Johnny Cash's Lionel Commercial

electroliner: Very Cool thanks for finding and sharing!

There's also this one:

 

That's great but even better is this one from the same time period. I love that he just climbs up in the Southern Mikado and takes off.

 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KNPUZixJA-s

 

I have the silver and black Lionel Boxcar they made to promote this TV Special.

There is also a boxcar that promoted the Trains and Truckin set that is in the commercial

 

Lionel made the  9780 Johnny Cash boxcar (6464 style) in 1976. At one time, it was considered a "hot" car, I don't know how much interest the car draws today.

"Johnny Cash riding the rails" is on Netflix. I watched it recently for first time since I was a kid. Kind of sad as it was filmed in a time when it looked like RRs were circling the drain.

Big Cash fan, got to see him in concert when i was about 12 or so...

Thanks all for posting. I am a JOHNNY CASH fan. I may buy the car if I  one.

 

Brent

Yep, I remember this commercial like it was yesterday, thanks for sharing.

I had the honor of being an escort officer for the "Man in Black" during his tour to perform for us (the troops) in Vietnam.  I admired the man long before that, and I have loved him and his music ever since.  At Long Binh he performed to the point of exhaustion.  The men couldn't get enough of him, and he gave them his all.

tca etrain has an article about Johnny Cash:

 

http://tcaetrain.org/articles/...OHNNYCASH/index.html

 

 

I looked up the value of the Cash boxcar, It seems to be valued ( averaged ) at just over $200.00 The TCA article was really interesting.

Great videos. I loved his early stuff when he was at Sun Records.

 

quote:

I looked up the value of the Cash boxcar, It seems to be valued ( averaged ) at just over $200.00 The TCA article was really interesting.

 

I peaked at Ebay, I see a few, including a couple with buy-it-nows around fifty dollars.
I think the Johnny Cash boxcar falls under the category of "modern era instant collectable". It's street price shot up immediately on release, and is now bringing a fraction of its high value.

 

No sour grapes here. I have one, and was excited to get it at the time. I would have to look up what I paid.

Sometimes you have to put your money where your mouth is.

I am now the proud owner of a "Johnny Cash" car

 

Brent

Allan & Dave, I really enjoyed your reports of his entertainment tours for our troops.

I agree with CW's observations above; the Johnny Cash boxcar has typically been selling in the ballpark of 50 dollars, give or take, on eBay for a while.

John

After further searching I think that cost of 200.00 might be the top of the range of asking prices..and a good thing too. 

Bruce

 

Even $200 is excessive, in my view, for a "top range" price nowadays for that otherwise run-of-the-mill boxcar.  For it to be worth that now I would expect it to include a plaque with his lithographed signature.

I agree this averaged  price was not on Ebay but on sites devoted to Cash collectibles. 

quote:

I looked up the value of the Cash boxcar, It seems to be valued ( averaged ) at just over $200.00 The TCA article was really interesting.

 

If possible, I'd appreciate a link to the article, or knowing which issue of the TCA Quarterly had the article. I would like to read it.

 

Don't know if this is the same one electroliner is referring to, but here's one I found:  TCA archived online Johnny Cash article.   

I was referring to sites that sell Cash Collectibles, not the TCA...Ed H posted the TCA link earlier in the thread

I just noticed on eBay someone has listed what's supposedly a "prototype" or pre-production engineering sample of the Johnny Cash boxcar that ends today.  It comprises of an approval tag and just the boxcar body and doors; no frame, trucks, brakewheel, or the plastic upper door guides.  The doors are silver instead of black, which I suppose is plausible as a pre-production prototype or paint/decoration sample; seller claims to have bought it from a former Lionel employee.  Don't know if it's legit or not but find it passively interesting.

 Anybody here see Johnny Cash in San Quentin ?

 

Wasn't that his second home? 

quote:

The doors are silver instead of black, which I suppose is plausible as a pre-production prototype or paint/decoration sample; seller claims to have bought it from a former Lionel employee.  Don't know if it's legit or not but find it passively interesting.

 

The doors aren't mounted. I would not be surprised to learn that the doors were put with the car later on. But it is unlikely that we will ever know.

Here is the auction.

 

Thank you for the link to the article.

Never served time

As far as the Boxcar I bought mine about ten years ago for $20 at the San Diego All Gauge Toy Train club. Just wait. People seem to really hate MPC. Good for the rest of us.

 

"San Quentin you've been a living a h#ll to me

You've blistered me since 1963......"

 

Mr Cash had an eloquent way with words!  LOVE his music 

Even though I didn't care for his music (not on him solely; C & W music in general makes my eardrums break out in hives), I've always admired that he became a spokesman for Lionel.  Good publicity during an era when interest in the hobby was still in a slump.  Too bad television commercials are so prohibitively  expensive nowadays (even during non - prime time hours);  could you imagine Lionel being able to use Jim Parsons to reprise his  Sheldon Cooper role to plug Lionel trains with the "it's O gauge or no gauge" line?

Celebrity endorsements have largely faded away but most of the commercials in their quest to be clever have become so abstract, half the time you have to strain your brain to figure out what the product is, or they are so cloyingly and synthetically sentimental or "sincere", I want to turn off, tune out, and go read a book.Better yet, fire up the layout.

Generally, I've not been much a fan of CW either. I can't stand new country, naturally my wife likes it.

But Johnny Cash? Always been a fan!

Now that's an additional duty assignment I'd be honored to have!

 

When you said escort officer, I thought this was going to be a different kind of assignment/story....  

 

There is some youtube footage of Cash in 'Nam, not sure if it's Long Binh though.

 

My former CO was a 'Nam Vet- the crustiest CW5 you'll ever meet.  And, I've met a lot of grumpy Warrant Officers during my career.  He once told the Brigade Commander, while chewing on his cigar,  "why don't you tell someone who gives a f###, sir!"  I thought the "sir" part was a nice touch....good way to finish the statement.     

 

I sure miss the Ol' Chief...