What's your most over rated and greatest undervalued o gauge accessory

For me, it was the Lionel News Stand.  As a kid I rememberd it on my Big Brothers basement layout.......so when my interest in trains came to me in later life, some of the most sought after train acessories werebthosevImremembered from my brothers layout .  when I first got the News Standmitbwas very nostalgic.........now it gives me a headache with that vibro motor.......so now it remains on my layout but in the "off" position.

-Pete

Even as a kid I was put off by some of the accessories, especially those with what I

considered weird and contrasting, unrealistic colors.  This was kind of reinforced by

one operating Lionel crossing gate, with red base and silver bar, that i think must

be oversize for G scale.  I soon used the Plasticville, inoperative gates.  The only

accessory I used, besides Marx tunnels, was the American Flyer whistling billboard.

Although I like Marx 3/16 and deluxe plastic, and their stations, I do not like most

of their other accessories, for the same reason....do not look realistic to me.  (I

was really impressed when MTH and others came out with realistic crossing gates)

The accessory that I had as a kid and quickly got old was the dispatch station. I was always repairing the thing. Either the pin would fall our of the film used to move the man across the platform or the tension was off and he either froze or didn't reverse at the end. It didn't really fit in with the rest of the layout either. He should be inside a station, not on this huge platform in the middle of all the buildings. I never got it and still don't.

As with, i guess, most people the milk car and station was used the most.

As anyone who has had one knows the Lionel 3656 Cattle Car/Stockyard can be a very frustrating accessory. Fine tuning it to get it operate correctly is a challenge. It was always one of those accessories that I really wanted and after I finally had one my interest level waned mostly because of the frustration. Still have it on the layout but it I only use it when a visitor points and says “what’s that?”

On the other side of the scale, I love the Oil Drum Loader. One of my favorites.  

In my opinion, any Lionel coal based accessory is pretty overrated.  Do I even need to say that more coal ends up on the layout than in the car.  Which I understand could be looked at as nostalgia or whatever, but I need to spend an hour picking up coal that's fallen in between the rails if I want to use the accessory more than once.

As for undervalued?  I'm not sure it's undervalued, but my Lionel vibrating barrel ramp/gondola have always worked for me no problems.  Also, two I always thought were pretty cool were the lumbar forklift platform and the banjo signal.  I like the action of those.

I've always been fond of the understated 199 blinking microwave tower:

All it did was stand there and blink.  Quietly, reliably, continuously.  A calming accessory in a sea of vibro-motors and the cacophony of trains rumbling by.

Rusty 

Actually, it's not.  A Lionel crossing gate looks just right with 1:22.5 scale trains.

As for my favorite accessory, it's the Lionel 362 barrel loader.  Mine has been working great since 1955.  A followup would be the Lionel 494 beacon.  Works great and always gets favorable comment from visitors.

And an an honorable mention should go to my Marx #465 Bubbling Water Tower.  I added an Evan Designs flashing red LED to the top (it should always have had at least a blinking bulb, IMO), and it's second only to the beacon in the way it delights spectators.

Most Overrated 

With the exception of the 175 Rocket Launcher, I would vote for any stationary accessory that shoots a missile, e.g.:

Honorable mention goes to this bit of pointlessness:

Greatest Undervalued

3-way tie: 364 Log Loader, 264 Forklift, 282 Gantry Crane.  I have lost hours and hours and hours playing with all of these.  All have a simple premise, execute reliably, and are generally captivating.

Fun topic.

SJS

I haven't seen any post-war Lionel accessory that didn't have inconsistent operation.  In fact, I have a humorous video showing Lionel people trying to set up these accessories for filming.  They didn't work effectively or consistently there either.  But they were fun to operate when I was a youngster with all their idiosyncrasies:  the milk car man would either throw the cans out past the platform or he barely got out the door; cattle would dance the Macarana instead of entering the boxcar; the dump car would work, dumping coal everywhere while the coal loader belt thrust its contents into the open spaces as well.  The search light car wouldn't spin its light, and the beacon lights always had their plastic red and green lamp covers burned with holes from the light inside when they weren't on straight.  I liked the gateman myself--noisy, but generally consistent once you figured out the wiring scheme.

Most over rated is nearly any O Gauge building, (Though I do love the MTH burning 1R$ office building); they all take up to much real estate for my meager 8 X 5 displays.

Most under rated is my 24 oz hammer; Sometimes it's just better to start from scratch.

Most reliable: forklift guy, rotating beacon and vibrating barrel loader.  

Needing constant attention:  cattle car, milk car and culvert unloader. 

The cattle car is a family tradition. Got it in 1950. My uncle and grandfather worked on it until I was about 13 in 1961. Then the torch was passed so to speak to me. Finally got it to work consistently-last year-by parking it permanently adjacent to the corral and by replacing the rubber suspension pads with small springs I found in an assortment I bought at Pearle Paint about 10 years ago. 

Hopefully, I haven't jinxed it by opening my mouth.  

Same here. I have my corral/cattle car parked on a spur (along with the milk car) so they stay put. Thanks for the suggestion on the springs. 

The cattle car is only surpassed by the horse car.  The horses being more top heavy fall down drunk at twice the rate of the cattle.

My childhood frustration with the milk cans jamming eventually led me to minimal use of its operations.

My aquarium car was my favorite, but it helped me define the term: headache.

My fire and ladder car was right up there for all time favorites, and it performed with great reliability.

My airport rotating beacon with the heat vanes lead me to buy my first gun.  If you hit it just right the beacon would spin for about 20 seconds.

Alan

Overated: the gantry crane. Basically, just a PIA to operate.

Underated: the 364 log loader. Dependable, and people love to watch the logs go up the conveyor belt and off the top down to the car. 

My vote for underrated would go to the Maiden Rescue always a bit funny, or the Lionel Aquarium.

Frustrating is a term often used here...  A life lesson in coping I'd say.  Is there play value in that?  Sure!  Kept you busy didn't it?  Value for your parents for sure!

OK... here's mine: most overrated: Vibrating driven Rotary Radar No. 197.  Noisy and inconsistent.  

Undervalued: Rotary Beacon No, 394 with the dimpled bulb and hot air convection drive mechanism.  One of those gotta haves for playing in the dark!  

Out of all of the accessories I've experienced personally, the 97 coal elevator, although sturdy and colorful, never did scoop as much coal into the hopper as we ever wanted to. There was always a lot of bits left at the bottom, or even ones that could never stay in the bin turning it on and off. Sure, it's one of the big prewar 4, but in my eyes it was by far the weakest. I guess since it was Lionel's first loading/unloading accessory, it had a lot of kinks to work out being the first...because everything else I own operated totally to my expectations.

On the other side of the coin, the Lionel 38 water tower reissue and the 12767 steam clean and wheel grind shop (which doesn't seem to be as memorable as most of the postwar accessories) have been very dependable, and always brings "ooh's" and "aah's".

My childhood favorite was the lumber mill and IMO its the most under rated accessory Lionel made. When I fist saw it demonstrated on a kids TV show like Jellybeaner or Soupy Sales I really thought that the mill was sawing the logs. When I finally saved up enough, bought it at Madison Hardware and got it home I saw how the illusion worked but the action really looked convincing and the vibrator mechanism sound while annoying on other accessories, gave a saw mill like effect. The one that I have always worked flawlessly but back in the late 50's/early 60's the accessory was only made one or two years. Later favorite accessories purchased (when I began collecting),  that worked well included the fork lift, coaling station 497,  icing station and rotating beacon w the vibrator mechanism..

The culvert unloader/loader, later gantry crane, cattle car, horse car, the 97 coaling elevator, always were very temperamental.  

So all time favorite = Saw mill

All time not so good= Culvert Unloader/loader

Two of my accessories I consider undervalued because when I first purchased them, I didn't think they would be anything special. The opposite turned out to be true. The Lionel Oil Drum loader when run at the proper low voltage and it's initial kinks were worked out, works great and is fun to watch. The modern American Flyer Log Loader was a real surprise. Worked flawlessly out of the box (unusual for accessories, I've found) and serves double duty. I can unload my postwar log car into it and then load them back with the log loader itself. Wonderful accessory. 

On my overvalued list or the ......"I'll replace these accessories as soon as I can" list would be the Train Orders building and the Animated Freight station. The Train Orders building was a pain from day one. The shaft of the flag that the train guy holds was too long and would smash into the inside of the door, jamming up the mechanism and eventually breaking the flag shaft. I built a new makeshift shaft and got it working, but it has a tendency to have the train guy come back out again. Hate it.    The Freight Station....well, I find it to be a silly, pointless accessory. 4 year old visitors to my layout seem to find it fun, but anyone older loses interest in about 2 seconds. 

I know that this thread called for overvalued or undervalued, but I have to mention my favorites. My AEC Nuclear Reactor after I built a proper gondola for loading unloading (shown on an earlier thread). VERY cool accessory.  And....my Hot Air Balloon Ride. Another very cool accessory (although I don't run it too often because it's plastic geared mechanism is a bit on the iffy side). 

Roger

At one time or another, I believe I've owned and operated all of the PW animated accessories.

The undervalued one is the 3472 milk car we had when I was a small child and still have today.  It was magic for me to press a button and a guy pops out of a car to push milk cans on a platform.  And it was interactive because I had to reload the car.

I always liked the coal accessories and on my former layout I had a coal accessories section with the 97, 397, 497, and 456.  The 456 was the least satisfying because it was pricey at the time, took up a lot of space, and, Lionel only offered one dump car.  Perhaps if there had been more dump cars to push up the ramp it would have been a better accessory for me.

Good topic and thanks to all who have shared.

PS:  As far as value is concerned, it makes a difference, IMHO, when you had it and what you paid for it.  My recollection is that good, unwarped base, bascule bridges were quite a bit more 20 or so years ago than they are now, for example. As for timing, I probably have more sentimental attachment, and value those accessories I had in my youth more than those acquired as an adult.

For most underrated I'd say the piggyback platform. It was my favorite as a kid because it was interactive - you had to operate it by hand rather than just push a button. It was never very popular; I don't know why. I think it's the only one of the postwar accessories that Lionel has not remade. 

I still have the original one my parents gave me. Here it is on my layout, which is still under construction. I think the car in the photo is a PWC repro; the original is displayed on a shelf in the train room.

I am just starting this over again, so I haven't purchased anything yet that fits into this theme. But.....it's early......LOL

I am sure I will buy something and it will become rather tiresome to me as I get bored rather quickly when something no longer amuses me.....

My Smoke Fluid Loader!

Oh wait , I have been waiting since 2011.  What is the story Mike Reagen?

fred

My wallet!

Most annoying: gateman, cattle loader, coal loader. All were too noisey.

Most underrated: switches with the non-derailing feature. They are brilliant!

Best values: RMT engines (smooth and relatively quiet)

Worst Idea:

It's always a good idea to throw explosives down a chute.

Best Lionel's TMCC Operating Crane and sound car.

 Scott Smith

My favorite accessory is probably the barrel loader car...barrels vibrate down a slide incline and the little plastic guy gives each one a whack into the waiting bin. The main reason it's my favorite is that it's the first operating accessory I got as a kid. I'm also a fan of the banjo signal for the same reason...it was on my first layout growing up.

As for the most over-rated...hands down for me it has to be Lionel swing bridge 24111. Before telling the full story behind this thing, I do have to admit that it is an impressive accessory in action. It lifts itself off the base and smoothly swivels 90 degrees. Visitors are always impressed. 

I came across this thing at a train show a few years ago and I have to admit that part of the appeal is the shear size of the box itself - you think to yourself "with a box that huge, this thing has to be great." I was also greatly encouraged by my father and father-in-law (mainly because they wanted to see the look on my wife's face when I brought this thing home). 

The major drawback is that this thing is huge. I practically had to design the whole lower level track plan around this thing and it pretty much fits in just one spot in the whole layout. Unlike other bridges, you don't just need enough area to place the bridge within the track plan. You also need clearance for it to swing around. I would be happy to relegate it to a display shelf or separate diorama but my wife has stipulated that we can only keep it if it's part of the layout.

I love all my Lionel and AF operating accessories. I have every postwar accessory from Lionel and AF and most of the LTI 90's accessories as well, like the Steam Clean Grind Shop, Intermodal Crane, Lift Bridge etc.

Some are better then others, the AF Log, coal and sawmill accessories from the postwar ERA beat Lionel in terms of looks, operation, and true to life operations.

As for most overated? I dont know....Undervalued? well when operating correctly, nothing beats the Backshop.

Most silliest or even ridiculous? that would be the Lionel Maiden Accessory and the animated truck loading dock. I mean, who would tie up someone next to a station for a mountee to rescue?? HAHAHA

And, 99 bucks back in the day, for a man with a dolly moving back and forth? What a gem that was...NOT!!

The Lionel Mi jack …Looks cool on the layout but what a POS.Is someone actually going to stand there and play with that thing?AND try to get it to work properly? Seriously?For real?Nick

I disdain stuff in bright red, pink, yellow, etc....

The Lionel milk unloader got "old" pretty fast, but I'm still facinated by the American Flyer oil drum loader.

IMO, the #350 transfer table with extension has to be the best operating accessory Lionel has ever offered. And as bonus it looks prototypical.

Also the oil dericks.. . great looking 

The worst... Backshop..

Joe

Undervalued:  Terminal blocks.  They've allowed me to distribute power to tracks and buildings.  I just started using them recently as my layout had grown and I was having some issues.   Now I've found I can run mostly 16 volts with no issue and extend the life of lighted passenger cars.  No more slowdowns, smoke related or otherwise.   Smooth clean power across the board.  

Overrated:  Not really an accessory, but my original Lionel Polar Express set.  Once I switched to command control, it has become a static display.  

From fond memories

Overated=Missile firing engines, cant pull worth an oversized guy with a lantern. Target cars, once the pin is out, you better have smooth track.

 You can't aim a Minuteman rocket car. Satellite launcher the satellites were too heavy/brittle      car Horses? put them out of their misery. Paint the car your favorite football teams colors, and add players.

Underated- 6650 rocket launcher, 175 Gantry and launch pad. Helicopter launch car.

Any bump and go "critter"

 #1-The electromagnetic un-coupler!

Don't have a favorite. 

100% absolute WORST "accessory" (if it qualifies) is the Hotbox cars. Those things drive me #$*(%@) insane!!!

My Cattle car and platform never worked properly when I had my layout in the

1940-55 period.  The one accessory I really liked was the coal unloader ramp #456 and the 397 Coal loader.  My dad got these working fine for me.

Just began to post but I'm looking forward to deciding a lot of those "glad I got it" or "wish I hadn't" questions over the next few months.  I have been in sort of sprint mode buying car and and accessory "projects" and look forward to trying them out as I get them in working order.  A 4 year old grandson will be the main beneficiary of my efforts but I enjoy them as well.

I received a Lionel set with a 681 and a 2671 tender for Christmas at age 4.  The set had a 3472 milk car, a 3469 dump car, a 6555 Sunoco car, and a lighted 6457 caboose.  I think I must have be one of the lucky ones because my milk car always and continues to work flawlessly.  I purchase another 3472 and a "newer" 3662 but neither of those work as well as my original 3472 even after extensive cleaning and light oiling.

The milk car is definitely my favorite and the dump car next but I now have other cars and accessories to try.  So far I've tried the 3562 barrel car and the 362 barrel loader.  The car worked well but the loader was such a wonderful surprise it may have or soon will move close to the top of my favorites list.

I have a 456 coal ramp but it is not ready for prime time yet.  I can see it has a lot of promise and the grandson is going to love it.

Honestly, I think just about anything with a vibromotor is overrated, and with only a few exceptions, will not show up on my layout because of their volume (and I run trains right on the plywood!)

I think the most underrated are the Maiden Rescue (always a hit when I show off the layout) and the Wabash Brakeman car.