Larry's Lionel Lines

Lionel Track Plan

      Almost all the track is Lionel 0-27, except for the curves at the left end which are 0-36. I worked out this plan according to the track I have available and with the feature of having reversing loops in both directions. Also, there are four block sections where I can park a train or rolling stock while I drive another without interference. When I put it together I had only to cut three pieces of straight track to one-third length. Some of the track was very rusty and had to be soaked in rust desolving solution before scrubbing. A few traces of rust are still visible in some of my pictures. The layout is on a 4ft. (1.2m) by 8ft. (2.4m) table.

      This little work car was used by the railroad maintenance gang. They would travel the rails doing track inspections and repairs. This one is built for pushing railroad cars in the freight yard. With this model the rubber bumpers at the front and rear are attached to a slide bar which reverses the direction when it bumps into an object. Also, the man sitting on the rear deck rotates to face in the direction the gang car is moving.

Lionel #50 Gang Car

Lionel 2-6-4 #2026 C.1949-1953

      Here is the first Lionel locomotive that I acquired in my recent collection of Lionel Lines trains. This too, is made of cast metal. I picked this one up at a local yard sale as a box of parts. After many hours of scrubbing, repairing and replacing broken parts, she's running again. This one has new paint. The locomotive smokes using smoke tablets and the tender (#6466WX) has a whistle.

      This one is a 1960s model of the 2-4-2 Scout. The boiler is made of plastic as is the motor housing; making this loco much lighter in weight. When I received this one it had stickers pasted on it and it would not run. Upon disassembly, it was apparent that it had not been used very much but the motor was burned out. As luck would have it, I had a roll of the proper size magnet wire in my junk box. I rewound the field, cleaned and lubed it and now it runs just like it should. There is a headlight but no smoke or whistle.

Lionel 2-4-2 #242 Scout

Lionel Hoppers #6456 and #6176

      These two-bay hoppers, both with the Lehigh Valley road name, are the same in design and capacity (50 Ton) but are from different eras. No, 5456, in black, is from the 1940s. It has cast metal trucks with metal, magnetic couplers. No. 6776 (in yellow) is from the late 1960s, is a much lighter construction with plastic truck frames and couplers. These cars haul equally smooth on the rails.

      The brown boxcar (Pennsylvania) is a Lionel Operating car. This means that when the car is over a remote control track and the remote button is pressed, the boxcar door will open and a trainman will come out. The car to the right is a SFRD Mechanical Refrigeration car.

Lionel #3484 Operating boxcar and #6672 Refrigeration car

Lionel Tank car #6465

      Sunoco (Sun Oil Company) was a popular Lionel name for their tank cars. This one (in silver) has markings that show a 8000 gallon capacity. It is in excellent condition considering it has been around since the late 1940s.

Oh Canada …

Wolfden!