@G-Man24 posted:Moving the contents from one storage facility to another is an arduous task, but the silver lining is I get to see stuff I haven't seen in years. Hmm what's in that big box over there..?..Hey it's that 140L tunnel I bought 20 years ago!
After seeing it again I decided to bring it home for a day and take a few pictures so I could contribute to the Tinplate Show and Tell. This is one of the few Standard Gage items I can say I "scored" on over the years. I spotted it as part of an antique doll and dollhouse auction and those folks had no interest in it at all. I don't recall exactly what I paid but I ended up getting it for the opening bid price which made it a real bargain.
Offered from 1927-1932, Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains describes the 140L as follows: Standard or O Gage, steel construction 90 degree curve with embossed stone portals. Hand painted to represent wooded mountain with seven chalet-style houses, waterfall passing under fence, road and snow capped peak in shades of gray, green, red and yellow. 37" by 24-1/2" by 20" high, illuminated with one bulb inside each portal.
I've said this before but I'm completely taken with the way the artisans at Lionel formed this scenery out of sheet steel and decorated it. This mountain is huge with folds, kinks, wrinkles and crevices everywhere. Since the the finish metalwork and painting was all done by hand no two were exactly alike and while I love the vibrant colors commonly seen with tinplate, I really like the muted colors on this particular tunnel.
The little chalets are soldered on as is the fence that crosses the stream. I wish I could go back in time and watch the people that worked at the Lionel factory make one of these from start to finish. I don't know why , but the wrinkled sheet metal just fascinates me.
This little guy has lost his chimney. Maybe someday I'll solder one back on.
A light fixture is installed at each portal entrance (hence the "L" in 140L) and it looks like it retains it's original cloth covered wire. A set of terminals at the base with knurled finger nuts facilitate the power hook-up.
I still haven't given up that lifelong dream of someday having a large permanent layout comprised entirely of original pre-war scenery, structures and accessories that I've collected over the years. Until then the 140L waits patiently for the day it will finally find it's place alongside the others and Grandpas 390E can roll through it all pulling it's passenger cars along the tarnished tubular rails.
WOW
