Rotary gondolas

So with a bit of common sense, if they both were made to fit the Rotary Coal Tipple, and that requires uniform car size and truck spacing since the very wheels are used to trigger 2 switches in the track to indicate car position- they are the same mold for the cars.

What you are likely seeing is coupler tip to tip distance- maybe even rounded up, VS car body length.

@Vernon Barry posted:

they are the same mold for the cars.

What you are likely seeing is coupler tip to tip distance- maybe even rounded up, VS car body length.

The newer cars are a new mold.  One of the Lionel people told me they had to retool because they couldn’t get their mold out of Romania.  That was probably why the run cataloged in 2016 V2 took so long and reappeared again in a 2020 V1.  The easiest way to spot those made with the new mold is the 0.1” greater gap between the top of the rails and the bottom of the tub.  

The body dimensions of both old and new are the same.  The car bodies are 11.8” in length.  Over the coupler faces they measure 13.4”.

To clarify, both set numbers you listed would have been made with the new mold.  Despite what the catalog, and the box label, says, neither coupler opens.  You have to lift them off the track to uncouple them.  In my opinion, the ones made with the old mold look and operate better.

@JFC454 posted:

The newer cars are a new mold.  One of the Lionel people told me they had to retool because they couldn’t get their mold out of Romania.  That was probably why the run cataloged in 2016 V2 took so long and reappeared again in a 2020 V1.  The easiest way to spot those made with the new mold is the 0.1” greater gap between the top of the rails and the bottom of the tub.  

The body dimensions of both old and new are the same.  The car bodies are 11.8” in length.  Over the coupler faces they measure 13.4”.

Thanks for the correction and additional detail.

My point was, the cars are the same size and shape between years because of intended compatibility that greatly depends on those dimensions to interact with the rotary coal tipple accessory. Yes, there might be detail updates and a non critical dimension change, but effectively the same basic car as the question was being asked.

@MACADO 1 posted:

Both are listed as scale in the Lionel catalogs.

Are they both scale? Yes, no, maybe?  By that, they are intended to work with an accessory- and what's to say that accessory is actually scale?- the assumption being near scale, but that does not mean they are carbon copy scaled replicas of actual real world cars. Yes, splitting hairs here, but it's not an easy answer. Generally we call them scale meaning they are scale sized compared to other cars and most products.

Are they different types of cars? No, they are all basically the exact same car, meant to perform the same function, with relatively tight dimensional length, width, height, and truck placement.

What's up here? Again, the simple difference in WHAT is being measured- the car body in one catalog listed dimension, the coupler to coupler length of the car in another.