Lionel's Ill-Fated Venture Into the Nuclear Business
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When Lionel Went Nuclear Joel O. Lubenau, Paul Frame, and Jack W. Hornor Lionel began making nuclear toy Laboratories, Inc., at its Brooklyn, The difference between the two trains beginning in 1958. In 1960, New York plant and transferred the models is the battery requirement— Lionel ventured into the real nuclear inventories and certain fixed assets five D-cells in the 6 compared with world. to two other plant locations. In two D-cells in the 6b. LEL made connection with the closing down of approximately 82,000 CDV-700s, a the operations, the employment of all respectable 18% of federal govern- In the Beginning accounting and clerical employees at ment purchases. Some LEL model Lionel’s nuclear-themed trains and the Brooklyn plant was terminated. 6b units contained a modified GM accessories have been a frequent L The subsidiary had recorded sales tube to extend the units’ range. part of the company’s product line for 1963 of approximately The CDV 715 was designed to since 1958. (See Lubenau and $1,950,000 and it showed a gross measure high levels of radiation Hornor articles in the Health Physics loss of $1,050,000. While a substan- encountered following an enemy Newsletter, December 1997 and tial portion of the gross loss appears nuclear attack. The 1969 cost to the March, June, and July 1998). In to have been attributable to write- government was $15.86 per unit. It 1960, Lionel entered the real nuclear downs of inventories, idle facilities came in models 1, 1A, and 1B. LEL world when it acquired Anton and nonproductive labor, there made models 1 and 1A. Between Electronics Laboratories (Anton). remains a portion of the gross 20,000 and 30,000 of the 657,000 Lionel’s acquisition of Anton was loss—in an amount presently CDV-715s were made by LEL. part of a corporate strategy to undeterminable—the causes of Some LEL CDV-700 and CDV- diversify its product line. which Lionel is presently unable to 715 units were incorporated into the Anton was founded in 1948 by identify definitely from the CDV-777-1 Shelter Radiation Nicholas Anton, who was respon- subsidiary’s accounting records and Detection Kit which also included sible for the design of many of the the knowledge of the present dosimeters and dosimeter chargers. radiation detectors used in early US accounting personnel.” The CDV-794 was intended to space probes. In 1960, Anton There was no mention of LEL in calibrate civil defense radiation employed 316 workers consisting of the annual report for the following detectors using a 130 Ci 137Cs source. 21 scientists and technical staff and year and the 1965 annual report was Anton made three to five prototypes 234 production workers, with the the last to mention LEL. that became LEL’s property following remainder being supervisors, the takeover. However, Marlow maintenance workers, and clerical Civil Defense Equipment Stangler, an OCD health physicist, workers. It had not been profitable: Made by LEL discovered that the safety interlocks net operating losses occurred in The civil defense radiation detec- on the Anton prototypes could easily each of the years from 1956 to tor most commonly seen is the be jimmied. OCD sought out another 1959. The losses for 1957 to 1959 CDV-700 Geiger manufacturer, Tech totaled $162,256; the loss in 1959 counter. The Office Ops, to produce an alone was $86,528. Notwithstanding of Civil Defense improved version. this dismal record, Lionel acquired (OCD) purchased Although LEL Anton, renaming it Lionel Electronic 453,000 of these advertised the Laboratories (LEL). Nicholas Anton units between 1955 CDV-794, there is was retained but soon left, forming and 1985. Anton was doubt that LEL a new company, EON Corporation. a late-entry manufac- manufactured or Initially, LEL was featured in turer making the Figure 1. Lionel Electronic Laboratories distributed any Lionel’s annual reports but in 1963 model 6. After taking (LEL) model 6b CDV-700 Geiger sur- beyond the proto- there was no mention of LEL except over Anton, LEL vey meter. This is LEL’s most success- types it acquired in the financial section that con- continued making the ful product. About 82,000 were sold to from Anton. tained this revealing footnote: model 6 under its the Office of Civil Defense. Many are Perhaps the most “In September 1963, Lionel own name before being retained and recycled for use by unusual LEL closed down the operations of a moving on to the homeland security radiological emergency product made for response teams. subsidiary, Lionel Electronics model 6b (Figure 1). the civil defense 17 Health Physics News • October 2004 program was a Anton continued to be made prototype by LEL (Figure 4). Its combination protective metal cover is portable radio stamped with the Anton and Geiger shield with “Lionel” replac- counter, the Figure 2. A one-of-a-kind proto- ing Anton’s name. Another CDV-726DX type that never went into produc- surviving Geiger tube is an (Figure 2) tion, the Lionel CDV-726DX is a end-window type, model made sometime combination transistor radio and 210H. The protective cap is GM radiation detector. The detec- Figure 4. Lionel miniature pancake- between 1960 unmarked but the label on tor operated when the radio was type GM detector. Originally made by and 1962. The turned on. the tube bears the same Anton, the cover is stamped with the Geiger counter Lionel shield. Anton shield but with “Lionel” replac- operated when the radio, a General Although LEL product catalogs ing “Anton.” Electric eight-transistor unit, was on. were advertised, we have been Civil defense radiation detection unable to locate any, making it Nucleonics, March 1962, p. 105 equipment was designed during the difficult to compile a list of its An LEL ad also appeared in cold war to be used in the event of a products. LEL’s advertisements in Health Physics in December 1961. nuclear attack. The units are simple Nucleonics suggest the scope of its in design, easy to use, sturdy, and nuclear product line: Collecting LEL dependable. Following the end of the • Model 223 alpha beta gamma Are LEL products collectable? cold war, state and local agencies Among toy-train fanciers, any detector, Nucleonics, March 1964, began to discard their civil defense nontoy-train product bearing p. 76 equipment. Following 9/11 and Lionel’s name is very collectable • Model 227 end window GM, concerns over nuclear and radiologi- (and expensive), examples being Nucleonics, August 1964, p. 178 cal terrorism, the remaining civil table electric fans and girls’ toy defense equipment is being recycled • Model 330 thermal neutron tube, electric stoves, both from the 1930s for use by homeland security and Nucleonics, March 1963, p. 77 (the stoves definitely do not meet emergency management agencies. • Model 340 GM gamma detector, today’s consumer product stan- Florida, for example, is recycling its Nucleonics, March 1964, p. 76 dards for children), and naval remaining civil defense equipment, • Model 455 ratemeter/scaler, binnacles made during WWII. What specifically calling for the reuse of Nucleonics, June 1963, p. 83 is not well known in the toy-train LEL’s model 6b CDV-700s. • Model 457 GM ratemeter, field is that many of the LEL civil Nucleonics, July 1961, p. 118 defense products are, in fact, Commercial Products • Model 475 CAM, Nucleonics, common; for example, the number In contrast to its civil defense June 1963, p. 101 of CDV-700s that were made by products, surviving examples of LEL • Model 602 pancake GM, Nucle- LEL is 82,000. Even if only one- commercial nuclear products, tenth survived, this would be a onics, March 1964, p. 76 especially the larger pieces, are generous production quantity if the • Model 794 calibrator, Nucleonics, infrequently found. A survivor in number were applied to a Lionel June 1963, p.101 mint condition is a model 455 train engine or car. But these bench monitor in • Model 807 neutron detector tube, production numbers are not well the Oak Ridge Nucleonics, known. So, don’t be surprised by Associated Uni- March 1963, p. the prices you might see at a toy- versities (ORAU) 77 train meet or an auction. health physics • Model 813 What is more important is that collection (Figure neutron state and local agencies are collect- 3). Smaller pieces, detector tube, ing surplus LEL civil defense such as detector Nucleonics, products for reuse in programs for March 1963, p. tubes, are some- Figure 3. Lionel model 455 laboratory responding to emergencies resulting what easier to bench monitor scaler. This was first adver- 77 from nuclear and radiological find. A pancake tised in 1963, a time when decade scalers • Air particu- terrorism. LEL’s history may have (flat) Geiger tube were beginning to replace the binary sys- late and portal been short and checkered but the originally made by tem used in the 455. monitors, quality of the design and manufac- Health Physics News • October 2004 18 ture of its civil defense products has Commission (NRC) health physicist, and Energy and the HPS is aimed at withstood the test of time, finding a and J. Samuel Walker, the NRC providing surplus radiation detection new use in the 21st century. historian, were very helpful. Rose Marie equipment, training, and technical Pratt, New York Department of Labor, support to emergency responders; see shared her personal notes on the Anton the PowerPoint presentation “Homeland Acknowledgments and LEL activities in Brooklyn that used Defense Equipment Reuse (HDER) Marlow Stangler, a Health Physics radiation sources requiring a state Program” at http://hps.org/hsc/docu- Society (HPS) member, began working license.