# Life via Lionel, circa 1950's



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

In the "a thought just happened to enter my head" department ...

I've recently been reading / learning about the history of post-war Lionel trains, and all of the little car / accessories that they offered to keep kids interested in entertained. Each year's catalog had to offer something NEW that would make a kid add it to his Santa List and say, "Dad, I really need THAT!"

Logical, right? But this is what I find a bit shocking ...

1951 -- New automated cattle car loader
1955 -- Updated automatic milk bottle platform

Good, wholesome stuff. But then ...

1958 -- a toxic nuclear waste disposal care
1959 -- a new missle launcher car, and an ICBM-packed flatcar, and an exploding ammo dump
1960 -- radar scanning car
1961 -- spy satellite launching car

and so on ...

Boy, what a decade to be a kid! Ya' start out playing with milk and cows, and end up shootin' little plastic missles at the Russians! The Cold War times had to be a bit scary for a kid... "Here, son, go play with this glow-in-the-dark toxic nuclear waste, and then launch some ICBM's at those Ruskies."

I'm no peace-nik, mind you ... our country did what it had to do, and I think we're all (thankfully) still here to tell the story.

But I'm just saying that had to be a crazy time to be a kid, playing with your toys like that.

I was born in '63 ... Cold War still thriving. I distinctly remember having endless air-raid drills in grammar school. We all had to crawl under our desks, like the teacher directed. Go figure ... like a layer of 1/2" plywood and some sheet metal would have protected me from a well-placed ICBM?!?

Anyway ... sorry for rambling on ...

I just think it's interesting that the significance of changing world history is captured so well in the production lineup of a decade's worth of kids' toys.

'Nuff said.

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

My older brother had some sort of military train I remember---all olive-drab. It had a long artillery cannon that fired plastic shells and a nuclear-reactor car with red domes that glowed. *L*


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

I remember having a missile on a flat car as i Kidd.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

My brother owned the set and I wasn't allowed to touch it. Missouri Pacific AA units. Even then, I had a calling to take apart evething.


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## PW_Lionel_Collector (Jul 13, 2009)

Reckers said:


> My older brother had some sort of military train I remember---all olive-drab. It had a long artillery cannon that fired plastic shells and a nuclear-reactor car with red domes that glowed. *L*



Too bad you don't have that train set. It's worth a fortune! :laugh: Only if your brother and you thought about keeping the train in original package and never ran it. It would range around $7k-$8k. :laugh: You would of never though a toy that, a brother of yours, was playing with; would be worth so much in the future. Even if you didn't have the original package, just the set (run set), it is almost impossible to get. Easily be worth up to $2k-$3k. :laugh: The olive nuclear-reactor car (un-run condition) w/ box is worth $1k-$1.2k. :laugh:hwell:

Jason


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## PW_Lionel_Collector (Jul 13, 2009)

T-Man said:


> My brother owned the set and I wasn't allowed to touch it. Missouri Pacific AA units. Even then, I had a calling to take apart evething.


That's also a very nice set. It's also hard to obtain! hwell:

Jason


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Back in the sixties I use to attach baseball cards on the bike frame to get the motor sound from the spokes. I never used a RED SOX card but cards like AL Kaline, Sandy Kofax, and probably few Yankees.It was a part of youth.

Jason your just collecting on the wrong coast. To make you drool, the set came with super o track. HE has the orange barrel car and the brown/white milk car. HE lost the Marx steam engine.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

PW_Lionel_Collector said:


> Too bad you don't have that train set. It's worth a fortune! :laugh: Only if your brother and you thought about keeping the train in original package and never ran it. It would range around $7k-$8k. :laugh: You would of never though a toy that, a brother of yours, was playing with; would be worth so much in the future. Even if you didn't have the original package, just the set (run set), it is almost impossible to get. Easily be worth up to $2k-$3k. :laugh: The olive nuclear-reactor car (un-run condition) w/ box is worth $1k-$1.2k. :laugh:hwell:
> 
> Jason


I'll be sure and mention that to him. I thought that glowing, radioactive car was so neat, but the working cannon is what really made the train. *L*


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

??? Never heard of that one. DO you know the car number??

I made one after getting after market cannisters.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Nope---I'm not even sure it was Lionel---I was pretty young. O gauge seems about right, though.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Are you guys referring to the #6651 U.S. Marine Corps Cannon Firing Car? See link, below. Ref books say it was produced 1964/1965 and included as part of uncatalog Lionel sets for JC Penny, etc. The horizontally pivoting base is similar to the missle launching car (6630, 6640, 6650), but the part that pivots UP is a cannon.

http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionel_trains_6651_flat_car.htm

By the way, T-Man, I chewed through MANY a priceless (?!?) baseball cards on the spokes of my Schwinn Lemon Peeler, too!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I could be wrong---it was about 50 years ago---but I remember the barrel being longer and more slender than that one.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Found it! It was the Kusan Atomic Train! O gauge. Site with pics, below:

http://www.robertstrains.com/Atomic.htm


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

The Lionel military motif was definitely around in the fifties. I used to play with this when I was a kid... and obviously wish I still had it.










Greg


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey Reckers,

Re: the Kusan ... JEEZ LOUISE ... talk about packin' some heat!

"Here little Johnny ... play with this."

"Wow ... thanks, Mom! Do ya' think Dad will mind if I nuke Cleveland?"

(Back to my point at the begining of this thread!)

On a side note, I've never heard of Kusan before. Looks like they made 2-rail O gage ... interesting. Is there much of their stuff out there? Defunct now?

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I read they got into trains, couldn't compete with Lionel, and got out. Her's a brief article: http://www.tcawestern.org/kusan.htm 

It would appear that a sustained letter/email campaign to K-Line is all that stands between you and nuking Cleveland!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks, Reck ... interesting article & sidelinks. Much appreciated!


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## Artieiii (Apr 25, 2011)

Reckers said:


> Found it! It was the Kusan Atomic Train! O gauge. Site with pics, below:
> 
> http://www.robertstrains.com/Atomic.htm


Things have not changed that much. Here is the soon to be released Bachmann FNA Nuclear Flask cars in HO scale.http://www.bachmann.co.uk/image_box....jpg&cat_no=38-346&info=&width=650&height=226
It's not an ICBM on a train to bomb the commies but it is nuclear waste. It could use a small green LED inside LOL.
-Art


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Might be better to nuke Detroit first. Then we can start over with some decent cars. Pete


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