1866 Western & Atlantic: General

Production: 1959 - 1962

History
The 1866 Western & Atlantic Mail-Baggage car is part of Lionel's General series passenger cars. The General series of passenger cars were the final all-new passenger car style produced by Lionel during the postwar era. All of the passenger cars in this series remain in demand as they are nicely detailed, have realistic exterior colors and are rather prototypical in their appearance.

This mail-baggage car was included in four sets during its production cycle. All four outfits were 027 gauge sets and always included the 1862 General style steam locomotive as the choice of power to lead the outfit. Additionally, Lionel offered the 1866 as a separate sale item between 1959 and 1962.

As a final point of reference, Lionel also produced the 1876 Western & Atlantic Mail-Baggage car. The 1876 car was identical to the 1866, but marketed as a Super O passenger car as it included a couple upgraded features such as interior lighting and self-centering, functional couplers.

Features

Standard features on the 1866 mail-baggage car include: simulated wood exterior, yellow painted bodies, brown painted roof, molded brown frame and end railings, wire truss support braces on the base, eagle and flag side decal, frosted windows, plus dual smokestacks and dual ventilators on the roof. Lastly, a simulated brakewheel was usually added to each end railing, however, this appears to be inconsistent as many original examples exist without a brakewheel. Additionally, this passenger car did not include interior lighting and always had arch-bar style trucks with non-functional and non-centering couplers.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information

Only Known Variation - Shown in first photo above - All 1866's have yellow bodies with brown roofs and brown end railings.

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