When the USA entered the 2nd World War, the government put restrictions on the use of various metals, which put an end to the production of metal toys. Lionel thereupon hired a designer of novelties such as cereal and soft drink premiums, Samuel Gold, to design an alternative product not needing metals. In March 1943 Gold came up with a design for a train almost completely made of paper. The train came in a cardboard box and consisted of several sheets of colour-printed cardstock. The set included a steam locomotive and tender, a boxcar, a gondola and a caboose, all lettered “Lionel Lines”. There also were three railway staff, a crossing signal, a crossing gate and ties and rails to make up a circle of track. The wheels were made of laminated cardboard and ran on wooden axles.

The set was on sale for a price of $1 during the 1943 Christmas season, but did not stay long in the shops due to lack of interest, although Lionel themselves said the set did well financially. It turned out that the set was difficult to assemble and, once assembled, it was not very sturdy. The train was designed to be put together with tabs and slots without the use of glue, but the tabs easily came apart and the cardstock was rather flimsy. The train also had difficulty staying on the cardboard track.

In the end a lot of the sets were never completed and thrown away.

In 1981 the Greenberg Publishing Co. offered a reproduction of the set, which can be distinguished from the original by the fact that the original used four colours for the printing, but no black, which is found in the reproduction. Also, unlike the original, the reproduction was not pre-cut and scored for easy folding and did not have wooden axles.

Visit the Toy-Wiki to view products & catalogues from this brand:

View more from this brand