The 3309 is an uncataloged car and doesn’t have a number on it. At least three variations were made. The one shown above is the most common. The car is also found on a darker red flatcar or a drab olive flatcar.
The 3309 turbo missile launching flatcar in red comes with or without the holder for the extra missile shown on the right side of the car above.
All versions of the 3309 flatcar are equally common except the drab olive which is quite rare.
Lionel Introduced the 314 Plate Girder Bridge in 1940. It was made originally in aluminum, and then the color changed to gray in late 1940. After the war, production continued in gray.
Most of Lionel’s accessories changed from aluminum to gray in late 1940. The story is the aluminum paint was in demand for the war effort and gray was cheaper. Gray is also a more forgiving color. It covers better.
A lot of sellers will use the war story to make their gray 314 girder bridges more desirable. The aluminum 314 bridge is harder to find than the gray one.
There are at least 10 gray bridges for every aluminum one. Gray being more common is true for both the 314 and 316 bridges. The 315 trestle bridge with a light is harder to find in gray.
Lionel introduced the 310 billboard set in 1950. The set came with 5 plastic frames and some cardboard billboards. Most years the billboards changed.
The billboards were also included in Lionel Sets. I’ll add pictures of billboard sheets from different years in the future.
The earliest versions of the 310 billboard sets were sold in the classic orange and blue Lionel boxes.
The last versions of the billboard set came on a blister car as shown above. The blister card is worth more than the set of billboards even in poor condition like the one above.
Lionel also made a 410 billboard blinker to go with the 310 set.
Lionel made the 264 forklift set from 1957-60. Everything included with the set is shown above except the box inserts.
This is a neat accessory. the forklift grabs a single wood beam from the 6264 flatcar, and backs away from the car. It then pivots to the side and drops the beam. It does this until one side of the car is unloaded. Then you have to move the train a few inches to allow the forklift to unload the other side of the car.
The Lionel 6264 flatcar with lumber is packed in the box without it’s own box. The 6264 box is worth 4-5 times as much as the flatcar itself.
There are no variations of the flatcar or forklift set.
The 163 signal replaced the 253 and 353 signals in the Lionel line up.
It has a single light showing. Compare this to the Lionel 253.
There are no variations of the 163 signal.
Note it would be easy to exchange the light hoods on a 353 and 163 signals to get base variations. The
253 and 353 always have black and tan bases, the 163 always has a plain tan base.
Lionel introduced the 253 block signal in 1956. The all plastic signal replaced the earlier metal 153 signal.
The 253 has a stop mechanism in it. The train approaches a red signal and stops. A timer in the base of the signal hold the train. When the time is up, the signal turns green and the train goes on it’s way.
The same signal WITHOUT the stop mechanism is a 353. A similar signal was made with ONE lamp showing called a 163. The 163 has two bulbs, but a different head. Here’s a page showing the Lionel 163 Signal.
Lionel made the 208 toolbox with tools from 1934 to 1942. It came in sets with the 400E work train, and was available separately. The 812, and 2812 O gauge gondolas came with the tools but without the box when the gondola was part of a work train.
Work trains were a steam engine, tender, crane, gondola, searchlight car, and caboose. Standard gauge work trains were always pulled by the 400E and had 200 series freights. O gauge work trains were pulled by the 260E, the 263E, the 226E, and the 763E.
The tools are nickel plated cast iron, and each measures about 4 inches long. The metal tool boxes come in aluminum as shown above and gray. I’ll add a picture of a gray toolbox in the future.
Lionel intorduced the 2461 transformer flatcar in 1947. The gray base is diecast metal, and the transformer is plastic. The first cars were made with red transformers. Later production runs had black transformers. Red is harder to find and more desirable.
The insulators on top of the transformer are usually broken. On the car above the two on the right are broken off.
Replacement insulators are available and are easy to install. Original insulators are translucent white plastic. Reproduction insulators are dense white plastic and are flat colored.
The 2460 crane is Lionel’s most realistic crane. It replaced the 2660 and 2560 tin bodied cranes in the O gauge line.
The 2460 has diecast frame, six wheel trucks, and operates. The knob on the back of the cab raises and lowers the boom. The knob on the side raises and lowers the hook.
Lionel made 2 variations of the 2460 crane- black cab as shown above and gray cabs. Gray is worth more.
The black cranes are still quite popular and are very common.
In 1951, Lionel replaced the six wheel trucks with regular four wheel trucks and renumbered the crane as the 6460.
The 2458 boxcar is a carry over from the prewar 2758 boxcar. In fact in 1945, the 2458 number appeared only on the box. The car was still lettered as a 2758.
The earliest 2458 boxcars came with whirley wheels and flying shoe trucks. See Lionel 2452 Gondola for information on early postwar trucks.
There are no variations of this car. It’s all metal and a good looking car, so still has some desirability to operators.
Note: The ends of the 2758 and 2458 boxcar are diecast metal. This metal sometimes degrades. So when considering one for purchase make sure the ends are sound. These cars are common enough that there is no reason to buy one in poor condition.