Company’s trains modeled after real thing
By: Sue Kramer
Just what makes Lionel’s Hudson and GG1 locomotives and accessories like the Hell Gate Bridge so special to area train collectors?
The answer is simple: not only are they exquisitely detailed toys, but these most sought-after collectibles are accurately modeled after real things, according to a variety of sources, including Lionel catalogs, Web sites and other resources.
With offices and display rooms located in New York City and the manufacturing plant located in Irvington, it was only natural the Lionel Corp. would look to the New York-New Jersey area for ideas. And ideas could be found everywhere from the GG1 that stopped at the Trenton Train Station to the elegant Blue Comet that carried passengers to Atlantic City and the New York Central’s Hudson.
The Hudson was perhaps the most elite engine on the New York Central Railroad. The big and beautiful 4-6-4 steam engine was used to pull the famous Twentieth Century Limited passenger train that ran between New York and Chicago beginning in 1902. The train, capable of reaching speeds of 100 mph, was known for the lavish service that was bestowed on passengers as it wound its way along the banks of the Hudson River and Lake Erie. The railroad even greeted boarding passengers by rolling out a deep red carpet, a practice that gave rise to the phrase, the "red carpet treatment."
The O-Gauge Hudson was first introduced to the public in 1937, and for the first time consumers had a toy that was more than just a toy train. With the 700EW Hudson, Lionel had produced a steam engine that was not only an accurate scale model but, with a walnut display stand and accompanying plaque and a cost of $75, it was sought by collectors. The massive engine, 15 inches overall, was 1/48 the size of the real Hudson and was featured in Lionel catalogues from 1937-1942.
While the Hudson was produced again after World War II, it is the prewar 700 series Hudsons that are most coveted by collectors. Lionel produced several versions of the prewar Hudson, including the 700EW and the rare 700K. First advertised in Lionel’s 1938 catalog, the 700K consisted of six separate kits that rail fans could combine to build their own Hudson. In perfect condition, the $64.50 kit today can bring $10,000 or more, according to "Greenberg Pocket Price Guide for Lionel Trains."
Designed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the GG1 was manufactured by the Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa., from 1934-1943. At nearly 80 feet in length and weighing more than 230 tons, the GG1 was powered by overhead 11,000-volt wires that sent the current through the engine’s pantographs to an on-board transformer.
While only 139 GG1s were made, the engine, with its streamlined body, central cab configuration and 4620 horsepower output from its 12 motors, was able to reach speeds of more than 100 mph while pulling 12-14 passenger cars. It was used on PRR lines well into the 1980s. Only 16 of the engines remain today.
The model GG1 was not only the first electric engine Lionel produced after World War II, but the first locomotive that had a horn instead of a steam whistle. Making its debut in 1947, the O-Gauge GG1, with its Pennsylvania Railroad numbering and detailing, was modeled after the real train with the same name. The main difference between the model and the real thing was the scale. Lionel couldn’t make the GG1 to scale because to do so would have made it too long to negotiate the curves on O-Gauge track.
In Brunswick green and Tuscan red, the GG1 was produced from 1947-1951. It was reintroduced in 1955, and production continued until 1963.
Only a handful of semi-gloss black GG1s, with gold striping and red and gold keystones were ever produced commercially by Lionel, reportedly a mistake involving the first several hundred 2332 GG1s that rolled off the assembly line in 1947. While some collectors argue the paint was indeed black, others argue it was, in fact, a Brunswick green, but in such a dark shade the green coloring could only be seen in the sunlight. These rare GG1s, which are infrequently seen even by the most avid collectors, can fetch $2,000 or more, according to the "Greenberg Pocket Price Guide for Lionel Trains."
While the GG1 wasn’t introduced until 1947, Lionel had been working on the GG1 design until World War II stopped toy train production between 1942 and 1945. One of the first Lionel prototypes of the GG1, made in 1939, is sitting in the collection of Lambertville’s Craig Reading.
"I have the black prototype GG1," he said. "This one was actually made in 1939, and it has a red keystone (PRR insignia)."
He added of the smooth running engine, "It starts up at six volts."
The Pennsylvania Railroad also played a part in the creation of Lionel’s Hell Gate Bridge. Originally dubbed the East River Arch Bridge, the PRR’s Hell Gate Bridge was constructed as part of a project undertaken by the PRR to span a portion of the East River in New York City to ultimately connect Astoria, Queens, to the South Bronx. This connection, once completed, allowed PRR trains to make connections with the Long Island Railroad in Queens and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in the Bronx.
The Hell Gate Bridge, which was completed in 1916, was the longest steel-arch bridge in the world at that time. The 1,017-foot bridge that connected Queens to Ward’s Island was just a segment of the total project, which included an inverted bowstring truss bridge comprised of four 300-foot sections that spanned Little Hell Gate and connected Ward’s Island to Randall’s Island.
From Randall’s Island, a 350-foot truss bridge spanned the Bronx Kills, and finally a viaduct section completed the span, which is a total of 16,900 feet long.
The name Hell Gate comes from the section of the river that the bridge spans, the Hell Gate channel, an extremely hazardous channel with treacherous currents that Dutch sailors originally named "The Gates of Hell." Ironically, Hell Gate means "beautiful strait" in Dutch.
The Hell Gate Bridge, with its four 250-foot-high concrete towers that form the portals at either end of the bridge, can be seen clearly from the top of the Empire State Building.
Lionel introduced the Hell Gate Bridge in 1928. Dubbed the No. 300 Steel Bridge, Lionel boasted, "Nothing so elaborate or architecturally perfect has ever been made for use with a model electric train. It is faithfully modeled after the ‘Hell-gate’ Bridge, which spans the East River in New York."
Available originally in a paint scheme of cream and green only, the $15 bridge now can command prices in excess of $2,000.
One final Lionel innovation that can make collectors mouths water is the Standard Gauge Blue Comet set.
Like the 20th-Century Limited, the Blue Comet was a luxury train. Pulled by class G-3a Baldwin 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives, the Blue Comet ran between Jersey City and Atlantic City beginning in the late ’20s and continuing through the mid ’30s. Belonging to the Central New Jersey Railroad, the brightly colored blue engines and matching passenger cars, which were specially equipped and painted in 1929 to form the Blue Comet, were promoted as "modern deluxe coaches" and are now considered the forerunner of streamliners.
The Blue Comet, so named because each passenger car was named after a comet, only ran for a few years. The three Pacific engines that were used, numbered 831, 832 and 833 no longer exist, but the #592 Camelback that occasionally pulled the train can be seen at the Baltimore Railroad Museum.
The passenger cars fared better, and several can be seen today in New Jersey. Number 1172, Westphal, #1173, d’Arrest and #1178 Di Vico are part of a New Jersey Transit museum collection in Hoboken. Number 1169, Temple, is on display in Morristown.