Postwar Dealer Display Authentication

I'd have to see a lot more and better quality pics but from those pics I'd say no it's not from the lionel factory I think it's something made in someone's garage. The wiring kinda sorta looks right , but the color of the grass and roads doesn't look like any other factory dealer layout I've seen. Also the roads on the originals aren't usually so sloppy remember these were the days when people took pride in their work and they were display layouts made for the public to view so I doubt such sloppy paint work would have made it out the door in 1956. unless it has had some type of "restoration" done to it. Some better pics ( plus an in person inspection), documentation, receipts etc I'd have to have to say for sure but I'm leaning towards no. I'd love to be proven wrong though. 

Lionel did make some 4' x 6' Dealer Displays. The surface and roads are not like I've looked at. The holes for the controls and transformer are close to a D-10, but the accessory holes are not.

The flat metal bus for hot and common look like how Lionel wired them. But the rest of the wiring is replaced.

Most of the 4 ' x 6' also had a standing shelf that sat on the rear to display more trains.

I would pass on this one.

The only 4'x6' , 027 layout I could find from 1956 was the D-189. The track arrangement on yours, however, is askew compared to the original. On the straight side of the the #1122 switches there should be only a half section of straight track instead of the full section shown in the photo. This allowed space for six sections of straight track to be placed parallel to the "mainline" at the front of the layout for the operation of a gang car or trolley. The roadways going through the layout are also incorrect. As previously noted the colors are totally wrong for a postwar layout. The bus bars underneath appear to be "Lionel" type, not sure about the other wires. The original came wired for 10 accessories, even though they were not included in the dealer price of $39.95 for the layout and track. This appears it may have been an original dealer display but from the pictures here any value is probably removed by all the modifications made.

Good Luck

Good chance that this isin fact a D133 base or the drumhead display based on the hole placement. Holes with board under are for legs of display, two large hole that go through would be fore plugs powering the light and rotating cylinder. You can see road path is the same as on the one in picture. Grass may have been "freshened" up by some one hence the off appearance. Masonite brown (unpainted) was common for road way coloring. Do you have still?? Interested in selling?

Jagrick posted:

Good chance that this isin fact a D133 base or the drumhead display based on the hole placement. Holes with board under are for legs of display, two large hole that go through would be fore plugs powering the light and rotating cylinder. You can see road path is the same as on the one in picture. Grass may have been "freshened" up by some one hence the off appearance. Masonite brown (unpainted) was common for road way coloring. Do you have still?? Interested in selling?

It does indeed look very similar! Unfortunately I passed up on purchasing the table given the uncertainty regarding its authenticity. Thanks for sharing this information Jagrick!

Zach, I know you passed up on this layout but some additional info is available. The holes in the board line up exactly as they would on a D103 layout from the early 1950's not 1956 as the owner had stated. The narrow left to right "path' was for a few sections of unpowered track for a static display of rolling stock or a set. The wiring underneath does appear to be fairly correct according to the Lionel diagram.

Also, the switches are from 1952 - original 1122's available that year only.