Fun and fancy fill Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1. What am I writing here? You will recall that I recently explored for Trains.com the latest additions to the roster of O gauge sets, locomotives, and rolling stock presented in Lionel’s brand-new catalog. There, I focused on a handful of great trains that impressed me because of their realism in appearance and operation. To be specific, I really liked the array of 4-6-4 Hudson steamers, auto-rack cars, and scale boxcars and tankers.
But anyone who has checked out Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1 knows that realism isn’t the complete story. Fun and fancy are also major influences on what designers and engineers at the world’s largest toy train manufacturer are introducing to the ranks of Lionel enthusiasts.
So, without further ado, let me share with you what I consider some of the absolutely entertaining, colorful, imaginative, and just plain fun models populating the brand-new lineup for this special year, which as you probably know, is Lionel’s 125th year in business. I predict that, like me, you’ll find several terrific locomotives and cars worth purchasing to display or operate.
Where to start
If you have already made yourself familiar with Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1 by picking up a copy or just reading about it online, you are wondering where I will commence my search for the fun and fanciful. It will certainly take a while to wade through all the pages in the front of the catalog emphasizing the most spectacular and realistic of the newcomers. As much as I appreciate the Legacy-equipped steam and diesel locomotives dominating the opening section, they simply do not qualify as whimsical pieces. I’m even skipping over the anniversary models.
Not until I hit the delightful group of Star Wars items beginning on page 116 did I put on the brakes. A pair of cool LionChief sets got to me first, both slick freight trains led by modestly decorated Alco RS-3 diesel switchers. But what struck me as the most out of this world stuff was the assortment of boxcars. For $110 each, you can select any of the four models showcasing one of the memorable characters from the classic series of motion pictures. I prefer good guys over villains, and therefore my choice would be the No. 2528230 celebrating R2D2 and C3PO.
Better still are the three illuminated boxcars priced at $150 each. To be exact, what lights up on the exterior of each model are the light sabers held by their characters. Being a tradition-loving guy, I would buy the No. 2528260 showing Darth Vader versus Obi-Wan Kenobi!
Cartoon time
Okay trivial fans. You certainly are aware that Lionel is marking its 125th anniversary in 2025. Now for something more difficult: Which famous and beloved cartoon characters also are celebrating key anniversaries this year? If you’re scratching your head and feeling like you’re about to fail this quiz, just relax and flip in your Lionel 2025 Catalog Volume 1 to pages 126, 127, and 130. Amazingly colorful and eye-catching O gauge models honor popular heroes.
Let’s go first with the 90th anniversary of DC Comics. As Lionel’s marketing teams know quite well, that means the birth of Superman in Action Comics, followed by Batman in Detective Comics and then Wonder Woman in Sensation Comics. What the catalog extols as the “Greatest Superheroes of All Time” may not have been created in 1935, but the landmark publishing firm known as DC Comics, which launched them, was established in that critical year during the Great Depression.
Check out the Nos. 2528140 honoring Superman, 2528150 honoring Batman, and 2528160 honoring Wonder Woman. These boxcars, all priced at $100 each, feature striking graphics showing how each of the heroes has changed in appearance over the past 90 years. For now, I’ll step aside and let enthusiasts argue about which one of the great models to buy.
You see, I’ll be pulling out a credit card to bring home one or perhaps all three of the wonderful new models paying tribute to two other cartoon characters having an anniversary. It was in 1940, 85 years ago, that Tom and Jerry began chasing each other and causing mayhem and laughter for movie audiences. Lionel offers an 85th anniversary boxcar for $110 (No. 2538210), an illuminated boxcar for $150 (No. 2528530), and an animated gondola for $130 (No. 2528520). I’m betting the third one will elicit the biggest laughs for my family and me.
Plenty of others
Getting ready to wrap up this survey, I puzzled over what else to highlight. Those of you who regularly patronize the latest offerings from Lionel know all about the ongoing series of O gauge models decorated with images of characters and scenes from Harry Potter movies and Looney Tunes animated shorts. You have seen the many items reflecting the artistry of Angela Trotta Thomas and Thomas Kinkade. Well, Lionel has kept on expanding those neat groups.
Same is the case with Halloween oriented trains and Area 51 items. Should scary and bizarre be the themes of your home layout, you will definitely have more to think about getting.
Me, as everyone probably realizes, loves history. But the different tributes Lionel has put out to Revolutionary War battles and World War II bombers and their art somehow leave me unimpressed. Important to memorialize Bunker Hill and Paul Revere’s “Midnight Ride,” yet I doubt I’ll be chasing after those novel boxcars in spite of their appealing graphics.
What did impress me were the three pieces of rolling stock celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of one of Lionel’s postwar rivals in the toy field. Mattel, which left a powerful mark on boys and girls of my youth and generations after, has a brand-new boxcar (No. 2538360) with the logos and artwork of important lines of toys fielded by Mattel. Another boxcar, priced at $100, reminds us of the fun and pleasure of playing the Uno card game.
My personal favorite of the Mattel trio is the No. 2528840 Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots Chasing Gondola. Decorated in a bright shade of yellow, it features miniature versions of the blue and red fellows who regularly tried to knock each other’s block off. At $130, this animated model promises loads of action and laughter for every Lionel enthusiast, regardless of age.
