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Post by atsda on Jun 30, 2023 16:12:03 GMT
Just for fun. A 1-minute frontend video of the Lionel 145 Gateman. It is operating on 13V from Lionel 1034 transformer. It is connected to a Lionel 153 contactor on the independent Central Loop and Lionel 145 contactor on the Northeast side of the East Loop. It is also connected to a Lionel 125 Whistle Shack. In this video, it is being operated using the push-button on a Lionel 90 controller mounted on an auxiliary control panel near the main transformers. (The phone camera was positioned by sound reckoning and a guide rod. If the video does not show correct content, please let me know.) youtu.be/eEh91PRv6SA
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Post by harborbelt70 on Jun 30, 2023 17:41:11 GMT
I'm delighted to see this traditional Lionel accessory in operation. I don't think that the design has changed much since my Dad had one of these in the '50s.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Jun 30, 2023 17:50:23 GMT
This isn't a great front end comparison of these two engines (which I have mentioned on another recent thread). But as they are both reasonably accurate O scale and for the most part prototypical I find it interesting to compare their relative proportions. Basically the AC6000 diesel is the same length as well as maximum height as the 2-10-10-2 loco not counting the tender. Both are great fun to run:
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Post by atsda on Jun 30, 2023 20:34:51 GMT
Harborbelt70, I also have a Lionel 45 Gateman on the layout; unlike the 145, which is plastic, the 45 is all-metal construction. The 145 has a light inside the shack , and the 45 has a red bulb in the base which provides light through a hole that is positioned under the gateman's clear lantern. The 45 accessory is out of scale, as it is a carryover from pre-war use on Standard Gauge. Alfred
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Post by harborbelt70 on Jun 30, 2023 21:41:38 GMT
My Dad had the metal version - I remember that much but I have no idea when he got it. I think, although it is before my time, that he started buying Lionel in the immediate postwar era or possibly before. I am by no means an expert or even an informed bystander on these accessories but the unmistakable noise of them snapping into action (especially the milk car and its platform) is forever engraved on my memory!
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Post by af3020 on Jun 30, 2023 22:51:50 GMT
There are a number of variations of the Lionel metal #45 crossing guard from the pre and post war period. This is the earliest version I have  The brass diamond gave way to a crossbuck  and then the chimney disappeared and the door changed colors  ...and then the Russians decided they liked what Lionel had done so Mosakbel turned out their version sometime in the 1950's.  When I was about 10 or so I read about this item in some forgotten magazine. The writer described this gateman as having a guard armed with a machine gun instead of a lantern. I thought that was a neat idea so I went down to the local hobby shop and asked the owner if he could order one of these things for me. I can still see his completely dumfounded look. I don't remember what he said but, in essence he said he couldn't get one. About 30 years later I found one at the big TCA train meet at York. When I looked it over I saw what you see above and I immediately rejected it since I knew it was supposed to have a guard with a gun. It was only several years later when I found out the truth and it was a couple of years more before I found this example and brought it home. Oh yes, in case you are wondering, a check with a micrometer indicates the steel in the Russian version is about twice the thickness of the Lionel.
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Post by harborbelt70 on Jun 30, 2023 23:08:00 GMT
That is astounding - who knew? Or are you just pulling our collective leg? If my Dad's had a machine gun I think I would remember!
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Post by Adam on Jun 30, 2023 23:12:25 GMT
Wow, that looks more like a border guard than a gateman. Interesting.
I have a post war gateman that lights up. I will try to get a photo of it this weekend.
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Post by af3020 on Jul 1, 2023 1:13:22 GMT
harborbelt70 - The "machine gun toting guard" was supposed to be the figure in the Russian Moskabel copy of the Lionel gateman and not anything Lionel made. The magazine article was about trains for kids in Russia and it was the author of that article who described their gateman as being armed. The thing that always makes me smile when I think about this is the fact that, as a 10 year old, I thought the local hobby shop could get anything toy train - it never crossed my mind there might be an issue with respect to getting something from Russia.
One additional thing about the Russian Gateman. About a year after I had purchased mine I was invited to an evening confab with like minded O gauge buffs at a friends house. I knew one of the guys was very interested in all of the Lionel #45 and #145 gateman versions and he took pride in having a complete collection of them. I took the Mosakbel station, put it inside one of the older Lionel gateman boxes, and took it along for the show and tell. In the course of the evening we got around to showing off our latest finds and I made a big point of declaring I had found a Lionel gateman I was sure no one had ever seen. The guy who had all of the Lionel versions just sort of snorted but when I pulled the Moskabel station out of the Lionel box his jaw hit the floor. He was immensely relieved to discover it was Russian made and we all got a good laugh. However, he decided he had something else he just had to find and add to his collection.
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Post by david1 on Jul 1, 2023 18:46:59 GMT
Santa Fe Fe gp30 Dave Attachments:
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Post by atsda on Jul 2, 2023 2:21:28 GMT
Harborbelt70, The Lionel accessory sounds are indeed memorable. I've got them positioned at strategic points on my layout to take advantage of the sound. Alfred
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Post by atsda on Jul 2, 2023 2:21:55 GMT
AF3020, Great stuff. Alfred
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Post by Adam on Jul 2, 2023 11:28:54 GMT
Got this one at the Amherst show a few years ago.   |
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