Recognizing Lionel Model Train Fakes
Almost all Lionel model train items can be identified with a four-number code, printed on the side of the train cars, or stamped somewhere on the bottom. Knock-offs of Lionel model trains have been found circulating. Buy with confidence form our store!
Many new collectors who collect for profit and dreams of riches, believe that any old Lionel model train is worth more than when first sold. This is not always the case. A Lionel 1110 Scout locomotive usually sells for around $40 in good condition - very close to what it sold for in 1949-1952. Considering inflation, it has lost value. A more rare locomotive from the same time period can often be sold for many hundreds of dollars. Sometimes, over $1000 isn't unheard of.
Be especially cautious of other model trains not manufactured by Lionel trains. Some model trains produced by Louis Marx and Company, are sometimes sold as Lionel to unsuspecting model railroaders, new to model railroading. Manufactured from 1938 to 1978, they often appear to be Lionel trains and are largely interchangeable with them. However, Marx locomotives and cars are slightly smaller and have less detail than the Lionel model train sets. Most Marx locomotives had a three-number code, which helps to differentiate them from Lionel, and most Marx cars didn't have a code.
Because of these prices being asked for model trains, it is important to know all the facts about the model train engine, car, or accessory you seek and to know how to identify fake items.
The easiest way to identify the vintage of Lionel equipment is to examine the train couplers. Lionel trains made BEFORE WW II use toy-like couplers that resemble a hook. The cars tend to be made of metal and have colorful paint schemes, somewhat similar to those of a holiday tin. Lionel trains made AFTER WWII use two types of couplers. The less common (and less desirable) couplers, used in Lionel's entry-level Scout series, are longer and resemble a capital 'G'. Scout couplers do not open. The more common couplers open when you pull a peg on the bottom of the coupler. These couplers are compatible with modern O-scale cars from Lionel and other manufacturers.
