LIONEL’S CLASSIC GANTRY cranes combine realistic looks with unmatched accessory action. I’ve wanted one for years, and when Lionel announced that it would include an updated version of the last postwar crane (the no. 282R) in its Postwar Celebration reissue series, I made a place on my layout for one. Then I waited, not always […]
LIONEL HAS BEEN slowly re-creating some of its more memorable postwar O gauge accessories. The company commenced two years ago with reproductions of the nos. 138 Water Tower and 164 Log Loader. Now add the no. 465-99 Sound Dispatch Station to the list. Some of these re-issues have been truer to the originals than others, […]
IN 1887, a New England railroad added a trailing truck to a common American-type 4-4-0 locomotive to better distribute its weight when crossing bridges. Thus was born the Atlantic-type steamer. The Atlantic’s 4-4-2 wheel arrangement allowed for a larger firebox and improved performance. The 4-4-2s also pulled heavier trains faster than the old 4-4-0s. The […]
I FIRST SAW a photo of a Lionel nuclear reactor years ago in Tuohy and McComas’ book Lionel: A Collector’s Guide and History, Vol. V: The Archives. The reactor prototype looked slick, but there were no clues to what it did or how it was supposed to do it. Fast forward to December 2000. Opening […]
COAL IS TO LIONEL what ground beef is to McDonald’s. Where the fast food giant transforms its staple product into patties, melts cheese over it, and stacks it higher and higher on sesame seed buns, Lionel lifts, dumps, slides, and drops the bits of shredded plastic it has called coal since the late 1930s. During […]
IS IT A DEAD-RINGER for a postwar powerhouse – a husky pair of handles riding over raw electricity – or is it high-tech instrument funneling digital strings of 0’s and 1’s to rolling receivers? Lionel’s new ZW transformer set is both. It is a conventional and command control device that allows you to operate trains […]
IF YOU ASK collectors and operators of postwar Lionel trains which accessories they prize, most will put the no. 264 Operating Forklift Platform high on their list. They like its reliability, compact appearance, and neat action. Lionel cataloged the 264 for only four years, from 1957 through 1960. That fact and the fascination this accessory […]
HOW OFTEN I CAN remember the late Frank Pettit complaining about how quickly Lionel had pulled the plug on what he insisted was among his greatest inventions. Frank, who served as a one-man research and development department at Lionel during the postwar period, was talking about the no. 38 operating water tower. According to an […]
ON MY VISITS to O gauge layouts I see more and more amusement parks and carnivals. On both railroads that fit the definition of hi-rail and on those that are toy-like, I see the rides, shows, animals, and performers associated with these wonderful attractions. Custom building a carnival or circus is great if you have […]
A POWERFUL BEAM of light piercing the nighttime sky and the mournful cry of a foghorn. These sensations are familiar to anyone who has been near a lighthouse. You never forget the sight of that blinding light emanating from the crown of a tall, sleek tower. Lighthouse-related collectibles are hot these days, and thanks to […]
AMONG THE LATEST in Lionel’s LionMaster line of traditional-sized locomotives is an exceptionally sharp rendering of a Union Pacific-style 4-6-6-4 Challenger, painted and lettered for the Western Maryland Railroad. Although in real life that Appalachian coal hauler used a different style of 4-6-6-4 locomotive, Lionel’s model will probably please everyone but the most die-hard, rivet-counting […]
ONE OF THE MOST recognized American locomotives is the bullet-faced Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 Northern. Between 1941 and 1950 the railroad, which stubbornly supported steam locomotives while other roads embraced diesels, built 14 J and J-1 class locomotives, keeping them on the active roster until 1959. The notable exception to retirement was no. 611, […]
