Lionel "Electronic"

[traindaddy1]

On my continuing quest for "Postwar" items, I have recently seen some ads for cars from a Lionel "Electronic" set.  While they seem to resemble common postwar issues, they are priced somewhat more.     Can you tell me something about the Lionel 'Electronic' Set?   As always, many thanks.

[rtraincollector]

beleive it or not back in the 50's lionel had a set that was acually the start of tmcc but for some reason they had to discontinue it there is one or 2 on here that have the whole set or in there club/museum they do

[DMUinCT]

traindaddy1

On my continuing quest for "Postwar" items, I have recently seen some ads for cars from a Lionel "Electronic" set.  While they seem to resemble common postwar issues, they are priced somewhat more.     Can you tell me something about the Lionel 'Electronic' Set?   As always, many thanks.

 

 

Correction: 

Introduced in the 1946 Catalog, with no price stated, it was set #4109WS.    The 681R Steam Turbine headed the set with tender, box car, gondola, side dump car, and caboose.  The Engine, tender and each car was equiped with a Tuned Frequency Receiver !   Included was a special Transmitter Box (ECU-1 Control Unit) that looks like another transformer but with rows of buttons for each train function, it was wired between the transformer and the track and sent the requested frequency through the track.  Start/stop the train, reverse the train, blow the whistle, uncouple any car anywhere, dump the Side Dump Car's coal load "ANYWHERE ON THE TRACK"  (no uncoulping RC track section required).

Also Cataloged in 1947 as set #4109WS it was priced at $75, the highest price in the catalog ( the Berkshire powered "De Luxe Work Train"  was also priced at $75).

In 1948 and 1949 it was cataloged as the "Lionel Electronic Railroad" with a pair of #O-22 Switches, a #97 Operating Coal Elevator, a #157 Semaphore, and a type VW Transformer added.  Set Price $199.95 !

Was it Price problems?

Lionel introduce Magne-Traction to whole product line in 1950.  That year you could buy the Simi-Scale 773 Hudson set, die-cast tender and 3 "Madison Cars" for $85.    The 1950 version of the Electronic Set, its final year cataloged (back cover), was set #4333WS with the same cars, and only 16 sections of track, plus the "Electronic Control Unit" priced at $87.50, again the highest priced set that year.

[arkady]

Here's some online info about the Lionel Electronic set:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/1289231.html?page=3

http://books.google.com/books?id=4kzYAzncO5oC&pg=PA78&lpg=PA78&dq=lionel+%26+%22electronic+set%22&source=bl&ots=L9O_pPwLDt&sig=wfGmUveGM_nhRk2cGcnfWeKs_FI&hl=en&ei=xlBPS-GZNoea8AbqyOSkCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CCIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=lionel%20%26%20%22electronic%20set%22&f=false

I know there was something about the Electronic Set in CTT some years ago, but I can't recall the issue.

[sir james I]

Lionel got into some patent issues over the electronics being used and decided to drop the set.

[traindaddy1]

RT:   Don U. :  Arkady:  Sir James:   Thanks for your speedy replies and information.  As I have mentioned before, one of the things that I really like about the hobby and the members on the Forum, is the knowledge that I acquire.  You guys always come through.

[bfskinner]

Small world! The Lionel "electronic set" was mentioned yesterday in a thread primarily about un-couplers, on the "other" forum.

.

[lionelsoni]

If you have a short, 6452 gondola, you can see evidence of the electronic train in the holes cut in the middle of the plastic floor, for mounting the receiver.

[cwburfle]

lionelsoni

If you have a short, 6452 gondola, you can see evidence of the electronic train in the holes cut in the middle of the plastic floor, for mounting the receiver.

While the hole cut in the middle of the plastic floor does match the outline of the receiver, when they went to production, Lionel elected to mount the receiver underneath the gondola, So the hole served no purpose.
I've owned several electronic sets over the years.
They are very sensitive to dirt. Everything has to be very clean. According to Lionel documentation, the axles were stainless steel, and owners were warned not to oil the wheels. There were specifications for the length of the wire from the controller to the track.
The receivers go out of tune rather easily.
Some of the problems might be due to the age of the components, but these days the sets don't work well at all.
Still, it was a neat concept for it's day, and makes a very interesting collector's item.

[lionelsoni]

Although the electronic set has been described as "radio", it isn't really.  In fact, Lionel pointed out that, "The signal is...carried along the track to the receivers."  It used (barely) radio-frequency signals around 300 kilohertz; but, with a 1000-meter wavelength, there couldn't have been significant radiation.  As Lionel said, "The track is self-shielding so that very little r.f. power is lost through radiation." 

 

[sir james I]

I have the set, bought from the original owner in ex. condition. But I never tried the electronic control.