The Whistle Controller No. 167 would evolve from the pre-war No. 166. The need for this controller began in 1935 when Lionel introduced the first on-board whistle for electric trains. The pre-war versions of this controller were plagued with problems like having to push two buttons at once and frequent burn-outs.

This post-war version is used in conjunction with the No. R, V, and Z Transformers and was available in 1945 and 1946. By 1947, all of the Transformers that Lionel was producing included a built in whistle and directional control. There are no known variations.