What Is Your Favorite Postwar Lionel Set

Come on --- you can't ask a question like that

Same as asking which one is your favorite kid

Love them all 

Well --- some more than others 

My favorite is Outfit 2219W which included the 2321 DL&W Train Master, 6456 Lehigh Valley hopper, 6464 M&STL box car, 6462 New York Central gondola, 6415 Sunoco three dome tank car and 6417 PRR N5c. This set marked the momentous 1954 debut of the Train Master which remains, in my opinion, the finest locomotive developed during the postwar era.

Bob

That's a tough one!!

 I don't think I can pick just 1!

These are a few of my faves - 

 2190W - 1952 -

2259W - 1956-

1430WS - 1948 - 

2549W - 1960 -

1467W - 1952 - 

2533W - 1959 -

2205WS - 1953 - 

The Congressional set!

Our apartment building had three American Flyer families, ours included, and no Lionel until some "new" kids arrived in the mid-fifties.  They brought with them a fairly substantial Lionel setup including the Congressional with the five-stripe tuscan GG-1 and those four gleaming streamline cars with cool tuscan stripes.  I was completely blown away by its beauty!

Pete

Pete, I agree with you on the Congressional set.  My older cousin received one in the same year I got a 2356 SRR F3 AA set with the 2500 series cars.  I was thrilled with my set until we went over to his house and saw his new Congressional set -- I was instantly jealous.

It has to be the set I got at Christmas in 1954 which started this whole craze.

Rick

I have a few favorites, as well.

2100-1946. Had 224, and 3 passenger cars

1413W-1946. Had multiple operating cars, an operating accessory, and a 2020 steamer. 

1567W-1956. One of the few postwar sets I own, I love the F3's and the horse car, brakeman has fun near the tunnels. The 1033 wasn't a bad transformer, either.

2148WS-1950. Need I say more?

1001-1955. May have been a low end set, but the 610 NW2 is one of the most dependable on the roster.

My favorite set has to be my original Lionel set (#1435WS) which I still have that I received from Santa in 1947.  If it wasn’t for this set, who knows if I would still be in this hobby.

Here’s how it looked in the 1947 catalog although mine came with a #2257 plastic caboose.

Bill

The 1953 Santa Fe streamliner set:

Jim

I would have to agree with Jim above.  That set glued some nerve endings in my brain that have never been broken apart. 

My Favorite is my Dad's entire set he bought after coming home from the Korean War.

He was discharged out of the Air Force, going to college on the G.I. Bill had a part time job with the FORD MOtor Company and with his first pay-check bought the a whole set with the Semi-scale Hudson, Light Tower, Overhead light signal, ZW-Transformer and lot of accesories. I have almost 98% of the set which my now 12 year old son uses.

That's my favorite.

That 1953 Santa Fe Set, $89.50 then, would be over $700 today!

No wonder I had American Flyer.

We always rode coach on the train and matched luggage was two IGA bags.

Jim Policastro posted:

The 1953 Santa Fe streamliner set:

Jim

I never owned that set, but of such things dreams are made of.

Rusty

How can I choose? Really love too many of them.....

My original NH F3 set from 58 (3rd row down) and a 1951 UP set bought from a friend in row 1.

A cool set from 56.

A colorful set from 57  (I think?).

A "space age" flair set from 62........

I truly love love them all.......

Peter

I guess I'd have to pick what I consider to be Lionel's last hurrah: the 1966 773 Hudson set.

anniversary set!!!!

I like Yellow!!!

There is no question about this one for me.  Hands down winner is Super O set # 2525WS, Norfolk & Western work train headed up by the N&W 4-8-4 Class J Northern.  This magnificent engine pulled six freight cars and included both the Culvert loader and unloading cars with their individual stations.  This set was offered in 1958 for a cool $100.00 which was far out of my mom's price range.  I still have my original Lionel catalog from 1958 and you should see the shape its in due to my  constant browsing back then.  Boy, did I ever dream about that train.  Still do.

The culvert twins N&W set from 58 is a cool set. The 57 N&W set with the 4 operating cars and the bay window caboose is cool, too.

Peter

I found the pages......

Peter, Thanks for posting the pages from the 1957 and 1958 catalogs.  I would have done so but both of my catalogs are literally in tatters from years and years of daydreaming. 

1948 set with 2332 GG1 & 3 Madison cars.

Too many choices, too little time. 

The favorite set I have is my 2350 New Haven from 1956. The favorite set I want is The Congressional.

463W - Lionel's heroic effort to produce as many trainsets as possible in time for Christmas 1945. I find the countless variations fascinating as Lionel struggled to keep the production line going while improving their product. But, as much as I've invested in collecting 1945 production, I'd sell it all to keep the first trainset I received - a used 1947 1435WS with an aluminum stacked 2025 and heat stamped lettering in the front and a tinplate Penny caboose in the back. 

Love the thread! Joe Gryzboski had (still has?) the '57 or 58 N&W highest-end set w/two culvert stations, op. horse car, op. forklift, etc., in a totally unopened set box! This set's x-ray sheets were published several years ago because he didn't have the heart to open and despoil every kid's dream from that year. (I would have offered to do it for him for NUTHIN'!) I have to admit that x-rays don't quite do the set justice, would you believe... I have many fave sets from those golden years, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was finding a #1517 W - the Texas Special freight set upstairs in Eaton's in Lethbridge, Alberta in the early fall of '54. It was all out of the boxes, sitting on a counter with no other toys around. I guess one of the tellers or floor managers decided to get a good look at it. I was stunned and it never has been ousted by a prettier sight that wasn't female!

I'll make a second comment:

I don't think I'd call them favorites, but I'd like to have crisp, boxed examples of all the sets Lionel made in 1969. There are some unique pieces in those sets.
The 1061 in the low end set is known to come with a paper label for the engine number.
The 645 UP switcher, and the 2041 Rock Island ALCO are both one year only engines.
Plus I think some of the rolling stock are one year only variations.
The set boxes come with color pictures of the set on their exterior.

Call me a contrarian because I don't think this set makes many lists but I always liked the 2505w Virginian Rectifier Set. Very colorful with the 2329 loco,Timken box car, Allis Chalmers car, et. al.

Of course mine would be the 2 I received as gifts.

1949-1430WS. 2025 w/green& gray passenger cars.

1951- 2185W. NYC F3 freight set.

The 671/681 were unique but I didn't get one till my adult years.

Gentlemen,

    My favorite Conventional Post War Train Set is the 1959-1960 Lionel Northern Pacific Work Train.  It's packed away in the attic so no photos right now. Definitely need to take some new pictures of her on the tracks.

PCRR/Dave

Might be easier just to reprint the pictures from all the catalogs in this thread

another tough question. But in the last year, it's the 2140WS. The first generation of the plastic passenger cars are my favorites because of both the look, and operation. The 671, runs like a watch and smokes like crazy!

Tim

All of the ones I own :-)

I like Tim Sprague's choice.  And of course the Congressional set.