| 1939 was another great year for Lionel, but most of the catalog was a repeat from 1938. The pending war hadn't affected production yet, but ripples were starting. Classic art deco illustrated 52 paged paper pulp catalog. Classic cover featuring the 700E scale Hudson in all it's glory. Second year L. Meinrad Mayer illustrated the cover(maybe the best prewar cover ever). 1939 continued with Lionel's climb out of the Depression and they were racing full speed ahead into one of it's most prosperous and innovative periods of production. With the trend toward realism, Lionel moved to make its models more lifelike and scale(this included accesories). Also this was the last year for cataloged Standard Gauge trains. The Standard gauge was also some of the rarest Lionel produced with color variations changing, and the use of nickle trim(still regulated to the back pages). New innovations included the unveiling of the first automatic couplers, a whole line of operating accessories, and Double OO scale trains(all dominated the last four years of the Prewar era). Featured items included: 700E scale Hudson(also 700K kit form new in 1938), Rail Chief cars, B-6 switchers(new in 39), 763E scale Hudson, 752E UP streamliner, 250E Hiawatha, 226E steamer, 295W Blue Streak set, 263E O gauge Blue Comet, 378W with 400E Standard Gauge Blue Comet set, 392 with Stephen Girard passenger set, 50 Airplane, 97 Coal Elevator, 156 Station Platform(new in 39), 47 Crossing Gate, 300 Hellgate bridge(late colors), 55 Operating Airport(has a fold out blueprint for track layouts), all the great stations and landscaped |
