To start off with, I realize that this is a childhood issue carried forward into adulthood unresolved. I know that. But I can’t seem to help myself. I want a new Lionel Berkshire #736 2-8-4 steam engine in a starter train set.
When I was growing up, my brother had one of these. My father even hooked it up and ran it with the trains He had from when He was growing up. I was never allowed to play with them, but I loved the set. Sure, they took a lot of space & monopolized either a table or a good section of floor. Sure they were reletively fragile and came with a transformer that could’ve fried Gary Gilmour. I loved the thing.
Well, I have sons now. One is a toddler and one just turned 6. My wife has said “They’re too young. They won’t appreciate it and when they Break it on you, you’ll just get pissed and be an asshole to live with.” Truthfully, they Are young. And my oldest doesn’t even want one really. [Although why he’d want some cheap plastic ‘Transformer’ Rubik’s Cube of a toy instead is beyond me. ] And if he did want one, it probably wouldn’t be the ‘oh-so-specific’ model I’d insist on. Yes, its a personal issue and I admit it. But on the other hand, believe it or not, Lionel Still Sells This Exact Set NEW!!! Train Set
Its Amazing and I can even avoid all the E-bay thieves and collector scam artists it trying to buy it. It wouldn’t be ‘Used’ or an ‘Antique’; my kids (and I) would be the first ones to have / play with it. The thing is, $400.00 + shipping can put a hole in the budget. That and it just ‘showing up’ (especially after my wife Vetoed it for my birthday (?) ) would probably cause a family fight.
On the other side of the coin, I don't know how much longer they are going to keep making/selling these things and I'd hate to someday say "OK, Now my son's old enough" just to find out that its gone the way of the "Flexible Flyer".
So I ask you, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?
The logical side says hey it’s only a stupid train. Just a toy. Should be easy to live without. But when you take into account the childhood memories and sentimental value this seems hard to pass up. If the 400 is going to cause some kind of hardship or not let ends meet then I would say skip it. if the 400 just means a little less saved then I would by all means buy it. Just tell your wife first though so you can at least have something to look forward to during the fighting. hopefully she’s not teetering on the edge of divorcing you.
If I was in the same spot I would definitely buy it. Luckily I’ve never understood the love of model trains so I guess I get to be happy playing with my 400 bucks.
$400 is reasonable for that set. Depending on where you live, though, you might be able to find a person who fixes up old trains and who might also be able to give you advice on price, availability, quality, and the like. There are plenty of on-line sources, too. I’d be very surprised if Lionel goes out of business in the next several years; this opinion is based on talks with a man who has been a dealer/repairman for Lionel and other trains for all of his adult life.
FWIW, prices on eBay are soft, particularly for Post-war (1946-1965-ish) trains and accessories. It’s my opinion that the dealers are buying most of the more common stuff, restoring it, doubling or tripling the price, and reselling it on their own web sites. Nothing wrong with that, mind you. But… it means that you can find some good, functional locos and cars relatively inexpensively that already have a ding or two - - that way when the kids run them off the track, you won’t have a heart attack.
I inherited my Dad’s set from the 1950s. YMMV, but my kids have gotten bored with the basic oval and even the sidings I’ve added. We’re now making the train table bigger so that we can accomodate even MORE track. Now they want to build houses and buy little O-guage figurines and and and more stuff. You can avoid this fate if you don’t get started to begin with…
My father and I are users and collectors of Lionel “O” guage trains. I’m not sure exactly what your passion is for this particular set, but I can tell you, that my nephew at age 18 months is FASCINATED by my father’s layout. Furthermore, when I was 5 years old. I absolutely LOVED them. We have an old 8mm film with me and my entire kindergarden class coming to see the layout. Every child is fascinated and I am trotting around SO proud that I know how to operate everything. I’m now 27 years old and I still enjoy building layouts and operating the layouts. It’s a very fun, relaxing hobby (especially during the winter when you can’t be outside). Fortunately, my father has been into model railroading since he was 16 or so, and he began purchasing items then. He has continued to buy something here or there. He has acquired items for the past 42 years. The first table I recalled was 6’ by 4’. My father then made another 6’ by 4’ table so we had a layout that was 6’ by 8’. Then we moved and added a 7’ by 4’ table in the middle. We moved again, and now the table has grown to 25’ by 6’. The table has been placed in a permanent part of the basement. It’s a wonderful hobby that I think you should enjoy.
I’ve got 2 engines and I’m not sure how many cars and how much track boxed up in the basement. I seem to recall they would need some serious cleaning/overhauling to run more than marginally, but there will be time to do that later.
The missus periodically asks if we can get rid of them. Says maybe we could get some $ for them. I respond that we don’t need the money, and as long as they only take up that amount of space in the basement, I insist that they stay unmolested.
Gonna have to crack those babies out one of these days.
Just another thing you have in common with Neil Young, huh?
LOL This is so cool, we still have two of those exact same sets in my moms basement sitting in the boxes. For the flat car with the stakes, I believe we still have all the stakes even. I can’t believe it’s $400 now! Ahhh the memories!
Why not put it on lay away or something?
A toy isn’t worth it if it’s going to cause many problems, than again, the problems won’t be permanent.
You can do what I always do when I am unsure, wait a few days. If you feel you should go buy it one day without a doubt then do it. That’s what I did when I had doubts about buying a car.
Its Stupid. It was always my brothers train. That he’d get dad’s trains too when he passed only made sense. But, even though I know its irrational, I want one. One that I can pass down to my boys (I’d be smart enough to buy a second engine & caboose and make them share the flat cars).
Actually, I already know the answer. If I skip lunches & pocket the money I would have spent, I’ll have the money in a few weeks. But thanks for hearing me out.
We inherited one of those $1200 LGB trains when my dad died. It was his favorite “toy”, but I have to admit, it’s pretty cool. It smokes, lights up, and makes chugging noises. It whistles when it stops at the station too. My dog doesn’t like it much: Evil Train
Oh yeah, and there’s a plastic outhouse model we built so that all the plastic people have a place to relieve themselves.
If my father gives those trains to my sister when he passes away, I’ll shoot his dead body. Those puppies are mine. Of course that’s all I want that’s his.
I’m glad you decide to buy them. Happy railroading!
You can proably get it much cheaper than $400.00 if you go to a train show. Get a copy of Model Railroading and start looking around. The dealers at these shows sell well below retail (well, some of them) and you can dicker with the. I found a great Lionel set for a friend of mine with sound, smoke, track and cars for $180.00.
Your kids are NOT too young, by the way. I got a Lionel trainset for my kids when my youngest was 2. He loved it and was very gentle with it. Besides, the O gauge stuff is pretty tough.
