Lionel Trains of the 1940s special issue brings you more than 20 stories detailing the history of how this iconic brand contributed to the war effort and emerged victorious to set the stage for their Golden Years in the 1950s.
INTRODUCING LIONEL TRAINS OF THE 1940s • ✦ Our look at a significant and not-so-segmented decade
Lionel Trains of the 1940s
The momentous and meaningful decade of the 1940s • ✦ Lionel modernized in many wonderful ways
BREAKTHROUGH YEAR IN REALISM • ✦ Looking forward with a glance at the past
COLORFUL & FANCIFUL CARS STILL RODE THE LIONEL RAILS • ✦ Toys readily coexisted with realistic models in 1940
A NEW WORLD OF OPERATING ACCESSORIES • ✦ Three creative models from one brilliant mind
DIVERSIFYING BEYOND TRAINS • ✦ Different markets beckoned on the eve of war
LIONEL’S MAGIC ELECTROL SET • ✦ Running two trains on one track
GOING BEYOND THE CATALOG • ✦ Lionel offered unique sets to retail accounts
A TIME OF DIMINISHING RETURNS • ✦ Hoping to survive the demands of war
JEWELS OF OO GAUGE • ✦ Last call for Lionel’s smallest sets
MODEL BUILDER PRESERVED THE HOBBY • ✦ Lionel’s magazine kept stoking enthusiasm
MAINTAINING INTEREST IN A CRITICAL YEAR • ✦ Paper products kept Lionel in the game in 1943
SALUTE TO THE ‘VICTORY’ STREAMLINER • ✦ The train Lionel might have made for 1944
ONE EXCITING SET • ✦ A quiet yet noteworthy start to the postwar era
MEET THE FIRST PO STWAR WORKHORSE • ✦ The No. 224 Prairie led the way in 1945
VARIATION AT THE END OF THE TRAIN • ✦ Two colors for the no. 2457 Pennsy N5 Caboose
FULL SPEED AHEAD • ✦ The postwar era opened with promise and innovation
INNOVATIVE ACCESSORY HITS THE MARKET • ✦ Too bad the No. 38 water tower never caught fire
REVIVING THE PROMOTIONAL SET • ✦ Lionel creates a special item for a favored retailer
EXCITEMENT AND REALISM IN SETS • ✦ Lionel picks up steam in a great year
FIRST STEPS FOR AN O GAUGE LEGEND • ✦ Lionel introduced its GG1 electric in 1947
A LITTLE MAN CHANGES WORLD THE TOY TRAIN • ✦ From merchandise to milk in a great year
GREATER VARIETY AND EXCELLENCE • ✦ Meeting the demands at every price level
STYLISH SANTA FE F3s OPEN NEW ERA • ✦ Story behind the classic 2333 warbonnets
ACCESSORIES BOAST ONE-TRACK ACTION • ✦ Novel ways to handle logs and coal
LAST GASP FOR THE SET OF THE FUTURE • ✦ Hopeful upgrades for the Electronic Control Set
CLOSING OUT A SIGNIFICANT DECADE • ✦ New and reissued sets form a great line in 1949
HIDDEN STORIES SURROUNDING NW2 DIESELS • ✦ Mystery shrouded the new Santa Fe switchers
ON THE RANCH WITH AN OPERATING CATTLE CAR • ✦ More delightful innovation with the No. 3656
LET THERE BE LIGHT • ✦ The debut of the postwar searchlight car
POWER FOREVER • ✦ The classic transformer of the era