Lionel Ives Transition Tank Cars
All information and trains supplied by Russ MacNair unless otherwise noted
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Lionel No. 1680 Tank Cars
General Information
The No. 1680 Tank Car was initially offered by Lionel in the 1931 and 1932 Ives Catalogs. When initially introduced in 1931, the cars were marked as “Ives Tank Lines”. In 1933, the markings were changed to “Lionel Lines” with “Lionel Lines”, “Sunoco” or “Shell” markings. The Lionel version of the tank car was available from 1933 through 1942. The No. 1680 Tank Cars always had manual couplers. The No. 1680 Tank Cars measure 7 1/2-inches in length. The tank cars have lithographed tank bodies with painted ends. The frame was always black. The cars have handrails on the sides and three domes on the top. From 1936 through 1942, the No. 1680 Tank Cars were also included in several uncataloged promotional sets. These cars were issued without journals and were designated as No. 1680X. The cars carried the same number “1680”, but the boxes were marked “1680X”.
Variations of the No. 1680 Tank Cars include changes to the lithography design on the tank body; brass, nickel or no handrails; copper and brass and nickel domes; and copper, nickel, black or no journals. Early tank cars have latch couplers. Later tank cars have early or late style manual box couplers. These tank cars are noted for numerous minor variations, particularly in trim color variation, litho finish and truck type. The variations presented below are representative of the significant variations.
Lionel No. 1680 Tank Cars
PHOTOS NEEDED
PHOTOS NEEDED
1. No. 1680 Ives Tank Car in gold haze litho and tank ends (1931-32). The tank has “Fuel Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have copper handrails, copper and brass domes, and copper journals. The cars have latch couplers.
2. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1933). The tank has “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have copper handrails, copper and brass domes, and copper journals. The cars have latch couplers.
PHOTOS NEEDED
3. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1934-35). The tank has a centered “Sunoco” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have copper handrails, copper and brass domes, and copper journals. The cars have latch couplers.
4. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1934-36). The tank has a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and nickel journals. The cars have latch couplers.
PHOTOS NEEDED
5. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1936-38). The tank has a centered “Sunoco”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and nickel journals. The cars have latch couplers.
6. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in orange litho and tank ends (1939-40). The tank has a centered “Shell”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Petroleum Products” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and nickel journals. The cars have latch couplers.
7. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in orange litho and tank ends (1939-40). The tank has a centered “Shell”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Petroleum Products” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have early style manual box couplers.
8. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and silver tank ends (1941). The tank has a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Petroleum Products” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have latch couplers.
9. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and gray tank ends (1941-42). The tank has an offset “Sunoco” and “Lionel Lines” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have late style manual box couplers.
10. No. 1680 Lionel Tank Car in gray litho and tank ends (1942). The tank has an offset “Sunoco” and “Lionel Lines” lettering in the lower left. The cars have no handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have late style manual box couplers.
11. No. 1680X Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1936, 1939, 1941-42). The tank has a centered “Sunoco”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and no journals. The cars have latch couplers.
Lionel No. 2680 Tank Cars
General Information
The Lionel No. 2680 Tank Cars were introduced in 1938 and were issued through 1942. The No. 2680 Tank Cars always had operating couplers. The No. 2680 Tank Cars measure 7 1/2-inches in length. The
tank cars have lithographed tank bodies with painted ends. The frame was always black. The cars have handrails on the sides and three domes on the top.
Variations of the No. 2680 Tank Cars include changes to the lithography design on the tank body; nickel or no handrails; nickel or black domes; and nickel or black journals. Early tank cars have early style operating box couplers. Later tank cars have late style operating box couplers.
Lionel No. 2680 Tank Cars
PHOTOS NEEDED
1. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1938). The tank has a centered “Sunoco”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and nickel journals. The cars have early style operating box couplers.
2. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1938). The tank has a centered “Sunoco”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Motor Oil” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have early style operating box couplers.
3. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in orange litho and tank ends (1938-40). The tank has a centered “Shell”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Petroleum Products” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have early style operating box couplers.
4. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in orange litho and tank ends (1938-40). The tank has a centered “Shell”, a centered “Lionel Lines” and “Petroleum Products” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have late style operating box couplers.
5. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in silver litho and tank ends (1941-42). The tank has an offset “Sunoco” and “Lionel Lines” lettering in the lower left. The cars have nickel handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have late style operating box couplers.
Courtesy of “The Bortmes Collection”
6. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in gray litho and tank ends (1941-42). The tank has an offset “Sunoco” and “Lionel Lines” lettering in the lower left. The cars have no handrails, nickel domes, and black journals. The cars have late style operating box couplers.
PHOTOS NEEDED
7. No. 2680 Lionel Tank Car in gray litho and tank ends (1942). The tank has an offset “Sunoco” and “Lionel Lines” lettering in the lower left. The cars have no handrails, black domes, and black journals. The cars have late style operating box couplers.
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