Description: WILCOX COLLECTION Back Story My father obtained this collection from a man I only knew as “Wilcox”. Not sure of that was his first or last name as I never actually met the man. As I recall the events, my father had been tracking his collection for some time as it was in the same small city of Norwalk, CT that we lived in back in the 1970's. The collection suddenly became available, with little warning, I think in 1972. I vaguely recall “Wilcox” was in some sort of legal trouble and needed to raise some cash quickly. Considering the severity of the charges that my dad had learned of, he was somewhat apprehensive arriving at Wilcox's residence with a large sum of cash (but, like any avid collector, he was not going to let that minor issue stand in the way of a prized collection). With that in mind, he recruited a neighbor who was a Norwalk police officer (from which he had learned the severity of the charges) to “assist” in the transaction. The crude plan was essentially that my dad would drive to the Wilcox residence and I would ride with the policeman in the police car from which we would conduct “surveillance” from a block away (on the corner of River and Wall streets, near the old Kiddytown toy store). Now why, as a 10 year old boy, I was required to participate in such a mission, I will never know! Anyhow, with the collection finally in hand, my dad spent many a night inventorying not only the many rolling stock, but the extensive parts collection included in the haul (a parts collection that was very unusually large for a private citizen to be in possession of). As I recall the story, Wilcox worked for one (or more) of the large toy train manufactures. Lionel would be a easy guess since so many of his creations were based on it's chassis. But, I seem to recall being told Wilcox did not drive and would commute via train from Norwalk to New Haven in his later years of work (Gilbert?). Anyhow, some of you old timers may remember his NH Boxcab Electrics he hand crafted that my dad displayed proudly at the York train meets in the early1980's (see last photo in listing, not included/not for sale). To be clear, I have no proof of Wilcox's employment or whether any of these pieces were prototypes, samples, or just his own creations. However, the work I think we can all agree, is exquisite. Listing Specifics: Rolls on custom 6 wheel trucks which provide power to the interior lights. Includes 2 operating couplers (1 snaps right open, the other does not but does disengage allowing for disconnection of the adjacent car). Nicely decorated with brass colored door highlights along with white step outlines and a roof ladder. Some light dust accumulation should be expected from it's 50+ years in storage.---->See my other Toy Train / Wilcox items for combined shipping savings
Price: 99 USD
Location: DeLand, Florida
End Time: 2025-01-14T20:32:19.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Brand: Lionel
Type: Passenger Car
Corporate Roadname: New Haven
Gauge: O
