Buying Antique Toys Online

If you are new to buying antique or vintage toys online its a good idea to spend some time deciding on your budget and the area of interest that appeals to you, and then to spend some time watching online auctions without bidding, mainly to get an idea of the closing prices for the antique or vintage toys you like best. Demand for certain categories of antique or vintage toys fluctuates and like any vintage or antique item, it is the market that determines the value. Rarity and condition are major factors also. The wise collector will go for the best quality item that fits their budget.
Right now there is a good selection of great finds available when investing in Antique and Vintage Toys as usual we present here for you the top savings. Please see the the antique and vintage items down the page and click on any listing for more information, photos as well as characteristics. If you can’t find what you are browsing for on the page, use the lookup service at the top of this page. eBay often shows the best and least expensive Antique Toys finds as well as being the number one and one of the most well-known internet buying web-sites. We aim to enable you to get the finest item listings for items so you’re able to add to your collection, start shopping for antique toys or simply just obtain the most for the money.

What people are watching on eBay

ONE Wind Up Toy Android Robot,Kids,Party Favours,WUT149

eBay Watchers: 124
Price: $2.2

10 - Windup Toy Keys "For Windup Toys" - L@@K!!

eBay Watchers: 121
Price: $16.49

Antique Wind Up Toy, Girl & Bird in Cage, For Repair!

eBay Watchers: 52
Price: $63.5

Early German Wind-Up Clockwork Tin CLOWNS on Wheels Toy - Very Nice - NR

eBay Watchers: 49
Price: $485.0

Vintage German Lehman Tin Wind Up Toy Masuyama Riksha Very rare

eBay Watchers: 45
Price: $212.5

Trains

	VINTAGE KOUVALIAS GREEK RARE WOOD TOY TRAIN $17.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 1h 3m
	VINTAGE 1960s CRAGSTAN XYLOPHONE TUNE TRAIN BOXED VERY GOOD RARE $94.84 (0 Bids) Time Left: 2h 28m
	Vintage Windup 19350 M.T. Mark Train Engine Tin Toy $90.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 4h 10m
	Huge Vintage Airplane, Train, Ship Litho Print Spinning Top Tin Toy, Germany $175.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 4h 47m
	Vintage Boxed Windup Hornby M1 Passenger Train Set Toy $250.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 5h 45m
	Huge Vintage Windup Golden L75300 Train Engine Tin Toy $250.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 5h 52m
	Huffy Puffy Wooden Pull Train $6.99 $24.99 Time Left: 6h 15m
	Vintage Ohio Art Spinning Metal Toy Top Large Colorful Circus Train Scene !! $5.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 6h 32m
	Vintage Black Plastic Molded Train Engine #2819 # 3 Stamped Inside 3" X 1 2" $2.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 6h 58m
	Vintage IDEAL Yellow Soft Plastic Train Engine $2.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 6h 59m
	Tin Battery Operated Western Train Vintage Great Condition NR $9.99 (1 Bids) Time Left: 8h 25m
	80s BANDAI INSPECTOR GADGET CIRCUIT GADGET TRAIN SET PLAYSET MIB UNUSED $49.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 8h 53m
	Vintage Painted Cast Metal Train Conductor Figurine $4.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 9h
	50's 60's Tin Friction Eagle Train 8" $20.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 9h 10m
	Partial Holgate train pieces, blocks and a strand of wooden spools. $11.00 (4 Bids) Time Left: 9h 10m
	Vintage Tin Metal Collectible Train "Piko Modelbahn" No.2 Germany $45.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 9h 18m
	Tinplate Railroad Lodge KARL BUB NÃ¼rnberg KBN Germany Train House Town Lodge Tin $99.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 15m
	ANTIQUE CAST IRON TRAIN==4 CARS==LOVELY FIND!!!======================== $125.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 44m
	Brio train Curved Switch Track - 33346 $20.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 49m
	Brio train Curved Switch Track - 33346 $20.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 49m
	BRIO Train mini straight track - 33333 $15.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 50m
	Brio train curve set - 33342 $25.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 10h 50m
	Vintage Miniature Haba Wooden Push Pull Toy train set $9.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 1m
	Antique Vintage Wooden Toy-Trailer? Train Loccomotive? Pinewoode Derby Car? $16.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 17m
	Marx Wagon Train buffalos Plus 2 auburn Rubber Buffallo $17.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 31m
	Vintage LIONEL TRAIN Remote Control BOX SUPER! $15.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 33m
	Wind Up Playskool Whistling Locomotive Steam Train Engine This Old Man Paddywac $37.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 45m
	XYLOPHONE 8 KEYS * MELODY TRAIN * TIN & PLASTIC * 1970s $34.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 11h 55m
	Tico Toy No 999 Military train set complete tracks and soilder $20.95 (5 Bids) Time Left: 12h 33m
	VINTAGE TIN TRAIN PLAYING I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD WHILE CHARACTERS MOV $18.99 (0 Bids) Time Left: 13h 29m
	PORTUGAL A MOREIRA TIN TOY TRAIN LOCO BLECHSPIELZEUG ZUG JOUET TOLE 1950s $24.99 $29.99 Time Left: 13h 46m
	TPS Busy Choo Choo Wind-up Tin Locomotive Train & Track $114.95 (0 Bids) Time Left: 14h 19m
	Lot of Johilco Railroad Passengers Figures $24.99 (1 Bids) Time Left: 14h 27m
	Original Antique Vintage P.R.R.Co. Toy Train Set #600 $36.00 (4 Bids) Time Left: 14h 35m
	Marx Vtg Wind Up Train, 14Pc Track, Engine, 3Cars Works $67.00 (0 Bids) Time Left: 14h 59m
	Vintage Battery Oper.Tin Litho & Plastic Freight Train Set W Figure 8 Track MIJ $22.95 (0 Bids) Time Left: 15h 10m

A toy train is a toy that represents a train. It is distinguished from a model train by an emphasis on low cost and durability, rather than scale modeling. A toy train can be as simple as a pull toy that does not even run on track, or it might be operated by clockwork or a battery.[citation needed] Many toy trains blur the line between the two categories, running on electric power and approaching accurate scale.

The first widely adopted standards for toy trains running on track were introduced in Leipzig, Germany in 1891 by Märklin.

Name	Width (metric)	Width (imperial)	size	Comments
Number 5 gauge	120 mm	4 5/8 in	1:8	Also known as V Gauge.
Number 4 gauge	75 mm	3 in	1:11 or 1:20	Also known as IV or 3 gauge. Measurement is sometimes also quoted at 2 15/16 in.
Number 3 gauge	67 mm	2 5/8 in	1:16 or 1:22 or 1:23	also known as III, II, IIa gauges.
Number 2 gauge	54 mm	2 1/8 in	1:22.5 or 1:27 or 1:28	also known as II gauge.
Number 1 gauge	45 mm	1 3/4 in	1:32 or 1:30	Also known as I gauge. Used by modern G scale.
Number 0 gauge	35 mm	1 3/8 in	1:48 or 1:43 or 1:45 or 1:64	Introduced later, around 1900. This is modern O gauge.

Märklin measured the gauge as the distance between the centers of the two outer rails, rather than the distance between the outer rails themselves. Lionel's Standard gauge is allegedly the result of Lionel's misreading these standards, as are the variances in O gauge between the United States and Europe.

Most of these standards never really caught on, due to their large size, which made them impractical to use indoors, as well as the high price of manufacturing. Wide gauge trains, which are close in size to 2 gauge, are produced in limited quantities today, as are 1 gauge and O gauge trains. Of these, O gauge is the most popular.

The modern standards for toy trains also include S gauge, HO scale, N scale, and Z scale, in descending order of size. HO and N scale are the most popular model railway standards of today; inexpensive sets sold in toy stores and catalogs are less realistic than those sold to hobbyists. O gauge arguably remains the most popular toy train standard. Another size that is attracting interest among hobbyists is building and operating trains from LEGO, or L gauge, which is roughly 1/38 scale.

Although the words "scale" and "gauge" are often used interchangeably, toy train manufacturers have only recently concerned themselves with accurate scale.[citation needed] The terms "O scale" and "S scale" tend to imply serious scale modeling, while the terms "O gauge" and "S gauge" tend to imply toy trains manufactured by the likes of Lionel and American Flyer. While S gauge is fairly consistent at 1:64 scale, O gauge trains represent a variety of sizes. O gauge track happens to be 1/45 the size of real-world standard gauge track, so manufacturers in Continental Europe have traditionally used 1:45 for O gauge trains. British manufacturers rounded this up to 1:43, which is seven millimeters to the foot. U.S. manufacturers rounded it down to 1:48, which is a quarter-inch to the foot. However, most engaged in a practice of selective compression in order to make the trains fit in a smaller space, causing the actual scale to vary, and numerous manufacturers produced 1:64 scale trains—the proper size for S gauge—in O gauge, especially for cost-conscious lines.

Some of the earliest O gauge trains made of tinplate weren't scale at all, made to unrealistic, whimsical proportions similar in length to modern HO scale, but anywhere from one and a half to two times as wide and tall.

Some adult fans of toy trains operate their trains, while others only collect.[citation needed] Some toy train layouts are accessorized with scale models in an attempt to be as realistic as possible, while others are accessorized with toy buildings, cars, and figures. Some hobbyists will only buy accessories that were manufactured by the same company who made their trains. This practice is most common among fans of Marx and Lionel.

The earliest toy trains date from the 19th century and were often made of cast iron. Motorized units running on track soon followed, powered by a steam or clockwork engine. Some of these trains used clever methods to whistle and smoke.

Toy trains were revolutionized when Märklin, a German firm that specialized in doll house accessories, sought to create an equivalent toy for boys where a constant revenue stream could be ensured by selling add-on accessories for years after the initial purchase. In addition to boxed sets containing a train and track, Märklin offered extra track, rolling stock, and buildings sold separately, creating the predecessor to the modern model train layout featuring buildings and scenery in addition to an operating train.

Electric trains followed, with the first appearing in 1897, produced by the U.S. firm Carlisle & Finch. As electricity became more common in the early 20th century, electric trains gained popularity and as time went on, these electric trains grew in sophistication, gaining lighting, the ability to change direction, to emit a whistling sound, to smoke, to remotely couple and uncouple cars and even load and unload cargo. Toy trains from the first half of the 20th century were often made of lithographed tin; later trains were often made mostly of plastic.

Prior to the 1950s, there was little distinction between toy trains and model railroads—model railroads were toys by definition. Pull toys and wind-up trains were marketed towards children, while electric trains were marketed towards teenagers, particularly teenaged boys. It was during the 1950s that the modern emphasis on realism in model railroading started to catch on.^{[citation needed]}

A colorful EMD GP40-2 emblazoned with the Chessie System logo, just one of many wooden toy trains offered by Whittle Shortline.

Consumer interest in trains as toys waned in the late 1950s, but has experienced resurgence since the late 1990s due in large part to the popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Today, S gauge and O gauge railroads are still considered toy trains even by their adherents and are often accessorized with semi-scale model buildings by Plasticville or K-Line (who owns the rights to the Plasticville-like buildings produced by Marx from the 1950s to the 1970s). Ironically, however, due to their high cost, one is more likely to find an HO scale or N scale train set in a toy store than an O scale set.

Many modern electric toy trains contain sophisticated electronics that emit digitized sound effects and allow the operator to safely and easily run multiple remote control trains on one loop of track.

Source:http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_train