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LCCA 50th Anniversary

Frequently Asked Questions

Train Values and Selling My Trains

First, as a member of the LCCA you can advertise for FREE to other members of our club in our quarterly publication The Interchange Track. Another popular place is eBay which is an auction site and quite extensive but comes with costs associated with selling them. There are also national auction companies that specialize in selling trains. They typically advertise their auctions in magazines such as Classic Toy Trains and O Gauge Railroading. These national companies primarily deal in highly collectible trains and average run of the mill trains are of little interest to them. You could also check with local hobby shops in your area or you might also be able to get a table at a local train show and sell them there. Often these rent from $10-50 each. However, you will need to have done some research to do the pricing. Overprice them and you will take them home with you and be out the cost of the tables to boot. Lastly, you might try Craigslist or a for sale ad in your local newspaper to advertise them for sale.

Often times a "bunch" of old trains will include rusty or "oxidized" track. It is seldom of any value and may be better discarded with one exception and that is switches which can be worth cleaning up by a collector. In all cases NEVER use steel wool to try to clean these rusty or oxidized items. Also many smaller train sets came with small transformers which are seldom worth the cost to ship them anywhere. Otherwise, the most value will be in the engines of the set followed by any accessories and then the cars themselves. 

Do not discard any of the boxes or instructions that came with the trains. These are desired by collectors as well. Most of the engines and cars are identified by a number on the side of the car or engine which a collector can use to identify what you have. Pictures are most always needed to start to arrive at identifying and setting a value for the trains and a collector will most always request these.

Lastly, do not attempt to clean your trains with any abrasive, steel wool, or cleansing agent of any kind. Many of these will do more damage than good. A true collector will know what should be used and preserve the value of the trains.

Lionel has been making trains since 1900 and has a well deserved reputation for quality products. Many of the trains made in the early years right up through the present have kept their value and some are highly valued by collectors, while other more common ones, while worthy of running may not have a high collector value. The value of a particular set or piece is dependent on several factors such as condition, rarity, and the presence of the original box in good condition. Firecrown Media, Inc. publishes a respected guide for Lionel Trains available at www.shop.trains.com. Keep in mind that values listed in these guides are just that - a guide. Often when selling trains, they must be offered at a price below the listed value to sell quickly. 
Members of the LCCA can list trains for sale and purchase trains from other members in The Interchange Track. This magazine is issued four times a year and there is no charge to members to list items. In addition to the magazine, members also have access to an online listing service, eTrak - again at no charge. These listings also serves as a guide to exactly what items are selling for. Items are conveniently listed in numerical order, making it easy to find a particular item. 

The LCCA has established  grading standards that can be used for both your trains and the boxes they came in. A seasoned train collector should be consulted to assist in grading your trains. Typically the average person over grades their items unless they are knowledgeable of these grading standards.