Consumer Catalogue & Sets

The backbone of postwar Lionel train production were their boxed sets. These sets -- or outfits as referred to by Lionel -- were usually a persons first introduction to a Lionel train. Over the years, the collectability of a complete, boxed set has dramatically increased within the collector market.

As the old adage goes "first impressions are lasting impressions". At Lionel, this was well known by the marketing and sales teams. Therefore, Lionel compiled sets with simplicity and completeness in mind. It was usually nothing more than a few minutes for a boy and his dad to assemble a set and be transformed to the engineer of their railroad empire -- even if it was only under a Christmas tree.

*   Scroll down & click on any year for a sampling of outfits available in that year   *