Parts Department
Welcome to our parts department!
Whether you are a long time repairmen, collector or operator or are new to the
hobby, we believe you have arrived at the right place for your service and parts
needs. We realize the importance of finding the correct part for your repair, and
unlike many of the parts dealers you'll find on the Internet, we do not create
nonexistent part numbers for items, nor do we use MPC or LTI substitutions for
prewar and postwar parts. Equally important is the fact that we do not exclude
crossover and transition parts. One example of a crossover part is the
226E-88 pilot truck. There are three versions, prewar (226E), transition (used
on the 226E and 1946 version of the 726) and postwar as used on the 1947 and
later versions of the 726 and finally on the 736.
Our part numbering system follows Lionel's Comprehensive Parts Indexes and their
Repair Parts Manuals. The only changes that we have made are those necessary to
distinguish used from new; grade the condition of expensive items like diesel
cabs or steam cabs, or denote items that may have undergone changes at Lionel's
factory but aren't clearly defined in repair manual pages. As an example,
certain prewar part numbers end with an "X" suffix, which indicates that the
part was a later version. During the prewar - postwar transition period, this
"X" suffix indicated just the opposite, that the part with the "X" was a prewar
version. Unfortunately Lionel wasn't consistent with their use of suffixes
during the postwar period. Many times the "X" merely denoted a change from one decal
color to another, or signaled an improvement such as the difference between an
open top F-3 pilot as opposed to the closed top pilot.
Our website layout is one that will evolve as we create the necessary
data that will enable you to enter
the item you wish to repair and have our search engine method return all of the known part
numbers for that item. We hope that you will understand that this will take a considerable amount of time
to accomplish as no one
has ever done this before.