The Lionel Heliport Control Station No. 419 was only cataloged in 1962, and would remotely launch a helicopter from the roof of the structure. Well, kind of. After the spring mechanism on the roof was wound manually, and the helicopter placed in the winder it is launched by pulling on a string that sticks out from under the structure. This clumsy "remote control" method harkens back to the pre-war days when Lionel used the same method to trigger manual switches.

The structure itself is a derivative of the No. 465 Sound Dispatching Station, but the interior is not illuminated. Most of the parts that are commonly missing from this station have been reproduced. Collectors, should use caution in examining examples because not all of these parts have been labeled as "reproductions."

There is only one instruction sheet, No. 419-24 issued 7-62, that used an 8-1/2" by 5-1/2" fold out four page format. It was printed with BLACK ink on WHITE paper. We’ve shown pictures of this fold out instruction sheet below. Reproduction sheets have been made and the paper on these is thicker, and the crossbar of the "H" in "Helicopter" is broken in a couple of instances where this word is used in these reproduction sheets.

The Heliport came with a Type D Helicopter that has an integral tail section. This delicate piece, issued as No. 3419-100, is easily broken at the tail and because it is an integral part of the helicopter it looses its collectible value.

The Type D helicopter suffered as a result of the cost cutting measures instituted at Lionel after 1960. In addition to having an integral tail section, the Type D no longer sports the heat-stamped markings for the helicopter doors. Only the injection mold impressions for the windows and the doors remain.

This rare helicopter has many times been found with the original tail section cut off and replaced with a reproduction tail that is often not marked. Original helicopters have "BUILT BY LIONEL" molded into the right section of the tail.

This differs from earlier issued helicopters that had a separate tail section and had this imprint on the left side of the tail section.

There is an even rarer variation of this helicopter where the lower blade of the tail rotor is about four times as wide as the upper blade and is connected to the lower tail rotor skid.

While there are variations of the helicopter as noted above, there are no variations of the Heliport.

The Heliport came with Assembly No. 419-22 that contained the small parts used by this accessory that was housed in envelope No. 419-23. A picture of this envelope showing the contents is illustrated to the right.

Dimensions: 11" long, 5" wide, and 5-1/2" high.