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Odd Prewar Car Lighting Set

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Terry:
I put the dark green 9 loco into running order and decided to do the cars. They have added lights that appear to be from a kit:

 
 

I took the one out of the first car because I always put the trains back to stock, but when I saw the construction I realized this may be a kit by a company other than Lionel. The light head has a slot and a tab that were used to tie it to the crossbar in the cars.

 

Here's the contact end- a cotter pin on an end of the wire with the insulation bound on the end:

 

The set is two lights on a long wire. One set has been cut in half to make two lights - one for the combine and one for the observation.

This set of trains was made in 1929. I got it from the original owner's son along with the son's 1952-54 era O gauge trains I doubt the trains were ever set up and run after the mid-1950s.

Have you ever seen a set like this?

starfire700:
I can't see the last photo, out of focus, but the other photos show fixtures that look like American Flyer such as would be in early Illini or Columbia cars, made mid 1920's.

starfire700:
Here is the fixture in a late 1930's 3211 AF caboose. Not the same, but similar to lighting sets for early Illini / Columbia cars. I think AF sold these light sets as accessories for the early unlighted cars. My Illini set is too early, does not have factory lighting or the accessory lights, like in your Lionel 428 series cars.

early0electric:
Looks home made to me. Those type of sockets with platforms are usually (from what I've seen) used to light cars and buildings from the bottom. I've never seen them used hanging from the top of anything.

Terry:
I think they are too consistant to be home made. The cotter pin to pinch the existing wire is also not needed - in fact when I rewired the cars I cut the cotter pin off and soldiered everything together.

They are inside the cars and I put the cars on the layout so when something turns up  they will be there.

An aside. . .  We were talking about spray versus dipping paint. The roofs on these cars are dipped. They are from 1929.

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