I owe two AuctionBytes readers an apology. I saw their email while Esther and I were traveling in the Midwest, but was not able to answer their questions at the time. When we got back to Massachusetts, much of our older, unread email had been deleted, so I am no longer able to answer directly.

One of the questions was about the Lionel Girls train, a set that was sold in 1957 and 1958. It was an attempt to broaden the appeal of toy trains to girls by offering a train with a pink engine and tender and several pastel colored freight cars. The set was Lionel No. 1587S. The attempt failed; not many were sold; and pastel colors were mostly discontinued. However, as collectors became interested in the set, its value increased dramatically. I have heard about Lionel Girls trains selling for as much as $4,000. But in today's market I would guess that such a set in "like new" condition with the original boxes, would bring between $2,000 and $2,500, noting that in a poorly advertised auction it could sell for less, and if two very determined collectors showed up at an auction, it could bring considerably more. Without the boxes, its value would probably be reduced by about one-third, and anything in less than excellent condition would also substantially reduce the value. Such is the toy train world.

More about Price Guides

I wrote once before about the excellent Greenberg Pocket Price Guides and other books available from Kalmbach Publishing Co. More information is available on the Internet at http://www.kalmbachbooks.com?ab, or you can get a catalog by calling 800-533-6644. Currently, Kalmbach has pocket price guides available for Lionel (all sizes are in the guide), American Flyer (S gauge only), Marx, and M.T.H. Electric Trains.

A note for serious collectors: Kalmbach also has books with price information on other older trains not included in their pocket price guides. Some examples are: "Greenberg's Guide to Early American Toy Trains" (Carlyle & Finch, Hafner and Dorfan) $59.95; "Greenberg's Guide to Ives Trains" $39.95; "Official Guide to LGB Trains" $59.95; and there are numerous other books that may be of interest.

Did You Know?

Probably the first electric motor driven toys made by Lionel were some street car/trolleys sold from 1901 to 1905. Referred to as "2-7/8 Inch Gauge", the cars had wheels about 3 inches apart, ran on two rail track, and there were roughly four types: trolleys, gondolas, some crude crane/derrick cars, and one car that looked a little like a caboose. Larger than currently popular G scale, these cars ranged from about 12" to 16-1/2" in length. The cars were mostly made of stamped metal, but some had wooden parts. Unlike later Lionel products, numbers that appeared on the outside of the cars were not the Lionel product numbers. Most, but not all of the cars, were stamped "LIONEL MFG. CO. N.Y." on the floor. These cars are very rare and extremely valuable. Most are listed in the Greenberg price guide as NRS, meaning "No Recorded Sales."