Lionel reissued missile launcher set

FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS Lionel has been making some very smart choices when capitalizing on its past. Offering models of never-produced items and reissues of desirable sets from the postwar era is especially attractive to many of today’s operators and collectors.

A reissue of the no. 2527 Super O gauge missile launcher outfit from 1959 is the latest in this series. Other items that have made news in recent years are based on engineering mock-ups and paint samples in the Lionel archives. This 54-inch-long set (no. 21788), like a few others, takes an existing classic and updates it with superior technology and decoration.

The model

When the original 2527 came out, it reflected a shift in direction at Lionel. Company leaders, aware of the public’s fascination with space travel and military exploits, pushed in the late 1950s and early ’60s for the development of new trains and accessories that were linked with these fields.

Flatcars transported satellites and naval vehicles instead of pipes. Diesels came lettered for the U.S. Marine Corps rather than the New York Central. Better still were novel motorized units and operating accessories. Among the best of these military-oriented trains was the consist that made up outfit no. 2527. Every piece of rolling stock included in this Super O gauge set, plus the motive power, was brand new for 1959.

The no. 44 U.S. Army mobile missile launcher looked like nothing else on the rails. Of course, what entranced youngsters was the catalog’s promise that it could fire “four artillery-type missiles – one at a time, by remote control – while in motion.” If perfectly aimed, they detonated the no. 943 spring-loaded ammo dump located a few feet away from the main line.

A trio of flatcars rode behind. One, the no. 3419 operating helicopter launching car, provided plenty of action. An operator had merely to wind the spring in the launching platform and then, thanks to a remote-control button, the chopper was sent into the skies above Lionelville.

The next two cars carried armaments. The no. 6823 transported a pair of IRBMs (Inter-Range Ballistic Missiles), and the no. 6844 moved six white guided missiles identical to those awaiting ignition on the 44.

Bringing up the rear was the no. 6814 first aid medical caboose, a variation of the traditional work caboose with large red crosses across the sides. Oxygen tanks, stretchers, and an attendant at the control panel enhanced its appeal.

The 2527 retailed for $39.95 in 1959 and ’60 before being dropped from the line. Today, according to the third volume of Greenberg’s Guide to Lionel Trains, 1945-1969, a like-new example of this Super O set is valued at $750 to $800, depending on the outfit box.

But try to find a set that has all its components and looks great. Even if you succeed, are you going to risk reducing its value by running it? No, the time was ripe for a reissue, and Lionel has done this beautifully.

On the test track

Just watching our sample 44 barrel along the CTT workshop test track kept me amused for quite a while. Like the original, it features a blue shell with white lettering. A figure sits on the side near the missiles to guide the unit and, presumably, set off the firepower.

Lionel designed the updated 44 to operate in conventional-control mode (crank up your vintage ZWs, boys) or with its TrainMaster Command Control system.

Either way, it cruises along the track like a newly commissioned officer out of West Point. A pair of headlights (white LEDs) illuminates as the unit moves forward, and a large red warning light in the middle of the body glows.

Under the hood, this blue monster boasts a good old Pullmor motor and Magne-Traction. The ElectroCoupler at the rear makes remote-controlled uncoupling a breeze.

You can also easily lock old 44 into a single operational state (forward or reverse) by deactivating the reverse unit. Conveniently, the O gauge figure sits atop the reverse unit lockout lever.

As the train racked up mileage on our workshop test track, I spied a suspicious ammunition dump that had appeared overnight in the direction of the spray-paint booth used by the Model Railroader magazine staff. Feeling uneasy about this facility, I announced to my CTT comrades that I would have to destroy it. “Do it, Private Carp,” they instructed.

I braked the motorized unit until it ground to a halt a foot or so from the no. 943 ammo dump. Then I had to decide how to launch the missiles.

“Choices, choices,” I muttered. Relying on the command-control mode, I could press the front coupler button on a CAB-1 to send the missiles flying. In conventional-control mode, firing depends on a remote-control track section (which doesn’t come with the set). And there’s always the finger-and-thumb option – yanking the metal lever at the coupler end of the mobile missile launcher.

I experimented with TMCC and manual operation. Both methods released a barrage of white plastic projectiles that struck home and caused the spring-loaded ammo dump to “explode.”

It was the biggest thrill I’ve had in a long time. So successful was it that I expect to be promoted to corporal by the time you read this.

Eventually, I grabbed a stopwatch and checked out the performance of the reissued mobile missile launcher.

Our sample recorded a conventional-control mode low speed of 21.7 scale mph.

We normally evaluate the conventional-control high-speed average at 18 volts. As I increased the voltage, I realized that our 44 would go into orbit if I dared go that high. So I kept it at 16 volts and recorded a high speed of 172.8 scale mph. Plenty high enough for the military.

The drawbar pull for the 2-pound, 1-ounce motorized unit was slightly less than 7 ounces. Not a lot, but enough for the four-car train packed with this outfit.

The rolling stock looks as nice as the original models do. Starting at the back of the train, all the neat incidentals that collectors prize on an original 6814 first aid medical caboose have been added.

The missile-carrying flatcars duplicate their forebears, although they’ve been upgraded with die-cast metal, sprung trucks. Too bad that when Lionel was planning the reissue of the 6844 missile-carrying flatcar it opted for the common black version and not the scarce red one.

The 3419 operating helicopter car is another star performer. It lifts a whirlybird into the clouds with as much speed and force as an original did long ago. Kids (and plenty of adults) will enjoy launching it at will.

Unfortunately, the remote-control track section needed to launch the helicopter must be bought separately. That omission, and the fact that this ‘copter car lacks the punch and altitude of the MTH RailKing model (CTT, January 2001 issue), were my only disappointments.

Still, there is so much to like about the new no. 21788 missile launch set that I doubt anyone will gripe about how high the helicopter soars.

And don’t forget about adding the brand-new no. 36730 missile launch sound car to your set.
This separate-sale RailSounds car generates what the new catalog describes as “the whoosh of each missile, synchronized with the firing of the payload [and] diesel engine revving and various announcements.” Who could live without it?

Collectors of the original set will be pleased that Lionel marked every component “PW” so nothing can be confused with its postwar ancestor. Operators, on the other hand, will be too busy blowing up the reissued ammo dump to think about splurging for an original classic set.