Postwar Lionel Trolley Car # 60

Postwar Lionel # 60 trolley

The Lionel Trolley Number  60, like the Number  50  Gang Car, the trolley reverses direction when it hits a bumper. The pole on top also reverses. Introduced in 1955, Lionel ended production about 1957. 

It was designed after a generic trolley found in many cities of the United States in the 1940s and 1950s.  Pictured below to the right



The Postwar Lionel Trolley had problems with overheating that was caused by the motor and the lamp in this unit. Early editions have a silver painted lamp for that reason.  Later models would have a reflective aluminum coating added to the underside of the roof and four vents would be added to the roof.

The trolley was produced in a few types. The more rare types has black lettering instead of blue.

• Type I: Black lettering, motorman silhouettes and two-piece spring bumpers. No vents. Earliest 1955 production. 
• Type II: Same as Type I except no motorman silhouettes. 
• Type III: Blue lettering, and two-piece spring bumpers. No roof vents. Most common Type.
• Type IV: Identical to Type III except with solid one-piece bumpers.
• Type V: Blue lettering, with one-piece solid bumpers, and roof vents. 1956 Production.
•  Type VI  - Red Lettering – A very rare item that was likely a pre-production limited run  prototype. Few are known to exist.

 Next Post we will review the postwar steam turbines

Lionel PostWar Number 50 Gang Car

Lionel first produced the Number 50 Gang Car in 1954 and it still remains a big hit with Lionel’s fans.  

1954 Type I number 50 Gang Car

The number 50 was Modeled after railway M.O.W. cars ( Maintenance Of Way ). The 50 Gang Car was made to run on both "O" and "O27" gauge layouts.    

Lionel more recently reproduced a modern version of the gang car which appeared in the Lionel catalogues in 2008 and again in 2012. The production run was part of their train "Postwar Celebration" series.   Shown in photo above is a 1954 Postwar Gang Car.

The Number 50 is not always printed on the side of the gang cars.  Like Lionel's Trolley cars, the car runs in one direction depending on where the sliding directional plate on the unit is located. When it strikes a bumper, the plate shifts, and the unit reverses direction until it hits another bumper. A crew member at the rear of the unit moves when direction changes. 

Number 50 Gang Cars with orange colored bodies and dark blue heat stamped lettering, ornamental horn with three rubber  crew members seated on the unit is the most commonly found type. 

The original postwar Gang Cars comes in a few types / Versions:

1954 Type I Number 50 Gang Car top view

• Type I: ( shown above and left )The earliest production in 1954 has bumpers that are grey in color. Has a two-piece horn that is centered, fixed position crew men that are olive and the rotating crew man is dark blue in color.     

• Type II: Same as variation I but has bumpers that are blue in color. 
• Type III: Also has the 2-piece horn, however the stationary crew men are dark blue in color DARK while the rotating crew man is olive in color.   
• Type IV Has a one-piece horn that is positioned to the right side of the brush plate, BLUE bumpers, and fixed crew men that are DARK BLUE and the rotating crew man is OLIVE. This is the most common variation. 
• Type V: has an inverted "L" shaped bumper plate.

There were differing instruction sheets issued during the span of production. There was only one electrical center rail pick-up on this motorized unit so this unit (  like many Postwar trains ) do not negotiate switches or crossovers at a slow speed.

1954 Type I Number 50 Gang Car with Original Box

  A 2008 / 2012 Lionel "Postwar Celebration Series"  Made to reproduce the type II Gang Car is shown below:

Next post, we will review some of the postwar trolley cars

Lionel Models Postwar 41, 42 and 59, Military Transportation Corps ID Guide

In this series we review a grouping of related Lionel Post War trains. 

 

 In this post we will take a quick look at some of the smaller "Motorized Units" in Lionel's Military Transportation Corps.  Here we cover 3 military motorized units in particular, the 41, the 42 and the 59.  From 1955 until 1963 Lionel  produce the following three smaller  "motorized"  units. These were inspired by real world  " gas turbine"  yard "Switchers" 

The Number 41 the  United States Army Unit, was first produced in1955.  The 41 was unpainted and had heat-stamped lettering.   It is extremely hard to find a 41 and its counterparts, the 42 and 59 with the window struts intact. Many were broken during normal handling and use.    Shown below is one of my own Number 41.

#41 United States Army Unit with window struts intact

The Lionel Number 42 Picatinny Arsenal model is shown below. The 42 was only produced in 1957.   The 42 gas turbine unit featured an unpainted body in OD Green and had heat stamped lettering with white handrails. No interior lighting but had light lenses installed on the front and the back. Other features included Magnetic couplers, a decorative horn, 3 position unit.

#42 Picatinny Arsenal - window struts intact

Lionel U.S.A.F Minuteman Number 59 Gas Turbine shown below, was only produced in 1962 and 1963. The chassis was chemically blackened, had a white unpainted body with red and blue lettering.  Like the 41 and 42 it has headlight lens on each end, 3 position unit and operating couplers. While all 3 are popular with collectors, the Lionel Number 59 is more sought out by collectors. 

 

Next update we will cover the # 50 gang car, track cleaning car and some of the many trolley.  FYI - A trolley car was Lionel's first offering produced. More about that in another post.