LIONEL 260 BUMPER, 51-69 VARIATION (A) DIE-CAST

The Track Bumper No. 260 replaced the No. 26 in 1951, and would continue to be available until the end of the post-war period in 1969.

During this long production run there were several changes that occurred.

The first was caused by the introduction of "Super-O" track in 1957. The feet of the A Variation of this bumper would not fit between the ties of this new track. As a result, Lionel would redesign this bumper in 1958 so that it would work with this track (B Variation).

During the last years of the post-war era Lionel would make this bumper out of BLACK plastic and would sell them in a Hagerstown ORANGE and WHITE box. There are four variations:

Variation A: RED painted bumper with wide feet with a notched center rail pick-up. 1951-1957 production.

Variation B: RED painted bumper with narrow feet to fit Super-O track. 1958-1965 production.

Variation C: BLACK plastic bumper that has a center rail pick-up without the notch. 1966 and 1968-1969 production.

Variation D: Same as Variation C except packaged in a blister pack that was suitable for hanging from a dealers rack and was numbered B260. The packaging is what sets this variation apart and the value is tied up in the original packaging of this variation. This variation is shown to the right. 1966 only production.

The instructions that came with this bumper are illustrated below.