138 Water Tower

Production: 1953 - 1957

History
The 138 Water Tower is Lionel's final offering of a water tower during the postwar era. It is an excellent model of a real-life water tower frequently seen in the United States in the 1940's and 1950's. The dimensions of the 138 are scale-like and many layout builders use this accessory near their freight yard.

This size of the 138 water tower is similar to the earlier # 30 and # 38 water towers manufactured by Lionel in the postwar era. While it's functionality is the same as the # 30 water tower, it does incorporate several cost-savings changes such as a plastic base (as opposed to the die-cast base on the # 30) and molded plastic components in place of painted items on the earlier towers.

Features
The 138 Water Tower has the following standard features: gray plastic base, brown plastic tank support trestles, dark-brown plastic tank and an orangish-colored plastic roof. The water spout is a two piece plastic item glued together with a metal shield attached to the end.

This accessory is an on-off type accessory and offered with either a 96C Controller (earlier production) or a 90 controller with the later production.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information

Only Known Variation - Shown in first photo above - All 138 water towers have gray plastic bases with a brown tank and orangish-color roof.

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