This channel explores and describes Rare, unusual and Oddball Lionel Trains made in the Postwar era (1945-1969). I want to show and share details that will help you discover new and fun trains to collect and look for.
One would of tbough a company. Such Lionel would have kept better secure of their history the archives.So it would have gotten pilfered like it has. To me it's one thing to have pictures and drawings. It's another to have the actual original preproduction pieces. If in case one day they wanted to do a special run or a limited edition of something that hasn't been produced in years. They would have the actual item that they could reference off of instead of just a drawing or a picture. Guess that never crossed there mind. Or they just must be all about the green these days. Or maybe it could be both.
That is the reason they decided to de-commission the archives. It had been moved at least 3 times and if you ever have moved anything, something always gets broken. It was also hard to control who went it and out and some items have significant value, ripe for stealing. So, this allowed for each piece to be documented and preserved by fellow collectors. Also, with todays' photography and scanners, a physical specimen was no longer needed. Glad to share a few pieces from the Archives for you!. Brian.
Hard to say, certainly looks like it, but is it pretty big and wider than track. Really think they were considering a new top for the 182 or 282 accessory. But they certainly could have used that design in the development of the Burro Crane! Interesting points! Brian
This was awesome to see! I was honestly surprised at the lack or rust on anything given cardboard has a tendency to attract moisture. I just discovered your channel and it’s the best postwar Lionel channel I have ever found!
Welcome, you got a lot of catching up to do!. Love the stuff and I hope to share my passion with you guys. Tell your friends!. Appreciate the comment. Yeah, the set was so cool to open and was very well preserved, Lionel did a great job packing their sets!. Brian
Very nice! Those are some pretty unique items, for sure. It's too bad that the newer owners of Lionel didn't keep the Archives within the company, but that's the way things are, these days. It would be nice to see where most of the stuff went and I'll bet that there were some incredible things that were stored there. Either way, keep doing these videos. They are great and informative, especially for those of us who are interested in the history of the company. An excellent video, as always.
Thank you. They actually should have de-comissioned the archives sooner. it had been moved a few times over the years, things had gotten broken or even worse, stolen!. This way each item was documented and cataloged to help preserve its condition and provenance. But is was a little sad when it happened! I will try and share as much as I can find with you guys!. Enjoy. Brian
Yeah, they were cataloging quite a bit of items at the time, and the lettering is pretty worn, so I can see the ease of that type of mistake. And yes, love the McComas and Touy books, grew up collecting with those books! Brian
Great presentation Brian! Too bad Lionel didn't put that lighthouse into production, it would have made a fine and eye-catching accessory piece! In fact given Joshua Lionel Cowan's love for deep-sea fishing and ocean liner trips I'm surprised it wasn't put into production. Oh well. Thanks for posting! ge
I would have one on my layout for sure if they did. But I get why they didn't, the accessories of the day were moving livestock, cutting wood and moving coal. Appreciate the comment. Brian
That lighthouse is very cool. That would have been a great accessory. Like the #394 Rotary Beacon, it could have been frustrating to get it to work properly. I actually did a video on the #394 Rotary Beacon how to get to operate properly the way Lionel intended it to work. Please take a few minutes to watch it. Each vane on top of the beacon should be bent EVENLY at approximately a 60 degree angle, not 45 degrees, and all of the vanes MUST be present. If you adjust those vanes evenly on top of the beacon at that angle, I can promise you that the beacon will operate and spin. It won’t be fast, but it will spin at a prototypical speed. I’ve had some excellent feedback from people that were never able to get theirs to work, and now they do! Tom
Thanks for the note, I really wish mine would have started to spin. The beacon was NOS and must have gotten bent up over the years. I will watch the video and check it out. Thanks so much!. Brian
@@BriansTrainRoom You’re very welcome Brian. I hope it works out well for you! Please let me know if you got it. I love to help people as much a I can, with some accessories that are finicky, especially this one. I’ve done a lot of practice tests on that accessory until I finally came up with a solution with the proper angles. Good luck and let me know. Thanks, Tom
Thanks for sharing, Brian. Interesting to see some of the possible proposed items or items that started out, but the final product was very different from the initial idea.
My pleasure, I too love how the trains we love came to be. There are so many things they should have made as well. Have more Archive stuff in the works. Enjoy!. Brian
On one hand I'm disappointed that so much history was dispersed over the years (including all that was stolen when it was still in New Jersey) on the other hand, we get great videos like this!
Agree, but I almost wish they had done it sooner. Stuff was being stolen or getting broken and this way they are documented for the future. Plus most items that are now in collectors hands are well cared for and a few of those collectors are letting me share them with you!. Brian
Check out pages 2-3 ofr the 1977 and 1978 Lionel catalogs. There is a crane in two bottom of the line sets that looks very close to what you have. Perhaps not as large. Bill Schmeelk
Good to know, that is very possible. I don't think I have a 1977 catalog. It is shown in the McComus book dated 1980, so might have been? It seems to fit perfectly for a 182 or 282 accessory. So let me check on it! Thanks. Brian......... Looked up the catalog and they certainly liked the idea of a burro style cab for the crane, This one is BIG, almost standard gauge in size, too big to fit on a car. ODD. B
Hey Brian! if you have any boxed prewar engines i'd love to know. I have a 1935 262E set and want to see how they were originally packed so i could make a sort of replica box for fun!
Thanks for the note. No prewar, mostly a postwar guy anyway. Would love for someone to start a Lionel PREWAR Channel. Would be a lot of fun to watch for sure!. Brian
I so want to use my EP5 with the pantagraphs, but I probably won't because one has a loose contact (the coppee thing on the top) and the loco has an insane amount of problems as is, and I don't want to push my luck with it
Awesome to see one. I had heard about this but have never seen the display. Reminds me of the information, on the 1949 showroom layout, where the GG1's were actually running on the layout getting power from the catenary wire.
In the instruction sheet for the Virginian Rectifier this item is recommended, as Lionel did not manufacture an overhead wire assembly. Very cool to see this!!
Brian; Hello your video's are very good great, your way of explaining give very good information. Your Layout is Super -0 , just what l use great realistic track from 57 to 67 , your train display under your platform my 🚂 are under the way you have . I have coaters so l pull my engines out and others.its nice to see your that way. Just beautiful display. Keep up those great videos. Thanks Lackawanna John.
My pleasure, glad you are enjoying the videos, having fun doing them!. Got some great stuff in the works. Love the super O as well and my "running" stock is easy to get to on in the cabinets under the table and it gives me good access to any under table work as well. Enjoy! Brian
Thanks for posting the two videos on the printing. It is always interesting to see all the negatives and master sheets. There is a lot of work that went into designing and producing them. Glad to see that those items survived.
yeah, it is crazy how much work went into just one instruction sheet. And remember, they did it all over again every time they modified or updated a sheet. Wow. The artwork is so cool as well. Thanks, Brian
Where and how do you even FIND this stuff, I've come to the conclusion that either you just aren't real and are just some like... idk how to explain it, or a time traveller who stole this from some storage place and stashed it somewhere to come back to in the present. If you are the latter, I am willing to pay whatever you want for you to yoink and stash one of those postwar santa fe F3 sets that came with those extruded aluminum coaches, you know the AA set that came with 5 of them I think? I'm not joking either
Thanks, I have been lucky in my finds, but most of what I get to show you guys is from other friends and collectors who have wonderful stuff and they want to share it. But, I do occasionally go back in time and pick up a few gems. Thanks, More to come!. B
Cool! Another great video, showing how things were done, back in the day. It is fascinating to see how this process worked. I'm not a paper collector, other than a few things from AMT and American Flyer. An excellent video, as always.
Brian, please bring all these paper items to the october york train show and bring them to the "toy train paper and memorabilia" club meeting on Thursday night at the four points hotel. It's free attendance. These are the kind of things people bring for show and tell.!!
@@BriansTrainRoom Gee Brian, I have attended the last five meetings of that group. I have probably seen you and didnt know you had a youtube channel. I will definitely introduce myself at this October meeting. Your channedl is interesting to me. Jim Landers, st joseph, MO
@@jameslanders4819 Yes, please do, I have presented before at the meeting, I usually miss the April event, but am there for the Oct. Will be there this year for sure. B
For sure, it had a ton a play value and was a diesel set, which most railroads were running at the time. The 2041's are good looking engines. Thanks, Brian
@@johnblair8146 Thanks for the note, but I am just trying to figure it out by looking at what is out there on the Internet and trying to match it up with what I have. Thanks for the info, I have included the use of the term Mechanical in the bonus episode I am working on now!. Brian😀
@@BriansTrainRoom I would add that the reverse and positive prints are called photostats (or stats). I used a photostat camera that used this type of media back in the seventies. The media is very high contrast (orthographic) photo print paper. The negative print is an intermediate stage to getting a positive for the final mechanical. You could enlarge or reduce the size during either stage. It was common practice to touch up the intermediate negative with black ink to make sure the white areas in the final print were clean. You might be able to see this on your pieces. You can also see white touch up later in your video. Later on, they developed photostat material that could go to a positive stat in one step, using a negative sheet that was sandwiched to the positive during the development process, similar to the way early Polaroid prints worked.
Very cool! I knew that they made a boat, since it is documented in numerous publications about Lionel's history, but I've never seen one anywhere. Most of us only have the trains, accessories and some old manuals and catalogs, but you and your friends have so many interesting, historical pieces, that a lot of us have never seen. I always look forward to each video that you make, showcasing all of this vintage Lionel paraphernalia. Keep these videos coming. An excellent video, as always.
Thanks, the support is appreciated! This episode is great because the process was the same for all of the instruction sheets for postwar LIONEL Trains, amazing how much energy went into each one! Boat episode in the works, just an oddball item I really like. Brian
Hi Brian! Thank you for explaining how instruction sheets were made.Something that sounds so simple to do but was actually very exacting and complicated. The Lionel boat I have never seen it and was not sure any still existed. Thanks to everyone for the hard work done to produce the video!
Yeah, the process was the same for all LIONEL Trains they produced in the 50's and 60's. Crazy how they went though the whole process again for every sheet. Boat episode in the works. Thanks. Brian
True, LIONEL Trains were expensive and a first class gift regardless of which set you got!. LIONEL Trains and Christmas just go together!. Thanks, Brian
Hi Brian, My Dad had this kit which I have today. My Dad altered the ring by cutting a few slits in the round portion so it acted like a wedge that connected to the trach piece. It would have been nice to have the 072 curve, straight, switches included in the kit. The kit is fun to use but not accurate as you know.
Love the fact that he had one as a kid. I wish the ring that came with mine worked, it would have been much cleaner of an episode!! Yes, a 072 curve would have been nice and I think the kit was to be used as a guide, it would felt like you could make it do things actual track could not!! Thanks. Brian
Hard to tell, unfortunately, the painted 41 is not the best of shape and the 41stamp is just really faded. These were reported to be painted to use up shells that had some steaks of non-black in the plastic, but was otherwise a complete shell. Just making toys back then, not todays collectable! Thanks, Brian
