Postwar Lionel Trivia Fun - Test Your Knowledge

A simple non-technical Postwar Lionel quiz that I think you will find interesting.

Have fun!

How many did you know?

*Answers are at the end of this blog post

1) The factory error issue of this train is worth about 40% LESS than the issue without the error. What train is it?

2) Lionel's # 6250 NW2 Switcher's color scheme was not prototypical to Seaboard.

Why did Lionel use the 3 colors it picked?

3) What made Lionel's first postwar catalog unique?

4) Lionel's first GG1 carried the number 2332. Where did Lionel get this number from?

5) What was Postwar Lionel's biggest flop/mistake?

6) What was the only Lionel Motorized Unit that needed an engine to pull it, despite it having its own motor?

7) Who was the most famous person to ever pose with a Lionel set?

8) Most Lionel engines were shorter than their prototypes so that they could navigate tight tubular track curves. Which Lionel engine was actually over 25% longer than its prototype?

9) Lionel wisely reused parts from other engines on newer ones. Which new Postwar engine made the most of this practice?

10) What did Jackie Gleason say about Lionel Trains?

11) What was the first cataloged postwar Lionel motorized unit?

12 What was the last cataloged postwar Lionel motorized unit?

13) In real life the F3 engines modeled by Lionel were 58' 10" long, while the Alco engines modeled by them were almost 7' longer at 65' 8".

This being the case, why were Lionel's models of the F3 so much longer than its ALCO models (13 1/4 inches long " vs 11 inches long?"

14) As respects to the 3428 Operating Mail Car, was the figure blue holding a grey mailbag or grey holding a blue mailbag?

15) What year was Magne-traction first featured in Lionel's annual catalog?

BONUS: What engine first had Magne-traction? What year?

16) What postwar freight car required the use of 2 D cell batteries to operate?

17) Only one 6462 NYC gondola came with cannisters - which one was it?

18) What Lionel set was rushed into production to commemorate a historical event?

Answers:

1) Lionel released its Rio Grande snowplow motorized unit in 1957 with the 'a' in Rio Grande printed backwards. This factory error was corrected on later issues. As the error version is more common it is worth less than the corrected one.

2) It's Orange, blue and cream colors mimicked Lionel's boxes

3) Due to a postwar paper shortage and a rush to let everyone know that toy trains were back, Lionel had its 1946 advance catalog printed as a supplement in the November 23. 1946 issue of Liberty magazine

4) 2-3-3-2 is Lionel's GG's wheel arrangement

5) With its plastic body and mostly plastic motor with combined E-unit, and odd couplers, Lionel's Scout takes this honor.

6) # 3927 Track cleaning car - its motor was used only to spin the cleaning sponge.

7) In 1953 Pope Pius XII posed with a Lionel Santa Fe freight set at the Vatican

8) Lionel's 44 Ton Center-cab switchers, due to needing space for the motor, e-unit and available trucks.

9) In 1956 Lionel offered its New Haven EP-5 electric engine. It used a GP-7 motor, F3 trucks, GG1 Pantographs and e-unit and horn from many other Lionel offerings. To go one step further, the engineering sample presented for possible production was made from cabs cut off of two F3 bodies.

10) On a 1950's Jackie Gleason show, Reggie van Gleason said, while standing in front of a Lionel set on a shelf in his bar, "Booze Goes Swell With Lionel"

11) The # 50 Section Gang Car, first cataloged in 1954

12) The # 54 Ballast Tamper, last cataloged in 1969

13) Lionel wanted to duplicate the success of the F3's on the O gauge line with something better suited for the price point and tight curves of its O27 line. They chose the attractive ALCO to fit this bill.

14) Trick question - it came both ways.

15) Magne-traction first appeared in the 1950 annual catalog.

BONUS ANSWER: The first engine to have Magne-traction was a black Sante Fe Switcher (#'s 622 and 6220) in 1949.

16) In 1962 Lionel made the # 3470 Aerial Target Launching car. The batteries were used to operate the air compressor that kept its balloon afloat as the car traveled around a layout.

17) The 6462-500 NYC gondola that came with the Lady Lionel set (aka The Girl's Set) was pink with 4 white cannisters.

18) In 1959 Alaska was made a State. Lionel quickly released an Alaskan set to commemorate this event that same year; O27 outfit # 1635WS