Having created the notorious pink Girl's Train, Lionel's 1957 product designers nearly compounded their blunder with a companion blue Boy's Train - conveniently ignoring the fact that virtually every train set in L ionel's history was clearly intended to be a Boy's Train.
Fortunately for 1957 sales figures, the Boy's Train project was canceled before it went into full production - likely saving Lionel dealers the headache of storing hundreds of unsold blue engines alongside their unsold pink one's. Somehow, however, a handful of Boy's Trains made it onto dealers' shelves, destined to become one of the rarest and most valuable of postwar collectibles. Our O gauge homage to the Boy's Train backdates it to the tinplate era, when toy steam engines were not so much scale models as cartoon-like caricatures - a time when a bright blue engine with colorful cars would not have seemed out of place. The color scheme faithfully replicates one of the few surviving Boy's Trains.
Our model of the 263E steam engine, first cataloged in 1936, is trailed by a red Norfolk and Western hopper, a tan Missouri Pacific "Eagle" box car, a light yellow New York Central gondola, and a green caboose. For even more fun, add a matching railroad crane and a floodlight car to brighten up the night.
Enjoy this delightful combination of '30s and '50s nostalgia in a traditional version, powered by an open-frame AC motor and mechanical E-unit, or as a Proto-Sound 3.0 set with synchronized puffing smoke, speed control for smooth running from a crawl to full throttle, and digital sound s that include steam chuff, wailing whistle, clanging bell, and even crew conv ersations.
