Taconite Hauler posted:Have a picture from 1955 ( I was 5 at the time ) with my Dad and I playing with a tin train at Christmas. I couldn't make out the manufacturer and somehow I was steered towards a gentleman who was co-author of Greenberg Guide to Early American Toy Trains, Paul Doyle. I sent him my picture and he knew exactly what I had....a Wyandotte set 2158 ( black 970 locomotive, brown Santa Fe boxcar, green sandcar, and red caboose.). I never knew what happened to the set after all the years, but I was determined to find one, preferably, in pristine condition. I kept all the letters Paul sent , learning not only about Hafner trains, but his personal life. It's fascinating the backgrounds of train enthusiasts. I purchased the Greenburg Guide to American Toy Trains as a referral to start my search. I hadn't used Ebay back then so it was a trek thru many train shows for years, without results. Then, one day out for that Saturday/Sunday drive, I stopped by antiques shop aprox 25 miles from home. BAM.....THERE IT WAS.....and in ALMOST MINT condition. I bought it from the elderly lady storeowner, in a heartbeat. Twenty five miles away ......I couldn't believe it !!!!! In the years since, I have added a yellow Wyandotte sand car, a blue FNP sand car, and an orange/brown Sante Fe boxcar to make a very colorful consist. The train set comes off the shelf each Christmas to help decorate......now, I need a picture of my son and I playing with that tin train !!
ahh, but the blue FNP sand car is technically not Hafner. It is from the Plastimarx era when the Hafner equipment was bought by Louis Marx and moved to Mexico to reduce the competition. Marx made dozens of gondolas, cabeese and boxcars using the Hafner equipment. Plastimarx is yet another collecting niche.
