How many of you have Patriotic or Bicentennial (1776) / Freedom themed trains?

One of my favorite cars. 

 

 

 

Here are a few of the cars I run with my Bicentennial engines.

 

 

I have multiples of some of the cars in this photo.

I have a pair of the Bicentennial CNW 4-bay coal hoppers. And yes, there was a prototype.

 

Would really like to get an ATSF Bicentennial SD45-2. I saw it only once when I worked at TRW in Redondo Beach near the Harbor Sub tracks. I'd take that one in an SD45 slight variant.

 

Also wouldn't mind a CNW #1776 GP18 if MTH decided to dust off their new Premier GP9 tooling.

I have a set of "Old Glory" reefers that I run with my MPC era bicentennial engine and caboose. I add a searchlight on each end of the cars to show them off a bit more:

 

 

J White

 

Mth scale GG1,

 

 

Do you mean something like this?  These photos were taken on the G&O garden railroad last July 4.

 

 

I have the K-Line Bicentennial American Freedom Train cars from 2001-2005 (all 18 of them) and the Lionel 1947 Freedom train set (all 7 cars.)  I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the MTH AFT Reading T-1.  I am currently working on flatcars for the Bicentennial AFT and will post some pictures when I have something to show.

 

Rolland

 

I have the 1776 set that has been running on the layout since I got it last October in York. Been thinking about getting the RMT GG1 to doublehead them since the locomotive in the set seems to slip a bit while pulling all 13 cars plus caboose. I have a number of other patriotic cars that I pull out for various days, 4th of July, veterans day, 9/11, etc.

 

Jerry

I have an N&W 1776 TOFC that I'd love to pair with the matching SD-45 one day, along with the caboose and coal hopper. I'm finally at a place where I've gotten all of my "must haves" and can pre-order things like this when they come out. It seems like they never come up on the secondary market.

Well, I have to make due. I run a Coast Guard SW starter set with a few extra cars to get an alternating red, white, and blue train following that Coast Guard orange switcher.

 

In addition to the Lionel bicentennial boxcar set, Lionel also made a set of 027 passenger cars.
Williams made a set of aluminum bicentennial passenger cars. They show up on EBay from time to time. I have not seen this set in person.

Running at the Armed forces Retirement Home, Washington DC on April 9, 2015. These are the 027 cars referenced by C W Burfle. They were part of a special TCA set. The locomotive had a blue frame as opposed to the black frame of the Spirit of 76 State Boxcar set. Here my black-frame locomotive is on the point.

 

I have the blue frame unit as well, and will get a photo tonight for comparison.

 

 

Found the photos. Here are views of black and blue frame units. I just realized the blue frame unit is 1976, the black is 1776. Never noticed that before!

 

 

 

 

I have the Lionel Bicentennial set all rarin' to go for the 4th of July.  I fondly remember adding to it as a teenager, 3 cars at a time (as Lionel released them), in the two years leading up to the Bicentennial.

 

My town, Bristol, RI, has the longest continuously running 4th of July parade in the country.  It's a major league affair -- approx. 100,000 people attend -- and it takes a good 3-4 hours for the parade to pass by.  This year is the 230th edition.  We have 65-70 people over each year to watch the parade from our front porch.

 

When my layout is finished, visitors will be treated to laps run by the Bicentennial set.  I've also added the Lionelville parade car and the Lionel Happy 4th of July car to complete it.

 

I hadn't even thought about the concept of purchasing some of the other engines/consists to make it an all red/white/blue display, but now this thread has me thinking....

 

Steven J. Serenska

Bristol, RI

 

In addition to the TCA 027 passenger car set, Lionel put out an uncataloged Bicentennial 027 passenger car set.
I think it came with an ALCO diesel, an Uncle Sam boxcar, and several passenger cars. Maybe the Uncle Sam car was separate sale. I am uncertain, and could not find a reference on-line.

I have this engine and caboose combination from RMT.  The consist is a bevy of US Mail (red, white and blue) box cars (I'm not sure how many as they are presently packed up.  I think there may be 8 or 10.  

I checked with Mark and Sparkle Farkel, as well as Simon and Gar Farkel, and found out about this set:

 

THE LIBERTY SPECIAL

 

 

This was a limited edition set that was never in the Lionel catalog (un-cataloged) and was sold in 1975. It is new in the box and appears to never have been run. It is complete including the paperwork. The box shows some slight shelf wear from being stored over the years.

The box lists it as "A Limited Edition Bicentennial Complete O27 Gauge Electric Train Set"

Set Includes:

• #8570 Alco diesel engine
• #9759 Boxcar depicting Paul Revere and the Revolutionary War
• #9760 Boxcar depicting the Liberty Bell and Spirit of '76
• #9761 Boxcar depicting President George Washington
• #9076 Caboose "We The People Of The United States"
• 8-curved and 2-straight track sections
• Transformer
• Track lockon and hook-up wires
• Manumatic un-coupler
• Paperwork including instructions, approved service station list, order form, accessory catalog, and warranty card

Haven't found any with passenger cars yet, but will keep looking.

 

 

quote:

Haven't found any with passenger cars yet, but will keep looking.

 

I am fairly certain that was the set that I was thinking of. So I guess I was mistaken about the passenger cars.

Since the Uncle Sam boxcar wasn't listed, I guess that was separate sale. There are a bunch of them on EBay. Here is one.

Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad bicentennial paints.

Here is an EBay lot consisting of the Liberty Special

 

Lionel also made a "Preamble Express" F3. It was single motored, with tire traction.
The shells turn up fairly frequently. Here is an EBay lot showing one of them.

My dad was raised by his five maiden aunts; the bicentennial was a big deal in that house.  So in the leadup to July 4, 1976 The Aunts ( that is their proper name as a group) bought bicentennial bedsheets, bicentennial plates, bicentennial swizzle sticks, a spirit of '76 transistor radio (AM only), tiny liberty bells, a minuteman chess set, and on and on. And on.

Needless to say there was a Lionel set in all of this.  Sometime in 1975 the Liberty Bell Special arrived on Newport Ave.  Dad claims he bought it with his money but I've also seen a picture of the box under the Christmas tree.  For ages that red white and blue alco was the only Lionel diesel I knew.

I had a couple of the Preamble F3s to sell, one guy insisted that Lionel never made it. Honest and for truly, I showed him the box and the price guide listing it. He walked away unconvinced.

My favorite is the Spirit of 76 engine and cars. I started to write set, but that's not how they were sold. We waited each year for MPC Lionel to release more box cars, it took 3 or 4 years before Lionel had produced all 13.

Lionel did not make a "B" unit for the Preamble Express F3. There were "B" units on the market when that engine was current, but they were not factory. I believe that TrainWorld (NYC) advertised them. I don't know who made them, or who else sold them.

I thought the Preamble Express was uncataloged. It did appear in the same flyer with the Liberty Bell set.

I was into the family photos today. I came across a photo of his layout with only one tack loop laid down.

To my surprise, I 'm looking at that picture in my left hand of Grandpa standing in front of what I think is the "preamble", and U-boat with the cars.

 In my right hand is him, and my Great Grandfather standing next to the real 1776 parked and front door open. Complete with the little flags stuck on top too!

 Strictly coincidence. What's the chances of starting with the box containing these when there are so many boxes of photos to go. The majority in the box were between 1920 and 1965.

There is a B unit with his Preamble

 

Scott Smith

I have the K-Line GG1.

I have a number of Bicentennial trains. 

I have the Lionel 1948 freedom train. I also have these K-line cars too!

 

 

That is a beautiful piece of equipment.

 

Very nice to see all these trains in pictures.

Here's on begging to be modeled...

North American Rayon # 1, in Elizabethton, TN. Probably the only steam locomotive to get a bicentennial paint job other than the Freedom Train:

I usually bring this out around the 4th of July, but since you asked ...

 

 

Nice Keith

 

I really goofed not getting that car . Slipped right by me.

 

Not a easy find now for a reasonably price. Won't stop me from looking.

 

To everyone else , thanks for posting the beautiful photos.

 

Larry

Keith,

 

Can you provide a little more info on the while/blue tank car, 1776-2001 225 Years of Freedom.  I can't find it.

 

Thanks.

 

Ron

Here are a few of the HO Bicentennial models I have.

 

Bob 

 

Here's a shot of how I painted up my full-size D&H caboose from Sept. 1975 - May 1977.

Keith,

 

Thanks for the info.  I checked da Bay and there was one getting ready to close, so I quickly bid on it and won it ($26)  It will be a great car for the collection.