The artist's illustration and text at the top of the picture is from the 1950 catalog.

$49.95 was nearly double the average person's weekly paycheck in 1950, yet Lionel produced 1 Santa Fe a minute 2 shifts a day

The photos are current pictures of a 2353 from our archives

By definition, Lionel Trains produced from 1945 through 1969 are defined as 'post war' trains

Every Lionel innovation was built into them, and they were made to run forever

Postwar Lionel Trains are sought after by collectors, as well by people who just want to run them

The cosmetic condition of the original paint is the prime determinate of the collectability and price of a postwar Lionel Train. On the more expensive engines, the presence or absence of just ONE scratch can make a $ 500 to as much as $5,000 difference in price

For the novice, suffice it to say you should not buy a postwar Lioel Train that we grade as Like New (LN) or Mint if you want to run them. They are for collectors, and you will depreciate their value badly if you run them

Lionel Trains graded Excellent and Very Good are the best there is for running on your layout. If you put a mark on them they will not depreciate very much if at all. (Note that our postwar Lionel Trains are guaranteed to operate; please also refer to our section on grading for detailed comments on our guarantee)

Simply stated, postwar Lionel in Good, Very Good and Excellent condition are great to run and are a fine collectable - you get the advantage of both

Postwar Lionel Trains in Like New and Mint condition are really only for collecting and display, although some people will run like new items very, very carefully

Postwar Lionel is one of the safest collectables in the world - the manufacturing processes used in that period by Lionel Trains have unique characteristics which readily identify original factory workmanship. These cannot be duplicated today in any practical manner. Please study our videos on collecting, and learn what to look for