If you have been collecting O Gauge trains for a while, odds are that at some point you have run across some interesting rolling stock in boxes marked 'RGS Trains'. They look like Lionel cars, and in fact are the same design, but are painted in unique paint schemes not available anywhere else.
So who is RGS?
RGS Trains is located in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, and specializes in the production of O Gauge trains in unique paint schemes. Most RGS products are freight cars, but a few passenger cars have been made, and at least one RGS locomotive has also been produced. Using advanced decorating techniques, RGS can make the cars in virtually any paint or decorating scheme. They are made in very limited runs, usually a couple hundred at most. They are made from Lionel bodies and parts and are then custom painted by RGS. They are 100% Lionel compatible.
RGS cars tend to fall into two categories--reproductions of hard-to-find Lionel cars, and original RGS designs. There is no set numbering system for RGS products; usually it's just the number printed on the car. This system becomes more exciting as RGS has used the same number for several different cars. Sometimes RGS prints numbers on cars that are concurrent with a Lionel numbering system. For example, RGS numbered their Good Humor refrigerator car 9894, which is in line with the 9800-series refrigerator cars made by Lionel in the 1970s and 80s.
The value of RGS cars varies widely, usually anywhere from $30 to $250, depending upon the demand for the particular car.
At this time there is no collector's guide for RGS available, so we are starting one here at Trainz. This article contains photos of RGS cars we have had at Trainz since 2001, along with any other helpful information we have about the cars. This article will be a work in progress and we'll update it as we learn more about RGS and its train line. We hope this article provides a useful starting point for research on RGS.
Also, if anyone has any photos of other RGS pieces not shown in this article, we'd like to use them, if possible. Please contact tommy@trainz.com if you have any pictures or information on RGS.
Thanks for reading!
Tommy Feldman
General Manager, Trainz.com
July 2009
RGS
Click the Pics to see a larger, clearer image
6464 Pennsylvania Boxcar (In '2454' paint scheme) This is a 6464 design, but painted in a scheme reminiscent of the 2454 boxcar from 1946. |
6464-500 Timken Boxcar White w/Red Door |
6464-725 New Haven Boxcar--White w/Black Door |
6464-25 Great Northern Boxcar w/Painted Herald |
6464-200 Pennsylvania Boxcar |
45 Pennsylvania 0-6-0 Dockside Switcher |
6553 Pennsylvania Stock Car Note that the 6553, 6558 and 6559 use numbers in line with Lionel's Postwar-Era stock cars. |
6558 MKT/Texas Special Stock Car |
6559 Rio Grande Stock Car |
9879 Kraft Cream Cheese Refrigerator Car Lionel made a prototype of this car in 1979. Be aware of someone trying to sell this car as a Lionel factory prototype. |
9894 Good Humor Refrigerator Car Note that this car and the 9839 use numbers in sequence with Lionel's 9800-series Refrigerator Cars from the 1970s and 80s. |
9839 Breyers Woodside Refrigerator Car |
Heineken Tank Car |
9191 Exxon Tank Car |
2004 M&Ms Tank Car |
2003 Dunkin Donuts Tank Car |
200310 CP Rail Mandarin Orange Express Tank Car |
2004 Hershey's Syrup Tank Car |
6402 Polar Express Mail Boxcar This car is a perfect match for the Lionel Polar Express Train Set. It is in high demand. |
2003 New York Yankees 100th Anniversary Boxcar |
New York Yankees Observation Car |
Harley-Davidson Boxcar |
1 Elvis Presley 30 #1 Hits Boxcar |
3437 Beatles Aquarium Car |
6870 Beatles Flatcar w/Yellow Submarine |
3831 Sea World Flatcar w/Submarine |
713 Alaska Flatcar w/Submarine |
6402 Boston and Maine Mint Car |
7-2000 Sacagawea Golden Dollar Mint Car |
6438 Hershey's Kisses Mint Car |
6438 Brinks Mint Car |
USA-1 Let Freedom Ring Boxcar |
175277 Pennsylvania Caboose |
175277 Pennsylvania-Railway Express Agency Boxcar |
175263 Pennsylvania-Railway Express Agency Operating Boxcar |
2003 Train Buddies Season's Greetings Boxcar |
49252 UPS TTUX Flatcar Set
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49251 UPS Flatcar w/Trailer
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Pennsylvania 4-car Ore Hopper Set
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Click the Pics to see a larger, clearer image
