Union Pacific for collections

[Anonymous]

I am new to this collector thing and decided basically to start with the Union Pacific line--Is this a decent choice?? I bought a 8002 eng. and tender on e-bay and thinking about getting the set of 2023 engines depending on price--saw the
2023 for as much as $2k on murial auction list {i'm not going that far}--
Did Lionel make any passenger cars for Union P. or was all of them freight??
Any help would be appreciated!!
Thanks:[:)][:)]

[Anonymous]

Hi There,

The Union Pacific, Is the Nations longest operatinf railroad still in buisness. They make lots of equipoment for UP, all manfactuers, so you should be in good hands.

Welcome to the forum.

Chris

[3railguy]

Lionel made a great F-3 Union pacific pass set in 1986 with aluminum pass cars. these sets are commanding high prices until recently and they dropped to around $900. Lionel has made a lot of other UP equipment.

You can get a decent set of postwar 2023 alcos for around $200. The $2,000 ones you saw on ebay were likely the rare grey nose versions. Or maybe mint in the boxes with master carton. They made a yellow anivesary set in 1950 which consisted of 2023 alcos and 2400 series 027 streamline pass cars. Those sets go for around $1,500 for a decent one.

[Anonymous]

There are several UP sets out there. I had Elliott Weltz redo a pair of 2023 Alcos that had the original box with them. They are worth the 200.00 as they are good runners and pullers, and look great with the shorter non-scale passenger cars; the fresh paint was another 200.00, but it was money well spent. Lionel did redo a passenger set to go with them a few years ago, but I was not quick enough out of the gate to get one before they disappeared.

Thanks to all the manufacturers out there now, there is a lot of product on the market. The best thing to do IMO is find out what was made using advertisements and reviews in the back issues of magazines and catalogs. Make a list of what you hope to find and start scrounging eBay and the shows for those items.

You may not know this, but UP is now requiring royalties for using their trademark/service marks; as a result, there may not be as much new stuff coming out as there was in the past. Good luck with your collecting.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all for the info-Really appreciate it!!
Tha Alcos on e-bay now are grey with looks like a dark grey roof--??Looks nice anyway.
Thanks again![:)][:)]

[jimhaleyscomet]

Railking made a nice UP passenger set a few years back.

Jim H

[3railguy]

QUOTE: Tha Alcos on e-bay now are grey with looks like a dark grey roof--??Looks nice anyway.

There are two main variations of 2023 Union Pacic Alcos. The silver and grey top variation you saw on ebay and the yellow and grey top variation. There is also the rare yellow and grey top variation with the grey nose which I mentioned in my previous post.

The silver and grey top variation is what you saw on ebay. They are most common and have the lowest value. I'm wondering what on earth variation, if any makes them worth $2,000.

[Chris F]

expogs6 -

What do you mean by "collector thing"? Do you plan to buy based on expected increase in value, or just because you like something? Do you want to get everything Lionel made with the Union Pacific name (better have VERY deep pockets!)?

Like 3railguy, I'm wondering what kind of special feature might make that 2023 set worth two grand. Can you post a link?

The silver/gray 2033 was included in passenger set 1464W from 1951. The set included small streamlined silver/gray passenger cars 2421, 2422, and 2423. However, these cars were marked for Lionel Lines, not Union Pacific.

Some of the small Lionel UP passenger cars in the UP scheme include:
16068-74 Yellow/gray, small streamlined, 1994
16066-67, 16087-90 Gray/gray, small Madison, 1994,1995
16016-21, 16041 Gray/Gray, small streamlined, 1989

There are lot of the larger UP passenger cars, including those in the 2005 catalog.

Williams' ( www.williamstrains.com ) 2004 Golden Memories catalog shows a reproduction yellow/gray 2023 AA set with 3 matching passenger cars and a 2-car add-on set, as well as the silver/gray version of the 2023. Their 2003-2004 Winter catalog shows a variety of UP passenger cars in the light/dark gray scheme.

[Anonymous]

There was a boxed set of grey nose yellow 2023s on eBay that brought $1,100 a year or so ago; someone forwarded me the link and it jumped 300.00 in the last couple of seconds to top the 1K-mark. Certainly a boxed complete Anniversry set with grey noses would bring that amount; if I remember correctly, there was one that just sold at a train auction for $4,500. So, if the set was sold for that much, a pair of engines may well bring $2,000. Not much margin if you ever decide to resell it, though, as the value on the Anniversary set is in the cars more than the engine IMO.

[Anonymous]

Chris, are you saying that Williams has a set of 'shorty' cars to go with that AA 2023 repro?

[Chris F]

railmail,

Not exactly. The silver/gray Lionel 2023 came with silver/gray O-27 streamliners. The silver/gray Williams 2023 (no. 2023S) does not include passenger cars in the Golden Memory Series catalog. The winter catalog shows O-27 streamliners in UP light gray/dark gray (STR-02733). In looking at Williams' on-line catalog,

http://www.williamstrains.com/passcars/027strm.htm

I see that only the 2-car add-on set (STR-02733AO) is listed. However, Ma & Pa Junction has both:

http://www.mapajunction.com/conductor.html

Hold the phone! On the back cover of the current (March) CCT, Williams is advertising a 1464S UP Silver Streak set with 3 silver/gray "Luxury Lines" passenger cars, along with a 2-car add-on set. I didn't see this set on Williams site, but Ma & Pa junction has it, too. I guess Williams website needs some updating.[;)]

[Anonymous]

Thanks. Still, I hope Jerry decides to do a run in yellow / grey...this custom paint is worth every penny, but it gets pricy when you are talking about five cars.

[Anonymous]

I am not a collector by any means nor do I have deep pockets, just wanted to collect a few for now in a display case, don't have room for a layout.
The place where I saw the $2k set was a site where they list previous auctions, it was
called MAURERAIL.com they list all types of previous auctions about lionel and other trains it is pretty interesting--[:)][:)]

[Anonymous]

That is Ted Maurer's auction in PA; he gets a lot of high-end quality stuff for his larger auctions. I've tried but never won anything there; a little out of my league, but fun to look at.

http://www.maurerail.com/asp/auction.asp

[Anonymous]

Hi, is this Maurerail auction something you have to actually go to in PA?
And is it a dealer only type thing?
If its hi-dollar like you say, don't think it would be very good for me--
Think I will stay with e-bay and the web, there are a few hobby shops around here, one in
Silver Spring, Md that has quite a bit of everything new and used.
Bought me a new Wendys caboose on e-bay yesterday. Know it doesn't go with the
Union Pac. but I thought it was neat!
Wanted one or two of the beer cars but they were too much.[:)][:)]

[Anonymous]

If you are that close, you should go up to Pheonixville just to see it. My experience has been doing it via pre-bid from here in the south, and some times I get topped by only a bid or two. One of these days, maybe I'll win one.

[Anonymous]

Hi Railmail-You close to the great Smokeys??
Have never been to Tenn, would like to go to Nashville sometime!
Now that I am semi-retired perhaps before too long.