milwaukeeroadtrackman posted:Gentlemen - thanks for replying. If I understand correctly, the observation is a legit one from '58?
Yes, so it appears.
So is the other a repaint done by someone by taking another combo car and repainting it to look like a legit combo?
Yes.
Or is it from a "cheap" one engine, 3 car set?
No.
Why does it have the nail holes,
Because the shell used for the repaint has holes. Every complete 1958 Eagle set with provenance that I have had the fortune to observe has nails only on the observation (faux) name plate.
I suppose that's the clue, finding what kind of combo car has those? Both sides of the trucks are non-conductive and it came (from a case in a hobby shop, it's AF section untouched for years!) unlighted. <snip>
The combination car was repainted and cobbled together after the fact. The paint is not consistent with known legit samples or with known Gilbert practice. The Eagle sets from both 1958 and 1964 were each internally consistent in terms of paint finish and features (Please note that the blue bands on the 1964 Eagle passenger cars do not cross onto the vestibule doors).
I have a dummy A where on one side you can see what I believe to be quality control issues. Note the yellow stripe here is at the "top" and not on the blue border like the combo car I showed.
The marks and damage on the dummy A above are most likely due to wear and exposure accumulated over 60 years. Unfortunately, the piece was not protected very well.
Also, someone told me at the end Gilbert was "Frankensteining" things out the door. Could that be what the combo car is?
When collectors use the term "Frankentrains" it means that the pieces are unusual for the type of train (e.g., a passenger car inserted into a freight set, or vice-versa) or an uncatalogued store special was put together to eliminate excess stock . The pieces themselves were of good quality that passed QC. Defective pieces were usually sold out of the employee store individually. To attempt to claim one has an unusual set, the trains need to be found in a set box with individual boxes with the trains to establish provenance. Gilbert factory practice in the postwar period was not as helter-skelter as this collection of pieces suggests.
Thanks
Tom
See above. Again, I hope this helps.
Respectfully,
Bob
