Hafner variations found on eBay.

By Jerry Loman

I had recently found a relatively hard to find Hafner set with the Canadian Pacific railroad herald with the stricking beaver perched on a stump.  These cars are very sought after and finding them in good condition is some what of a task.

eBay turns one up roughly every 6 months or so, but not always in the best of condition.  I am always trying to better my collection, so I take careful steps when I can to get good digital pics from the sellers to determine if they are a possible upgrade or not.

The latest find had wonderful graphics in bold vibrant color and came with the even rarer Adams Express baggage car.  This car seems to have doubled in price over the Canadian Pacific car.  These rarely show up on the auction circuit and elude even the best hunters of this type.  I knew that I would probably see stiff competition for this set as it was complete with the 102 engine and overland flyer tender.

But there was something else that caused me to stir over the wait to see the hammer strick on this set as I had not seen the baggage car in this variant in prior auctions.

The baggage car has the “Adams Express” on one side and “United States Mail” on the opposite side of the door.  This car did not have the “United States Mail” markings.  At first I was not sure if the car had just not have been printed with the black color that was normally used but in my examination of the lithography, I had noticed that it indeed had the black printing elsewhere.

Had this set been manufactured especially for the Canadian market?  I had purchased the set in Vancouver from the original owners’ family and it had been assumed that the set was purchased locally as a Christmas present.