Interesting realization after 30 years or "Not what that is supposed to be"

neat caboose..sometimes things are hiding in plain sight.

Really neat story!

Peter

Well, here is how it "should be" - 6457 - Variation A

Interesting story about accepting things as they are.

Yes, I have a 6468 B&O Automobile boxcar which someone altered by painting the roof and ends white.  Curiously, they missed one panel near the end on the roof.  My mother bought it used as a Christmas gift when I was 9-10 from a disreputable local Lionel dealer/service station.  

A few years after that, another local dealer/service station had a layout photo contest and I submitted some black and white photos of my layout.  We got a phone call at 8 o'clock at night a few nights later.  They had been reviewing the photos to pick winners and noticed the altered 6468 car and were calling to ask what it was and where we got it.  In the black and white photos, they couldn't tell whether it was a rare factory variation or a repaint.  As soon as we told them who sold it to us, they knew the score.

That was when I learned I had altered goods.  I still have that car.  Some other day, I'll tell you some of the other things this guy did.

Steven J. Serenska

Serenska posted:

Yes, I have a 6468 B&O Automobile boxcar which someone altered by painting the roof and ends white.  Curiously, they missed one panel near the end on the roof.  My mother bought it used as a Christmas gift when I was 9-10 from a disreputable local Lionel dealer/service station.  

A few years after that, another local dealer/service station had a layout photo contest and I submitted some black and white photos of my layout.  We got a phone call at 8 o'clock at night a few nights later.  They had been reviewing the photos to pick winners and noticed the altered 6468 car and were calling to ask what it was and where we got it.  In the black and white photos, they couldn't tell whether it was a rare factory variation or a repaint.  As soon as we told them who sold it to us, they knew the score.

That was when I learned I had altered goods.  I still have that car.  Some other day, I'll tell you some of the other things this guy did.

Steven J. Serenska

That's a pretty neat story, You'll have to post a picture of that car sometime. 

*edit for typo

Serenska posted:

Yes, I have a 6468 B&O Automobile boxcar which someone altered by painting the roof and ends white.  Curiously, they missed one panel near the end on the roof.  My mother bought it used as a Christmas gift when I was 9-10 from a disreputable local Lionel dealer/service station. 

How does choosing to paint a model a different color and then sell it make the dealer "...disreputable...?" Sorry, that makes no sense.

Once you own a model train, you can paint it pink, green and yellow with red and white zebra stripes if you want...it's YOURS. You can also then choose to sell it if you wish. There's nothing "disreputable" about that.

It's a TOY, not some sacred artifact that is never to be defaced.

Once you own a model train, you can paint it pink, green and yellow with red and white zebra stripes if you want...it's YOURS. You can also then choose to sell it if you wish. There's nothing "disreputable" about that.

If the seller tries to pass the item off as an original factory decorated item, then that seller is disreputable.

Thank you, CWB.  While I did leave some details out, that's more or less what the dealer did to my mother and I have a vivid memory of her being upset about it.

Before that incident came to light, however, he also tried to charge an exorbitant price for a simple repair, stole parts from a KW transformer he was repairing, and assorted other disreputable behaviors.  I wrote a very upset letter to Lionel at age 13 bringing his behavior to Lionel's attention and received a personal response.

SJS

C W Burfle posted:

...If the seller tries to pass the item off as an original factory decorated item, then that seller is disreputable.

Agreed. But the OP made no effort to explain anything as to why he considered the dealer to be disreputable. He just implied that the dealer was disreputable simply because he had painted a model to something other than factory original.

The devil is in the details.

Wow, people's posts are edited without even a notation that the editing occurred?  I wasn't aware this forum had so little integrity.  Shame on me for disagreeing with the owner of the printing press.

Apparently, the devil lurks in many places besides the details.

SJS, a.k.a. "OP"

Yes, I edited your post. You took an unwarranted shot at me for pointing out the obvious.

There IS a notation about it, but you obviously missed it. Mouse over the little blue asterisk by the post and you'll see that I edited it.

Thread closed. We're all done here.