Lionel Electric Trains Identification Guide Sub-Title Bottom of Page

This Identification Guide for Lionel Electric Trains covers the "Post-war Era" only from 1945 until 1969.

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Lionel Locomotives Identification GuideLocomotives


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Lionel Trains Locomotive No. 773 A Variation
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Lionel produced a wide variety of locomotives throughout the entire Post-war period.
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Wheel configuration determines the type of locomotive. With steam locomotives, the front wheels guide the engine along the tracks. The next and larger set, the drivers, transfer power to the rails. The trailing set supports the weight of the firebox. These sets of wheels are arranged in order left to right to show each type of configuration. For example: 2-6-4 designates a locomotive with one axle and two wheels in front, six wheels on three axles that drive the locomotive, and four wheels on two axles that support the firebox. This wheel arrangement is known as "Adriatic."
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Shown below are the wheel arrangements that were produced by Lionel during the Post-war years.
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Lionel electric trains wheel arrangements produced during the Post-war Era
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We’ve divided these locomotives into the two areas that Lionel produced them for. The "O27" gauge locomotives were more economically priced and there are more of these in existence today. However, a good portion of these engines were the same as their "O" Gauge counterparts with just a change in the number of the locomotive to define it as "O" Gauge. For example: the "O27" 4-6-4 Hudson No. 2046 used the same casting as the "O" Gauge No. 646 Hudson.
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Some of the "O" Gauge locomotives will not run on "O27" Gauge track. One of these engines is the 2-8-4 Berkshire No. 726 & 736 that was in production from 1946 until 1966. Refer to the Track Identification Page for details on locomotive and rolling stock compatibility.


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NUMBERING OF LIONEL LOCOMOTIVES
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Lionel almost always placed their identification number underneath the cab of the locomotive. Shown below are some of the various numbers they used to identify these locomotives.


O27 Gauge - you’ll note that Lionel used four-digit numbers for these locomotives.

0-6-0 Lionel Switcher spacer 4-4-0 Lionel American spacer 2-4-2 Lionel Columbia spacer 2-6-2 Lionel Prairie spacer 2-6-4 Lionel Adriatic spacer Lionel 4-6-4 Hudson
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Note: The exception to this is the 200 Series of Locomotives that were based on the earlier 2-4-2 No. 1130 Scout design. We’ve listed the distinctive features of the 200 Scout Series below.

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O Gauge - for their O Gauge locomotives Lionel used a three-digit designation.

2-6-2 Lionel Pennsylvania K-4 spacer 4-6-4 Lionel Hudson spacer 6-8-6 Lionel Pennsylvania S-2 Steam Turbine spacer 2-8-4 Lionel Berkshire spacer 4-8-4 Lionel Norfolk & Western Class Jspacer 4-6-4 Lionel New York Central Hudson


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THE LIONEL 200 SERIES SCOUT LOCOMOTIVES

Throughout the production of the 200 Series there were many changes that occurred to these locomotives. We’ve listed these changes in the "DISTINCTIVE FEATURES" column. All of the types listed below have plastic boilers with the exception of TYPE IX.



TYPEYEARLOCOMOTIVEDISTINCTIVE FEATURES
I 1953 1130 spacer
1. Small generator is located at top rear of boiler. 2. No E-unit cut-out. 3. Small smokestack.
4. Thin running boards. 5. Plugged hole. 6. No detail on boiler front. 7. Cowcatcher is closed.

II 1957 250 spacer
1. Identical to TYPE I except this type has thick running boards.

III 1958 248, 249 spacer
1. Identical to TYPE I except there is a curved cut-out on top of the boiler for the E-unit lever.
2. Thick running boards.

IV 1959 247 spacer
1. Small generator is located at top rear of boiler. 2. Curved cut-out slot for E-unit.
3. Large smokestack. 4. Thick running boards. 5. Plugged hole.
6. Water condenser installed below headlight. 7. Cowcatcher is closed.

V 1959 247 spacer
1. Identical to TYPE IV except thick running boards with open hole. 2. Generator has been opened.

VI 1960 243, 244 spacer
1. Has thick running boards with a plugged hole. 2. Generator has been removed.
3. Water condenser installed below headlight. 4. Curved cut-out slot for E-unit.
5. Large Smokestack. 6. Closed cowcatcher.

VII 1959 245, 246 spacer
1. Has thick running boards. 2. Small generator is located at top rear of boiler.
3. Water condenser installed below headlight. 4. Cut-out slot for reverse lever in center of boiler.
5. Large Smokestack. 6. Open cowcatcher. 7. Pin mounting for motor is threaded.

VIII 1959 233, 235, 236,
237, 238, 242,
246
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1. Identical to TYPE VII except closed cowcatcher. 2. Small generator has been removed.
3. Pin mounting for motor is knurled.

IX 1965 239, 241, 251 spacer
Identical to TYPE VIII except that the boiler is die-cast metal. Note: This was the last production using the tooling that began in 1946 with the production of the No. 1654.

X 1964 237, 238, 240,
242
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This TYPE used completely new tooling designed to work with injected plastic. This body mold was similar to the types that were produced before. Notable differences are that there is no platform for the bell, and the running boards are thin.



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Lionel 736 Mfg. PlateThe plate on the bottom of the locomotive will provide you with additional information. This plate often shows the year of manufacture.
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Here’s is an example from the bottom of the Lionel 736 Berkshire locomotive. The plate is located between the center rail electrical pick-ups. Note the lack of wheel flanges on the two center driving axles that allow this locomotive to negotiate the sharp curves of Lionel’s "O" Gauge track.


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Numerical List Title
BB 221 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 New York Central
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BB 224 2-6-2 Prairie O Lionel Lines
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BB 233 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 235 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 236 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 237 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 238 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 239 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 240 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 241 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 242 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 243 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 244 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 245 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 246 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 247 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Baltimore & Ohio
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BB 248 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 249 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Pennsylvania
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BB 250 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Pennsylvania
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BB 251 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Southern Pacific
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BB 637 2-6-4 Adriatic O Pennsylvania
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BB 646 4-6-4 Hudson O Lionel Lines
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BB 665 4-6-4 Hudson O Lionel Lines
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BB 671 6-8-6 Steam Turbine O Lionel Lines
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BB 671R 6-8-6 Steam Turbine O Lionel Lines
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BB 675 2-6-2 Prairie O Lionel Lines
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BB 681 6-8-6 Steam Turbine O Lionel Lines
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BB 682 6-8-6 Steam Turbine O Pennsylvania
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BB 685 4-6-4 Hudson O Lionel Lines
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BB 726 2-8-4 Berkshire O Lionel Lines
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BB 726RR 2-8-4 Berkshire O Lionel Lines
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BB 736 2-8-4 Berkshire O Lionel Lines
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BB 746 4-8-4 Northern O Norfolk & Western
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BB 773 4-6-4 Hudson O Scale Lionel Lines
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BB 1001 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
BB 1050 0-4-0 Switcher O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1060 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1061 0-4-0 or 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1062 0-4-0 or 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1101 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1110 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1120 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1130 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Scout
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BB 1615 0-4-0 Switcher O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1625 0-4-0 Switcher O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1654 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1655 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1656 0-4-0 Switcher O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1665 0-4-0 Switcher O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1666 2-6-2 Prairie O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 1862 4-4-0 American O27 General
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BB 1872 4-4-0 American O General
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BB 1882 4-4-0 American O27 General
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BB 2016 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2018 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2020 6-8-6 Steam Turbine O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2025 2-6-2 Prairie O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2026 2-6-2 Prairie O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2029 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2034 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2035 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2036 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2037 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2037-500 (2037) 2-6-4 Adriatic O27 Lionel Lines (Girls’s Set)
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BB 2046 4-6-4 Hudson O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2055 4-6-4 Hudson O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2056 4-6-4 Hudson O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 2065 4-6-4 Hudson O27 Lionel Lines
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BB 6110 2-4-2 Columbia O27 Lionel Lines

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The Scale 773 Hudson leads a string of Irvington Cars into the Station
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