Arguably the bestknown name in the model railroad industry, iconic model train company lionel, llc has manufactured model trains and model railroading accessories since 1900. Jan 01, 2011 lionel products are today more technologically advanced than ever, thanks to such innovations as fastrack and the legacy control system. Richard kughn, a wealthy businessman and longtime toytrain collector, purchased the old and new lionel tooling along with rights to the brand in 1985. Fastrack is the leading track of choice for lionel train operators, and its track plans. Therefore, lionel has designed a multitude of track pieces to meet almost any need. Robert schleicher tracks the history of lionel model trains.
The focus of the book is on the trains as objects of art, intrigue, and nostalgia, highlighting their unmatched ability to inspire and fulfill so many childhood dreams. When they would turn the controls over to me i was in lionel heaven. The lionel train book, all aboard, stocking stuffers, catalogs 1990 1993 1. Aug 01, 2004 the focus of the book is on the trains as objects of art, intrigue, and nostalgia, highlighting their unmatched ability to inspire and fulfill so many childhood dreams. Lionel trains instruction book 1949 clean and complete. Lionel resumed producing toy trains in late 1945, replacing their original product line with lesscolourful, but more realistic, trains and concentrating exclusively on ogauge trains. Hobbyists flock to purchase toy train collection in. Transformers the threerail o gauge toy trains sold in the united states are intended to run on approximately 5 to 20 volts of 60cycle alternating current ac. Want to learn more about the history of postwar lionel trains 1945 1969, click here. Lionel, llc is an american designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads that is headquartered in concord, north carolina.
Lionel also manufactured construction kits and ads for these items are included. Lionel 685022 legacy sw7 diesel engine lehigh valley. Lionels showroom layouts classic toy trains magazine. It even has the plan for the famous 1949 lionel showroom layout designed. Expand your options of fun home activities with the largest online selection at. Little did i know at the time that in order to operate the trains smoothly and trouble free that the engines needed to be cleaned, and lubricated on a regular basis. Index of available lionel books books about the history of lionel lionel trains price. Lionel trains, a pictorial history of trains and their collectors is the perfect gift for anyone who operates lionel. A young widow is romanced by a sales clerk whom she inadvertently got fired.
Unfollow 1950s lionel train to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. As lionel welcomed the 21st century along with the rest of the world, the model train company celebrated its centennial in a big way a sign of other big things to follow during the next 10 years. In addition to introducing two new freight cars to the lionel product line, set 1451ws also marked the final year for the highly detailed 2026 postwar prairie steamer and tender. I am going to wire in the switch lever and also use command control. Many of these films are classics and the list spans decades going all the way back to the prewar era. Post ww2 production of the praire steamer 2026 lionel steam engine. Lionel history books lionel and american flyer trains and. I have been a scale model railroader on3 and now on30. Frank sinatra collected and operated toy trains, a hobby that should not be confused with model railroading. At auction, lionel train sets, pieces, and accessories can sell for a few hundred dollars or for a few thousand dollars, depending on the rarity and condition of the piece. An american icon, was recently published by motorbooks my dad got me a big lionel train set when i was about 8.
Expand your commuter operations with these passenger car 2packs. The legendary ironman of sport, lionel conacher by. The empire strikes backscore london voices, london symphony orchestra, john. Lionel s first gg1 was catalogued in 1947, and three more models followed during the 1950s. Lionel products are today more technologically advanced than ever, thanks to such innovations as fastrack and the legacy control system. Fully animated in technicolor, big tim was a sales film made for the timken roller bearing company by the upa united productions of america cartoon studio in 1949. From an pair of f3 aa diesels, to a set of 2400series passenger cars, a rare green 6520 searchlight car and a 3 bascule bridge, this family certainly had the finest lionel layout in town in addition to the annual consumer catalogue, lionel printed several other well. Grzyboskis train store is pennsylvanias largest lionel dealer and specializes in lionel train sets and accessories and other fine manufacturers like american flyer and kline. With robert mitchum, janet leigh, wendell corey, gordon gebert. Knowing how the pieces interrelate is important to planning and building a fastrack layout.
It even has the plan for the famous 1949 lionel showroom layout designed by bob sherman on pages 46 and 47. It was a pennsy turbine and looks to be about 8 feet tall. Recently a friend approached me to help him with a lionel collection thats part of an estate. Remaking of the 1949 lionel showroom layout 1994 relive the. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the lionel product line from the lionel corporation by cereal conglomerate general mills and subsequent purchase in 1986 by businessman richard p. From an pair of f3 aa diesels, to a set of 2400series passenger cars, a rare green 6520 searchlight car and a 3 bascule bridge, this family certainly had the finest lionel layout in town. Author and hobby veteran bob schleicher updates his classic onestop, handson treasury of practical advice for lionel enthusiasts to include products such as fastrack and legacy, which were unavailable at the time of its original publication in 2004. We feature lionel, american flyer, mth, atlas o, williams trains, kline, weaver models, and more. Lionels first gg1 was catalogued in 1947, and three more models followed during the 1950s. The cars offered in these two packs are typical of those used in the train from 1949 to 1955, during which time it would have been handled by a variety of the railroads steam, diesel and electric locomotives. The popular train layout planning book for pop and the familiar greencovered lionel track layouts remain two of the more soughtafter books for collectors and. Mar 28, 2011 lionel products are today more technologically advanced than ever, thanks to such innovations as fastrack and the legacy control system. Lionel s catalogs are the ultimate destination for model train collectors.
Some of my fathers friends had lionel trains and their basement was one big lionel dream wonderland. I never knew that there was a different track types and radius until i read this book. To commemorate the special anniversary, lionel produced a special 700 e j1e hudson that included platinum and 24karat gold plating. In this book, the author of the big book of lionel presents the first complete. Legacy control system equipped able to run in legacy control mode, in trainmaster command control mode, or in conven. Now i have a dozen boxes of trains, the new track and electronics. Robert has written multiple books on lionel trains and slot cars. If you look deeply into lionel s molding practice, they had the same problems in 1949 1951, and for exactly the same reasons. Trains, o gauge, lionel, passenger nassau hobby center. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading. Handbook of layout wiring classic toy trains magazine.
Joes book also lists the contents of 49 differently numbered lionel outfits that included an f3 combination a. Pricing lionel trains o gauge railroading on line forum. Greenberg has 27 books on goodreads with 27 ratings. Mix in with lionels other heavyweights and steam, diesel or electric locomotives to create classic consists from the golden era of rail travel.
Lionel enthusiasts young and old will be fascinated by the thousands of fullcolor and historic photos displayed in this exciting new book, as well as the lionel time line that details the ongoing history of lionel trains. Lionel catalogs for sale model railroad collectibles. Many of lionel s steam locomotives of this period, had a new feature. Lionels catalogs are the ultimate destination for model train collectors. There are pictures of that big loco at the entranceto lionel s showroom in ron hollanders all aboard book. Shop the 51 results for 1950s lionel train and support etsys oneofakind creative community. The contaminents were due to carusos need to try and reuse the old casting sprue and flashing from cleaned parts swept up and added back to the kettle a big no no. Robert schleicher talks about lionel model trains, including the history of the company and the various models and designs they produced. The 1949 consumer catalogue featured an impressive layout on its cover, certainly the envy of any child during that era. There have been more than several movies that have given lionel trains a respectable cameo. Lionel toy train locomotive identification guide wow blog. An inspiring compilation of track plans any toy train operator will devour. Feb 21, 2010 fully animated in technicolor, big tim was a sales film made for the timken roller bearing company by the upa united productions of america cartoon studio in 1949.
In 1969 a group headed by cowens grandsoninlaw leased the lionel brand name to general mills, which went on to produce a new generation of trains, many of which replicated older ones. The 9 greatest lionel f3 freightsets classic toy trains. Author and hobby veteran bob schleicher updates his classic onestop, handson treasury of practical advice for lionel enthusiasts to include products such as fastrack and legacy, which were unavailable at the time of its original. The pics are on pages 114 and 122 if anyone has the book. Besides detailing how these diesels changed in appearance and operation between 1948 and 1966, this volume contains information on the maintenance, restoration, and packaging of these locomotives. Lionel toy train locomotive identification guide wow blog september, 2018 lionel trains identification guide warman s lionel train field guide lionel trains value history and. This book gives ideas and suggestions especially the track types and layouts. Greenbergs most popular book is greenbergs guide to lionel trains, 19011942.
Lionel track plan books lionel and american flyer trains. Author and hobby veteran bob schleicher updates his classic onestop, handson treasury of practical advice for lionel enthusiasts to include products such as fastrack and legacy, which were unavailable at the time of its original publication in. Lionel trains value varies depending on design, materials, and era. The complete guide to owning and running americas favorite toy trains, second edition schleicher, robert on. A total of four allnew numbers are available to create longer consists. As per the lionel fastrack book i am going to use the radio shack 12 position terminal strips 274677. Full of images that capture the classic toy trains in dramatic poses, this book recalls a spirit found in popular lionel catalogs and promotional artwork of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1948 and 1949 the gg1 was also catalogued with freight cars. Many of lionels steam locomotives of this period, had a new feature. If you want to get into lionel trains and havent touch them since the 195060s this is a good book. I have a total of 28 command control fastrack that want to start wiring up to a central location. Lionel model trains experienced wide popularity throughout the 1920s, but business declined sharply during the great depression. Toy trains are the big, heavy, colorful, noisy electric trains that were most popular from the 1920s to 1960s and were a fixture under most families christmas trees. Coincidentally, hollywood occasionally feels the same way.
The complete guide to owning and running americas favorite toy trains, second edition by robert due to covid19, orders may be delayed. There are pictures of that big loco at the entranceto lionels showroom in ron hollanders all aboard book. The key concept when working with fastrack is knowing the anglesall of the curves and crossings except o48 curves work off of angles of 90, 45, 22. The quantity and quality of tabletop and walkaround plans for small, medium, and large o and s gauge layouts make this a standout book for toy train operators.
History the claimtofame for set 1451ws is the introduced two allnew classic postwar freight cars. At tm, weve always known how photogenic toy trains are, especially in film and video. If you look deeply into lionels molding practice, they had the same problems in 19491951, and for exactly the same reasons. An american icon, was recently published by motorbooks. Browse the history of lionel trains catalogs, with beautiful highres images. Lionel did something interesting and yet odd for its next o gauge set. Lionel toy train locomotive identification guide wow blog september, 2018 lionel trains identification guide warman s lionel train field guide lionel trains value history and what value of an antique toy train. Jan 17, 2016 post ww2 production of the praire steamer 2026 lionel steam engine.
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