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

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Lionel Trains Automatic Gateman No. 145 LIONEL TRAINS AUTOMATIC GATEMAN No. 145

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Lionel Trains Automatic Gateman C Variation
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The Gateman Close-up
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No. 145 Gateman Box Side

Lionel Trains Automatic Gateman No. 145The Automatic Gateman No. 145 was one of the most popular accessories that Lionel produced. It was available for 17 of the 24 years that constitute the Post War Period.
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Although the painted sheet metal base remained basically the same as the No. 45N, Lionel added the galvanized bottom. There are other noticeable changes to its predecessor. Most notably is the change of the cross buck from all metal construction to the plastic scaled down version that was used in the No. 309 Sign Set and the house which was formed from injected moulded plastic.
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Other changes included an additional connection to power the interior light of the gateman’s house by a No. L363 or a No. L432 bayonet lamp rated at 14 volts, however, the base mounted light to illuminate the gateman’s lantern was eliminated.
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The gateman remained the same throughout production, but during the last 10 years the face and the hands of the gateman were no longer painted a FLESH color. And yes I know, the gateman is out of scale. But we should remember that these were toys designed for kids and they really didn’t pay that much attention to the accuracy of the scale. To see an explanation of why this occurred see No. 45N.
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Upon activation by a No. 145C Contact placed beneath the track, the gateman would come out of the house and wave his lantern.

There are a couple of noted changes in the manufacture of this accessory. Early in production an eyelet was substituted for the washer located at the bottom door hinge. Also, the Lionel Service Manual suggests the addition of a No. RCS-40 washer to the armature stud below the gateman to raise this figure up from the base to prevent scarring.
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Early issues of this gateman have the Lionel stamp on the underside galvanized plate. Over time the stamping plate for wore out and all that remained to identify this structure as a Lionel product was the RED and GOLD lettered "LIONELVILLE" sticker over the door. There are four variations:

No. 145C Contact

Variation A: RED roof and tool box lid, gateman has FLESH painted face and hands. 1950 Production.
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Variation B: Same as Variation A except MAROON roof with RED tool box lid. Eyelet added to bottom door hinge. 1951 Production.
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Variation C: "Notches" added to tool box lid to prevent it from falling off. Tool box lid is RED. No Lionel identification stamp on the bottom. 1952 to 1957 Production.
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Variation D: Same as Variation C, but the gateman figure is an unpainted DARK BLUE color. 1957 to 1966 Production.
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Dimensions: 7 inches long, 5-1/4 inches wide, 4-1/2 inches high

No. 145-40 Contactor Envelope

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