For sale is a mid-century LIONEL RAILROAD TRAIN CROSSING GUARD GATE. This Model No. 252 crossing guard is probably an O gauge size train product. Underneath the The guard appears to be in working order but the gate is not tested. The gate has a metal pole that dangles from the far of the gate. The black and white diagonal striped gate is in great condition. Lionel sold this accessory between 1950 and 1962. This toy measures about 9 1/2 inches long. The gate is 8 1/4 inches tall when raised. A great toy train assessor for display or use with a train set.
In 1900, Joshua Lionel Cowen founded Lionel Manufacturing Company near City Hall in New York City. Lionel’s first trains were powered by wet-cell acid-filled batteries which were soon replaced by the 110-volt electric transformer. During Lionel’s early days, Americans were captivated by the railroads and awed by electricity, still a rarity in many homes. By the end of World War I, Lionel was one of three major U.S. toy train manufacturers, and it grew rapidly due to shrewd marketing. In 1942, Lionel ceased toy production to produce nautical items for the United States Navy during World War II. In 1945, Lionel resumed producing toy trains replacing their original product line with less-colorful, but more realistic, trains and concentrating exclusively on O-gauge trains.
The popularity of Lionel’s trains peaked in 1953 as Lionel became the world’s largest toy manufacturer. As the 1950s progressed, Lionel sales began to decline in proportion to the growing prevalence of space and military-themed toys and slot car racing sets — all coinciding with the decline in rail travel and the launching of Sputnik.
