What's the significance....

[Anonymous]

...of the stamp on Lionel rolling stock that reads "New 3-45"? Have wondered that for a while and I am sure it's a simple answer, I just don't know it!

Thanks

[lionelsoni]

It's usually the date that the Lionel model was first made. This is not the same as the similar date on a prototype car, which is the date that that individual car was made.

[phillyreading]

Probally when Lionel got back into making trains right before WW2 was over. Lionel made stuff for the military during the war years, such as ship compasses, so if you see or hear of Lionel in the boating industry it is true but only for the war years of WW2.
Lee Fritz

[lionelsoni]

It didn't occur to me, as it did to Lee, that you might be concerned about that specific date. I would assume that it reflects the date the tooling was designed, in anticipation the end of the war in a few months. Either that or it was in honor of my third birthday...:-)

[Anonymous]

I was just using that date as an example. I have several pieces that have this type of marking or "Built 9-47" for example.

[Anonymous]

Lionelsoni had the right answer first thing.
3-45 (or any other month-year numbers) represent the date that Lionel first produced that piece. Even items that were produced over a period of many years had the original production date printed on the car (usually by heat stamping) throughout their production.

There [i][may/i] be exceptions to this rule, but if so, I don't know what they are.

Doug

[Anonymous]

Was Lionel building models during the war years? I have a SP X6454 Box Car (see article in latest CTT) with the large letters and the "break" in the outer ring. This car is stamped "NEW 3-42". Most of the rest of this set I had as a child has dates in 47,49 and the 50's.