I recently found some Lionel DC equipment. I didn’t know that Lionel had ever done anything like that.
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Lionel did HO from 1957-1966, and this item is from the next run of HO from 1974-1977.
But it is not HO. The engine is numbered 8905 and is 1 1/4” track width.
The #8905 locomotive was from the 6-1965 Smokey Mountain Line set made in the late 1970s. The set was an entry level/budget set, similar in some ways to the Scout sets during the Postwar era. Lionel eliminated the need for a reversing unit by powering the locomotive's DC can motor with a DC transformer; this was likely a cost saving measure given the price point. From the picture of the transformer the handle can be turned clockwise and counterclockwise from a neutral point; turning clockwise is "forward" and counterclockwise is "reverse". Without a reverse unit there is no way to place the locomotive in neutral without turning off power to the tracks.
Still a very interesting find indeed!
-John
@BamaTrainman posted:But it is not HO. The engine is numbered 8905 and is 1 1/4” track width.
Lionel cataloged DC-only sets from 1973 to 1991. That set was 1979.
