# Inherited my grandfathers train set... have some questions



## stang8118 (Sep 9, 2010)

Ok so my grandfather handed down his train set to my dad, and when my dad passed away last year it was given to me. Well I want to know what I have on my hands...


Ok it is the Lionel 1930~ish train set. The model number is 616E on the engine, 617 & 618 on the passenger cars. I know these are all original, and not even sure if they work (no tracks to test them on...). I can take pics if you need, but I think it is pretty self explanatory. I was wondering the cash value of these if there was a market for them.


Thanks a bunch!


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## Boston&Maine (Dec 19, 2007)

You have a prewar Lionel Flying Yankee set... How many pieces are there total? I am fairly certain that you should have two 617 passenger cars, which would give you a four car set when combined with the 616 motor car and the 618 observation car... TJ has the book though and should be able to clarify...

Sight unseen, I would say that the low end for a Flying Yankee set is probably around $200... Obviously, if they are in great condition though, they will be worth more... The fact that they are all original is a big plus...

Pictures would be nice too if you do not mind


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## stang8118 (Sep 9, 2010)

Forgot to turn down the resolution on my camera, so most of the pics are over 2mb in size. There are only 3 cars in this set, and the front and rear one are in pretty good condition for being 80 years old, it is just the middle one that is starting to show signs of rust of some sort on the top. It feels like it is only surface rust though, so it can probably be restored.

Here is an imageshack photo album i just setup.

http://img205.imageshack.us/g/dsc01685m.jpg/


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Stang,

Too funny ... we were just talkiing about this Lionel Flying Yankee set in another thread today.

B&M above is on good track with his info. The first sets appeared in 1935, I think, with several variations of trim color, shell cover, etc. Loco tops and observation car rear were produced in black, gunmetal, olive green, red. The car shells were either bright chromed, or painted in an aluminum color.

Per B&M's comments, sets included a loco 616E (or some a 616W with whistle), 2 passenger cars 617, and one observation car 618.

David Doyle's "Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains: 1900-1942" pegs the set value at somewhere between $300 for "very good" to $600 for "like new". Condition grading is stringent in these valuations. Also, valuations are for complete sets, with original boxes, track, transformer, etc all in corresponding condition.

So, if you have the cars, only, and they're in OK condition, $200 might be ballpark. If you have boxes, etc., and things are in very good condtion, value could be higher.

These are all fuzzy guidelines, only. Your best bet is to do some serious price-searching on ebay, both for current listings, and also for recent "completed" listings. These recent offerings (sold and not sold) are your best data points.

Good luck,

TJ


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## stang8118 (Sep 9, 2010)

Thank for the reply TJ, some reason my 2nd post hasn't gone through??

Here is some pictures I just took of it.

http://img205.imageshack.us/g/dsc01685m.jpg/


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