I'm looking to compleate my GN, MT, Collection I have one of each of car produced but my freight will not be compleat unless I can get, MT#42080- CAR#6209 MT#20100- CAR#2500 There are also a few rare ATSF cars I'm looking for if you have any?
Those won't be easy... both rare cars (extremely rare in the case of the GN 2500) and pretty much cornered by the upper-end aftermarket...
George is right, the 6209 sold at auction last Feb. for $593.00 and the 2500 sold for $3,299.99 in Mar. 2000
BNSFtheLeader - for every auction quality MT out there that someone buys for hundreds of dollars therre are probably several "runners" that lack the mint/original box/such-and-such label/etc. pedigree that collectors covet. Also, I'm not sure about those you mentioned, but there are also sometimes rapido-couplered versions and/or kits that also aren't as valued. You may be able to find examples of both more in the price range mentioned by George. The challenge is that sometimes a seller will ask collector prices for runner quality. Good luck!
NSC "reprinted" the GN 2500 with a NSC disclaimer on it as a fundraiser. I have one somewhere that I picked up at well below its original issue price. The "conventional wisdom" is that there are only about a dozen original GN 2500's out there, so if Wig-Wag George got one for $22, he did get a really good deal. But both cars are "hardcore collector" items, to be sure.
Oh, "that" car. I was thinking this was one of those circus train boxcars. Maybe the other George should have bought a lottery ticket the same day he found the $22 copy.
Yes, we're talking about the silver (OK, aluminum) and green one. The "official" road number was GN 2499. The catalog number is 20100.
George, Do you know the reason for the dozen that were done with the 2500# instead? I know they were never sold to the public, was it a special run for someone or was it just an error?
I have two of the GN NSC cars in mint condition. Car #2500 & car#2499. [ February 18, 2006, 05:52 PM: Message edited by: Sonny A ]
Nelson, I think the story (which would probably be better sourced from someone more versed in this stuff) is that the GN 2500 was going to be the selected number, and some test shots were done, until it was discovered that it would have been incorrect vs. the prototype. Therefore the 2499 was done on the production run. Some 2500s got out anyway. Keep in mind that Kadee did not really have any idea at that point what would happen in the aftermarket, and as such records weren't kept to the degree of diligence that they are now. (And of course, Micro-Trains, like nearly everyone else in the business, does not release production figures.) I would have to check this more thoroughly, but I think that whether 2499 or 2500, the PS-1 body style isn't correct for the car in any event. I don't recall that the Great Northern had any true PS-1 boxcars, but don't quote me on that.
Since you guys seem to follow some of the auctions I have a question to ask. I have one of the 21212 fallen flags four packs that has a mis-print on the GN boxcar (MT #32340). The reflective dots are missing. Has anyone ever seen this set up for auction? I've looked but never found it. Thanks, Jason
wcfn100 - I think that car is common in both versions. I know that only because I've bought a few of those and encountered both.
Hello, GN 2500 is the correct prototype number. It was built at the GN St. Cloud shops in 1944. It was a prototype aluminum sheathed, welded frame express boxcar. Why MT went with #2499 I don't know. [ February 18, 2006, 09:26 PM: Message edited by: barlowfaudio ]
I'd have to look in my back issues of the N Scale Collector for that, if my accumulation goes that far back (I don't have all of them). I'm pretty sure that the story was told when the 2499/2500 two pack was issued. They're not accessible at the moment (reorganizing going on) so it might be a while.
Sold to someone that knows what they are buying, probably $5 to $10. Sold on eBay to some of the buyers there...Priceless!
