Passenger Cars

Lionel offered a diverse line of passenger cars throughout the postwar era. From their early pre-war carry-over passenger cars -- both the tinplate and classic Madison heavyweights of the late 1940's -- to the more traditional streamlined and extruded aluminum cars of the 1950, there was passenger car style for everyone during the postwar years.

Below is a summary of the different styles of passenger cars offered by Lionel during the postwar era -- listed in the general order of availability within the annual consumer catalogue:

• Tinplate passenger cars: all metal cars available in the mid to late 1940's. These were prewar models and designs carried over to the postwar era with updated couplers.
• Madison-style passenger cars: similar to the tinplate cars, these too were available in the mid-1940's through 1950. Additionally, the Madison-style cars were prewar models and designs carried over to the postwar era with updated couplers.
• Streamline passenger cars: Introduced in 1948, these passenger cars remained the backbone of 027 gauge passenger cars until the mid-1960's. This style of passenger car was available in several exterior colors, some with multi-color exterior designs, with or without interior lighting and functional couplers. Lastly, all passenger cars in this series had their stock number start with 24XX -- and are sometimes referred to as the 2400 series passenger cars.
• Aluminum passenger cars: Introduced in 1952, these large O gauge passenger cars remained in the Lionel catalogue until 1966. Collectors and operators generally agree these style cars are the pinnacle of postwar passenger car production. They were available in multiple roadnames plus they always had functional couplers with interior illumination. Lastly, all passenger cars in this series had their stock number start with 25XX -- and are sometimes referred to as the 2500 series passenger cars.
• Rail Diesel Car / Budd Car: Introduced in 1956, these impressive and scale-like passenger cars were unfortunately only manufactured for three years and were last available in the Lionel catalogue in 1958. All carried the Baltimore & Ohio roadname, had interior lighting and functional couplers. Additionally, these were the only postwar passenger cars to self-propelled as two of the Budd cars had Lionel motors on the interior.
• General / Civil War Passenger Cars: these were the final all-new passenger cars introduced by Lionel during the postwar era. Production started in 1959, but sadly ended four years later in 1962. This group of passenger cars had the most diverse set of features from interior illumination (on some, not all models), functional couplers (again, on some models, not all), one unit had a steam whistle within the interior, multiple exterior color combinations and more. Lastly, all passenger cars in this series had their stock number start with 18XX -- and are sometimes referred to as the 1800 series passenger cars.

Click on any of the entries in the chart listed below. Every listing contains specific product data with a brief history of the item and at least one photo. Whether doing research on model trains or simply taking a stroll down memory lane, take your time as you absorb the pages that follow. Some of you will view the exact trains you had while growing up, some will recognize the trains your parents had, others will discover startling facts about the glory years of a company that has become a piece of Americana.

*   Scroll down & click on any item number for more details regarding any passenger car   *