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Originally Posted by CarGuyZM10:

Yes, it was released before the war, and then again for a few years after the war. It was also gray right before the war, and was Pea Green and Terra Cotta before it became silver.

 

Let me get this straight, it was Gray colored before the war, (are you considering the silver color as gray?, and was Terra Cotta and Pea Green before the war and before it was offered as silver or gray.

 

Are you considering Gray, the same color as silver, or are they two seperate colors?

 

How can you tell the difference between a prewar silver water tower and a postwar water tower?

 

Thanks,

 

 John

 

Last edited by Rice Burner

For the eighteen months or so before Lionel changed over to war production and stopped manufacturing trains, most of the silver-painted equipment and accessories started being painted a gloss gray...supposedly the silver paint had a high aluminum content, which quickly went onto the strategic materials list and was prohibited from use.  So the last production 2654, 654, 804, 93, etc. all started being painted a gloss gray, rather than metallic silver. 

Hi pd,
 
 Thanks for the info. and your paitience.
 
 What was produced first the silver,(aluminum), tower or the gray tower?
 
 A gray tower has just been listed on E-Bay and I definitely can see the difference in the color of the gray tower and the silver one.
 
 This history is truly amazing.
 
Thanks Again,
 
John
Originally Posted by pd:

For the eighteen months or so before Lionel changed over to war production and stopped manufacturing trains, most of the silver-painted equipment and accessories started being painted a gloss gray...supposedly the silver paint had a high aluminum content, which quickly went onto the strategic materials list and was prohibited from use.  So the last production 2654, 654, 804, 93, etc. all started being painted a gloss gray, rather than metallic silver. 

 

RB,
 
First pea green, then silver, then grey. Then back to silver after the war.
 
There are oodles of these things out there, I have seen 10 boxed version on the bay this last year alone.
 
Hard to tell the difference in the all silver /red base ones... I have heard tell that the prewar red base was richer in color...no proof however.
 
There were 3 distinct reds for the prewar ones...maroon, deep red, vermillion red.... also there were mixed tank and tower colors during transitions...silver on grey towers, and vice versa.
 
 
Originally Posted by Rice Burner:
Hi pd,
 
 Thanks for the info. and your paitience.
 
 What was produced first the silver,(aluminum), tower or the gray tower?
 
 A gray tower has just been listed on E-Bay and I definitely can see the difference in the color of the gray tower and the silver one.
 
 This history is truly amazing.
 
Thanks Again,
 
John
Originally Posted by pd:

For the eighteen months or so before Lionel changed over to war production and stopped manufacturing trains, most of the silver-painted equipment and accessories started being painted a gloss gray...supposedly the silver paint had a high aluminum content, which quickly went onto the strategic materials list and was prohibited from use.  So the last production 2654, 654, 804, 93, etc. all started being painted a gloss gray, rather than metallic silver. 

 

I doubt you will find a decaled Pea green one.  I have seen both the grey and silver without a decal though.  The decal actually has a silver background on it.  They are all red letters and black borders that I am aware of. And yes....these were factory installed.
 
Originally Posted by Rice Burner:
Originally Posted by hojack:

Every pea green 93 water tank I have seen does not have the Lionel decal.  Every gray or siler one I have seen does have the decal.  Did they come from the factory like this? 

 I have never seen a pea green tower with a Lionel Trains Label either.

 

 John

From what I am hearing, you can tell the difference between pre-war and post-war towers by the box and the color of the base of the tower.

 

 Apparently, the pre-war towers have a darker, maroon ,color or a more pinkish red base and the post war has a brighter red, as mentioned in a previous post.

 

 I have just purchased a post war tower to put under the Christmas Tree and add to my tinplate collection.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271120867749&ssPageName=ADME:B:BCA:US:1120

 

Thanks,

 

John

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