Here is a model I have had in my mind to purchase for years, and I finally started searching and found a good deal on one on eBay. As you can see from the first photo, the Hallmark Lionel OO gauge F-3 looks great!

The model is not HO scale, as many would today probably think on first glance at this model. Ed Morlok wrote a two part article on converting this model to an operating OO gauge model that appeared in the November, 2000 and February 2001 issues of The OO Road. He introduced this model as follows:

In May of 1999 Hallmark Card shops began offering a OO gauge reproduction of the famous Lionel O gauge F3 A-A diesel in the New York Central lightning stripe paint scheme. This two-unit locomotive is 60% of the size of the O gauge model. Thus it is almost exactly to OO scale and is exactly OO gauge. But it is an unpowered model, sold only with a display case. The locomotive is very handsome, and looks great with OO scale items. The only major discrepancy is that it is about 9 [scale] inches too low, not very noticeable. In my opinion, this negative feature is far outweighed by its handsome appearance and excellent painting and lettering. Of course, it has the detail level of the original Lionel product, but this matches the level of detail of most manufactured OO items.

Powering is not difficult if one uses underfloor units. I also powered one using an Athearn frame and motor, and that was a very tedious job. It also results in the loss of Lionel’s characteristic swiveling pilot, which is part of the charm or appeal of Lionel to collectors, I’m sure. The Hallmark case can be used to display other models or this loco.

The rest of the Morlok articles deal with the nuts and bolts of making these models operable. There are a few options as to how to do this but the underfloor units such as he describes would certainly make the easiest and best running conversion. He used Tenshodo HO power trucks, 35mm wheelbase with 10.5 mm wheels.

In the photo of the underside of the model you can see better what you are up against. The models will roll, sort of, on my layout as they are but would certainly need working over to use as operating models.

These final photos compare the Hallmark model to the Schorr F-3. The Hallmark model really is, as Morlok worded it, very handsome, but it is also clearly semi-scale. It is close—it is wide enough for sure, but it is not tall enough over the rails. The overall length of the models is nearly the same, the Hallmark model being only a couple millimeters shorter in length.

This model was a part of what appears to have been two series of OO gauge models that were marketed by Hallmark. As stated by Morlok, they are 60% size models of O gauge toy trains. The other models in the series are as a result more toy-like and not very usable as scale models in OO gauge.

According to the flyer packed with the model I purchased, the 2333 NYC F-3A-A was third in the series, released in the spring of 1999, and had a list price of $100. The series was started in 1998. The Hallmark – Lionel Lines 726 Berkshire steam locomotive was first in the Great American Railways 20th century series listing at $120, and the Lionel 2332 Pennsylvania GG-1 was second in the 20th century series listing at $95. Also available at that time was the first model in the Norfolk and Western Train Series, the Lionel 746 Norfolk and Western 4-8-4 which listed at $90. It was priced lower as it did not include a display case. Also based on what I see for sale on eBay, there was a fourth model in the 20th century series, the Hallmark – Lionel Lines 671 Turbine Steam locomotive, and at least one more model in the Norfolk & Western Train Series as well, the Hallmark Great American Railways Lionel 3356 horse car. The later, according to eBay listings, sold for $30 originally. These other models, while interesting collectibles and OO gauge, are not particularly models you might want to convert to operation as they are clearly miniature models of semi-scale toy trains (although, based on the photo in the flyer, you could perhaps think about converting the 4-8-4 to an operating model–but it would certainly be a huge job).

I should mention the track that comes mounted on the base. It is as Ed Morlok noted clearly OO gauge and is similar to Lionel OO three rail sectional track, as illustrated in this photo.

All of these show up on eBay with a variety of ways to list the models. Most sellers seem to think they are approximately HO scale. Also all appear to have been produced in limited edition runs of 29,500 each. My pair are number 20703 in the F3 run. If that makes them rare or not in the world of Hallmark collecting I am not sure but they seem to be common enough so that there is usually one on sale as a BIN item and if you spend a few weeks specifically trying to find one they will come up for auction on eBay. I would say they are not so rare that you could not modify one for operation if you wanted.

The prize in the Hallmark OO line for us I think is still the AA F-3’s. This pair I am not planning to try to power any time soon; it is actually going in my office in the nifty display case, Every OO gauge enthusiast should have one of these.

UPDATE: I saw a Hallmark-Lionel 726 Berkshire and a 2332 Pennsylvania GG-1 at a recent meet, and they do give very much the visual impression of being smaller than OO; the F-3s however do really visually impact as being OO gauge models.