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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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We’ve listed these by type in chronological numerical order:![]() |
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THE WESTERN & ATLANTIC COACH AND BAGGAGE CARS |
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THE 2000 SERIES SHEET METAL PASSENGER CARS |
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See the Numerical Index for additional details about the individual cars in this class. |
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THE 2400 SERIES PASSENGER CARS |
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Many of the early cars were improperly assembled with the roof on backwards to mate with the interior metal inserts that held the roof to the body. This resulted in many of the interior bulkheads cracking due to the stress placed upon them. The majority of these cars were produced for O27 sets, and were designed to run on this track. |
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THE 2500 SERIES PASSENGER CARS |
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This would later be replaced with the more common plate. The name plates on the side would originally be held on by hexagon screws. These screws would later be replaced with small and then larger rivets. Later these plates would be glued on. |
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FLAT CHANNEL CARS |
NOTE: Collectors should be aware of the fact that very good reproductions exist of the stripes and these are virtually indistinguishable from the originals. |
The best way to tell if the stripes are original is to look for excessive glue that Lionel used to adhere the stripes to the body. In the years that all of the flat channeled cars were in production Lionel used a form of carbon tetrachloride (a known carcinogen) to activate a dry adhesive on the stripes. When this happened it usually (but not always) squeezed out along the edge of the stripe. Brown in color, the evidence of the presence of this adhesive is the best indication that the stripe is original. |
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At the bottom of this page we’ve listed these cars by their number in the Numerical Index below. |
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THE MADISON COACH CARS |
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Collectors have designated these the MADISON cars to distinguish them from their pre-war predecessors. In 1947 Lionel would offer three different names, but they all would bear the No. 2625. |
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Starting in 1948, Lionel would assign the No. 2627 to the MADISON car, and No. 2628 to the MANHATTAN car. |
As with the majority of the prototype equipment, Lionel equipped these cars with six wheel trucks. The center axle on each truck has the wheel flanges removed to negotiate their tight 31 inch diameter curved O Gauge track. |
In their last year of production in 1950, Lionel would install window inserts with people silhouettes. These cars became more desirable than the earlier cars with plain inserts. Reproductions of people silhouetted inserts have been available for many years and collectors have retro-fitted many of the earlier cars with these window inserts. |
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What ever window inserts are in these cars, those that have excellent or better paint are highly sought after by collectors today. |
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THE 6000 SERIES SHEET METAL PASSENGER CARS |
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See the Numerical Index for additional details about the individual cars in this class. |
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