I spend a fair amount of time in a local hobby shop, which has a sort of "Floyd's Barber Shop" flavor to it. Once or twice per week, I will make my way to the Gulf Coast Model Railroad Company, Incorporated to torture the Manager and cajole with other patrons over the lack of o-gauge products in the store and particularly the lack of post-war material.

Every now and then, someone will come in with a few cardboard boxes and innocently ask "Do you buy used trains?" I am hoping the next three words are "Old Lionel Trains". I admit I have been lucky to be present when a few such folks have wandered into the store.

Could he (or she) be toting that elusive 2442 New Haven A-B I have been seeking? Perhaps a Lackawanna FM Trainmaster, or a 217 Boston & Maine?

Not a chance. Usually a Scout set or a 20 Series locomotive that has more rust than my old Radio Flyer red wagon. Once we determine that the balance of the contents is common, Carnack accurately predicts a few of the gems remaining within - a Sunoco Tank Car, a New York Central Gondola, a red or Tuscan Caboose and a Lehigh Valley Hopper. I should be half as clairvoyant with predicting the winning Powerball numbers.

Roundabout point being, if you had a post-war Lionel freight set, chances are pretty decent that you had a Lehigh Valley Hopper. And I admit I have an appetite for these common and ordinary freights.

Perhaps it is my enjoyment of putting together long freights of similarly styled cars that has created this voraciousness, but in any event, I get them when they become available. I am always looking for different colors and designs.

With few exceptions, just about every hopper model produced by Lionel in the post-war era bore the name "Lehigh Valley". There are a few Norfolk & Western models. I have also seen an Alcoa version, as well as the roadnames of Minneapolis & St. Louis, Detroit & Mackinac and Alaska. Beyond these, I have found no evidence of other road names.

Over the course of time, I have accumulated a number of Lehigh Valley hoppers, nearly all being the #6456 variety. These are commonly referred to as "short hoppers" and were most often produced in black and maroon. Less common is a version of the #6456 produced in red and gray. The gray versions were stamped with red letters, as opposed to the common white. Considering I may never get over this Lehigh Valley addiction, I hope to acquire a number of these gray versions in the future. Mixing these in a consist of black and maroon hoppers will add more color and visual interest to the coal drags working the Lionel Lines.

I admit to not being much of a "purist" as it relates to product numbers and variations, and there are many interesting post-war hoppers in other model numbers providing an even greater selection of colors. For example, the #6076 model, which looks exactly the same as the #6456 is available in white with black lettering. Not sure of the wisdom of a white hopper for carrying dusty black coal however. I have seen photos of Model #6176 in yellow with black lettering. If there is a difference between these model numbers, other than the year they were produced, it is a mystery to me. I do know that a few of the yellow #6176 would really brighten up the layout.

A somewhat new discovery of mine is the #6436 line of what I would refer to as "large hoppers". Behind larger post-war engines, these create an impressive load, but they are overwhelming in size with smaller steamers. I have seen these in black, maroon and gray, although I have only acquired maroon versions.

What appears to be a natural progression after the #6436 is the #6446. This seems to be the same car, however these models are covered hoppers, and the covered look is a nice feature. These hoppers would create new business opportunities on the Lionel Lines for transport of grain products, providing an excellent excuse for building a narrow grain silo with an industrial siding for a few of these hoppers.

The post war hopper product line may appear limiting, but it creates opportunities for long consists and interesting sidings.