Improving Lionel’s postwar log loader

I’ve been enjoying the “Rediscovering the Classics” series of articles about the history and repair of various postwar accessories. In the July issue of

Classic Toy Trains, the focus was on the Lionel no. 364 conveyor lumber loader, which I have and really like using. But what surprises me is that Lionel didn’t include an automatic means to hold and then unload the logs at the top of the ramp. Instead, they pile up until their weight causes them to fall off the top onto an awaiting car. I also find it disappointing that Lionel, MTH, Williams, and other current manufacturers haven’t come up with many new actiontype accessories on that level. Despite this, life will go on! – Rod Lewis, Torrington, Conn.

Lionel introduced the no. 364 conveyor lumber loader in 1948 and kept it in the line through 1957. Yet during that decade few changes were made to the popular accessory. Reader Rod Lewis wonders why engineers didn’t figure out how to enable operators to unload the logs automatically.