A little about Lionel large scale
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| My Lionel Large Scale Gold Rush Special on display |
I found very little about Lionel's Large Scale products online so I decided to post something.
In the late 1980s Lionel decided to produce a very small selection of 'G' scale trains. Lionel marketed them as Lionel Large Scale. From what I can tell from online sources, this Lionel scale was more akin to the size of the Lionel's standard gauge trains from the pre-war era and a bit smaller than the typical G trains from makers like LGB, Bachmann, or Piko. G is a sort of a catch all for those big trains you typically see in outdoor layouts- the scale can range anywhere between 1:13 up to 1:32.
The 1:32 scale is where standard gauge falls. They seem to also have been rereleasing standard gauge trains under the Lionel Classics moniker in the early Kughn era. MTH had produced standard scale trains under the Lionel brand between 2009 and 2019 and G scale under the Rail King 1 Gauge From reports I have seen online, Lionel Large Scales tends to lean more toward 1:24.
Lionel sold the Large Scale trains up until 2006 but I think they produced some cars (notably annual Christmas box cars) up to 2011. K-Line also produced an item or 2 in the scale including a track speeder that is now being produced by Bachmann. Also, I recently saw a 2003 K-Line catalog that listed a small assortment of Army flatcars with loads and reefers and even an Army Geep diesel. Speaking of Bachmann, they have a line of G scale too, called Big Haulers that has been around since the 1990s.
Most talk online about Lionel large scale trains suggests they were rather average and not necessarily good pullers. My guess is that the Lionel branding makes them a bit collectible. But none of these trains were of the tin plate (ie sheet metal) variety of pre-war days. They had plastic bodies with some chrome or brass. So I am unsure if they are very desirable. Plus Lionel were never close to producing something that was accurately scale. Just look up the Thunder Mountain Express set. But they did do some surprising things. A later separate sale Atlantic steam engine included Railsounds and there was even a Railscope engine released- Lionel's version of a camera in the train cab.
Lionel still produces a large scale of sorts for its Ready to Play line. These are plastic battery operated trains that run on plastic track. Lionel expanded the line considerably in the last ten years but I think they had been toying with the idea for some time- maybe even back to the 1990s. Those items have product numbers that start with 7-xxxx and their track gauge is a little bit larger. Lionel Large Scale ran off DC transformer power on metal 2 rail tracks. I want to say brass but I think it may have been an alloy. The marketing had often stated these could be used outdoors.
This article gives a pretty comprehensive commentary on Lionel's Large Scale foray- going far deeper than I ever could.
So, identifying Lionel Large Scale items is pretty simple as the products all start with 8-8xxxx. Not sure how many items were produced as I have not acquired many catalogs that include Large Scale. I know they made handcars, a few structures, rolling stock (boxcars, tank cars), an Atlantic steam engine, a GP-20.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of starter sets.
- 8-81000, Gold Rush Special
- 8-81001, Thunder Mountain Express
- 8-81002, Frontier Freight
- 8-81004, North Pole Railroad
- 8-81006, Union Pacific Limited
- 8-81007, Disneyland 35th Anniversary (or Disney Magic Express)
- 8-81008, Disney World 20th Anniversary*
- 8-81011, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
- 8-81014, James and the Troublesome Trucks
- 8-81016, Thomas the Tank Engine Deluxe (includes sound device, play mat, 3 figures)
- 8-81017, Ornament Express
- 8-81019, Holiday Special (or Christmas Set) (2001)
- 8-81024, Silver Bell Express
- 8-81027, Thomas the Tank Engine Deluxe (includes sound device, play mat, 3 figures)
- 8-81029, Holiday Special (2005)
- 8-81062, Thomas the Tank Engine Deluxe (includes sound device, play mat, 3 figures)
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