Atten: Lionel Train collectors/fans

[Anonymous]

hi everyone! I'm brand new to the forum and I need some help from all you train experts. I recently acquired a HUGE Lionel train collection along with some boxes. And I was wondering if anyone could tell me a little more about the 2503 WS lionel set box. I have included a picture below. If anyone could tell me what year its from, how much it may be worth, or just anything about it, it would be a BIG help. I have also included a picture of the entire collection, if anyone could tell me the value of some of the trains it would also be a big help! I have more pictures if needed. Thanks a lot!

[Buckeye Riveter]

You have some real nice items.

One way for you to find out their worth is to go to your public library and check out a price guide published by Greenburg. Take the number on the end of the box and find the high, low and average prices of the set. You may want to find out the worth of each items, too. BTW, those boxes should be kept out of the sun and florescent lights. They are worth some money too.

[Anonymous]

thanks! and yup the boxes are kept out of the sun and florescent lights they are stored in my basement. I actually also have tracks and booklets/instruction guides/ and original smoke pellets too. hopefully it can all pay for my last year of college tuition. :-)

[Chris F]

According to David Doyle's 2004 book, "Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains, 1945-1969", the 2503 WS outfit was cataloged in 1958 and called the Timberland Special Freight. The set included a 665 steamer with 2046W tender, 3361 operating lumber car, 6534 Poultry car, 6801 Boat car, 6536 M&St.L hopper, and 6357 Lionel caboose. The other cars in your photo were not in this set.

The book gives values of $550 in excellent condition and $950 in like new condition. This assumes all original paperwork and cartoning materials. One requirement of "Like New" condition probably would be the absence of smoke residue in the steamer.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Chris, that really helped me out. I'll be going to the library to do some research.


That's the whole collection. With original boxes, instructions/manuals, smoke pellets etc. anyone interested in it??

[Big_Boy_4005]

You also have some pre war pieces there. Those are the metal ones with the funny couplers.

It looks like you have a different hopped than what Chris said came with the set. Without seeing them close up, it is hard to tell their condition, but they look to have been well taken care of. The boxes appear to be excellent, and the trains probably are as well.

[Anonymous]

hmmm which ones are the prewar pieces if you dont mind telling me?

Oh here are more pictures of each individual pieces ^___^ Sorry lots of pictures.

3361X

[Big_Boy_4005]

These are the prewar pieces. There should be an engine to go with that set too. I'm not a prewar expert, but I recognize it when I see it. You might want to repost these photos in a seperate topic, calling for prewar experts. We have a few that hang out here.

I have a couple of books that cover prewar, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on a single set that contained those pieces. Some of them may have been purchased seperately, and added to a small set.

In addition to missing the engine, it seems like you are also missing the caboose.

Is there some square lumber on the gray post war log dump car? If so, it probably belongs to the green flat car. The post war log dump car has the round logs. They roll off the car when cradle is tipped up.

All of these pieces were made for a number of years starting in the mid 30's and going all the way up to the war, when all production stopped. When production resumed, the whole product line had pretty much been changed.

Very handy having the individual photos like that. Also the fact that they are horizontal, allows them to be enlarged by clicking on them. Vertical photos can't do that in the forum.

[3railguy]

Like Big Boy says, you have a mixture of pre and postwar. The 665 steam engine, boat car, poultry car, and prewar cattle car are desireable. Otherwise, everything is fairly common. Depending on condition (The stuff appears to be for the most part, excellent)) is worth around $600 if priced individually or $400 if sold as a lot. To get full book value, you would have to cater it as train shows.

[Anonymous]

you could prolly get the most money for the box's... they look prestine... well, the trains look mint too.. a world wide auction may bring in unexpected quantities of cash if divided up properly

ive seen single box's sell for 100s on ebay

[3railguy]

The set box doesn't come close to pristine. The trains don't come close to "mint". Some appear "Like New" maybe, but pictures hide a lot. Unless of course you are an eBay dealer, then anything can be classified as mint.

[Anonymous]

Individually, the values on your prewar cars are as follows:
-652 gondola car: $28 good, $55 excellent
-651 flatcar: $28 good, $55 excellent
-656 cattle car: $65 good, $115 excellent
-654 tank car: $42 good, $75 excellent

The cattle car and the flatcar appear to rate excellent and so would defintely be at the values given for excellent condition (probably more, considering that they have the boxes). The gondola car and tank car wouldn't rate as excellent, however, since they seem to have a few scuffs or scratches or light rust on them, but these flaws aren't too bad and these cars would probbly have a value on the high end of the range and possibly be worth as much as ones in excellent condition without boxes.

I noticed that you do have a caboose to go with them that is visible in the overall photo and in the background of some of the others. I'd be willing to bet that it's a 657. The Greenberg guide lists a 657 with a red roof (matching the rest of it) as being worth $20 good, $34 excellent and one with a tuscan roof being $23 good, $42 excellent.

It's hard to place a value on the tender by itself with no engine. This tender would have gone with a 238E or 249E steam locomotive.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Big_Boy 4005 for taking the time out and letting me know which pieces are from the pre-war era. Thank you for also letting me know that the square logs are for the green flatbed. I was having trouble figuring out exactly where it belonged. I will create a new topic for the pre-war pieces..and now I know why my vertical picture couldnt be enlarged ^_^ thanks

Thank You 3railguy, bignumber99, and sask_tinplater for all the price information and advice.

Would anyone know by any chance where I possibly sell these sets besides ebay?