Back in the '30s it was a real tough time for America. The Great Depression was in full swing and toys were a hard sell. Lionel had been around since 1900 by this time and been producing a premier line of Standard Gauge and O-Gauge electric toy trains, but these trains were large and expensive. Now, while it's true that not everyone was unemployed there was still enough people out of work to make life miserable for a great many individuals and companies (I believe unemployment at the time was around the 25% mark on average). Lionel's response was the Winner line of trains which was a series of downsized trains and buildings made from about 1930-32 and were compatible in size with the Marx trains being produced at the time.
Today we feature one of the buildings from the Winner line, the #1012 Winner
Station, which was also a transformer and would have come in a set with an
engine, two cars, and an oval of track. The station is 5 3/8" (14.3cm) x 3 5/8" (9.2cm) at the base. The cord exits the station on one end of the building while on the opposite end are two screw terminals for connecting power to the track, and a fiber lever for speed control. The graphics are exactly the same as on the #48W Whistle Station featured last week. Fortunately our sample has an original power cord for your study as often times the older cords are replaced. Enjoy!
