure if you are near Lansing or if its still there but there used to be a model train group with a huge setup in the basement of the Impression 5 science center. Those guys all loved to talk trains

I still have the set my dad bought for me in 1956 and I still collect them. Do you have a transformer to run one with? Track?

I have dozens, none newer than about 1990. Several I bought new in late 80's. Built solid and will last a long time. I get the vast majority from on-line auctions, not ebay. Many times you can find older new in box trains, still in plastic.

My mom still has my dad's Lionel trains from the '30s and '40s. He got them cleaned up at one point, but even after that, they weren't super-reliable in terms of running smoothly. They have been on display at mom's house for a long time now.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
I’ve wanted a classic looking Lionel die cast metal train for a while. Something o-gauge with a traditional power and operation method.

Other than that, I have no idea what I am looking for.

What I don’t want is some current $800+ engine Bluetooth, voice controlled, blah blah train. I also do not want a ready to run plastic set.

This will see limited use at Christmas time but I want something like what a kid in the 50s or 60s would have played with.

Any tips?

Interesting thread. My dad has been a train guy since his youth in the 30s. He and I have been going to model train shows for the past couple of decades. If you have any of those in your area, attend a few of them. You will likely see everything you could ever want in a vintage Lionell train set. Just be sure you’re getting actual Lionel products. There is a cheaper brand that was made back in the day to compete with Lionel. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it though. But it was clearly cheaper in quality and was made mostly for the kids whose parents were broke. Lol.

Anyway, at train shows, they have an area for displays and scenes, and they also have an area where they sell parts and whole train sets. That is where you’re likely to find what you’re looking for. You might be surprised by the prices of some of the more hard to find components, but there is a real strong following for the Lionel stuff.

A little off subject but I got an American Flyer set when I was a small kid. Still have the engine and cars but the track rusted out years ago and the transformer got lost somewhere.

I remembered the cheaper train brand. It was Marx. The Marx brand was noticeably cheaper quality. I only say this so you avoid being taken by an unscrupulous re-seller. If a person went in looking for antique Lionel trains and didn't know any better, he could end up with an unsatisfactory set. Compare them side by side and you'll see it immediately. But if you aren't able to compare, a Marx set will look antique but not be Lionel quality.