Lionel originally announced Magnetraction in their 1950 catalog.
You're reading my question wrong, John. I know what MagneTraction is. But...
Actually, the "motor" isn't the magnet; typically the axles had Alnico magnets which in turn magnetize the driving wheels.
Yes, that's the part I was wondering about. I never heard of a "MagneTraction motor" providing the magnetic force. All of my MagneTraction locomotives have the magnets between the wheels.
It was found on almost all postwar Lionel products from 1950- onward, with some exceptions like those engines that were equipped with plated wheel rims, some locos made during 1952 when material shortages occurred due to the ramping up of the Korean war, some of the low-end Scout sets and many late postwar engines.
It wasn't just the Scouts that lacked MagneTraction. My 1951 2026 doesn't have it, either.
It's only affective on steel track like traditional tinplate, Super-O, Atlas O solid steel or FasTrack. Magnetraction isn't effective with non-ferrous track made of nickel-silver like Atlas O's regular track, MTH's RealTrax & ScaleTrax.
That is correct.
