Lionel Electric Trains Identification Guide Sub-Title
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This Identification Guide for Lionel Electric Trains covers the "Post-war Era" only from 1945 until 1969.

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Lionel Trains Searchlight Car No. 3520LIONEL TRAINS OPERATING SEARCHLIGHT CAR No. 3520

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Lionel Trains Searchlight Car No. 3520 B Variation
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Lionel Trains Searchlight Car No. 3520 with Blackened Housing
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Lionel Trains Searchlight Car No. 6520The Searchlight Car No. 3520 would be the first of these cars to have a rotating searchlight. This involved a modification of the No. 6520 frame to house the vibrator mechanism for the searchlight. However, it would carry-over the on-off switch that is concealed in the ORANGE generator. Produced in 1952 and 1953, this car has a painted GRAY die-cast depressed center chassis that had steps at the four corners, a brake wheel oposite the searchlight, and would usually come with bar-end trucks equipped with magnetic couplers. There are two variations:
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Variation A: has rubber-stamped serif lettering on the sides.
Variation B: has rubber-stamped sans-serif lettering on the sides.

No. 3520 Box End

As it was illustrated on pages 17 and 28 of the 1952 catalog, this car is sometimes found with a chemically blackened metal part of the searchlight head. This is shown in the example above and to the right. Because these heads are interchangeable between cars this alteration does not warrant a variation.

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