leapinlarry posted:When I was a kid, many moons ago, Lionel made a girls train, pastel pink Locomotive and pastel colored cars, and it sold for under $50. At an auction 10 years again, that same set, in good condition, went for $5600. I was so surprised. I thought at the time that set was unrealistic, never bought it. DUH? So, that being said, this unusually distinctive UP Challenger, feature rich, very Colorful, will, down the road, probably be worth a Fortune, to those that truly Collect... I am a player for the new Brass Hybrid.
I attended the Lionel Collectors Club, LCCA, Convention in Chicago, and the Preview of the new 2018 Lionel Signature Catalog-Volume 2 was Exciting. In my opinion, I really like the Fantacy Schemes made available to the toy train enthusiast, as every layout, collection, thoughts concerning the Hobby, are all different. Happy Collecting....
The girls set from 1957 was a dramatic failure from a sales standpoint. The reason the set became a collectors item decades later was because so few samples survived. Most of the unsold sets were broken up and repainted after Christmas 1957.
At $2,000, this gaudy Challenger as a collectible will not enjoy the same treasures status. Buy it if you like it, not because you think it will be a valuable rarity.
