# My first attempt at collecting early Lionel Standard Gauge



## David from Dearborn (Jan 18, 2014)

I have collected and run N, HO and O gauge trains in the past, but have never ventured into the world of Standard or 1 gauge. I recently acquired an early Lionel Standard Gauge train set that was made somewhere between 1913 and 1924. After a little cleaning and lubricating the old engine runs great. I have no room for a standard gauge layout so the train set will be the centerpiece at Christmas time running underneath the tree. The finish on the individual cars is either really bad or has been poorly repainted in the past, so a repaint is in order. The toylike simplicity of the train is a joy to behold. Here is a video..........

http://youtu.be/m_woNYYxXzY

Early Lionel (1913 - 1924)
Standard Gauge
Engine No. 33 
Passenger Car No. 35 & 36
Mail Car No. 32
Boxcar No. 114
Gondola No. 112
Caboose No. 117


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice, I would leave the engine alone just clean it up a little if you haven't done so yet.

Repaint the cars in a Christmas themed color?


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## Biggie (May 14, 2014)

big ed said:


> Nice, I would leave the engine alone


X2

Wish you lots of joy with these under the Christmas tree


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Biggie said:


> X2
> 
> Wish you lots of joy with these under the Christmas tree


I wonder what he thinks? 
He never said anything else? :dunno:


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## David from Dearborn (Jan 18, 2014)

Here is the transformer that I ended up with to power my newly acquired early Lionel Standard Gauge train. I originally was thinking of an early Lionel step type transformer but since I live in the Detroit area (born in Detroit) I stumbled on an early 20th century transformer made by the Dongan Electric Company of Detroit, Michigan. They were founded in 1909 and their headquarters are still in Detroit, making industrial electric/electronic products. There is a history of the company on their homepage and it shows a photo of an early toy transformer that is just like the one that I acquired. You can check it out here:

http://www.dongan.com/About.aspx

I cleaned up my Dongan transformer, replaced the power cord with a new vintage looking one, added an internal fuse on the input and a 5 amp circuit breaker on the output. It works great and one thing that I like about it is that there are 1 volt steps instead of the 2 volt steps that most Lionel transformers from the period have.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Nice set, I always wanted a standard guage train. Some of the beat up ones can fetch a pretty dollar. I like the transformer, ot looks new,,! , I think I have a similar one but it s probably to dangerous to be used as a paper weight. I think its lionel but yours looks sharp, cool color, and shiny.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

It almost looks like a wood top on that?


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## David from Dearborn (Jan 18, 2014)

The top is bakelite (an early form of plastic). The sides are heavy sheet metal and the bottom is cast metal.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

That transformer looks GREAT, David ... nice find / cleanup!

TJ


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