This is the first Joy Line set I ever saw. It was in a local train store in the early 1990's. I negotiated what was a fair price at the time ($160 I believe). I was just full of myself at having made the purchase. I left the store with my young son who, after we had driven a couple blocks from the store, asked why I hadn't bought the gondola.
"There wasn't one", I told him.
"Yes there was", he said.
"Where?" I asked.
"It was in the other cabinet" he informed me!
I quickly drove back to the store and sure enough there it was in the other cabinet. I was so excited that I hadn't even seen it! And, of course, the store owner would not budge off the $55 price (high at the time). I bought the car and had a nice talk about communicating with my son on the way home. In the years to come he would prove to be invaluable at train shows, spotting nice pieces I had missed.




This is the engine and tender from the set.