help on value of train set

[Anonymous]

i am not familiar with trains but have always wanted an older train set and i found one today for sale and was wondering what it is worth. the box says "lionell 3994" and is about 16X 16 inches big. the engine is black with "biltmore commodore" on the side. i think it has 4 cars with it also. the paint is in pretty good shape and controller looks decent also. any ideas on value. thanks. i didn't buy it yet please respond asap just need a ballpark figure on value.

[Anonymous]

any ball bark values. i have no idea, is it worth $100 or $500. thanks

[ben10ben]

Without seeing the set and knowing the individual components, I can't say the value.

Unless there's some rare and valuable part in it, though, it's definitely not worth $500.

[Anonymous]

I would say that if you're wanting to buy trains strictly for their value, you should buy a Greenberg's price guide. Most people on this board have a rule of thumb---if you like it and can afford it, BUY IT. [;)]

[Big_Boy_4005]

Sorry, but that description doesn't sound like any Lionel train I know, not even pre war. Better take another look and write down the numbers from each of the pieces.

[3railguy]

Yes, we need more info. sounds awful strange. Number doesn't jive. Sure it doesn't say "commodore vanderbuilt"? If it says "builtmore commodore" its likely be an old Japanese Lionel knockoff. Stuff like that often shows up. Our alphabet and pronunciation was greek to them. They would grossly misspell stuff and even put "Lionel" on their stuff not knowing that it was a company name. There are really no established values to Japanese knock-offs. It's in the eye of the beholder and usually isn't much.