Arnold trains

[Arnold]

Hi Everyone,

at the beginning excuse me my english, unfortunately it's not my native language.
       I inherited a collection of  N-Gauge trains collection from my grandfather who died nearly 30 years ago. The collection consists of Arnold, Minitrix, Fleischman, Atlas and Rivarossi trains, wagons, coaches, tracks and some other things. Because I was 4 or 5 at that time my father kept it locked and took it out only couple of times for maintanance porposes as we didn't share my granfather's hobby. The vast majority of the collection was bought in Germany (i suppose between 1979-81 ), shortly before he died and never was used for playing or running on a layout, so it's in perfect condition, "visual" and "mechanical". Unfortunately my father died 5 years ago and me and my mother eventually decided to sell it, because it only takes space and what's even more important, my very limited time, when i visit her once or twice a year, as i live in different country. Excuse me the long introduction, i just wanted to explain my situation.
    Before i try to sell it I'd like to obtain some general, basic informations, like for example: how does the  year of production of a model affect its value, price. Are there any sorts of trains, wagons more desired, precious among collectors? How would you rate the companies i mentioned, regarding quality? I'm also a bit confused about Arnold, I know it's been bought by Hornby, but don't know whether it's still produced under its own name or under Hornby's. Trying to get all this informations on my ownI would be like  "a child in the fog" so i'll be grateful for every advice and opinion. I also attached link to photos, if someone's willing
to take a look at the collection. Big thanx in advance.

https://picasaweb.google.com/117586981946304862900/NGauge?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPnDhM7HoLX_fw&feat=directlink

[bluedepot]

yes arnold is still produced under the arnold brand despite being bought by hornby.

i would suggest selling them on ebay to get the best price.

best wishes


tim

[scotsoft]

Hello Arnold,

You have some very valuable locomotives in your grandfathers collection.

There was a Rivarossi Big Boy sold on eBay last week for approx €225.

I would take time and gather as much information about each piece as you can before listing them on eBay or any other site.

cheers John.

[1936ace]

Do look out for price ideas from ebay, or maybe ask one of the model rail auction firms to quote a price or if you have a second hand dealer in trains to gauge some prices. It pays to look around, my NSWGR 48 class loco i bought for A$60 went for A$680 about 5 yrs ago.
Bart