What Trains do you have you Consider Rare

3rd Rail Southern Pacific GS-4 done in the as built paint scheme and forward number boards. Only one like it AFAIK.

Pete

A 1935 Lionel 1700 Streamliner is one.

Retired Reading Company conductor George Ether had a table under the grandstand at York. He rebuilt K-Line cabooses as Reading cabooses and as other "Northeastern" cabooses. He wore his uniform. I always enjoyed talking with him. Nos. 92830 (steel) and 92936 (wooden-built during WW II) run on the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern

Thanks to the Forum, I have a one-of-a-kind Lionel Reading T-1 (No. 2100; 6-18006; 1989). Reading Steam Guru painted and detailed her as 2124 in her Iron Horse Rambles scheme. Wowak added full working valve gear, a scale pilot coupler, a scale whistle, a pair of white "extra" flags, and other details. Jeffrey D. Steinbacher of J. D. S. Limited Productions installed a fan-driven smoke unit and (as long as he was in there) an LED headlight.

I'll also express my gratitude to UPS employees for safe transport of this locomotive and tender to Wowak and back.

If the Atlas Fehr's Beer car is rare, I have that one and the other beer car, of the

three Louisville, Kentucky breweries that were contemporary with each other.  I could

find not evidence the third brewery had reefers.

My CTA subway crème tops. There are lots of green tops out there, which I have and love. However my crème tops are the only ones I have ever seen.

These never made full production: http://mthtrains.com/content/30-2888-1

My Lionel Mines set might be rare ....but only if the other 499 sets have disappeared.

My Dad's Lionel 623 Switcher. He bought it with a set in '52 when he was 12.  We have a habit of holding on to things in my family so he kept it in pretty good storage and it is still in great shape.  I had it cleaned up and serviced a few years ago when I got back into the hobby. He got a kick out of running it with my son.   I run it once in a while.

I remember it well as a kid, how much fun, laying next to the Christmas tree in a dark room with only the tree lights on and being totally fascinated by it.  The awe, curiosity, and a little bit of fear.  Excited just to make it go...the hum of his old ZW...feeling like I just got away with something by running it.   

That makes it One-of-a-kind....and therefore pretty rare in my estimation.

A couple of New Marx prototypes/color samples.

Steve

Two Natty Boh reefers

SMR General

SMR Texas

SMR Yonah

3rd Rail 4449 in AFT colors

A few of the CWI cars

I also have a couple of OGR York tour cars that I can only imagine were made in very limited numbers.

Andy

Grandpa's Lionel Train Set

   Click photo to enlarge.

The 1958 freight set I received that Christmas at age 5.....more common nowadays because of Conventional Classics....still in pristine condition.....

Probably more appropriate to say "uncommon to find in excellent condition" rather than truly "rare".

Peter

You've never seen it? How do you know there's actually a ZW in that box? lol

Actually I'm jealous!

Late last night, I could not remember which of the Falls City or Oertel's '92 beer cars

had been made by Atlas, and which one for which I had found no evidence of a car

for Oertel's'92, or the several other breweries that once existed in Louisville,

but Falls City Beer has an Atlas car that I have.  It is Oertel's"92 that does not have

an Atlas car.  I would think that the Falls City car is uncommon, as well as the Fehrs.  I  remember hearing commercials for these breweries on the radio, as a kid.  Over time

there were several other breweries in Louisville, Ky.  Remnants of the cooling caves

for another still exist just off Broadway near the entrance to Cave Hill Cemetery.

My Lionel Wellspring Capital caboose.  Have never seen another one. My son in law received it when his company did work for Wellspring when they owned Lionel.  Closest thing I have to 'mint', never been run only out of box for picture. 

My 1935 Hoge "Shovelnose 900, complete with original transformer, original track clip, 12 "5 rail Hoge track", only missing the set box.  Runs great, but a bit fast compared to Postwar Lionel.

I have a Western Coil  Zephyr. Complete with original track with wooden ties. Also has the original tools for maintaining it and the tracks. The tracks are actually bolted together with baby nuts and bolts and fish plates.  Cool old train. Got it many years ago when I ran a wanted  ad in our local paper. I bought it  and a Lionel 1930's engine for $150.00 from a guy who was at least 80 at the time. I can still feel the excitement in my chest when I went to his house after he called me. It was a cold winter night and I was a logger at the time and was dead tired after work, but quickly woke up!

I would post pics but it is buried awaiting my "train room".

It's the Khrushchev-era Russian set. I have the accessories, track, buildings, transformer as well.

http://www.davestrains.com/soviet.html#HISTORY

Scott Smith

 Thanks, Scott

Late last night realized I have two other items that should qualify.

First one of Malcolm's crafted cabs, a wooden Southern 4-window.  I have no idea how many he has produced.

Picture by Malcolm.

The other was made by another forum members(David) from 1 of 100-kits he had produced.

The Southern radio control car.

Ron

This is a great thread! Being the only one of this type, even this thread is rare!

Scott, Love the Russian engine. My son in law grew up in Moscow and has the Russian HO version, made in East Germany of course but it has the Red Star on the front! 

Notice how everyone's idea of rare is a totally different item?  Never knew there were so many 'rare' pieces.  

Although not truly 'rare' it certainly is beautiful and can be difficult to find most of the time!

With TWO of these caught in the same photo,  who 'belongs' to the second one?

U&R passenger cars, made just after WW2. I have some Pennsylvania and a few New York Central.

Pretty much every steam engine I own from 3rd Rail.   All are limited runs and all have a very low likely hood of being produced again any time soon.   I often consider this when thinking in terms of packing, transporting and insuring my trains.   While sure if something happens (fire, theft, flood, etc) I'll get a check from the insurance company, however, I can't imagine an actual search to replace what I have.  You can't just run out to the local mall and buy a ATSF 2-10-2 Brass O gauge locomotive.  

Very rare uncataloged Nabisco Brands

1.  MTH Washington Redskins GP30. Supposedly only 15 were made.
2.  Natty Boh reefer.
3.  Lionel postwar 2035 steamer with 6466W tender, mint, recently opened from a sealed Madison Hardware box.

Some toughies...

Forgot about this one. A truly rare Kline boxcar. Given away as a gift at one of our AOL Get Togethers at York many moons ago.

Cleavland Models S Scale wood, cardstock and metal CGW 4-6-0 circa 1947:

Rusty

In my house? Rare is the train sitting on a shelve.

Rusty, I love stuff like your ten wheeler. Does it still run? How is the card stock holding up after all these years? 18 bucks for a steam engine. Wow. Don

1.  Lionel postwar 2035 steamer with 6466W tender, mint, recently opened from a sealed Madison Hardware box.

now that I would like to see!

It runs pretty well considering it age.  It has an old 5 pole motor (maybe a Pittman, not sure) in it and a homemade constant lighting circuit in it.  The smokebox front has separated a little bit but otherwise everything's still holding up pretty good.

The boiler's held in place by a #8 wood screw.  Don't see that every day.

The locomotive came to me by way of two estates.

I handle it gently, it's older than I am and probably in better shape...

Rusty

A Big Boy Challenger

My father bought  a lot of trains at Madison Hardware, in the middle 70's he bought a couple of freight cars mint. He hid them from me in his closet, forgot about them until about 1986 or 87. When we found them they were/are perfect with Madison Hardware stickers and all. I have them on a shelf. I have never opened to see them. It is a Leigh Valley Hopper and a Lionel Lines caboose. They are C-10..

Rare?  I guess that you could find and purchase everything that I own. I would say some of my items may be hard to come by but not rare. The complete 6464 P/W box car collection that I have may be scarce with the Alaskan, Pennsylvania and B&O Sentinel cars. Have most of the P/W F3's (missing only two), Berks 726/736, 773 Hudson, all the little Joe's four GG1's and many Geeps. You can buy most everything that I mentioned.

As for modern era Lionel, I consider nothing rare and Williams is so common as they issue the same stuff year after year. 

I have a MTH Railking Seaboard RS3 and a Florida East Coast F-3 with matching FEC passenger cars.  I see both for sale on eBay once and a while but not as often as other train items. 

Lionel 25912 2013 Custom Christmas boxcar.  Have yet to see one for sale.

Also the 26284 New York Toy Preview boxcar, reported around 60 made.

I have one of these. Only one ever made.  lol

Here you go. The box was originally shipped from Madison Hardware and was still sealed when my friend got it recently. They don't get much fresher than this.