Thinking about getting some postwar lionel operating accessories for my layout. I never had accessories, just rain trains. From what I could remember as a kid, my friends ice loader wasnt very reliable and half the ice cubes would end up outside the boxcar. I have a modern lionel log dump car and would like to get the 456 belt log loader and a lionel 164 log loader. I don’t know how the logs will load on the modern log car, seems like they will just roll off as they are dump ed onto the car. They don’t have tall sides to catch the logs like say a gondola, but gondolas cant dump back into the loader. I also have a Lionel 497 Coal loader I plan to install on the layout. Hopefully this was a good choice. What are your favorite, least favorite, and why?
My personal favorites:
Postwar American Flyer oil drum loader. Works great, everyone loves it.
K-Line watchman’s shanty. Scale size, “realistic” operation.
Lionel “Test O Strength”, “Playtime Playground”(the previous larger version), FasTrack “Track Gang”, “Mo & Joe” operating lumber car. All look and work great.
MTH operating dump cars, “Signalman” box cars…action is slow and smooth.
MTH operating passenger platform. Passengers dissapear/appear at the push of a button.
I had bad luck with a MTH operating firehouse, but others have not had problems with later-issued ones. Joe
LIONEL,
I have the 164 log loader works great. It will work with your metal log dump car. I also have the AF 787 log loader and that work great also. Picks up logs and places them in gondolas or dump cars. I have the 397 coal loader both newer and older versions. The older ones have a loader sound to them then the newer ones, but both work great. I also have the other coal loader that lifts the coal to a hopper and that is good also, but moves a little slow. All and all I like all these accessories the only one I was dissapointed in was the Mr Spiddles animated guy tipping his hat while the dog lifts his leg. Dog didn’t work. MTH accessoryies that I have is the disappearing beer platform, works good and the firehouse with fire engine coming out. Kids really like this one.
laz57
Almost forgot as JOE H.stated, the test o strenght, looks and works good, and the duck shoot,cool animation. All the hobo stuff adds ambience of the scene.
laz57
American Flyer 779 Drum loader, flawless operation great movement, minimum operator interface.
Least favorite 766 Gilford Animated Station, very hard to get passenger car in correct alignment to load and off load passengers. Noisy operation, OK action.
The 785 Coaler in the background is #2 favorite with the Talking Station #3
Favorites include Lionel magnetic crane, barrel loader, saw mill, Flyer 779 drum loader.
Least favorites include horse or cow corrals, coal loader (messy!).
To be honest, I don’t have any operating accessories because I’ve heard so many people express disappointment in their operations. I just don’t think they’re worth the money. Too expensive for what you get.
Jim
Man, I loved the cow corral w/cattle car! Yeah, it was noisy…but it was cool to run the cows in and out…if I could find one…i’d put it on the layout!
My favoriate is the American Flyer 779 Drum loader. Least favorite is the cattle yard the cows always jam up or fall over.
Almost forgot the Gantry cranes. Have the Lionel Bethlehem Coal loading gantry and just won on Ebay for $61.00 a Lionel PRR electromagnetic gantry crane both work great and I send lots of time with them.
laz57
Do they NEED to be sitting on rails, Laz?
Jim
I’ve got the 771 stockyard and a few 736 stock cars, and I really like them, they come in at #4. The stockyard is a great operator once you get the fiber feet adjusted correctly. The nap must be in the right direction for the cows to move right and the cows have to be in the correct side. Also, moths eat the original mohair feet and will mess up operation. The feet are easily relaced keeping in mind the direction of the nap. Here a picture.
I put an additional corral in back with more cows.
The cars work well, it is a fun accesory.
Jim
For early POST-WARiness I have the #313 Bascule Bridge, #164 Log Loader, and #97 Coal Loader. They all work great, although the latter is messy.
I also have the #497 Coal Loader, but for some reason the can motor gear box has frozen up a bit.
The #264 Fork Lift loader if simply the best accessory ever! I have the re-pro PWC version, and it works perfectly everytime with scale size to boot.
Ya just can’t go wrong with the Lionel Saw Mill either. Great action/buzzing sound…new ones have flashing lights and spinning saw blades too!
Magnetic Gantry Crane? A great way to wind down at the end of the day with a nice adult beverage and off-loading scrap from a gondola…
Jon
I just love the 3462 Milk Car. I guess it stems from my childhood. I love shooting milk cans across the layout.
Mitch
No JIM, just whereever you want, quite stable.
laz57
I really have no least favorites. I do prefer the postwar accessories of course. The only exception to that would be the ice loader. The can motored modern version is better and smoother. Otherwise I always go for the postwar pullmor noisy ones or solenoid type.
My favs are: 282R gantry crane, postwar version, 128 newstand, 397 coal loader, 364 lumber loader, 455 oil derrick and of course the milk car.
Mike S.
Nothing is sweeter than the #97 coal loader towering over everything on the layout (and sucking a lot of space too with the nearly 15" between spurs). But watching those chain buckets carry the coal up to the tower, and then dumping with the push of a button into another operating dump car - that’s great stuff!
Other greats are what others have said - the cattle ramps, the gantry cranes, the barrel and log loaders, milk cars, oil derricks, and so on.
Least favorite is the cop and hobo chase set with the overhead gantry. The figures make the cars too tall to go through bridges and tunnel portals.
almost nothing puts a smile on a face quicker than toy trains!
Fred W
Someday I want to find a #96 coal loader - the crank-powered one.
My current favorite is the Marx crane.
My least favorite is the WW2 fighter plane pylon. Looks better inactive. The motor is LOUD.
Love the milk car/launch the milk cans. I too have the 497 coal loader, loved it on the tubular track, now I have to work on getting it to run on Fastrack.
Dennis
One that I failed to mention in my previous post was the new Lionel “Mini Golf”, which I’ve removed from my layout because it is too prototypical. WHAT?, you say. The figures playing miniature golf take very short strokes, very slowly. End result…you can barely see anything happening, aside from the rotating sign. Other than that, it looks and runs great…but space is at a premium on my small layout. Joe
I like my 3472 milk car. I have had it since 1949. It still works good. I also like the 497 coal loader. I have a automatic gateman shack, that has the Roadrunner and Coyote. The Coyote comes out the door and finds the Roadrunner eating bird seed by the crossing sign. It is a Lionel, that I bought several years ago. Fun for kids. I would like to get a magnetic Gantry Crane some day.
Chuck