I have a number of these cars, probably to many. My thought was getting a premium box car for $25.00 was worth it. If I wanted to I could always re-paint them. Now that they have gone up in price $10.00 to $35.00, I was wondering if there are any others who have been buying these cars on a regular basis?
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I have the all except for April 2011. I did not go to York that time. Since I am not longer an MTHRRC member this coming box car cost me $40 when I ordered it a few days ago. I feel it is still a deal for a Premier box car.
I have them all plus doubles on most. I am not a collector but they might do my Grandchildren some good down the road. They are old enough to know what is doing. I pick up any old cars at York when I see them on tables.
I have everyone of them.
Scott Smith
I have one for every York that I have attended which is quite a few, probably around a dozen or so. Excellant price for a very colorful MTH premier boxcar.
I only collect the ones where the cover has some special interest to me, or if there is some other special reason to commemorate. I'd also buy one if I intended to order the train featured on the cover.
To date, I have three - one from my very first York, the Coors Silver Bullet Train cover and the Lionel Corporation Tinplate cover.
Has anyone ever run them all as a train? That would be a cool sight to see! 
Andy
I believe I have all of them, all the way back to the "DCS" boxcar. I intend to run them in a solid train, pulled by the RailKing MTHRRC SD70ACE.
---PCJ
Hi can we get a count on how many have been issued.
GG1GUYY
We have written a couple of stories about collecting MTH York cars at OGR.
Also did an article on the MTH Tour/York cars as well, which were always similar to the Spring York Cars. Now that the MTH/ OGR Tours have ended, the potential to collect these cars has expanded, especially since no more than about 100 MTH Tour/OGR cars were made for each tour.
According to Andy Edleman of MTH, the new York car is the the twentieth in the series, so that makes it their 10th anniversary as an item.
Ed Boyle
How many of the OGR Tour cars were made? I know I have a couple, but never seriously thought about pursuing the whole series, though I will likely include them in the "York Train" (which is getting pretty sizable now that I think about it--it was only 13 cars the last time I ran it).
---PCJ
I have a few. But I have bought all mine at prices well below original MSRP. I buy them based on 'signficant', personal events. Have one each for dates closest to when kids were born, one when I started back in this craziness hobby, and I just bought the OGR car from the last tour they did at MTH (again, at a reduced price). I like them, am happy with them, and they are probably the only set of cars I have that look similar - so they look good when whizzing by on the track (yes, I use them too).
I have all of the York cars as well, including all of the OGR tour cars (2006 to 2011). I have the OGR tour cars on my display shelves, along with several of the TCA convention cars that MTH has made, but the 20 bi-annual show cars are still in their boxes, waiting for a new wall of shelving.
Since you asked - no, I don't collect them. Just don't hold any appeal for me. I always thought no one really purchased them but obviously there's a reason I'm not head of marketing.
--Greg
From a search of the MTH web site (in chronological order):
OGR Tour Cars
York Cars
I think that is the complete list.
Andy
Nicely done, Andy.
Both of your lists look complete to me.
I have all the MTH/OGR Tour Cars and their Spring York TCA counterparts. Am selling off the other TCA York Cars because I don't have the room for them.
Kept the first York TCA Car and am going to get the latest one Because it commemorates the tenth anniversary of the series for me.
Ed Boyle
Thanks Andy. Nice to have the complete list.
No. I'm with Greg Houser: I am always surprised when anybody buys "created collectibles", and there are a LOT of others in this hobby beside those. When I see any one of them, I think "Beanie Baby!". I AM surprised that this thread indicates they may be holding their value. (sorry, but you asked). That applies to "convention" cars, too. However, when one of the clubs offered a flatcar commemorating Marble,
Colorado, with chunks of marble loaded on it, a friend and I hustled to get our paws on a couple, but they were lettered for a real railroad. Now, I concede there
is probably little difference between a car lettered for something that never existed
and one lettered for a real railroad (the same blank model can be used). But I will never afford all of the prototypical models, and there are so many themes and tangents you can take off on in collecting what were made as toys for children in the past, that... I am not spending money on imaginary ones. ((now of course, instead of
something imaginary, they were doing short runs of vanished railroads (fallen flags), a different OBSCURE railroad for each York, THAT would get my attention, if the
commemoration was discretely lettered on the bottom, underneath, of the car))
I have all of them. I searched for a couple of months and tracked them down. Some one told me on the forum that" that they weren't collecting". I guess he just doesn't understand.
To me, it's not the money. It's like building your railroad. It's the challenge and the pleasure of doing and having. I also along the way acquired all the MTH books to go along with the cars. On the 19th, I'll have another. Looken good on my wall. And worth every dime. YAAAAA
No I don't collect cars of that type. It's fine if it's what you like to do but you will never get rich collecting them. Yes a collector looking for a car or two would pay a little more to get what he needs but that's about it.
I have all but one Meet that I missed, most still in the original box. No offers to date even though someone asked for them on the WTB forum.
John Y,
I am with you. The York cars are good to look at and they tell an interesting historical story about progress by MTH over the years. Plus, the price was right for a Premier boxcar.
Yaaaay!
Ed Boyle
I don't have any and don't want any. Never did understand why folks are compelled to collect "collectible cars". I am a long time member of TCA and never felt compelled to collect any of the convention cars either, epecially when they had convention signs on the side of them. Oh, well. To each his own. If you like them, collect them.
To each his own and I respect your point of view. Thanks Dick for being so civil about it.
I have to agree with you about some "collectibles", in many cases items designed to be collectibles are the last thing you would want for a collection. However, the MTH cars have some real history behind them and were made in small enough quantities, especially the MTH/OGR Tour Cars, to have at least some chance for appreciation.
On this one, we will just have to agree to disagree, I guess.
Best.
Ed Boyle
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
