Lionel Postwar Diesels: Features, Road Names, And Production Years

Hello again, this is Mike with Toy Train Tips and Tricks, and today we are taking a look at the diesels that were produced by Lionel during the post-war period, 1945-1969. We're looking at what they made, what were the features, and how do they compare with prototype locomotives during that time period, and also take a brief look at the legacy of these post-war locomotives and how they influenced production continuing after 1969. So the first diesel Lionel made during the post-war period is a classic, the EMD F3. These original ones in 1948 were numbered 2333, and even though it came in two road names, it used the same number. It was in both Santa Fe and New York Central, both as the number 2333. F3s continued to be produced by Lionel in the post-war period up through 1966. So the real F3 was produced by EMD, that's the Electromotive Division of General Motors. They were built from 1945 to 1949, right in the midst of when Lionel was first producing theirs. It was a very popular locomotive. 1,111 of the cab units, the A units, were made, 696 boosters, and there are still 12 of them out there. By the mid-1970s, they were becoming somewhat of an endangered species on major railroads, but some still survive in museums. So what about Lionel's F3? Well, these Lionel F3s, it's best to think about them as being produced in three groups. The first group was made from 1948 to 1954. These models all have two motors that are horizontally mounted in the locomotive. So these were the 2333, the 2343-53, Santa Fe, the 2333, 2344, and 54, New York Central, the 2345 and 55 in Western Pacific, and the 2356 in Southern. And note that starting in 1950, that's with the 2343, 4445, these locomotives had magnetraction, which was presented on all Lionel locomotives in 1950. So are these scale models? Yes, for the most part, they are. They're very, very close to true O scale. Is it a common prototype? Well, yes. These were pretty much everywhere, and they also looked like the very similar FT model that preceded the F3s, and then very similar looking F7 that was even more popular than the F3 afterwards. So just about anyone who was anywhere near a railroad track in the 1950s when these were being produced would have seen something that looked like an F3. This first batch, would they work on 027 track? No. The horizontal mounted motors, the trucks do not rotate enough to get around on 027 track, but that's not true with all of the post-war F3s, which brings us to the second group. The second group from 54 to 59, these were actually marketed as 027 locomotives by Lionel. These have a single motor. They still have magnetraction, headlight, and all of that, horn, and all of the other things that you would expect from the F3s, but it's a single motor. Now some of the details were starting to disappear at this point, such as handrails, port poles, things like that, and changes to the way the grates, louvers, were on the side of the locomotives, but there was a general cheapening as things went on, but this group was marketed as 027 locomotives with a single motor. The Texas Special, the 2243 Santa Fe, the Wabash, the New Haven, and one exception to the 027 track is if you have the 1952, the earliest version of the number 1122 027 turnout. The F3s, well no F3s will go through that, and for an explanation of that, check out the video popping up at the top of the page here. Follow that link and learn more about that turnout if you're interested. Now the third group of F3s was made simultaneous with the second group, but they were marketed still as O gauge locomotives rather than 027, and as such they retained the two motors, but now the two motors were in the vertical orientation rather than horizontal, which allowed them to turn enough to go around 027 curves and switches. They retained the magnetraction, the headlight, horn, and other items that the earliest F3s had, but again some of the details such as handrails, grab irons, and grates, and portholes were starting to disappear and continued to disappear as the post-war period went on. So this group includes Illinois Central, Wabash, Milwaukee Road, B&O, Canadian Pacific, Rio Grande, and finally the 2383 Santa Fes. So the F3 post-war production ended the way it began with a group of Santa Fe F3s. The next diesel Lionel came out with in the post-war period, still with EMD, this time they went to a switcher, the NW-2. These were the 622 and the 6220, two locomotives that were identical other than the number stamped upon them, and NW-2 varieties were made from 1949 all the way through 1966. And the real EMD NW-2, these were built from 1939 to 49, so again they were just wrapping up prototype production as Lionel started making them, but very similar looking SW-9s and SW-1200s were made through the mid-1960s, so the still the general silhouette of these locomotives was still common to railroaders all the way into the 1980s. With the NW-2 itself, over 1,100 were produced, and there are a few of them still out there in service today, a sluggy way. Others are preserved in museums and tourist mines. So the Lionel NW-2, just like with the F3, we need to think about these as being in several groups. We have a repeat of the same story of the general cheapening of the line as the post-war period went on. So this first group, made from 1949 to 54, had a die-cast frame, die-cast trucks, twin headlights, front and rear, a mechanical bell that was always on, and today you usually find that disconnected because they found it annoying, because as the locomotive was in motion, you had a constant bell clanging, and many adults didn't like that, and you know, little Johnny's NW-2 lost its bell somewhere along the way. So in this series, the 622 and 6220, again these were identical. One was marketed as 0 and one was marketed as 027. Similarly, number 623, number 624, and the 6250, Santa Fe's C&O and Seaboard, these are the top of the line early NW-2s with all the details, all the weight, and everything that you could ask for out of these models. They were marketed as 0 scale models, and they were pretty much true to scale. A little tall on the trucks, but otherwise very close to scale proportions. A very common prototype, and yes, they did and do navigate 027 track and switches. The second group of NW-2s started in 1955, and these we start again seeing this cheapening. Instead of a cast frame, we have a stamped frame. The AAR type trucks were now switched to EMD Blomberg trucks like the F3s. Instead of twin headlights, it would have one or actually usually no headlights, and details were just generally cheapened across the locomotive. These would be the number 600 Missouri, Kansas, Texas, the 601, the 602 Seaboard, the 611 and 621 Jersey Central, and the 613 UP. Then this third group starting in 1959 to 1969, the end of post-war production, the cheapening really continues. We still have the stamped frame, the Blomberg trucks, even more details disappear. We go from three position reverse to two position reverse. Some of these only have a single axle drive, really cheapening the locomotive. One interesting locomotive during this time was the number 614 Alaska, which had an added dynamic brake blister added to it to add some interest. Perhaps Lionel was hoping they'd be able to expand the line of switchers at this point, but the Alaska turned out to be the only that came with this feature. Again, more Santa Fe's 616, 617, 633, 634. Lastly, the number 645 Union Pacific rounded off the post-war production of the EMD 10W2. Then in 1950, Lionel produced a brand new locomotive designed strictly for the 027 market, the FA starting with number 2033. These were produced from 1950 to 1969. 1950 was Lionel's 50th anniversary. For this anniversary, all locomotives had magnetraction and they did something special. The original 2033s, unlike the ones seen in this picture, were yellow. This is often called the anniversary set, passenger set of Union Pacific in yellow. They then switched it over to silver and for some reason, the silver, even though it wasn't realistic, they sold better. Go figure. The real FA, actually Lionel's model is often called an FA2, but it's kind of a transition. It's a little bit of FA1, a little bit of FA2. Part of the reason for that is that the real FA2 didn't start delivery until October of 1950, right before Lionel's came out in 1950. Lionel was working with ALCO on their blueprints and since ALCO was actually kind of in transition and still changing things before the FA2 came out, Lionel was working off of the original blueprints and so some of the details don't match up exactly. But the Lionel model is closer to being an FA2 than an FA1 and really for rivet counters, it comes down to the location of louvers and vents. Most people are not going to notice the difference externally between an FA1 and an FA2. But the FA2 was built by ALCO, American Locomotive Company, for 1950 to 1956 and not nearly as successful as the F3, F7 competition. 334 cabs, 194 boosters. These were also made under contract by Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada. The FA4s, which were used by Canadian roads up until the early 1980s, and a few of those still survive on American tourist outfits. So you can still see locomotives that look like these ALCO FAs today, but the original FA1, FA2s were pretty much gone from American railroads by the mid-1970s. So Lionel's model, again we can divide this into several groups. This first group from 1950 to 1954 had the most detail and were the highest quality. These came with a cast frame. They had AAR trucks, although it was switcher trucks rather than ALCO trucks, but it looked close enough. And they came with a horn. And these early ones, the 2023, 2033, 2032, 2031, Union Pacific Erie, and Rock Island. Are these models to scale? No, they are not. They are too short in height and way too short in length. They are made really for 027 operation. Was it a common prototype? Yes. Though the FAs were not as successful as the EMD line of F units, there were still enough of them around that most people would have recognized them as something that they would have seen somewhere on railroad track, depending on where they were. And do they operate on 027? Absolutely. They were designed specifically for 027 track. The second group of ALCO FAs is really where you can see Lionel's cheapening process as they were struggling to stay afloat in the late 50s and through the 1960s. No other locomotive has such a dramatic difference between the best locomotives and the worst locomotives as the FA2. Some of these in this group had no front coupler, no headlight, no reverse unit, no horn, obviously no frills at all. Some of them were better. Some had headlight, horn, two position reverse unit, and were halfway decent locomotives. And they were often made right next to each other in the same year. Often these many uncataloged sets that were targeted to specific retailers, five and nine stores, at as cheap a price point as possible to try to take some of the market back from Marx and to generate as much sales as possible as Lionel was struggling to make ends meet in the 1960s especially. So the difference between this group and the early group is quite dramatic. Again, there are some gems in this group, but none of them are as nice as the original first group. And so you see there were lots of road names offered, lots of different numbers offered, and different quality levels. So if you're getting an FA from this group, you know, check it out. See is it a single axle drive? Does it have a reverse unit? Does it have a front coupler? Does it even have a headlight? Does it have anything at all? And, you know, engage it by that if you're using it for operational purposes. And so that was the story with the FAs all the way up to the end of post-war production in 1969. From that, we go to what many considered the Cadillac of Lionel's post-war diesel production, the Trainmaster. Coming out in 1954, they ran through 1966, and through their production, there was no cheapening whatsoever. This was a top-line locomotive from beginning to end. Now, unfortunately, the real Trainmaster, the Fairbanks-Morse H2466 Trainmaster, although it was a magnificent locomotive, it had many features that blew the competition away in the 1950s. 2400 horsepower, the six axle power, they were wonderful luggers, and many of the railroads that had them really loved their Trainmasters, but there just weren't enough buyers of these. And so Fairbanks-Morse, after the Trainmaster, withdrew from the locomotive market to focus on their other lines of business, including industrial scales, marine locomotives, marine diesels, stationary diesels for power plants and generators and such. The locomotive market, they decided, just wasn't the right thing for them. But the Trainmaster was their ultimate production. It was a magnificent locomotive. They were built from 1953 to 1957. 107 were built in the USA, 20 were built under license in Canada, and sadly, only one true H2466 Trainmaster survives today. There are a few similar H1666s that have been preserved. They look pretty much the same externally with the smaller lower horsepower engine, but yes, only one true Trainmaster has survived, and it's at the Canadian Railway Museum. So Lionel's Trainmasters from 1954 to 1966, all of them have two motors, horn, magnetraction, headlights at both ends, and we have the Lackawanna, we have two road names for the Virginian, and we have the Jersey Central. All of them are very highly prized. As far as scale, they are almost there. They're just slightly short of true scale length, but they're pretty much close enough. Was it a common prototype? Well, depending on what part of the country you were in. Roads like the Virginian and Norfolk and Western and some of those eastern coal roads had a lot of them. Lackawanna had a lot of them. So if you were on the U.S. East Coast, if you were in Canada, or if you were in Los Angeles seeing the Southern Pacific Trainmasters that were in commuter service, you were familiar with them. Some other parts of the country, not so much. And do these run on 027 track? Absolutely not. That brings us to 1955 and Lionel's introduction of their EMD GP7 model, the Burlington 2328 among others, and the GP7 was produced from 1955 to 1965 by Lionel, and oddly enough it was introduced as an 027 model, although later on some of them were marketed as 0 gauge models. The real EMD GP7 was a huge success. They were built from 1949 to 1954, so they had just wrapped up production just as Lionel was making their first ones, with over 2,700 built and many survive today on short lines, tourist lines, museums. Some have been rebuilt, but some soldier on in almost original condition. The GP7 built from 1955 to 1966, most of them have one motor, a horn, magnetraction, and headlights at either end, but there are exceptions. So originally we had the 2328 Burlington, the 2338 Milwaukee Road, and the 2337 Wabash, which has non-operating couplers, but the 2339 Wabash has operating couplers. And then the real bare bones version is the 2028 Pennsylvania, has no headlight, no horn, no details whatsoever. And similarly, the 2365 C&O is a bare bones model, but the 2347 C&O has all of the features. So the quality on these is really kind of hit and miss, and again it kind of shows where Lionel was kind of stuck in the 1960s marketing-wise. They really didn't have any clear direction, they were just hunting to try to find something that would work to try to get the bills paid as they moved into the 1960s. Are these scale models? Yes, pretty much. Again, the trucks are a little on the high side, but overall dimensions, they fit in with 148 O scale very well. Is it a common prototype? A very common prototype. Even through the 1980s, you could see these operating on major railroads. And yes, they were designed from the get-go with the 027 track in mind, so they operate on 027 perfectly fine. 1956, they took basically the Jeep frame and came out with another kind of oddball locomotive, the EMD Bud rail diesel car, starting with B&O number 400. These were made from 1956 to 1958. The real Bud car, the design was to come up with a self-propelled passenger car for light density rail lines, where it didn't make economic sense to have a traditional train of a locomotive plus several cars. You combine the locomotive and the car, and you provide passenger service with a minimal of crew and minimal of equipment. And these also were used quite extensively in commuter service, especially by B&O and others, especially on the East Coast. So these Bud cars, there were several variations. Some of them were street passenger cars. Some were like in this picture, combination baggage passenger. They were built from 1949 to 1962. Almost 400 of them were built, and many of them do survive still on tourist lines and in museums. The Lionel version comes with a single motor, a horn. Lombard trucks, just like the F3 and the Jeep 7, which is wrong for the Bud car, but again, they could recycle the Jeep drivetrain and trucks for these to keep expenses down. And they were lighted, showing the passenger compartment. And they came in two varieties, the RDC-1, number 400, which is a strict passenger coach, and the RDC-4, which is a male baggage combination. Both of these have their own motors and their own horns, so they can operate independently. Or if you tried to operate them together and you hit the horn button, you'd hear two horns at the same time. Are these scale? Well, in cross-section, they're pretty close, but lengthwise, they are way too short. So they're not really O scale. Is it a common prototype? Yes. If you were in the East, especially, you know, you saw them in commuter service, you would know what they were. And they do operate on 027 track because they use the GE-7 frame. Also in 1956, recycling the switcher frame with a few other parts, Lionel came out with the GE-44 ton switcher. Now the real General Electric 44 ton was made from 1940 to 1956. Incidentally, there were some other manufacturers that made locomotives of a similar style, such as Davenport, Whitcomb, and some others. But of the General Electric versions, there were 390 built during that time. They were mainly built for short line industrial operations, places where the railroad thought they could get away with having one crew member operate the train, which is why they are 44 ton. Once they got to 45 tons, it mandated a minimum two-man crew for two men for the locomotive. So 390 were built and many of these do survive on tourist lines and museums. A couple of them still do survive in regular industrial operations today. Now the Lionel model, on the other hand, is not a 44 ton locomotive. The details match up a little bit better with the GE-80 ton locomotive, but even then the proportions are way off. The Lionel version is not a 44 tonner. It is much too large. Not too small, too large. It is too long and it is too tall to either be a 44 tonner, an 80 tonner, or any of these small industrial locomotives. Because it's pretty much running on the NW-2 frame with GP-7 parts, it's just proportioned too big. Now the details are about right, but again you were about 150 percent of the original version. So these locomotives were kind of on the bare bones side with sheet metal frames, one motor. They had, again, the Blomberg trucks that we used for the GP-7 and the F-3. They did have magnetraction, however, and usually a headlight on one end. And they came in a couple of road names. Lehigh Valley with a what you might call a premium version, the 627 and the 625, stripped down with non-operating couplers. The Northern Pacific 628, the Burlington 629, and the rarest of these is the number 626 B&O. So are they O scale? No, they are not. Was it a common prototype? Well, since it doesn't really match up with the 44 ton, you really can't say that this matches the prototype. Does it kind of look like the shape of a lot of industrial and short line locomotives with the center cap? Yeah, but it doesn't really match any prototype that's out there. But it does operate on O27 track, and so that is a bonus for operators. Then in 1958, Lionel came out with their EMD GP-9, starting with the Minneapolis and St. Louis number 2348, and they made these from 1958 to 1966. Now the real EMD GP-9 was even more successful than the very similar GP-7. These were built from 1954 to 59. Over 3,600 of them were built, and many of them are out there still on short lines and tourist lines and museums. Some of them in rebuilt versions are still slugging away on some of the major railroads as well. But the common misconception, and Lionel made this, was that by adding the dynamic brake blister, this part right here, that that was the difference between a GP-7 and a GP-9, and it is not. The actual differences have to do with the movers that are located under here, and on the GP-7 there are two sets of vertical movers back here, and that's what makes the difference between a GP-7 and the GP-9 that you see here. So simply by adding this part, it does not make it a GP-9, much to Lionel's chagrin. So the GP-9, Lionel made them from 58 to 66. Just like the GP-7, single motor horn, magnetraction, headlights on both ends, but it's not really a GP-9. Lionel made these in three versions, Minneapolis to St. Louis, the Northern Pacific, and Boston to Maine, two different road names of that. So are they scale proportioned? Yes. Was it common prototype? I really should say no because the GP-9, this is not really a GP-9, it's a GP-7, but otherwise it does look like things that people would see out on the real railroad, and they do operate on 027 track. And the GP-9 was the final new diesel of Lionel's post-war era. But Lionel left a legacy with these locomotives. These locomotives became the backbone of what would be the Model Products Fun Dimensions line under General Mills. With an infusion of new cash and new creativity, the Lionel name would live on and grow and continue under several different corporate umbrellas even today. These locomotives would be reissued many times over the years, including the the GP-9 was just in last year's catalog, and so the legacy of these post-war locomotives lives on. And another option you should be aware of if you are interested in the look and feel of these post-war locomotives, but you don't necessarily have the deep pockets to go out and buy a mint original, Williams trains offered a variety of reproductions of these throughout from the 1970s up until the 2000s until they became Williams by Bachman. Now many of these older Williams models can be found at shows and on the internet, and what you should know about them is that they generally have twin can motors, die cast frames, all of the details of the original original production. So the NW-2s for example come with the wire handrails and all the details of the batch of NW-2s for example. But you can also get locomotives in this style with new paint schemes as you see here on the right, paint schemes that Lionel could have only dreamed of. And so whether it's the NW-2 or whether it's the FA, the 44-tonner, the Trainmaster, the Jeep 7, Jeep 9, and even the Bud Car, Williams made a line of reproductions of these and up productions. Again, twin can motors, die cast frames, all the headlights, all the details, and even sometimes some upgraded modern sound systems. So it's worth looking into Williams as an option if you are looking for that post-war feel in a newer type of locomotive. So as always, I hope you enjoyed the video. If you do, please press like, share, subscribe, hit that notifications bell, tell your friends, and tell your neighbors, but most importantly, until next time, keep the trains running!