General Models Corporation

(Wheaton Illinois USA)

General Models Corporation Locomotives

General Models Corporation Mac Handcar, with push start motor

General Models Corporation Street Car, with push start motor

General Models Corporation Street Car, with push start motor. Less common red body, yellow roof

Image of General Models Corporation Street Car, with push start motor. Another with red body and yellow roof

General Models Corporation Street Car, with push start motor. Another with red body and yellow roof
Photo credit Lyle Leverich. Thank you!

GMC 1000 HP EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive

GMC 1000 HP EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive, unmade kit

GMC 1000 HP EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive, unpowered dummy unit

Image of General Models Corporation EMD F3 AA Diesel kit

General Models Corporation (ex Atwater) EMD F3 AA Diesel kit

General Models Corporation Atlantic locomotive kit

General Models Corporation USRA 4-6-2 Pacific kit

General Models Corporation kit built tender

General Models Corporation 4-8-2 locomotive chassis (front truck missing)

The Lionel GMC Connection

This section is dedicated to the fascinating period 1949/50, during which time Lionel introduced their model number 622, the EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive. Seventy years later, discussion continues regarding the use - or not - of the GMC model as part of Lionel publicity material.

The truth? A few (edited) words from well known Lionel authority, the late Dennis Waldron :

"Today many think that Lionel saw the GMC switcher and decided to model it, and when you look at the facts their assertions are made for no other reason than because the 622 looks similar. From a point of practicality it doesn’t make sense. GMC (I believe) made their switcher available in the fall of 1948, but let’s assume for the moment that they had it available as early as January of 1948 (a real feat in that time period). In order for Lionel to have the 622 in their 1949 catalog, which would have been at the presses by September, they would have had to have a mockup to use by at least June or July. Lionel would have had to have the switcher in their hands by May/June 1948. Not nearly enough time to create the engineering and tooling for a fall release of a product. Let’s take this further because what else was going on at Lionel is relevant.

1. In 1947-48 Lionel was developing their first vertical motor, the 622-100X.
2. In 1947-48 Lionel was developing all new trucks to be used with their new vertical motor.
3. In 1947-48 Lionel was redesigning their coil couplers.
4. In 1947-48 Lionel was redesigning their diesel frames for use with their new motor design.
5. In 1947-48 Lionel was developing their new mid-class line around the Alco, its second vertical motor engine.
When one compares the two switch engines, there are no similarities of construction other than an image of a switcher, and those images are poor at best. The frame, motor, reversing unit and everything else is entirely different. To design and engineer an engine with the features incorporated by Lionel (as opposed to GMC) for release for Christmas 1948 and spring of 1949 relying on a GMC would have been utter nonsense. It has also been suggested that the picture in the September 5th 1949 issue of Life Magazine may be that of a Lionel engineer “possibly” examining a GMC switcher. While it is possible, what would be the need? The picture is described as being that of a meeting Lionel’s officers and engineers studying a new diesel. Why or how can anyone suggest that this is a GMC switcher? September 1949, well into Lionel’s production of the 622.

I have a mold sample of a gray (marbled) 622 body sample."

The first image below is the Lionel 622 model, as issued. The second image is how the model appears on page 100 of the 1950 Bantam publication, Model Railroading. The third image, from page 139 of the same publication, is the 1949 Lionel Showroom Layout, and shows a white switcher on the track outside the roundhouse. The model is often suggested to be by GMC, not Lionel, presumably because the Lionel model was not thought to be available to photograph at that time. The fourth and fifth images are again of the 1949 Showroom Layout. The sixth image, from Life magazine, shows a Lionel engineer inspecting a loco, which, again, is sometimes thought to be a GMC model. Image seven is an advertisement by GMC, for their Switcher, image eight is an extract from a GMC catalog. The ninth image is the GMC Switcher, complete with box.

Lionel 622 EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive

Lionel model 622, as illustrated (p100) in the 1950 Bantam publication, Model Railroading. Note the illustration shows the running number 6220, whereas the actual model has the number 622

The Lionel 1949 Showroom Layout, as illustrated (p139) in the 1950 Bantam publication, Model Railroading

Another view of the Lionel 1949 Showroom Layout. This image comes from the web site of JLM Trains, to whom I am indebted.
The JLM Trains web site contains many images and three films of the 1949 Showroom Layout, and is highly recommended. JLM are building a reproduction of the layout, progress of which may be viewed on their site.

This image is from the 5th September 1949 issue of Life magazine, and illustrates a Lionel engineer possibly examining a GMC locomotive

GMC Diesel Switcher Advertisement, December 1948

GMC Diesel Switcher Catalog extract

GMC 1000 HP EMD Diesel Switcher locomotive

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