Atomic Submarine Base with Ramp and Trestle Bridge No. 910 was issued uncataloged in 1961 in the middle of Lionel’s "Military Phase" (1958-1964).
The card stock construction is almost identical in to the Railroad Station No. 908 that would be issued three years later. This submarine base was included exclusively in uncataloged sets only in 1961 and is among the most difficult of the accessories to find today. There are two sets which included this submarine base:
Set No. X-625 that was headed up by a GREEN Canadian National Alco Diesel No. 228. Probably released only for the Canadian market.
Set No. X-714 was issued through Masters, a retail establishment in New York. This set was issued with an OLIVE DRAB Marine Corp Mobile Missle Launcher Engine No. 45.
There is a 10" by 10" BLACK ink printed on WHITE paper instruction sheet that is undated that shows the layout construction that is to be used with this base. Titled "HOW TO SET UP YOUR LIONEL ATOMIC SUBMARINE BASE," this sheet shows a layout that required a 45 Degree Crossover No. 1023 which was located at ground level at the base of the ramp.
In addition, a "SPECIAL LAYOUT INSTRUCTIONS" sheet, No. 1802H that is dated 5-59 was included with set No. X-714 that shows how to assemble the trackage for this layout. However, the other included instruction sheets are dated to 1961 and a newspaper advertisement in November 1961 confirms the date that this accessory was available.
This submarine base was enclosed in a good sized shallow rectangular box that contains a kraft paper bag of parts. This box was then included in the uncataloged set boxes. While finding this accessory is difficult, it is almost impossible to find the containers for this submarine base today.
Assembled Dimensions: 30" wide by 27-1/4" deep and 17-1/2" high.
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