As a Lionel "General" aficionado, I've acquired many of the sets
and engines over the years. My first was the Halloween set
won at the local Rexall drug store way back when(1959?,1960?). It was passed down to
my brother who got rid of the box at one point. I re-acquired it with
the family 1666( circa 1947) set and have kept them safe in the train room with an occasional
spin around the tracks.
Based on articles written over the years, the Halloween set was always thought
to be a set done for Sears. From recent research, thanks to John Schmid's guide,
it is now known as X-507NA(Druggists Service Council, Inc/Gifts Galore).
I've attached a page from the Sears 1959 Wish Book showing a General set,
which looks very much like the Halloween set from 1960. I suspect this is
why the Halloween set was always thought to come from Sears. It does bear
a striking similarity, especially with the Frontier set accessories. The numbers
on the engine and cars cannot be made out and the picture is in black and white.
My question to the experts here - has anyone ever seen the actual Sears General set
from 1959? What box did it come in? Does it have the Sears catalog number 09666?
Is it possible that the unique cars were first made for Sears and then put into the
Halloween set the next year?
This question popped into my mind because of the recent LCCA articles on the Generals
and some historical articles I came across in OGR runs 121/122 done by Fred Natoli and
our own Ed Boyle.(Note - I think this was the first contribution by Ed to the new
Collector's Gallery Division in OGR).
Added link to catalog - it's page 438 and is easier to read versus my attachment.
http://192.185.93.157/~wishboo..._Christmas/index.htm
