Marklin pre-electric N gauge collection - what to do with it?

[Anonymous]

I have recently uncovered a collection I amassed as a child, circa 1960. It is Marklin N-gauge stuff, non electric. The cast-metal track twists together. The rolling stock is all metal, and the units simply hook together. It is powered by the user's hand. I have a fair amount of pieces, including 3 cigar boxes full of track, a trestle set, 2 cigar boxes full of rolling stock, and some odds and ends.

I have no particular need for these items, and no nostalgic motivation to keep them. I also have no idea what it's all worth, but have no delusions about making a killing. Surely somebody out there wants this stuff (somebody out there wants ANYTHING!), but I have no idea how to go about assessing the collection or how to reach the person who might want it. I am not a member of the model railroading world, although I have resp[ect for those of you who are.

If you have any suggestions, I would be most grateful to get them. I will check this forum every two or three days, or you can email me at [e-mail].

Any help you might offer would be gratefully received. May the peace of the Lord be with you!

Paul

[lionelsoni]

Although the trains you describe certainly sound toy-like, the Model Railroader Magazine forum might be able to give you better answers than we can here.

Et c.u.m spiritu tuo.

(The thing that looks for taboo words on this forum has a dirty mind, and is stupid as well.)

[Anonymous]

Are you sure it's Marklin? While Marklin did experiment with N scale in the mid to late 1960's, they finally decided to produce Z scale 1:220 in 1972. Very few N scale models were produced and not commercially. If your collection is Marklin. I would believe it to be exceptionally rare and valuable.
The line you speak of sounds more like Treble "0", Treble"0"Lectric to me. A British maker who produced in both static and electric die cast N scale trains in the 1960's.
I agree with lionelsoni. Your best bet is to try the Model Railroad Forum.
Best of Luck in your search.

[Anonymous]

As dtpowell says, the trains you describe sound an awful lot like Treble O. The maker of these trains was Lone Star. Lone Star trains are quite collectable today, so your trains certainly do have value. Check out http://members.aol.com/dgosha/TrebleO.html . It gives a history of these trains and has a lot of good information, although the site's focus is more on the electric ones. These trains show up on ebay fairly frequently, so I would try serching for Lone Star trains there to get an idea of value. Good luck in finding the right buyer!