Guide To Lionel Trains Couplers And Trucks - 1945-1990

Hello again, this is Mike with another episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. As with any hobby, there's a specific vocabulary or jargon that accompanies 9L train operating and collecting that can be confusing to new hobbyists. Experienced hobbyists, myself included, are often guilty of assuming that everyone understands what we mean. This point was brought home to me recently with a question from a viewer, and that question Since 1945, 9L trains have used a variety of truck designs and styles. Understanding these designs and when they were manufactured can be a big help when considering what to purchase, when it was made, and how reliable it might be. Let's look at Freight Car Trucks and Couplers. When 9L trains resumed toy train production after the World War II hiatus, the company decided to make a splash with the introduction of an all-new, realistic-looking operating knuckle coupler. Best of all, with the help of a special track section, the cars could be uncoupled remotely with just the push of a button. It was magic. These earliest knuckle couplers, known to collectors as coil couplers, operated by the use of a solenoid, an electrical coil, on every coupler of every car. When activated, the solenoid released a sprung rod which allowed the knuckle to open. When knuckles were pushed together, the rod re-engaged and the couplers remained closed. To supply the necessary electricity to activate the couplers, a special pickup shoe was located under each truck. The shoe engaged the extra rails on the special operating track. Then, when power was applied to the rail, it activated the solenoid and uncoupled the car. In 1945, these pickup shoes were attached by a thin ribbon. This design is known as the flying shoe by operators and collectors. Beginning in 1946, the shoe was improved with the inclusion of a larger metal plate to hold the shoe. The metal side frames of these trucks are crimped together and are known by collectors and operators as staple-end trucks. These were the standard Lionel Freight trucks in 1946 and 1947. In 1948, there were two truck redesigns. First, staple-end trucks intended for use in the 027 product line, rather than the more expensive O-Gage line, had their couplers modified. In order to eliminate the cost of a solenoid mechanism inside every single coupler, Lionel's magnetic coupler was introduced. When this truck was placed over a special track section with an electromagnet, the magnet could pull down on a metal plate under the truck, which released the coupler knuckle spring for uncoupling. This system had fewer parts, and so it was cheaper to install than manufacture. The magnetic coupler became the standard for 027 trains, while the O-Gage line kept the quill coupler for a few more years before switching over to the magnetic type as well. Pickup shoes were still used on special operating cars like the Operating Cattle Car and Operating Milk Car. Also in 1948, the infamous Scout truck was released. These were only used on Lionel's bargain basement scout sets between 1948 and 1952. They feature metal side frames stamped around a unique plastic coupler. These couplers would couple automatically when cars were pushed together, and they could be uncoupled with a special track section, but they were otherwise incompatible with other Lionel products, unless modified somewhat by the user. The metal side frames of these trucks tend to develop a white or yellow film over time. This is easily removed by applying low heat from a hairdryer to the trucks, and then wiping them clean with a cloth when the film substance liquefies. This car was treated about six years ago, and the discoloration has not returned. Ultimately, the incompatibility of the scout coupler led to its demise. There was another truck redesign in 1951. The staple-type crimped construction of truck side frames was found to allow the trucks to loosen over time. To fix this, Lionel began stamping the side frames together, resulting in a bar-like shape protruding through the truck side frames. These became known as bar-end trucks. By this time, coil couplers had been all but eliminated from the freight car line, so magnetic couplers were the rule. Beginning in 1952, realizing the failure of the scout coupler, Lionel introduced a few budget starter sets featuring scout-type side frames, but with knuckle couplers instead of the scout type. These are generally known as semi-scout trucks, and their side frames often suffer from the same discoloration as their scout counterparts. Lionel radically changed its basic truck design in 1957. The so-called AAR truck was an all-plastic design, except for the metal coupler knuckle and pin, with modern-looking side frames featuring Timken roller bearings. These trucks are an improvement over previous metal trucks in both appearance and in ease of rolling, but they lack the heft and durability of bar-end trucks. Instead of the magnetic plate, the coupler now featured a small metal-tipped knob, like a thumbtack, to uncouple the cars either magnetically or manually. For a time, metal trucks remained on high-end rolling stock, but the AAR truck soon became the new standard across the product line. In 1959, Lionel designed a new plastic truck for its General line. These trucks resembled the 19th century arch-bar designs. These trucks lacked operating couplers, making them very inexpensive. And so as the company became more cost-conscious every year, these trucks began to appear on inexpensive rolling stock of any vintage and any type, especially items that were made for uncataloged sets. In 1961, the need for cost-cutting reached even the AAR truck design, which lost its metal knuckle in favor of a plastic knuckle and spring assembly. The knuckle was still attached with a metal rivet, for a time, but that changed sometime in 1962, when the metal knuckle rivet was replaced by two round nubs at the top and bottom of the knuckle assembly. Only this thin plastic held the coupler knuckle in place, and these couplers are often found broken today as a result. These trucks and couplers became the standard throughout the line from 1963 to 1969, with very few exceptions. 1970 was a fresh start for Lionel, as the Fun Dimensions Model Product Corp. division of General Mills took over production of Lionel trains under license. While many items in the new MPC lineup were carryovers from Lionel's post-war era, they immediately redesigned the freight trucks and couplers. While some starter sets still featured non-operating couplers to reduce costs, operating couplers regained their lost metal rivets, making them superior in durability and operation to their post-1962 post-war cousins. The wheelsets were recontoured to operate better on curbs, and the new needlepoint bearings made these the best rolling trucks Lionel had yet made. Then there were the side frames. For the new truck side frames, MPC ditched the generic but common AAR design, and instead chose to pattern its side frames on the Simonton Wayne XB-70 high-speed truck. This was a curious choice, to say the least. The Simonton truck was an older design and very uncommon, used primarily for high-speed REA cars and milk service cars. The XB-70 trucks with roller bearings were even more unusual, and it's difficult to even locate photos of real examples. While it will never be known exactly why MPC made this unusual choice, this was nonetheless the standard Lionel freight truck from 1970 to the end of General Mills ownership in 1986. There were a few exceptions to the rule, like some cars were made with metal trucks, but the vast majority of MPC-era freight cars used this XB-70 design. Even stranger, K-Line also copied this truck design for their low-budget rolling stock in the 1980s. When Lionel ownership again changed in 1987, so did the trucks. On starter set and budget rolling stock, the Simonton Wayne-inspired MPC trucks were replaced by updated versions of the post-war AAR design with improved wheels, axles, and coupler rivets. Higher-end cars often sported newly tooled metal trucks, with or without springs, usually based on an older design. In recent years, Lionel's premium scale-type cars usually include trucks appropriate for their type of car and era. As you can see, knowing the difference in these various truck and coupler designs can help determine when a Lionel car was made, especially for those made between 1945 and 1990. So at the next train show, you can now impress your friends with your intimate knowledge of bar-end, staple-end AAR and XB-70 trucks. There are, of course, other slight variations in design from year to year, such as open or closed axle ends, uncoupling tabs on the side or not, colors of rivets, and other changes, but I've limited this video to the major changes for the sake of simplicity. As always, I hope you enjoyed this video as much as I enjoyed making it, and if so, please like it, share, subscribe, and tell your friends and neighbors. For those of you watching in April 2024, please be aware that we are now switching to our summer production schedule, and the next installment, Episode 187, will be released on May 11th at 2pm ET, with new episodes dropping every two weeks until we resume regular production in August 2024. Episodes of What's New in O-Gage will continue on a weekly schedule, releasing every Tuesday at 9am ET. Until then, keep the trains rolling, and we'll catch you next time on Toy Train Tips and Tricks.