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Though not as vintage as some of the other trains on this list, the Lionel Polar Express has seen no shortage of demand, with even mass-produced sets (like this one on Amazon) selling for over $300.
Lionel, seeking an alternative product to keep the brand name alive during the war, sought the assistance of Samuel Gold, a designer of various novelties including cereal and soft drink premiums. Gold made an agreement with Lionel and completed a design for an all-paper product train in March 1943.
A new line of scale-sized freight cars, called "Standard O", was introduced that same year. The new line of trains included the Blue Streak Freight, an entry-level O-27 gauge train set produced by Lionel. The set included a blue Jersey Central Lines steam locomotive with a 2-4-2 wheel configuration and attached tender car.
Lionel's prized 700e Hudson was cataloged in O-gauge from 1937 as their top-of-the-line train. The larger Standard Gauge no longer symbolized top-of-the-line Lionel. Lionel last showed Standard Gauge in their 1940 catalogs, ultimately only offering rolling stock, which suggests they were selling off existing inventory.
The success of Marx "027" train line forced other manufacturers to follow suit in size and fashion. Marx continued to make tinplate train sets until 1972. Plastic sets began in 1952 and only plastic sets were made after 1973, until the end of the company in 1975. [17]
In May 1967, Lionel Corporation announced it had purchased the American Flyer name and tooling even though it was teetering on the brink of financial failure itself. A May 29, 1967, story in The Wall Street Journal made light of the deal, stating, "Two of the best-known railroads in the nation are merging and the Interstate Commerce Commission couldn't care less".