Lionel box question

[Anonymous]

Ok, I'm looking around ebay and the LHS and I'm seeing two different styles of Lionel boxes for the rolling stock.  I noticed this same thing with K-Line (yellow and blue) and I've been able to figure out that the blue usually sells for much less than the yellow; I assume that this is a difference in quality.  Now my question, Lionel has two different boxes that I've seen; 1 the almost solid orange box and then the multi-colored box.  The prices do seem to differ between the two, so I'm wondering if this is an age thing, a quality thing or what.  Can someone tell me why there are two different boxes?

[Anonymous]

nobody?  Beginning to question the quality of the collectors on this board.

[dwiemer]

Two answers that may guide you.  Some boxes are different these days to denote premier items.  With regard to the Lionel boxes you have, different boxes for different periods from the company.  There is a whole other world with regard to collecting with boxes.  Some items are not worth nearly as much, except that the box is a certain type or that the box is even with it.  I have seen boxes go for thousands of dollars on the internet auctions.  If you look you will see many variations of Lionel boxes.  some are solid orange, some are orange, blue and white, some are even red, white, and blue.

Dennis

[Anonymous]

thanks, I'm not concerned at all with collecting with boxes, I run my train, and plan to run future pieces as well, and if these pieces are ever sold then it will be my kids who do the selling not me.  I'm just curious as to why I'm seeing such a price gap in different products.  They are all Lionel, but some rolling stock at my LHS sells for $20-$25 while others sell for $39-$60.  And, most of the less expensive ones are in the white boxes while the more costly ones are in the orange boxes.

[csxt30]

There are several eras of Lionel trains

The prewar era : 1901 - 1942

The post war era : 1945-1969

The MPC era : 1970-1986

The modern era 1987 -now

Your red & white box is probably MPC era & may be less expensive than modern era stuff as it looks like what your other box is. Not sure if this list is exactly correct as there was a time also referred to as the Richard Kuhn era when he took over in 1980 I think.

Thanks, John   

[msacco]

I believe the bottom box you show is an MPC box and some of the cars can be pretty cheap on ebay. I know I picked up a few a while back for about $15 dollars a piece.

 

Mike S.

[Chris F]

Modern-era Lionel has produced a lot more than just two box designs.

The top one is the "Type V" (Lionel Visitor's Center boxcar), first produced in 1983 toward the end of the Fundimensions era.  It was (and still is) intended to remind potential buyers of Lionel's postwar boxes.  It is often (but not always) associated with higher-end ("Collector") items.

The bottom box is the "Type II" (Penn Central boxcar), first produced in 1972 near the beginning of the MPC era.

Other common boxes were white with a red/white/blue ribbon, white with color photos, white with a black band, and gold (limited edition series).  I've got a C&NW FM Trainmaster that's in a silver box.

During the Richard Kughn era (86-95), Lionel converted to the Type V box almost exclusively, so that box design hasn't been an indicator of supposed value since then.