TYCO’s Golden Eagle train set

TYCO’s gleaming Golden Eagle (No. 7328) is new and only appears in the company’s 1980 product catalog. In addition to gold plating, the set included TYCO’s famous Nite-Glow glow-in-the-dark stickers and pipe sections for the gondola. The set’s extra accessories included the Operating Crane Loader and Signal Crossing with Lights, Bell, and Nite-Glow (both new in 1980 and offered outside this train set as a separate releases). The track plan included 14 sections of Tru-Steel pieces to construct a 36 x 45 inch oval. A standard TYCO power pack was included with the set.

The set came with a blue and gold Super 630 diesel locomotive. Similar to TYCO’s chrome plating, the gold finish on this model and its caboose featured the shiny plated finish. By this point, handrails were no longer the required safety features for TYCO’s HO-scale diesel locomotive models that they’d once been. Both artwork illustrations and model samples show no flexible black plastic handrail sections present.

The rolling stock included TYCO’s green Burlington Northern 50-foot boxcar, late-era yellow 40-foot gondola with large red Union Pacific lettering, red Coca-Cola single-dome 40-foot tank car, 50-foot pulpwood car, and blue Conrail four-bay 40-foot open hopper. TYCO also included the modern red tractor truck cab with yellow Union Pacific trailer van.

In addition to TYCO’s 1980 product catalog, this same set was featured in JCPenney’s 1980 Wish Book. JCPenney lists the Golden Eagle set for $44.99 with a $5 manufacturer’s rebate available. JCPenney also lists the Golden Eagle Super 630 diesel as a separate sale release for $15.99 in its 1980 Christmas catalog.