Lionel 26 GRAY Bumper Lighted Die Cast metal contact buffer 1948 only C6 SCARCE

Tough to find in ANY condition...

You are looking at a really neat Lionel bumper from 1948. This is the SCARCE die cast illuminated bumper in GRAY.

This is the forerunner to the more common #260. Lionel made the 26 for only two years, 1948-1950, and the GRAY VERSION only happened in 1948. The SILVER contact buffer is really neat as well-- neater than the black one on the 260.

Sure, you see the 260s on ebay, but how often do you see a working foreruner in the rare color?