LIONEL LINES TWIN-BIN COAL DUMP CAR, 55-58

The Operating Twin Dump Coal Car No. 3359 was available from 1955 until 1958.

The coal bins were dumped one at a time by a series of stepped movements that used a rotating cam gear to gradually raise each bin.

Unlike its predecessor, No. 3459, this dump car is made almost entirely out of plastic. The GRAY plastic coal bins are mounted on a RED plastic chassis that covered the bin raising mechanism. The BLACK "LIONEL LINES" lettering and the car’s reporting data was heat-stamped on.

Early editions had bar-end trucks with magnetic couplers, while later editions would have tabbed couplers. Note that the production number "335955," is printed on the side. The last two digits of this number, "55," indicates the first year of production.

This car came with a No. 90 Controller and two OCT Lockons that would allow it to dump coal at any location. These parts were contained in a parts envelope No. 3359-78 that is pictured to the right.

Also included with this unloading car was instruction sheet No. 3359-79 dated 9-55 and were printed with BLACK ink on WHITE paper. We’ve shown the following pages of this sheet below:

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3

This could make a great addition to your collection railroad layout or gift for a friend