Lionel Postwar Operating Accessories

This is my train layout as of 11/22/20. All of the trains and accessories were produced by Lionel between 1946 and 1959. The track and controls are modern but everything else is 99% original. The video features the following accessories.
125 Whistle Station
138 Water Tower
164 Log Loader
282 Gantry Crane
342 Culvert Loader
345 Culvert Unloader
3454 Merchandise Car
3456 Coal Hopper
3461 Log Car
3462 Milk Car
3469 Coal Dump Car
3520 Searchlight Car
3562 Barrel Car
362 Barrel Loader
364 Conveyor Log Loader
3656 Cattle Corral and Car
397 Coal Loader
456 Coal Ramp
494 Rotary Beacon
497 Coaling Station
352 Ice Depot
264 Fork Lift
450 Signal Bridge
132 Passenger Station

[@riff2072]

I can smell the burning electrical connections by just watching.

[@larrymoore6640]

Brings back Christmas memories. Lionel has come along way since then. We all have that "little boys" in us still.

[@deweyhall712]

Love seeing an old school setup work.. too bad many modern layouts are not cool as this one.

[@paulmatulavich7321]

True to their word - Lionel proved you could operate an entire railroad by remote control. Your wonderful video demonstrates this principle with all the fun and excitement of the postwar years. Thank you!

[@grophers1189]

And Class 1 railroad’s are so close to doing same thing in real life

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

@@grophers1189 they have done that already. In Brazil they have an iron mine that all of the cranes are automated and all of the great big trucks a dump the ore into our automated and Jen when they dump it into the hopper cars the train is automated and it goes right to the doc to be unloaded. You could not do that with steam locomotive. Steam locomotive you needed skills that took you years to accumulate. I knew Engineers who had a reputation for going over the mountain Otto pint of oil and a gallon of water. I know they are exaggerating but men took great pride in train handling in the old days. You could start a train and not spill the coffee in the conductor's cup in the Caboose 100 cars away. Even with an army of men crawling like ants all over a great big steam locomotive they were still cheaper to run per mile than a diesel locomotive. The diesel locomotive with the greatest railroad job killer of them all and it is not done yet almost but not quite. They've taken all of the humanity out of railroading. In the old days when you were a Railroader it was in your blood. Like if you were a cop or a teacher it was not something that was a nine-to-five job it was what you were 24/7. Back when people were proud of their profession.

[@connorsvintageelectronics909]

I love the old electric noises they make

[@sehguhplays8867]

This is the kind of stuff that got me into model trains in general. The trains themselves were enough, but seeing all the little accessories like these and seeing them operate give the layouts a certain personality and life you won't find easily.

[@carmdale1]

Loved it. This is what lionel is about to bad they don't make stuff like this any more

[@johnblair8146]

China GARBAGE. Notice that his cutoff was 1959? Most of the stuff that Lionel made in its last decade was also garbage.

[@KR72534]

I didn’t know this isn’t made any more. I had this stuff as a kid and am going to have it re built for my grandchildren. This is what railroading is all about.

[@camolotshero3537]

This brings me back as a child when I would hear the Electricity run on this model trains and accessories

[@joshuacampbell9990]

I love all the postwar accessories! You have yours set up and working so smoothly which is a rare sight! Some of those takes I half wondered how many times you had to set/reset to get that perfect take but it looks like most were done the first time! Many times I’ve seen the log loaders spill logs everywhere BUT the car they’re supposed to be loading lol. Excellent video!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

The Lionel toy train accessories simulate work in the real world. A kid would have fun with the gravel loader or the magnetic crane loading scrap into a gondola car but if you told him he had to sit there and do that for 8 hours a day 5 days a week then he would learn how soul-killing working really is.

[@BrentsTrains]

Love seeing the accessories in operation! Great collection!

[@TheCreativeType]

I’d definitely seen a lot of this stuff in my I Love Toy Trains DVDs.

[@bharmon1980]

As a lionel train collector and I have my own layout with post war era on up train stuff in o scale . I really think this layout is amazing. Thank you for sharing it.

[@ronaldmoravec2692]

Thank you for showing the milk car and receiving platform. Half of my milk containers went sideways too.

[@spartan7042]

Amazing every piece looks like it works and was bought brand new. Great collection

[@rodneycody8746]

Nice

[@ralphdavis5418]

Thanks for sharing!! Love watching the old trains in action!! Great job with all of the accessories.

[@johngoldschmidt5335]

Really nice. I so enjoyed watching this and all the amazing accessories at work. Thank you for sharing.

[@ronalddevine9587]

Wow, probably the most unique toy train video. Nice to see all of our favorite accessories in operation!

[@jblackacre2325]

I am so glad to see this. Great job! It's impressive to see so many accessories in one place, and in such nice shape. Bravo Zulu!

[@larryarcher4502]

Really Enjoy watching these, have some and want others 🙂👍

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

Great demo thanks. Gives me a little extra enthusiasm to get on with mine.

[@robertgatchel1938]

These are so enjoyable to watch

[@paulmatulavich7321]

Without a doubt, the smoothest operation of any postwar Lionel accessories on KZbin. Not an easy task, as some are quite unreliable due to improper placement, maintenance, and leveling. Nice how you added the ringing bell sound to the original crossing signal.

[@CatstronautCPP2]

11:55 Making deliveries the FedEx way.

[@geraldmosley2195]

Man that is NICE!!!! THANK YOU FOR SHOWING THIS COOL SETUP!!!!

[@robrob1480]

Marvelous, just can't imagine how you can have two dislikes. Had a smile on my face the hole time I was watching. Thanks for the look back into an amazing time.

[@brianvolz2988]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Those dislikes must've been American Flyer fans.

[@robrob1480]

@@brianvolz2988Lol. Even Flyer fans would have to admit your layout and video are excellent.

[@TheCreativeType]

Some of this stuff sounds like barbershop razors

[@winchester0881]

Very cool layout & the accessories are great!

[@JJosephS1]

Nice. You have them all working really well, and your driving is really good, lining them up on the first try. Congrats!

[@nanovation]

Thanks for making this video!

[@scotttrcka9020]

Wonderful job of putting it together!

[@paulretzbach9583]

This is AWESOME!!

[@ashleyp3662]

Awesome🤩

[@tjprptchable]

I love your post-war accessories I have the coal loader, coal ramp, and milk cars myself

[@arthursogaugelioneltrains5744]

Nice layout.🚂🚞🚞🚞🚞🚞

[@haroldbrown1998]

I had a water tower, uncoupler, transfer former with a whistle.

[@OgaugeTrainsplusslotCars]

Impressive Railroad. Cool Railroad equipment. NEW SUBSCRIBER HERE FROM OVER SEAS UNITED STATES 🇺🇸

[@cliffordkiehl3959]

A very well done video. This is a good selection of Lionel accessories and their operations. I used the control part of the 'stop station' for my trolley line, because I didn't have room for the station itself. Just a note, I melted the top of my trolley by having a bulb that was to large. It appears you are about do the same thing.

[@brianvolz2988]

Thank you for the advice on the trolley bulb. Damage was actually done to the roof long before I inherited it. I actually have an LED bulb in the trolley to prevent further melting.

[@sugrue8526]

Awesome

[@scpvrr]

Very nice

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

Awsum 🚂

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

Very kool 🚂❤️

[@jonpeterson1939]

I had the cattle car but no cattle, my favorite was the side dump coal car

[@goldenmanuever1176]

Wow do these look good with the Atlas O.

[@xmttrman]

Did the Barrel Loader come with the metal piece that enables the barrels to land on the platform without falling between the car and the loader? I've had mine since 1956 and don't recall seeing it. Perhaps it came with the barrel car, I found mine at a train show in the 1980s. BTW I have nothing but problems with the cattle car and corral. The sponge rubber has disintegrated on both units. I wore out the magnet crane switch box so I made a new one using toggle switches and a metal project box. Nice to see the coal units operating!

[@stanleyjm1]

This is the BEST Lionel video I’ve ever seen. I have a few of these pieces and still enjoy them. What ind of track are you using?

[@TheZannnder]

its Gargraves track

[@robertnielsen2461]

Impressive ,Lionel made great toys in its peak years,but where's a caboose??

[@Vaderd2k926]

Great demonstration video. Not sure why so many accessories were designed the way they were though. Why empty a coal car just to refill it in the same cycle. Unloading lumber at its destination just to reload it on to different car on the same train. Etc. I think the emphasis back then was on animation more the accuracy or efficiency. Still a very entertaining look at classic Lionel. Well done.

[@brianvolz2988]

Yes, postwar accessories were certainly valued for their action and not for their realism. While they may not be attractive to modelers kids never seem to tire of hitting that milk car button.

[@robertnielsen2461]

Lionel made toy trains for children to play with,things have changed now.Trains were the big gift at Christmas.

[@larryarcher4502]

The imagination Was supposed to fill in the blanks, Take a run around The track then reload it Etc.. Kids That played with this stuff, are the creators of the computers And your mechanics, Creativity at work, Stimulating the mind.

[@Vaderd2k926]

@@larryarcher4502 absolutely agree!

[@raysrails2164]

Very 😎🆒️

[@mikepedian8272]

Great seeing all these accessories in one lay out. Can I ask the dimensions of your set up looks like it goes from one room to another. Maybe stealing your ideas lol

[@richardsobieck9660]

Where is your caboose? A steam train should have a caboose. Otherwise nice video!

[@frankjoyce76]

I really love this type stuff on a layout. Do manufactures make things like this anymore for o scale?

[@crazytrainmainline4837]

@Frank this is O Scale. They are still making things like this but everything is made using plastic materials now. Nothing wrong with using it.

[@brianvolz2988]

Lionel has made modern reproductions of many of these items. However, I find it is often cheaper and easier to find the original version. Also the original use AC motors while the reproductions often use quieter DC motors. Some people like the quieter motors but I think the volume is part of the fun.

[@modelrailpreservation]

Do you have both ends of the trolley line wired to the 132 station? I'd considered that for the replica 1949 showroom layout I manage, but now that we have a 132 station as well as the tinplate staton at the opposite end, there is no need to use one circuit for two stops. I've also had an idea, for my own layout, not the 1949 showroom layout, to have a trolley car serve a stop station, have the trolley track by the station normally electrically dead, so the car stops at the station. Mainline train pulls in, stops, and just after the stop zone, use an insulated running rail to trip a relay and power on the normally dead section of trolley track, so trolley arrives ahead of train, and has a layover for passengers until the train departs.

[@brianvolz2988]

One end of the trolley is wired to the 132 station. The other end has the controller from a 132 station mounted under the layout. That way both ends can be controlled independently even though I didn't have room for a second station.

[@dennisrosenthal1753]

Did you acquire these accessories in good condition or did you have to rebuild them?

[@brianvolz2988]

They all required various levels of repair. Most Lionel postwar items can be fixed by a simple cleaning and replacing any loose or rotted wires. For some items I combined the parts from multiple broken units into one working one. Trying to figure out how they work is the most enjoyable part for me.

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

6️⃣0️⃣3️⃣🚂😎👍

[@eboateboat]

How long have you been working on this set up you have for the video ?

[@brianvolz2988]

I started the layout about 2.5 years ago. Some of the items have been in the family since they were purchased by my grandparents in the late 40s and 50s though.

[@dennisrosenthal5973]

How did you get these post-war accessories to operate using modern track? Atlas or Gargraves?

[@CatstronautCPP2]

It's all 3-rail, there's no difference between running them on the old track and new track. Only change that might be necessary is directly wiring cables to the rails instead of using LockOns

[@ukuleletyke]

Some very clever accessories, but by crikey they’re noisy.. I understand the solenoids being noisy on ac, but why were their motors so loud?

[@20thcentlimited]

Just like real railroads are noisy. Most of the motors were AC powered, open frame style, yes noisy but still to this day very serviceable and fixable. Not like todays junk.

[@TomLigman]

Does this connect to another layout through the tunnel?

[@brianvolz2988]

The train enters one tunnel and then runs the length of the room in a utility closet before popping out to the smaller layout area on the other end of the room. The other tunnel leads into another room where the train just does a loop and comes back out. This allows for a fairly long mainline without having to take up the entire room. I would post a picture of the track plan but it doesn't look like I can do that in a comment.

[@nickshelton4495]

@11:53 How some ups employees do their job.

[@johnreitzel2289]

VERY COOL. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO OPERATE THESE ACCESSORIES ON/WITH LIONEL FASTRACK. THANK YOU

[@mothinator]

I think you have to switch the fuses out of both remotes, and rewire the part to have a Lionel Fastrack motherboard. That should help! You will also have to solder some of the wire to the track to ensure the electrical current can properly travel through. Have fun!