old train question

[Anonymous]

i have obtained some old trains. one american flyer model 1337 the oriental , 1 lionel multivolt transformer and a box with metal uildings made buy haener. can anybody tell me anything about this set and if its of any value. its in very good condition.

[Anonymous]

Well, you seem to have a very good find there. All of your trains are prewar and probably date from the 1930's. If the condition is very good as you say, they should be quite valuable. I'd try checking ebay for simmilar items to see what they're going for. When you mention the box that the Hafner buildings are in, do you mean the original box? If so, the value is considerably increased. I would guess that it is a set of three buildings containing a passenger station labeled "Gleyn Ellyn" (this was a suburb of Chicago where John Hafner, the company's founder lived), a frieght station and a station platform that are all about the same size. The transformer, however, has very little value. Basic transformers are extremely common and not worth much to begin with, but if they don't work, they're almost valueless. With some exceptions, most toy train enthusiasts buy transformers to operate their trains, rather than for their collectability. Usually they prefer newer transformers to ones as old as yours, due to safety reasons.

[Anonymous]

the building doesnt say anything on it . one is a loading dock no2 looks like a brick building and the third is a sitting area with two lights.it also has one road crossing sign pole and two mechanical crossing poles. the box for hafner is there but in poor condition.