2421, 2422 & 2423: Lionel Lines Streamline; Maplewood, Chatham & Hillside

Production: 1950 - 1953

History
The 2421 Maplewood Pullman, 2422 Chatham Pullman and 2423 Hillside Observation passenger cars were manufactured in the early 1950's. Over the four year production run, Lionel created five different sets, two lead by a Union Pacific Alco diesel and three having a steam locomotive and the front of the outfit.

Unfortunately, the exterior silver paint is easily prone to nicks, marks and /  or scratches as well as simply handling wear. These passenger cars are almost always found in poor condition. Locating clean, collectable examples will be a difficult task.

Finally, this set consisted of two very distinct production runs. The first variation included a two-tone gray paint scheme with black side stripe accents, while the final set consisted of a single gray exterior without the  black side stripes. Generally speaking, most collectors and operators prefer the more attractive two-tone scheme produced in 1950 and 1951.

Lastly, the three names on the passenger cars are all towns located near Lionel's New Jersey corporate office and manufacturing facility in the early 1950's.

Features
Standard features on the 2421, 2422 and 2423 set include: painted silver bodies with black lettering, silhouetted window strips, die-cast passenger car trucks with operating couplers plus interior illumination.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The early two-tone passenger cars with black stripes are harder to locate than the single color passenger cars.

Two-Tone with Horizontal Black Strips - Shown in first photo above -The 1950 and 1951 production cars include a dark-gray painted roof with a black strip running the length of the car. Two of these strips appeared on each side, one above and one below the windows.
Single Gray without Black Strips (Second photo above) - This is the later production run from 1952 and 1953 where all black side strips were eliminated and the roofs were now painted the same color as the sides.

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