Lionel’s perfect postwar train set features a classic steam engine and a whistle tender pulling five different and very colorful freight cars or five streamlined passenger cars. How, you may be wondering, do we at Trains.com and Classic Toy Trains know this fact? Because a good number of loyal and experienced readers, familiar with the line cataloged by Lionel between 1945 and 1969, shared their opinions with us after I had asked participants on the CTT Forum late last year to design the perfect Lionel train set.
The idea behind my post was brought to our magazine by one of the smartest fellows in the hobby: Vladimir J. Dragan. We were talking at the October 2023 train show in York, Pa., organized by the Eastern Division of the Train Collectors Association. Vladimir suggested that I create my perfect set and then invite readers to put together what they think would constitute the perfect Lionel set from the postwar period.
Background of the post
Those of you who read the original post may remember Vladimir and I had set down some general guidelines for everyone to follow when coming up with their set.
- The set will consist of a locomotive and a total of five other components: either all rolling stock (freight or passenger cars) or four cars and one accessory.
- The set will not duplicate any set Lionel showed or listed in a catalog.
- Lionel must have cataloged the engine during the postwar era: 1945-69.
- The year the locomotive was cataloged will limit the components of the perfect set, meaning they cannot have been introduced after the locomotive was cataloged and they must have been shown in the annual catalog no more than two years earlier.
Various opinions
Readers began submitting their ideas within hours after I had put up my original post and shared my version of the perfect Lionel set from postwar times: A No. 736 Berkshire steam engine coupled to a No. 2046W whistle tender pulled four terrific freight cars and a caboose. There were three operating cars: Nos. 3424 Brakeman Car, 3620 Rotating Searchlight Car, and 3662 Automatic Refrigerated Milk Car. Then came a No. 6362 Railway Truck Car. At the rear of my perfect train rode a No. 6419 Work Caboose.
For whatever reason, the first few responses missed the point of the exercise. Instead of creating their own set, they selected the cataloged outfit they liked best and thought came close to perfection. Votes came in for the No. 671 Turbine pulling three or four streamlined passenger cars in the No. 2400 series from 1948-49 as well as a No. 773 Hudson pulling four heavyweight passenger cars, just as Lionel did offer back in 1950. Another reader opted for the O gauge set from 1953 with a No. 681 Turbine handling three terrific cars (Nos. 3520 searchlight car, 6415 Sunoco triple-dome tank car, and 6464-25 Great Northern boxcar), plus a No. 6417 Pennsylvania RR porthole caboose.
Nothing wrong with those choices, but Vladimir and I had hoped people would mix and match locomotives and rolling stock unlike any combination Lionel had ever offered in the postwar period. Eventually, readers got the idea and sent in great picks.
What Lionel cataloged prior to 1950 caught the attention of only one person. Jeff Coleman imagined a No. 726 Berkshire and a No. 2426W whistle tender from 1949 with the Nos. 6452 Pennsylvania RR gondola, 6454 Erie RR boxcar, 6461 depressed-center flatcar with a transformer, and 6555 Sunoco single-dome tank car. Behind the four cars he had a No. 6457 Lionel Lines Southern Pacific-type caboose with interior lighting.
Now let’s jump into the 1950s. We don’t have to go too far into that glorious decade because a couple contributors highlighted steam engines cataloged in 1950. Ed Guzik went high end, having the classic 773 Hudson and 2426Wwhistle tender go to work. He used this mighty pair to pull a quartet of near-scale boxcars and a No. 6017 Boston & Maine SP-type caboose. The models Ed chose were the Nos. 6464-175 Rock Island, 6464-275 State of Maine, 6464-650 Denver & Rio Grande Western, and 6464-825 Alaska RR. The colorful boxcars spanned the cataloged line from 1954 up to 1966.
A prominent member of the CTT Forum who goes by the name “Pennytrains” looked at the lower end of the cataloged lineup for 1950 and ’51 by selecting the No. 2035 steam engine and tender to take care of an exciting five-car freight train. There were two operating cars (Nos. 3461 log dump car and 3472 milk car and platform) with a pair of non-operating cars (Nos. 6462 New York Central gondola and 6555 tank car). Right behind the last car Pennytrains preferred to see a 6457 Lionel Lines SP-type caboose.
Moving into the 1950s
Another great contributor to the CTT Forum goes by the title of “Flintlock76.” He suggested two possibilities. One set used a No. 2055 small Hudson and whistle tender to pull a group of the No. 2530-series of streamlined aluminum passenger cars introduced in 1952, the year before the 2055 made its debut. The second set took a 736 Berkshire and slapped an Erie RR herald on each side of its whistle tender. That updated 2-8-4 steamer led four freight cars and a porthole caboose (also modified to have an Erie RR emblem). Set components included Nos. 6462 New York Central gondola, 6464-200 Pennsylvania RR boxcar, 6425 Gulf triple-dome tank car, and 6511 pipe car. The train was a forerunner of Conrail, having a locomotive and rolling stock decorated for fallen flags added to it.
Richard Sheats had a similar idea for the perfect passenger outfit. He took the No. 746 Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 steamer and asked it to handle the streamlined passenger cars. He wished Lionel had painted and lettered them for the N&W’s Powhattan Arrow.
Finishing in the fifties
The last two entries reached into the middle and later parts of the 1950s. Someone on the CTT Forum going by “GGH” had in mind the popular 736 Berkshire with the Nos. 3356 Operating Horse Car and Corral, 3424 Brakeman Car, and 3530 General Motors Generator Car. He also wanted with the set a No. 6356 New York Central Stock Car. Last to go into his imaginary set box was a No. 6417 Pennsylvania RR porthole caboose.
John Hoffmann provided a terrific perfect set and even assembled the train for a picture on his O gauge layout that will appear in the Summer 2024 issue of CTT. He got out his No. 682 Turbine and tender from 1955 and lashed up Nos. 6436 Lehigh Valley quad hopper, 6460 Crane Car, 6464-125 New York Central boxcar (John’s favorite piece of rolling stock), 6561 cable reel car, and a 6419 work caboose. One amazing work train.
Many thanks
All of us at Trains.com and Classic Toy Trains appreciate the thought and time various respondents put in to come up with their perfect Lionel postwar train set. There were some fascinating and entertaining ideas that we are thrilled to be able to present.
Still, there’s no reason to stop now. If you want to give us your version of the best train set Lionel never offered during the postwar period, well, we would be thrilled to hear from you at rcarp@classictoytrains.com (putting “Perfect Set) in the subject line.
