Post your Diners here, O or Standard gauge.
Prewar & Postwar.
My #442.
Prewar #442 Diner Made from 1938 - 1942 until the war was declared and factories went into war mode.
It took Lionel until 1938 to introduce it's first version of that truly American landmark, The roadside diner.
Lionel's # 442 was an accurate representation of the old railroad cars that you saw along the highways. NJ had a whole bunch of them.
It measures 10,1/2 x 5,1/2 x 3 inches and uses the body from a Lionel # 610 Pullman.
Lionel painted, or repainted, these Pullmans- giving them bright red roofs, light red trim, and ivory bodies. Because Lionel had never produced the # 610 in "diner" colors. The plates of the 610 were also changed. The large center one now read "DINER" and the small plates to the left and right now read "EAT".
The body is mounted on a hard-board, free-form base, the bottom which is screen backed. (The board was most likely manufactured by Masonite Company.)
The little diner was landscaped (but only in the front) with two shrubs and a grassy, green sawdust lawn surrounded by hedges. The hedges ran from the left door to the right one.
The 442 was illuminated. (recommended to be run at 12 volts.)
Is it the only Prewar Diner they made? Well that's open to debate as a few have popped up through the years.
But none using the 610 bodies.
And the #442 is the only one that was cataloged.
Took me around 5 months to find what I was looking for. Watching on e bay. I refused to go over my max. I am glad I waited.
This one is complete in nice shape and complete. Though it may be a little dusty now.
