In popularity, the postwar Lionel gang car is exceeded by only the trolley car in terms of Auto-Pilot fun on the tinplate rails. Lionel’s release of the 1950s favorite lives up to its reputation.
Both the gang car and trolley operate on the same concept. The car runs in one direction until it hits an immovable object (like a track bumper or a hand). The “crash” causes a metal plate to slide backwards, reversing the direction of the motor and hence the car, and the car continues to run until it again hits something else – and hilarity once more ensues.
The original Lionel no. 50 gang car, cataloged from 1954 to 1964, has an unpainted body and three rubber crewmen. Surprisingly, this gem didn’t re-enter the product line until the no. 18417 was released in 1993, powered by a Pullmor open-frame motor.
The latest incarnation of the gang car is solidly made, and it also uses the time-honored Pullmor motor.
The black decoration is well done and features a small New York Central oval. My heart skipped a beat when I saw what I thought was an attempt at reproducing the Central’s famed lightning bolt, but it was just the stack of plates on the electric motor!
Three painted crew figures, a big improvement over the drab originals, are mounted on the car. The character wearing blue big overalls swivels as the gang car hits a bumper; his compadres in green overalls don’t.
Even when the gang car runs at its slowest speeds, all three crewmen end up needing to visit their O gauge chiropractor, since the stops are rather abrupt. Still, this is one tough little gizmo. Short of running it full blast into a wall, the little rig kept on changing direction – and running like clockwork. Lionel has made this baby just as tough as they did in the “old neighborhood.”
This is a fun and inexpensive way to satisfy your desire for action, without the fear of damaging a beloved postwar original.
nice for mice