The Lion Roars - Lionel Collectors Club of America

Standard Gaugeby Grandpa Nelson G. Williams RM 14062Early Lionel and Ives FreightsIt bothers an old timer like me when young collectorsuse the brand name Lionel as a synonym for O-gaugetrains; especially if they limit it to postwar plastic rollingstock. Other companies made O-gauge trains, and beforeWorld War II the cars aswell as the track were truly“tinplate.” In fact, Lionelmade trains in half-dozengauges. Its 2-7/8 inch gaugeof 1901-06 was unique, andits 3/4-inch OO gauge of1937-40 was unusual — asBritish double O runs on5/8-inch HO (half-O) track.Lionel was the leader in2-1/8 inch three-rail trackuntil 1942. J. Lionel Cowenexaggerated when he calledthis track “2-1/4 inchstandard gauge” andpromoted his trains as “TheStandard of the World.”That claim echoed thePennsylvania Railroadslogan, and both companiessimply ignored their rivals in Europe. In the world ofreal trains, standard gauge is 4 feet, 8-1/2 inches. If Lionelstandard gauge was supposed to be 1:24 scale (or 1/2inch to the foot), both the track and trains were a littleundersized.In the 1920s, American Flyer, Boucher (boo-shay),Dorfan, and Ives made similar track and trains. Awarethat Lionel might sue them for using the same trade name,most of the others called their product “wide gauge.”Boucher mimicked Lionel, saying its trains were 2-1/4inch gauge, three rail system, “which is standard for alltracks and switches.” Boucher never made O gauge, andtheir wide gauge trains were mostly former VoltampGauge II items.Early Lionel Freights, 1906-26Each generation of Lionel freight trains came in twosizes, like their later O and O27 trains. Those are thesame 1-1/4 inch gauge, but not the same scales. In thisarticle, Early Lionel standard gauge freight cars beforeLionel l00 series, with small 33 locomotive.Lionel 10 series, with larger 38 locomotive.1928 will be compared to Ives wide gauge. A later articlewill compare the Classic Lionel freights after 1926 tothose made by American Flyer.The Early Lionel long gondolas, cattle cars, box cars,and cabooses in the 10 and 100 series have the same stylebodies, except that the 10s are larger. The 17 caboose isso tall that its cupola will not go under the portals of thelater Hell Gate Bridge. The frames of the 10 series carsare 11-1/4 x 3-1/4 inches; the 100 series frames measure9-1/2 x 3 inches.Several of the EarlyLionel cars are not found inboth sizes, and some do notride on these frames. Thelarge 15 tank car and 16dump car sit on I-beamsinstead. The small 116gravel car was Lionel’s firsthopper and its doors openunder it. There were no 111flat cars or 115 tankers. Thebig trucks and wheels of the10s made it impractical tohook them in a train with thesmaller 100s. When Lionelstarted to make O-gaugetrains in 1915, its 800 seriesfreight cars were simplysmaller versions of the 10and 100 series. They wereusually painted the same colors — gray or maroongondolas, green cattle cars, orange boxcars, and browncabooses with black roofs. The final two digits in carnumbers are the same, regardless of size, and some ofthe same colors were carried forward by the Classic Erafreights until 1942.Ives Toys Made Happy BoysBefore World War I, Ives was the biggest Americanproducer of O-gauge track and trains. The Ives Workshad been making toy trains for generations. My greatgrandfathergave my father an Ives floor train about 1905.Ives also made trains in European Gauge 1 (one); its first70 series freight cars were imports of Marklin designs.This track is usually called G gauge in the United Statesand was dubbed “large scale” by Lionel Trains, Inc. during1981-89. Their big plastic cars were closer to 1:24 scalethan standard gauge tinplate was, but the 1-3/4 inchtrack would be narrow gauge (a meter, not unusualin Europe).26The Lion Roars August, 1999