quote:

Originally posted by NickyBigBoy:
I could see the reason for box disposal being space issues, but then how do you store the engines and cars?

Did the PRR, NYC, B&O, or UP store their engines in a box?

Just kiddin...

I do understand the idea of keeping a box if you can't have all your trains on the layout or displayed.

You pose an interesting musing. Let me draw an analogy, which some of my-betters may feel is unfitting. However, such an objection notwithtanding, let me liken what you have to buying a brand-new premium automobile; let's say, a Masserati, S-Benz, Beemer, Porche, Ferrari, Lamborgini, Bentley, or Rolls Royce. Would you let it sit in a garage and not drive it?

You are 75. Do you need to run it? Do you have the feeling that if you open it you are spoiling something? There are only a finite number of sealed copies.
If you don't feel the need to run it - sell it as sealed for a few dollars more than unsealed. Let the next owner wrestle with the philosophy of it all.
Use the money for a pleasure that requires no anguish.

Rip it outa the box, slam it on the track and run it. If you can display it more the better then mash the box and enjoy runnin and display. Jim.

If you want to keep it mint in the box, it is your option. As for me, Ladies an Gentlemen, start your Train Engines. Run em.

Many thanks,

Billy C

I've kept the boxes from the HWG and add on, and the Williams/WBB heritage. Otherwise, I RUN 'EM

How many people have you heard of that collect 1990 vintage mint conditioned trains?

This is not meant to be a flippant question. Rather it should be the basis for your decision. If there are people out there who want to buy an item in mint condition simply to have it and not to run it, and if those folks are willing to pay a GOOD PREMIUM for items in mint condition, my advice would be to sell the train to one of those collectors, use part of the proceeds to buy a good or better condition version of the same item and pocket the difference. The use value of a good condition or better train is likely to be as great as that mint in box train, so let some other guy have the enjoyment of getting it mint in box. HOWEVER if there isn't much of a premium, unless you are a speculator, then open the box up and run it.

quote:

Run It or Keep It Mint in the Box?

I'm a firm believer that the only thing that should be kept Mint is that which come out of a genuine government mint : like Gold Eagles, Krugerrands or Maple Leaves. And even those should probably be liquidated at the top of each gold cycle.

Anything that has a printed circuit board in it is a depreciating asset, regardless of consumer product class.

You should either use it or sell it, or here is an idea cut the bottom of the box out and run it in the box.. just kidding

quote:

I can't remember who said this, but it was a good saying:

"When I get a train I run it. That's what they were built to do. If I wanted something to look at, I would collect art."

-Nicholas Anthony D'Alessandro

Art comes in many forms.
I'd discribe a beautifully modeled engine in static disply as railroad art.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by NickyBigBoy:

quote:

Originally posted by CandO:
1- rip open box
2- stomp on box
3- throw box away
4- lube train
5- run train and enjoy it

I REEEEAALLY hope you were joking about #1-3....

I got rid of all my boxes. They're jsut space-wasters.

RUN IT!! You need to enjoy it while you can!

--Greg

quote:

Originally posted by NickyBigBoy:

quote:
Originally posted by CandO:
1- rip open box
2- stomp on box
3- throw box away
4- lube train
5- run train and enjoy it

Exactly the thing accumulators stashing the stuff unopened hope everyone does.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by smd4:

quote:

Originally posted by NickyBigBoy:

quote:

Originally posted by CandO:
1- rip open box
2- stomp on box
3- throw box away
4- lube train
5- run train and enjoy it

I REEEEAALLY hope you were joking about #1-3....

I got rid of all my boxes. They're jsut space-wasters.

You should sell them on Ebay. You'd be surprised how many folks would be willing to take them off your hands instead of letting them be destroyed.

Matter of fact, let me know when you want to toss Lionel boxes. I might need some

I can use all your throwaways to protect my POSTWAR COLLECTION...thanks in advance...ibuylionel@yahoo.com

Have Fun...

I think new in box is a help for someone selling an item where there are many to pick from. The really great stuff from the 40's and 50's will not recur again for us. That time came and went and we are on the very tail end of it. Kids of today [with exceptions] are into throw away stuff always looking for the NEW thrill.

I believe the person who said "When I get a train I run it. That's what they were built to do. If I wanted something to look at, I would collect art." Stan Roy of Chicago, Illinois, in one great toy train video. I believe Stan Roy was operating over twenty trains at a time on his layout.

Many thanks,

Billy C

Run it!

The answer is simple.

What would you enjoy the most:

1) Looking at the sealed box for the next 10 years.

2) Spending the $400 or whatever you get from sale of the train

3) Running the train.



Me - I would have been running the train for the past 20 years myself.

I don't trust that Greenberg book on pricing. Try to find the set on eBay. Doubt you will get $500.

That engine will have one or two Pullmor motors that will need to be lubricated, and what I call the 'sick moose' horn, and possibly couplers with plastic fingers instead of a metal spring to pop the coupler open. When the finger broke the coupler stays closed but won't pop open. Lionel made a combo electro and tab replacement couplers for the Dash 9 by the way. They have a metal spring. I might even have two left. The boxes for them are great for holding up newer engines without damaging the horns on the work bench. The engine may have a Lion Tech electronic reversing unit; if so, if you can score an LCRU kit its not that hard to convert to TMCC, the mounting holes all line up. Even if you can't, the Electric RR has the AC Commander, just takes more to work to mount it. You will still not have cruise control.

The Standard 'O' cars may have problems with popping open when you string to many cars together. When the coupler pops open, usually close to the engine, the engine tears off and hits the caboose and warp speed if you don't catch it in time, especially since it doesn't have cruise control. You may be able to fix them. What I do is buy the rotating cap trucks, put them on 50' boxcars, and take the trucks off of those to put them on something that cannot accommodate the newer trucks.

The engine might be above scale, to fit the motor in the shell, the cars slightly smaller than scale, and the caboose even more less scale.

I bought the CP Rail set from 1989, and the matching dummy, and then foolishly bought another powered and dummy as an investment. What a dork.

If it was me, and I really could get $500, I'd sell it and get myself either TMCC, DCS, or Legacy and one engine that goes with the command system I bought.

What I find interesting with the couplers in the Dash 9 electrocoupler upgrade kit is that Lionel uses the same picture all over their other user manuals and then states in words that you cannot open them up by hand. What a crock. How about either deleting the picture, or making electro couplers that can be opened by hand again?

This reminds me of my bachelor Uncle Ray. He and I would go fishing and he would always comment on one of my fishing reels and how much he would like to have one like it. I would say "Uncle Ray, it only costs $25.00. If you really like it so much then buy one. If you die with $25.00 still in your account, then you missed out on a opportunity to enjoy this reel."

BTW - he died with more than $25.00 in his account and he never did buy that reel.

I not only run all my stuff, I have hacked them into something that I feel looks like what the SAL ran and installed Kadee couplers.

With that said:

Do you have enough trains to run now? If so and there's no real need to run this one, keep it in the box.

Do you have any kids or grandkids? If so, leave it, unopened, to them. They didn't pay anything for it so they'll get 100%+ on their investment (which was zero)

Do you need the money you could get for it? If not, leave it in the box, especially if you already have enough trains to run.

Sometimes I think that some of the folks that tell you to rip open the box are they ones that leave theirs MIB. Every one that's opened means theirs are worth more.

quote:

Sometimes I think that some of the folks that tell you to rip open the box are they ones that leave theirs MIB. Every one that's opened means theirs are worth more.

Yikes. Thats a strange place to be.

My trains are never MIB they are always ROT (run on tracks!)

quote:

Originally posted by justakid:
Trains go around many times....you only get to go around once.

Well said-I coudnt agree more

I got a few good chuckles out of some of the answers, but this was my favorite.

quote:

Originally posted by B+M FAN:
.... or here is an idea cut the bottom of the box out and run it in the box..

I can envision the attempted sale at a later time > "Yes, that's right, it is still sealed in the original box but it's been run."
Buyer: "The train or the box?"
Seller: "Both!"

you MUST run it,at least to see that all things work.because you dont want to find out it is a defective non working piece of junk months or years later.i know someone that happened to.

I would keep it in the box and forget about it. You may have so much new stuff to run, there would be no point in opening the box. Like a new found bottle of wine that may be 10 years old, just drink the new stuff, unless you have a desire to go 'old'.

I don't care what it is, or how expensive is was..... GET IT OUT OF THE BOX AND RUN IT!!!!



my .02


Bill K

Life is to short. Run it and enjoy it.

...keep the rails polished...

quote:

How many people have you heard of that collect 1990 vintage mint conditioned trains?

LOL, I collect some modern era stuff up to about 1993-94, the end of the mechanical E-unit era.
As evidenced by posting made by others, I am not the only one interested in older Modern Era stuff. The numbers are growing as people who had Modern Era trains as kids become operators or collectors.
As I posted earlier, many of us collectors want items that are unique or unusual. So all you guys who want to open up and use or modify something that has sat unused for 20 years, go for it. You actions will only serve to make my stuff more desireable in my eyes, because there will be less new, old stock Modern Era stuff around.

If you are a collector...collect (leave it in the box)

If you are a runner...run'm (cut-her loose)

For mental health reasons, don't be both!!!

Since I first posed this question, I guess I owe all of you a reply as to what I did. Some of the following I posted earlier. I unsealed the set (the set box lid was not sealed) and opened the individual boxes. They and the contents had never been opened or run. It was a mint set.
It is an attractive set, but aside for the Railsounds boxcar, not that unique.
I will keep that car box unopened since I have had that particular car on my layout for nearly 20 years. It still sounds and looks good.
The cars are extremely light weight, even with their die cast trucks. The engine is very attractive and high (well over 4" high) and has a number of nicely placed details. It has twin motors and Magnatraction but is not a great puller since it, too, is very light weight.
I think that it will probably spend more time on my desk than on my or our train club layouts, but who knows?.
Am I glad I bought it? Definitely. It was a great buy for the price. Am I glad I opened and ran it? You bet. I have to run all my trains. It will be years, if ever, for this set to appreciate enough, IMHO, to equal the fun of buying it, opening something that is almost 20 years old and still mint and then seeing it operate. Will I keep the set box and individual boxes? Of course. I have plenty of storage space and I have kept all my boxes. Am I glad we had this discussion. You bet. It was fun. Keep 'em rolling, guys. Dick

Run and Njoy the trains if they will really give you a boost.
Otherwise set the whole box aside, and let it rest as a
centerpiece of your layour area.

L

you're always going to get lots of posts on this topic, which we've done at least 5 times in the past 3 years. Having said that i'll give my standard answer. You own it----run it. If it's postwar, it won't lose value by being run and if it's modern, who cares. They won't ever command the prices that postwar does in 40 years. Can anyone imagine someone trying to sell an MTH proto 1 for big bucks in the year 2040?

RM, I'm glad you enjoyed opening the boxes and running the set.

I still have visions of a string of boxes zipping around the layout as B+M Fan suggested.

Andy