Greg J. Turinetti posted:Here is a little bit of information about these cars from Greenberg's Guide to Ives Trains Volume II O Gauge published in 1992.
page 104:
"1690 and 1691 Cars, 1931-1932
When Lionel moved the Ives line from Bridgeport to the Irvington plant, they recognized that the Ives rolling stock was dated, and it would be costly to continue using the worn Ives machinery and dies. Accordingly, Lionel scrapped the Ives designs for new inexpensive equipment. The new "Ives" 1690 and 1691 passenger cars were formed from a single piece of metal, which eliminated the cost of producing a separate roof. (I am not sure that is an accurate description of the roof design for these cars.)...
This new 7 1/2-inch-long series (both freight and passenger) was introduced in 1931, the first year of Ives production at the Lionel factory. The 1931 color scheme was yellow with a blue roof, and in 1932 it was red with a brown roof and cream trim....
There are only two cars in this series: a Pullman and an observation car. There were rumors that Lionel intended to produce a four-door baggage car to go with the series, but none was produced and to date no sample car has been found. (Wow! Now wouldn't that be a find!) "
I couldn't find any information about the red cars or the blue-green cars in this book. I will have to check my Lionel resources to see what information they can provide. I assume that this information that Jim O'C posted is from a resource on Lionel.
"Dark red Lionel coaches were made between 1933-'40. The blue coaches were 1939 only. Ives 1690 series were 1931-'32 only, at least as far as the red coaches."
Northwoods Flyer
Greg
O'Brien's 6th edition by Doyle.
