O-Gauge Lionel Trains


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Written by Paul D. Race for

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Lionel Trains are still BIG with fans! When we started adding Lionel trains to our buyer's guide in 2004, only a handful of sets were generally available. In fact, adding trains to this page often caused the suppliers we linked to to sell out in a matter of days, and we got used to spending much of the time between Thanksgiving and December 15 tracking down new suppliers to link to. (After December 15, sorry - all bets are off.)

Support from folks like us, combined with Lionel's introduction of the best-selling Polar Express train have caused Lionel's "stock to rise" among train lovers of all ages. Today Lionel is selling more kinds of train sets with more road names and more different locomotives than they have in decades, including the Berkshire locomotive they reintroduced in the Polar Express set and the realistic-looking, solid 0-8-0 they are now including in several sets listed on this page.

In addition, lots of folks who bought their first Lionel set to go around their Christmas trains are finding other uses for them, including Christmas villages and year-round O27 railroads a lot like the O gauge railroads our grandparents used to build. These trains are great for all these purposes. (Of course Lionel also offers trains decorated specifically for Christmas, if you are primarily interested in a Christmas display.)

Whatever you want to do with your trains, we're here to help, with information, tough questions, and help finding hard-to-find sets. Please contact us early if you have any questions, though - we do get swamped with questions by mid-November and stay that way until about Valentines' day.

Note about Availability and Pricing: Although I try to keep an eye on things and to recommend products that are reasonably available, the model train market does fluctuate, and any product on this page may change price or become unavailable without prior notice.

November, 2020 Update: I have had to take two trains off this page that ran out this year, but the good news is that Lionel has added many, many more trains that are still available as of this note. If you've scrolled down past the trains we list and still haven't seen a train you want, you'll find a link directly to Amazon's page listing Lionel O gauge trains. Some are being added as I write this, so the truth is I can't keep up.

Note: When you go to Amazon's "O Gauge Trains" page, you will also see trains that most definitely aren't O gauge. That's because to Amazon's sorting engine, "O Gauge" and "Lionel" mean the same thing. They don't. The battery-powered trains you see are plastic toys that run on special 2" track. Well-made toys, I admit, but they are not the Lionel trains your parents grew up with.

For more detailed information about why model train products seem to come and go and why we have stopped listing prices on our "buyer's guide," please see the article "About Pricing and Availability."

Note about Suppliers: While we try to help you get the trains and other products you want by recommending suppliers with a good record of customer service, all transactions between you and the supplier you chose to provide your trains are governed by the published policies on the supplier's web site. So please print off any order confirmation screens and save copies of invoices, etc., so you can contact the appropriate supplier should any problems occur. (They almost never do, but you want to be on the safe side.)

The Lionel SuperChief Remote Control Train Set - This is a classic Lionel streamliner that was recently reissued with remote control capabilities, via the included controller or by Bluetooth from devices such as your cell phone or tablet.
Sales are already very strong for this version, so don't wait too long to order yours.
Please click the Amazon button for more details, or to check price and availability.

The Lionel(r) Pennsylvania Flyer Remote Control Train Set - This train features a rugged die-cast Lionel 0-8-0 locomotive with working headlight, operating smoke unit, and whistle. The set includes two freight cars, a large FasTrack layout, and the powerful CW-80 Transformer.
Note: This train used to have an Atlantic 4-4-2 locomotive; now it has an 0-8-0, which is a different style that is just as much fun to run. If you have the old Pennsylvania Flyer and you like Pennsylvania RR, this is a good addition to the old set. This set features PRR's famous "port-hole" caboose. Again, if you want this train (or any train on this page), avoid disappointment and order now.
Please click a button for more details, or to check price and availability.

Lionel Junction Union Pacific O-Gauge Lion Chief Remote Train Set
This train came in in December of last year, but a few folks still managed to pick them up before Christmas. The train features an 0-4-0 "Porter" locomotive with a diamond smokestack and three "shorty" cars.

Lionel Junction Santa Fe Set
The Lionel(r) Junction Santa Fe Train Set - This is the smallest set on this page, but an excellent way to get started. The train features an 0-4-0T "Porter" locomotive, two freight cars, a "shorty" caboose, a circle of Lionel's FasTrack and a power supply.
100% compatible with Lionel's larger sets, this can be a nice introduction to Lionel or a nice add-on to an existing railroad or collection. If this is your first set, though, you might want to think about making your "layout" bigger by ordering a few extra straight pieces (below).
Please click a button for more details, or to check price and availability.

Harry Potter's Hogwarts Express? is Back - I used to just link to this train from my seasonal pages, but it is so well executed, I want to remind folks about it. For a couple of years, it was entirely unavailable and people were charging outrageous amounts for them but now it's back in stock
It is so different from most Lionel trains that it deserves its own page. So to learn more about the Lionel Hogwarts Express click here
More Lionel O Gauge Trains
Lionel trains have been coming and going too quickly for me to keep up, so here's a link to Amazon's page listing many trains that have been recently added.
All Lionel O gauge trains will play nicely together. So if you bought one last year, or if you inherited one from your grandfather, any Lionel O gauge train you buy today will work with it.
The new trains will also run on the old track and vice versa, in case you wondered. Lionel even makes a "transition piece" to connect the two kinds of track if you want to combine them in a single loop. (Most folks who use these wind up buying two.)
Reminder - Some of Lionel's toy, battery-powered trains also show up on the "O Gauge Train" page. They are not O gauge trains and they will not run on O gauge track or vice versa. That said, some of them are great for kids to play with, and they are much better made than most battery-powered toy trains, so you may have a use for them (I have several that I let visiting children run). Just don't buy one by mistake.

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Expand Your Empire With More Track. Most of the trains on this page come with Lionel's new "FasTrack," which looks better and goes together easier than traditional O-27 track. To give your train a little more room to run, consider adding a few pieces. This 10-inch Straight Track Section is the same as the pieces that come with the all of the sets on this page. Please click on the button to check price and availability.

Lionel FasTrack Curves A set of four curved pieces, along with a few more straight pieces, will give you many more choices of how to set up your railroad. These are what Lionel calls O-36 curves, the same curves that come with all of the sets on this page. Please click on a supplier button to check price and availability.

Lionel FasTrack Railer - The Railer is used to help you and your family easily roll your locomotives and rolling stock onto the tracks. No more fiddling with the wheels to get them on correctly. Instead, you set this on top of the track temporarily and "feed" each car through it to get it onto the track. Great for kids who are just learning about trains. This product works with all the train sets on this page.

Other Pages You May Find Helpful

"O Scale Accessories - Our O-Scale Accessories page includes many relatively inexpensive details such as bridges, fencing, and stations, that will bring life to any O-Scale or O-Gauge railroad. Click on the picture at the right to see that product page.

"O Gauge Christmas Trains - If you are getting a train set just for Christmas, check out the O Gauge Christmas Trains page. This page features Lionel's exclusive Polar Express train, complete with a Berkshire locomotive, three passenger cars, and several add-on car options. Other Christmas trains and accessories are also featured. These trains will also look nice with your Christmas village structures, if you have room for a track circle (about 40" minimum).

"Tribute to Tinplate" Project Articles - This is not a buyer's guide page, but a series of projects that pay "Tribute to Tinplate," based on the tinplated-steel trains and towns of a century ago. You make the structures out of cardboard, but our free downloadable commercial-grade graphics and instructions will help you make heirloom-quality reproductions of classic tinplate stations, bridges, and more. Inexpensively add an authentic vintage look to any indoor railroad.

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