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I have no affiliation with Stout, but this looks like it will be a pretty good prewar event for the well-heeled...From the announcement: "an incredible one day sale of prewar trains, accessories, figures and vintage toys from the Terry Johnson collection...The auction will include the following manufacturers; Lionel, American Flyer and Ives with standard gauge and O gauge represented. The Ives will be showcased by a Prosperity Special, White passenger set, lithographed stations, freight cars and Greyhound set. The American Flyer will feature a Mayflower set, lithographed and enameled Presidential sets, 4011 five-window caboose, airplane, Pocahontas, Hamiltonian, 108 switch tower, cardboard Union station and O gauge passenger sets. Highlights of the Lionel include; brown and green state sets, standard and O gauge Blue Comets, Stephen Girard sets, 9U orange passenger set, 200 and 500 series freights, 763 gray coal pile Hudson, scale switcher and freight cars, 444 roundhouse sections, 92 floodlights, 94 high tension towers, 300 hellgate bridges, 840 power station, 920 and 921 scenic park, 155 freight sheds, 7 and 54 brass locos, and a huge selection of additional accessories from his operating layout. Also included will be a Boucher Blue Comet passenger set, boxed Dorfan crane and Buddy L loco and tender."  I can only dream...

 

Jeff Davis

Last edited by trainman713
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Yes I should be there, barring a foot of snow. This is the kind of collection you see at auction maybe one or two times in your collecting "career". Just about every iconic set from Ives, Flyer, and Lionel are represented.

 

The rarity of some of this stuff is what is incredible. Trains like the Prosperity Special, and the Mayflower make even a brown Lionel State set look commonplace, and the green ones, well, mundane.

 

I got a glimpse of this at the last Stout auction, and the pictures on the websites just do not give it justice.

 

If you are within an hour of the auction, I'd take the drive, and see what original tinplate in its rarest form looks like.

 

As for low bids, well, I think everyone who's been starving for good Ives and Flyer originals will be out in force. Which means, I'll probably get skunked. But it will be interesting to watch.

I was considering going from the west coast for this auction, I have been looking at this collection online for a few years.

I was somewhat disappointed when saw the auction catalog , one of the brown, and green state sets are restored the green 408 is also restored, the mayflower set is r eplated and one car is not original . there is some nice stuff though , white Ives and prosperity set, I will bid online on a few items.

chris

Dennis, What parts do you need for 1122s? I just finished liquidating a huge O gauge IVES collection and was moving onto the parts. whitejettacoupe@yahoo.com.

 

  Tomorrow should be interesting. The Prosperity cars are the best ones known to exist, and are from the collection of the late Lou Hertz! I bet some records will be set! I suppose Ill take some popcorn! 

 

  Good luck to all who are bidding!

Sheesh, that was a long day, and a little hard on the nerves.  I'm actually out of the country, and the web connection was a little sketchy, with a confusing delay, and I had to reboot a couple times.  Hair-raising considering the money involved.

 

Yup, there were some records set alright.  Prosperity special for 60K?  But at the same time there were some amazing deals.  I think everybody was after the same things, so others got overlooked.  Some very nice C-7-8 rolling stock and accessories in the low to mid hundreds.  Nice!

 

The thing I really signed up for got well away from me, and I let it go... but there were some better surprises too.  Flyer wide gauge Lone Scout set, perfect, C-8, for less than an MTH would be if they made one, and they won't because it's lithography.  And a C-7 buff tan Flyer presidential set, that was a walk-away steal, same thing, price of an MTH - and these are 80 year old originals, in superb condition.

 

Collect what nobody else collects!

 

 

Remember that a lot of this stuff is really rare and tough to find. There are probably more MTH Prosperity sets than originals. BTW, it did not sell. It had a reserve put on it, so it's going back to the owner.

 

I got skunked. So be it.

 

For all you modern tinplate guys, looks like someone posted a Goliath on ebay... For $5K...

Yeah, okay, caught up in the enthusiasm.... An MTH presidential retails for 1800 - but they don't even make it in tan, and my point is, this is complete set original vintage with original boxes, if that's anything, and my real point is that the blue presidential went for more than twice that.  I do think it was a very good deal.

 

There were lots more.  Look at lot 2045.  Lionel #8, 332, 337, 338 all C-7, the set for 475!   How about lot 2047, #10, 337, 337, 338 Mohave C-7, $225!!!    You would never do so well buying on the bbay.  

 

I can can post pics but it will be a few weeks before I get back.

 

Are you serious they had a reserve on the prosperity set and didn't sell at 60?  Wow.  That's a different league altogether.   

 

Definitely a fun auction to be part of.  Good to know I wasn't the only one having webcast issues.  

 

 

Last edited by Former Member

My understanding is that this auction was pretty much one collection.  It gives one pause.  Someone spends the better part of a lifetime collecting these pieces.  When they pass away, you and I come and each take a small part and put it with the others already in our train rooms.  When we go, someone we don't know will come and do the same.  It's like the law of conservation of matter: we come and go, while these pieces are still there, just rearranged and recombined into different collections.  Odd thought.

 

 

 

Originally Posted by hojack:

My understanding is that this auction was pretty much one collection.  It gives one pause.  Someone spends the better part of a lifetime collecting these pieces.  When they pass away, you and I come and each take a small part and put it with the others already in our train rooms.  When we go, someone we don't know will come and do the same.  It's like the law of conservation of matter: we come and go, while these pieces are still there, just rearranged and recombined into different collections.  Odd thought.

 

 

 

I definitely agree with you that there were some good buys.  I picked up some Lionel bridges for a great price.

 

I often think about what you just described.  Even trains have a "circle of life".  We are merely temporary caretakers.

 

Originally Posted by overlandflyer:
Originally Posted by hojack:

My understanding is that this auction was pretty much one collection.  It gives one pause.  Someone spends the better part of a lifetime collecting these pieces.  When they pass away, you and I come and each take a small part and put it with the others already in our train rooms.  ...

collecting has certainly taken on a different aspect with the internet, though.  i'd imagine this collection was compiled over a matter of years if not decades visiting train show and communicating between collector's organizations.  ie: ...old school.

 

these days you don't need to belong to any organizations, you don't need to travel to train shows or even succumb to the mystique of York.  all you need is a desire, a computer and money.

Here is a link to the collection I believe the owner is alive and well, And the bulk of this collection was bought from the Ray Korte collection. the whole collection was forsale last year for somewhere around half million. A friend of mine was looking at it but did not see that much money in trains.

http://www.rmdtoytrains.org/RM...Layout_Tours/tjs.htm

http://www.rmdtoytrains.org/RM...ut_Tours/tjswall.htm

Last edited by hotzz
This is what I am always preaching about. Why would you ever preorder anything from MTH when, if you wait it out, it's 50 cents on the dollar.
 
And yes, it was announced at the auction that the Prosperity set had a $60K reserve on it. No one bid, no internet, none in attendance...
 
Originally Posted by overlandflyer:

 

a little comedy relief near the end with some C8-C9 MTH tinplate including a gray #400 sell for less than 1/2 the original M.S.R.P.

 

Last edited by jsrfo

Pretty sure LA auto bids to the reserve. This is a special piece and I do not fault the consignor or the auction house for protecting it to some minimum level.

 

These guys are probably the best at holding a train auction, and are tops in the field. If they felt it needed a reserve, then they made the right choice.

 

Some auctions really have quite a number of items with reserves. You just can't tell from the computer. Stout has relatively few, I think.

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