497 Coaling Station

Production: 1953 - 1958

History
The 497 Coaling Station was introduced in 1953 and was the final coal handling accessory produced by Lionel during the postwar era. With a six year production run, the 497 is a somewhat easy accessory to locate. Additionally, this loader shares the same loud, noisy motor of the 97 and 397 -- plus the entertainment and play value of this loader is superior to many other accessories. Lastly, the 497 Coaling Station is a highly efficient mover of coal -- which is quite the opposite of Lionel's prior coaling accessories (the 97 and 397) -- which were highly inefficient movers of coal.

Operation of the 497 Coal Loader requires only a single section of track. The base is designed to load and unload coal using the 3459 or 3469 ore dump car (sold separately). For operators looking to use the 3359 Twin Dump car, this is possible, but requires a bit of patience to use properly.

Features
The 497 Coal Loader includes the following standard features: gray metal base, four tall black metal support posts, maroon plastic coal handler, red metal top sides and a green roof. The dump tray used to carry the coal from the base to the top handler is also molded in maroon. Lastly, operation of the accessory is from a 497-100 controller specifically built for this accessory and permanently wired to the accessory.

Also included with the accessory was a bag of # 206 coal, CTC Lockon plus O and 027 gauge power and ground clips

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The only significant variation to the 497 is the color of the roof. The accessory is commonly found with a deeper green roof, although a lighter -- and much harder-to-find lighter green roof does exist. Caution should be used when purchasing a 497 as one or both roof tabs (located on the bottom of the roof) are usually broken and missing.

Dark Green Roof - Shown in first photo above - This is the common production version which ran from mid 1953 through 1957 or 1958.
Lighter Green Roof - The final variation of the 497 had a lighter green roof. Exact production dates are unknown, but assumed to be for part of 1957 and possibly all of 1958. This color roof is very difficult to locate.

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