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TOYS

LIONEL TRAINS

I can't remember the year, exactly.  Could have been 1947 or 1948.  My parents were getting divoced and my mom, sister and I were living in a basement apartment belonging to my mom's sister, her husband and my cousin Rich.  Although we were poor, my mom bought me a Lionel train set for Christmas, the one seen here.  My cousins parents got him a set at the same time.  He wanted the steam engine that smoked when you put a pill in the smoke stack, I wanted the cool, super modern Diesel engine. When Christmas arrived, I remember thinking he made the better choice; that smoking engine was so cool.  But, now looking back, I'm happy with the choice I made.  And I got the smoking engine anyway, thanks to my sister, who received one a few years later.

All the large pictures below come from either my set ort my sisters set.  Everything after the large format pictures are links to other sites.  Hope you enjoy the ride.

History
The 3484 operating box car was introduced in the same year as the highly successful 6464 series box car, 1953. The main difference is the 3484 includes an operating mechanism simulating a man opening one of the box car doors.

The 3484 box car is available in two different roadnames. The slightly more common roadname is the Pennsylvania while the A.T. & S.F. (Santa Fe) is a bit harder to locate. Lionel's official catalogue number for the Santa Fe is 3484-25 -- which is also the number appearing to the left of the opening door. Either 3484 car in collectable condition is becoming harder to find.

Features
Standard features of the 3484 cars include: painted body (tuscan for the Pennsylvania and orange for the Santa Fe), white lettering, bar-end trucks, single brakewheel plus an operating door with a rubber man on the inside of the car.

The Pennsylvania is always found with single block doors. The Santa Fe was produced with both single block doors (1954) and milti-block doors (1955 & 1956).

MORE: http://www.postwarlionel.com/

History
The 2332 Pennsylvania GG1 Electric diesel was the first of several GG1 diesels produced by Lionel in the postwar era. At the time of its introduction in 1947, it was the ultimate Lionel engine. Besides being the first postwar Lionel diesel, its heavy die-cast body and impressive looks made the GG1 an immediate success.

The 2332 is a smooth running diesel. However, with the lack of Magnetraction and a heavy die-cast shell, this single motor diesel has limited pulling power. Subsequent Lionel models of the GG1 were all equipped with dual Magnetraction motors. Nevertheless, the 2332 is still a desirable locomotive.

Features
Standard features of the 2332 GG1 include: die-cast body paint dark green (known as Brunswick green), five gold stipes, small Pennsylvania railroad logo centered on each side, single motor, two pantographs, three-position E-unit, headlight at each end, operating horn, coil couplers plus running lights and an ornamental horn on each end.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
A common problem with all GG1 diesels is the lettering and side strips. Due to years of handling, it is quite common to find a GG1 with worn lettering and/or strips on each side near the center. Units with intact letters and strips will usually command a premium.

Another area of interest is the horn. The horn on the 2332 is unlike other postwar diesel horn. When operating properly, the horn sounds like a metal box with something 'rattling around inside'. Lionel attempted to duplicate the real-life sound -- and to a certain degree it was successfully -- however it simply sounded terrible from a toy train point of view. This version of the horn was discontinued on future GG1s.

The length of a GG1 electric diesel is approximately 14" long (coupler to coupler).

Black Body - For a brief part of the 1947 production run, the 2332 was produced in black. This is a rare version to locate.
Dark Green Body - Shown in the photo above - For the remainder of 1947 and continuing until 1949, ther 2332 was produced in Brunswick green. Becasue the Brunswick green color is so dark, it is common to confuse a Brunswick green version with a black version.

MORE: http://www.postwarlionel.com/

History
With the introduction of the 3462 in 1947, Lionel began producing their most popular trackside accessory during the entire postwar era -- the Automatic Refrigerated Milk Car. Originally introduced as the 3462 -- and later updated to the 3472 and 3482 -- this popular accessory sold more than 10 million items between 1947 and 1955 (the final year for the 3482).

The 3462 Automated Refrigerator Milk Car consisted of two components -- a 3462 operating milk car and a delivery stand. To this day the operating milk car remains a popular accessory as it is a reliable accessory and only occassionally needing a cleaning or minor adjustment.

Features
Standard features of the 3462 Automated Refrigerated Milk Car set include:

• 3462 Milk Car - The milk car has either a cream or white body with black lettering, staple-end metal trucks, operating couplers, single metal brakewheel, metal footsteps at each corner, opening aluminum doors on each side plus aluminum milk cans with magnets mounted on the bottom. Located inside the car is a simulated delivery man -- usually off-white or cream in color. Loading the milk cans into the car is done through a small hatch located on one end of the milk car roof.
• Milk Stand - Green painted base with a white stand and an adjustable metal tray. The stand is a stationary item and non-operational.

MORE: http://www.postwarlionel.com/

ONE OF THREE PASSENGER CARS

SMOKING ENGINE

“Chicago, St. Louis! All points west! Now boarding!” The classic American Flyer Talking Station is now available with modern, digital technology. The microphone and speaker in this accessory allow you to become the station master. Record your own messages, or "broadcast live" using the station's speaker as your layout's personal PA system.

Features:

• Digital recording, microphone, and speaker
• Interior lighting
• Stamped metal base, building, and signs on the roof
• Gauge: American Flyer/S Gauge
  Dimensions: 6” x 12” x 8”
  • Lionel Part :6-49812

MORE

MAN COMES OUT OF SHED AS TRAIN APPROACHES

CATTLE CAR

History
Except for the operating milk cars, the 3656 Operating Stockyard Set was Lionel's most popular operating freight car. Production lasted for seven years and millions of the stockyard sets were produced.

The 3656 Stockyard Set consisted of two main components -- a 3656 stockyard and a 3656 stock car. To this day the stockyard set remains a popular accessory. Trying to obtain perfect operation of both the car and accessory will require a fair amount of patience as both are temperamental items.

Features
Standard features of the 3565 Stockyard Set include:

• Stockyard - Green painted base with yellow railings and aluminum insert. There was always a separate yellow walkway included with the stockyard. The only variation to the stockyard involves the color of the gates. For the first year or two of production, orange gates were the norm. Sometime in 1950 or 1951, the gates switched to yellow. The orange gates are harder to locate than the yellow gates.
• Cattle - A set of 9 all black rubber cows were always included in their own separate sale box.
• 3656 Cattle Car - The cattle car consisted of an orange painted body with white lettering, two operating doors on one side and a single opening center door on the opposite side, brakewheel plus metal trucks with operating couplers. As production continued from year-to-year, so did the variations. Listed below are some of the more significant changes to the cattle car in year order:
  • 1949 - Introduced as an all new accessory.
  • Mid-1949 - White lettering soon replaced the black lettering on the cattle car.
  • 1950 - Corner footsteps were eliminated as was the 'Armour' sticker on the door.
  • 1952 - Bar-end trucks replaced the staple-end trucks.
  • 1954 - Plastic sliding door replaced the metal sliding door. Plastic door versions are hard to find.

MORE: http://www.postwarlionel.com/

Lionel, LLC is a designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, based in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line by cereal conglomerate General Mills.

Although Lionel, LLC now owns all of the trademarks and most of the product rights associated with Lionel Corporation, the original producer of Lionel trains founded in 1900, there is no direct connection between the two companies.

According to its reorganization papers filed as part of its bankruptcy plan on May 21, 2007, about 95 percent of the company's sales come from O gauge trains. The plan estimated that about $70 million worth of O gauge trains are sold each year, and that Lionel accounts for about 60% of that market, making it the largest manufacturer of O gauge trains.

MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel,_LLC

About Toy Trains

By 1901, Lionel made its first electric train for use in store display windows. A number of famous manufacturers, including Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, Marklin, and LGB have made toy trains. Some of the most historic ones are on display in the National Toy Train Museum. These are commonly referred to as tinplate trains.

"Tinplate" is a term applied to toy trains originally built of thin stamped metal, but more broadly it includes plastic trains as well, their over-riding characteristic being that they were built for mass-market enjoyment rather than the precise scale that some of today's model railroad craftsmen build and enjoy.

MORE: http://www.nttmuseum.org/abouttoytrains/index.htm

Toy Train Operating Society

The Toy Train Operating Society is a fraternal organization dedicated to the operating and collecting of toy trains of all makes and eras.  Founded  in 1966 and incorporated in 1968, TTOS has over 5,400 members around the world.  The society   is organized geographically into 21 divisions that have regular meets throughout  the United States and Canada. For information on the TTOS Division nearest to you, see our Divisions page. 

Each year in August TTOS  presents a national convention, which is  usually sponsored by a local  TTOS division. Each convention features a wide variety of toy train layouts, railroad-related tours, train rides, and other interesting tours. Each convention starts with a warm and friendly welcoming party where old friends meet again and new friendships are made. Other convention activities include a trading hall filled with toy train items, fabulous auctions, and a grand banquet.

MORE: http://www.ttos.org/

ROBERTS TRAINS

Welcome to my personal website! I collect and operate Lionel toy trains as a hobby. My initial purpose in creating this site was to share my hobby with others. I have been interested in toy trains since 1963. That is when I received my first Lionel electric toy train set, which is graphically shown above. (In most web browsers, hitting the "Escape" key will stop the train. The "Refresh" or "Reload" button will start the train once again.) Since I was only three years old at the time, it has truly been a lifetime hobby.

MORE: http://www.robertstrains.com/