No. 2623 Manhattan Coach Passenger Cars
No. 2623 Irvington Coach Passenger Cars
No. 2624 Manhattan Coach Passenger Cars
No. 2624 MANHATTAN PULLMAN AND BOX
Lionel Scale Detailed Prewar “Heavyweight” Passenger Cars
All information and trains supplied by Russ MacNair unless otherwise noted
Lionel No. 2623, 2624 Passenger Cars
General Information
The Lionel No. 2623 Coach and No. 2624 Coach Passenger Cars were introduced in 1941 and were issued through 1942. The No. 2623 and No. 2624 were large, scale detailed “Heavyweight” passenger issued following the Classic Period. These passenger cars were included as components of a few high end cataloged passenger sets. These cars were later carried over by Lionel to the postwar period, with the change to postwar trucks.
The No. 2623 and 2624 Passenger Cars measure 13 3/4-inches in length. The car bodies were manufactured with a phenolic material and were painted brown with white heat stamped lettering for the name and number of the car. Due to a problem with adhesion of the paint to the phenolic bodies, the cars have a tendency to flake. The cars have frosted celluloid strips in the windows. The bodies were mounted on a black metal frame with an air brake cylinder attached to the frame. The cars were illuminated with two interior lights. The cars have six-wheel trucks with late style operating box couplers.
Variations of the No. 2623 and No. 2624 Passenger Cars are limited to the names and numbers of the cars. The No. 2623 Passenger Car was issued only as a coach. The No. 2624 Passenger Car was cataloged as an observation car, but none were ever produced. A very few No. 2924 Passenger Cars were issued as coaches. See below for additional photos and information regarding this car.
Lionel No. 2623 Passenger Cars
1. No. 2623 Manhattan Coach Passenger Cars in brown (1941-1942). The cars have six-wheel trucks with late style operating box couplers.
2. No. 2623 Irvington Coach Passenger Cars in brown (1941-1942). The cars have six-wheel trucks with late style operating box couplers.
Lionel No. 2624 Passenger Cars
1. No. 2624 Manhattan Coach Passenger Cars in brown (1941-1942). The cars have six-wheel trucks with late style operating box couplers.
No. 2624 MANHATTAN PULLMAN AND BOX
CORRUGATED CARDBOARD BOX No. 753 – 1, MADE BY BOGOTA PAPER & BOARD CORP.
Lionel introduced its new “Scale Proportioned” passenger cars in 1941. In 1941, these cars were included in two sets – Set No. 890W which included three of the new passenger cars and Set No. 748W which included four of these cars. The two sets were cataloged with two or three Pullman cars, respectively, and an observation car. The Pullman cars were always numbered No. 2623 and were named either “Irvington” or Manhattan”. The observation car was depicted in the catalog as No. 2624 “Manhattan”. However, Lionel never manufactured the observation car. Therefore, these sets were either issued with three or four Pullman cars as either “Irvington” or “Manhattan”. Apparently, in anticipation of the observation car, Lionel produced a number of bodies decorated for No. 2624 “Manhattan”. Following the decision not to produce the observation car, these bodies were assembled as Pullman cars and included in a very limited number of the No. 890W and 748W sets. Since there were so few No. 2624 cars produced, Lionel never printed standard orange and blue component boxes for these cars. Instead, they over stamped left over boxes for the No. 753 streamlined coach with “2624M”.
note the black rubber stamped “2624M”
note the black rubber stamped “2624M”
note the black rubber stamped “2624M”
Courtesy of “The MacNair Collection”
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