Lionel Operating Accessories Scarce in 2012?

Sean: It would seem that Lionel and MTH are pruning their lines and offering only a few operating accessories this year.  However, if you attend the train shows there is usually a ton of accessories for sale there, much of it left over new old stock stuff. While operating accessories add a nice touch to a layout they take up a lot of real estate. Perhaps this is why their popularity never matched that of rolling stock. At one time Lionel and MTH had a wide selection of operating accessories but most of it was discontinued.  

Check out the LCCA website, Lionel is making some way cool operating accessories for LCCA exclusively. 

I agree they take up lots of room, but everyone that comes by loves all the action when they see it.  I have picked up like every accessory there is, all NOS but was just looking for somthing new and exciting.  I love the Bethlehem Steel culvert loader and unloader I picked up when they came out in beginning of the year.  The real company name and colors make them so much nicer looking than the traditional Lionel Culvert Company name.  Plus they were fasttrack compatible which a lot of us newbies are running.  I hate the look of the transition track on older accessories that are not fast track compatible.  Its not like the old catalogs where Lionel was always coming up with creative new accessories.  Maybe the second volume in late summer will have something.

What operating accessories did you see, I couldn't find any.

Sean

I, too, love the accessories.  After the tire swing came out a few years back, I asked LIONEL to use the mechanism to create the old man in a hammock with a can of beer in his hand.  I got the usual courteous reply but haven't seen what would be a really cool accessory that would not take up much space.

Thankfully, NIB accessories are available on the bay and at train shows.

Sean,

Have you ventured into Gilbert and Gilbert-derived American Flyer accessories? Arguably, the Flyer coal loaders (Nos. 752 (Seaboard) and 785 with the operating clam shells are more interesting that the postwar Lionel efforts. Lionel has repro'd the No. 752 (6-49807) and others such as 'Gabe the Lamplighter' No. 23780 (6-49805). Please beware that the original Gilbert oil drum loader (No. 779) and sawmill (No. 23796) are worth seeking out because they operate more smoothly and dependably than the Lionel recreations. None of these accessories have any markings on them.

Hope this helps.

Bob Bubeck

Sean,

Bob Bubeck makes an excellent point.  AC Gilbert accessories work very well with Lionel.  So do the reproductions made by both MTH and Lionel itself.  Some of the MTH repros work even better than their modern Lionel counterparts.

Go back about 5 years or so with the catalogs of both companies and you will find lots of AC Gilbert type accessories from which to choose.  Also, check out the of the pre-war Lionel No. 46 and No. 47 Crossing Gates made by MTH, they don't take up a lot of space compared to the Lionel Post War gates and they are nicer to boot

Oh, and how about the AC Gilbert 769 railroad crossing sign?  Much nicer in terms of appropriate size than the Lionel 154 "Jolly Green Giant" sized railroad crossing, and with a simple modification, its lights can be made to blink alternately like the 154. 

Sean, this is just a quick overview of accessory alternative for you. I am sure Bob and I could do several more pages of details on this subject, but this should get you started.

As Bob said, hope this helps.

Ed Boyle

Gotta agree on the space consumption. I'd love a Mel's on my layout but what a footprint !!!

Russel,

That was the problem with the whole generation of new accessories MTH made during the Mel's Diner period.  Great stuff though.

Ed Boyle

Being on the scale side of things, I'd love to see something like the Gantry Crane in scale size and look. Most of the accessories made by MTH, Lionel are very toy like. I think they are missing out on the large group of folks. Don

Yeah I have a few American Flyer ones that were reissued all brand new.  The 2 Log loaders that are very cool. I was just looking for something NEW and exciting we haven't seen before.  Lots of engines in the catalog but I mean how many engines do I need!  HAHA.  I got more than I need now.  The coal tipple for instance was something new and exciting when they first issued it years ago.  Something like that, not a postwar remake like they did with the new control tower.

First I love action accessories and not just Lionel's. Years ago I owned all the pre-war & post-war accessories that Lionel had out. And at times some of these pieces were temperamental on when they wanted to work or not. So in the early 70's I started building my own operating accessories. There came a time when I stopped buying trains all together from the mid 80's to the early 00's due to some of life's roadblocks. But I did continue building animations, and I also kept designing and helped in building a massive public Christmas layout. I did get bit by the train bug around '03 and I have all of Lionel's, most of K-Line's and some of MTH's accessories. I do not like some of MTH's just because of their very large footprint. But since the early 90's on a whole the O gauge market has grown leaps and bounds of what we can buy now, compared to the time when Lionel almost went under.

I do believe Lionel is doing enough at the present time of bringing out operating accessories. And if you look across the whole market of finding usable operating accessories to use in your train layout. You now have manufactures like Department 56, Lemax (who made most of K-Line's items) and Mr. Christmas just to name a few. Items are out there if you look around.

Yes there is not much in the new catalog, not even the smoke fluid station which was in last year's vol. 2 is not out yet. The bascule bridge and coal tipple also have not been released and their hold up maybe from incorporating the fast track with them. I'm also glad that they are bringing out a coal loader to go along with the coal tipple. I agree that the Bethlehem Steel culvert units look a hundred times better then the original ones. And the 2 new saw mills look much better then the original ones. Now the operating terminals which were brought out last year are also very nice. Lionel could have went a couple of steps farther with them. I had made a animated scene like that but I had a factory loading boxes into a tractor trailer and that was over 30 years ago.

Right now it does appear that Lionel has focused more with the trains then their action accessories. I believe this maybe due to them just trying to get out the coal tipple, bascule bridge, smoke fluid loader and the ZW-L. The view of the coal loader does not show me much on how this piece will be receiving the coal from the coal tipple. Production problems maybe why they are not coming out together like they wanted to a couple of years, plus selling it separate means more money it their pockets.

One of the LCCA pieces is a coal ramp something like the old coaling ramp but with a building that sits on top of where the coal hopper will dump it's load. Also planned is a building being demolished and nuclear power plant, these are just a few of the things that planned for the future.

Paul

Hi Paul, 

Where did you see the LCCA pieces.  I was on the site looking for them but couldn't find anything.

Thanks!

There is a photo and story of the items in the LCCA's February 2012 edition of The Lion Roars.

Paul

Oh OK that explains it.  I just joined the LCCA so I missed the Feb issue. 

While I am thinking of it, Sean, the Lionel TMCC Brownhoist crane and matching sound car may the greatest (rolling stock based) accessory combo of the past decade. You'd have to chase these on the secondary market or via old dealer stock ( the stock, not the dealer), but they are worth it. I own the PRR combination and would never part with them. A real crowd pleaser. Part of the fun of the hobby is the thrill of the search and eventual snagging of the prize.

Something to ponder unless you already own these.

Bob Bubeck

What catalog year were they in.  I don't think I know those.  And I agrre, the hunt is half the fun.  That thrill you get when you are walking through a train show and spot that elusive item!  So much fun.

Here are some video clips of what the LCCA items may look like, the only one that I'm not sure on is of the produce market. I believe that these links were just uploaded here on one of the forums in the past week or 2..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...awxfPKtIR2y6V6cqB7A=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel

Paul

Sean,

Go to the Lionel web site and click and scroll your way through the Classic Trains Vol. 2, 2003 through Classic Trains Vol. 1, 2005 catalogs (in particular, Vol. 2, 2003, Vol. 2, 2004, and Vol. 1, 2005). Include 2006 to be sure to catch everything. The TMCC Brownhoist and sound boom cars tend to be back beyond midway in the book -- sometimes in front of the AF section. The matching sound boom cars tend to follow their Brownhoist counterparts by roughly a year. Roads included NYC, PRR, AT&SF, Conrail, UP, M.O.W. among others.

I was reminded of the Lionel Hobby Shop when I saw it again in Classic Trains Vol. 1, 2001. I believe that you might see a number of desirable accessories by scanning through that half decade. That period before 'the lawsuit' was Lionel's most creative in the Modern Era.

Have fun.

Bob Bubeck 

I have been waiting for Lionel to mfg. a X-Gate with realistic sound & a Stop Station with announcements. Seems like with the technology they have today, it would be simple. I believe they had a stop station with sounds in one of the catalogs in the 90's & cancelled it.