The company commenced two years ago with reproductions of the nos. 138 Water Tower and 164 Log Loader. Now add the no. 465-99 Sound Dispatch Station to the list.
Some of these re-issues have been truer to the originals than others, but in general, all of them have been good models offered with prices, to the chagrin of some collectors, competitive with the originals. (Per Greenberg’s Pocket Price Guide for Lionel Trains 1901-2000, the price range for an original no. 465 station is $50-$105.)
Lionel’s Sound Dispatching Station is an excellent re-launch of a postwar favorite that was cataloged in 1956 and 1957. It captures the whimsical nature of the original, activating the latent gene wherein everyone wants to be a radio star. It also goes one step further, offering a nice technological improvement that enhances the fun.
The model itself is on target with the postwar original, with an 11 by 5-inch base and a height of 6 inches. The tower is a nice rendering of a generic control station that could have been built in any large marshaling yard from the early 1950s to today. The colors are close to the original’s gray and red scheme. Even if you don’t care for the public address (PA) system, the station will look nice nestled near the mouth of a yard.
The model has simulated microwave antennas (the instruction booklet calls them radar antennas, but I don’t think most airplanes will be flying that low) and simulated loudspeakers. The window of the station features an elaborate mural representing a control room staffed by workers standing in front of a large diagram of the yard. Sounds from the speaker project from the bottom of the control room.
So far so good.
The first nod toward modern technology is the microphone. No slight intended toward the original, but it was an inexpensive kid’s toy. The new microphone is all black and has five controls on it: a volume switch, a reset button, a play button, a record button, and a play/record/PA button.
Record, you ask?
Yep. You can tape your own message of choice, lasting up to 40 seconds, for broadcast. The effect is similar to recording an outgoing message on your answering machine. So you can record a mundane message or find your best pal who does a great Walter Brennan imitation to make a somewhat more colorful announcement!
Hookup is simple. Unlike the postwar version that relied on battery power, the new version can use either track power or an auxiliary power source. You can also store the microphone on a hook at the rear of the station. The mike plugs into a multi-prong receptacle on the bottom rear of the unit.
For “live” broadcasting, just place the P/R/PA switch in the PA position and speak into the microphone. To record a message, place the P/R/PA switch to the P/R position, depress the record button once and speak into the mike; when finished, press record again. Playback is simple: just place the P/R/PA switch in the P/R position and hit the play button. If you get tired of a message, you can easily record over the announcement.
Are we talkin’ three-rail hi-jinx or what?
The 465-99 Sound Dispatching Station is a great reproduction of the original that offers a bit of pizzazz thanks to modern recording technology. Good fun, good price, good job, Lionel.
