Last updated: 2/1/2024
This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) explains how and why Lionel, LLC and its affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, and related companies (“Lionel”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collect, store, use, disclose, share, or otherwise process your personal information. This includes information you provide us through interactions with our websites (including - lionel.com, lionelstore.com, lionelsupport.com, lionelracing.com, lionelconcord.com, lionelnashville.com, lionelgarage.com, Control.Lionel.com, and other Lionel websites on which this policy is posted (the “Site(s)”), mobile applications (including Lionel LionChief, Lionel iCab, and any other downloadable mobile apps) (the “Apps”) or through interactions with us in a retail store or via email or telephone (collectively, the “Services”). Except as noted, this policy is not applicable to information gathered or provided to us pursuant to other specific agreements.
The section titled "Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions" below provides information about our compliance with applicable U.S. state privacy laws (“Applicable Privacy Laws”).
If you are located outside of the United States, please review the “Non-US Residents” section included below for important disclosures related to how we transfer, process, and store your personal information.
Table of Contents
Personal Information We Collect
In order to maximize your experience and provide our Services, we may process personal information from the categories listed below. Our listing of these categories does not mean that all categories or the examples listed in each category are collected from everyone who uses our Services or otherwise interacts with us. We are providing a detailed list here in the spirit of transparency.
- Identifiers: Name; postal address; email address; telephone number; account and password information; IP address, cookies and other similar online identifiers
- Internet or other electronic network activity: Browsing history; search history; session information; site navigation; referring source (including referring URLs); exit URL; browser type; browser identifier; and other similar information collected via the use of cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies about how you use the Services
- Audio, visual, or similar information: Photos, videos, and other recordings you choose to share when utilizing our services (e.g., accessing train-mounted cameras), to personalize your purchases (e.g., when configuring a personalized boxcar), or as part of occasional promotions we undertake
- Commercial information: Records of products purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies; payment card information, including card number, expiration date, and name on card that are stored by us to process future orders
- Inferences drawn from other information: Any profile created about you that reflects likely preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, or aptitude
- Device Information: This may also include about your device and software characteristics, connection information, device brand and model, device operating system, and device type
- Other miscellaneous information you choose to provide to us: While we do not request or require this data, we are aware that users include additional information about themselves when contacting us or posting to one of our product forums; this information might include information listed in any of the categories above
Sources of Personal Information We Collect
We collect the categories of personal information listed above from various sources. This section lists and describes those sources.
Directly from you. We collect personal information directly from you when you provide it to us, for example, when you register an account; subscribe to email updates; upload or submit any content or other material through the Services; or request information or contact us with inquiries through the Services or via email.
Indirectly from you. We may automatically collect personal information from you when you visit the Services through the use of tracking technologies or by other passive means. This “passively collected” information helps us to improve our offerings and allows us to ensure our Services work as designed and in a way that meets your expectations. Some examples include:
- Viewing History and Preferences. When you browse our Sites, we may collect information about your use. For example, if you search for a particular product, we may collect information about that action. We may also track how long you spend on a particular product and whether you choose to add that product to your wish list.
- Log Information. Through the use of analytics tools, we may automatically record information that your browser or mobile device sends when you access our Sites. This information may include information such as your type, browser language, your computer operating system, your mobile device and mobile operating system, the name of your internet service provider or your mobile carrier, the date and time of your request, etc.
- Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies. When you visit or access the Site, we may utilize cookies (small text files containing a string of characters sent to your computer) or similar tracking technologies that uniquely identify your browser to track your activity and hold certain information. Cookies can be necessary for site navigation and performance, or used for advertising. We use the following types of cookies:
- Necessary Cookies help you navigate on the Site and access certain features. For example, these cookies make sure your basket is saved during all the steps of your checkout process.
- Functional Cookies are there so we can give you an even smoother customer experience. These cookies help you to save and remind you about your shopping cart and enable you to create a wish list.
- Performance Cookies help us to understand shopping behavior of our visitors. This enables us to keep improving our Sites, so shopping becomes easier and more pleasant for you.
- Customer Interaction Cookies are used for you to express your opinion. We love to know what you think about our products and Services. These cookies will enable you to like or recommend us on social media and to chat with our service agents. But you can also advise our other (potential) customers by rating and reviewing our products.
- Advertising/Targeting Cookies will remember your product and buying preferences. We believe advertising is all about relevance. These cookies enable us to share what you like with our advertisers. So if you are browsing the internet or using a social media app the advertisements you see can be more relevant to your preferences.
Most web browsers accept cookies automatically but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you disable all cookies, you may not be able to use some features of the Sites.
- Web Beacons. Portions of our Site and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). We may employ web beacons to facilitate Site administration and navigation, to track the actions of users of the Site, to compile aggregate statistics about usage and response rates, and to provide an enhanced online experience for our visitors. We may also include web beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine which e-mail messages were opened.
From third parties. We may collect Personal Information about you from third parties, either at your request or for our business purposes. These third-party sources vary, but could include the following:
- Technical Service Partners. We work with a variety of third-party service providers to enhance the Services and make it function the way you expect. Our partners provide website hosting, marketing, website usage analytics, advertising, and maintenance services. Many of these categories overlap with the passively collected personal information described above. In working with our service providers, we may share personal information with them and receive personal information back from them so that we may improve the Services. The third-party service providers we work with are authorized to use your information that we provide to them only to carry out the service they are providing for Lionel. We require that the third-party processors securely store any personal information we provide to them and maintain it so that it can be accessed when needed for future purposes. Where appropriate, we enter into binding contracts to protect the use of your personal information by third parties. As an example, we use Google Analytics to analyze how users interact with the Sites. Google Analytics has its own terms of use that we agree to and its own policy that describes how it collects and processes data, located here. You can opt out of Google Analytics’ collection and use of data generated by your use of the Site by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. For more details please refer to Google Analytics’ article, “Safeguarding your data.”
- Payment Processors. We use third parties to process payments and store payment card information. These third parties solutions are integrated into the Services so you may not always realize the information is not stored by us. When you pay for products, your personal information, including payment card numbers and certain identifiers, are collected and stored by our payment processor pursuant to their terms and procedures. Similarly, when you choose to “store” your payment card information as part of your account we utilize a third-party service that integrates with our Services, but we do not actually store the information ourselves. In each case, we require that our payment partners store data in a safe and secure manner with access limited to authorized personnel pursuant to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and for only as long as is necessary. Lionel does not see your full payment card number (only the last 4 digits) and does not store your payment information. We only receive enough information to confirm that a purchase has been made. PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of payment card information.
- Business Partners. We have co-branding and licensing relationships with many iconic brands from Coca-Cola to NASCAR to Walt Disney: https://www.lionel.com/articles/licensors/. In some instances, these agreements contemplate that we will share information with and receive information from our business partners about the sale of products that bear their marks.
How We Use Personal Information
We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:
- To provide you information about our products and Services, including newsletters and materials related to our marketing initiatives. This may include newsletters and emails that directly promote our products or services and may contain, in whole or in part, advertisements for or that relate to products from third parties with whom we do business.
- To contact you or to allow an affiliated sponsor or others associated with a specific event to contact you, if you provided information in connection with a specific event.
- To respond to your requests and inquiries.
- To process your payment for purchases.
- To personalize your purchases of our products.
- To communicate with you, such as to notify you when changes may be necessary to an agreement with you, to fulfill a request by you, or to contact you about your account or registration with us. We use return email addresses to answer emails or web-based requests that we receive.
- To share product testimonials, reviews or comments you provided. This may include posting your remarks on the Services or using it in advertising materials. We may attribute your testimonial to you by posting your name or some combination of your name and initials, if provided or ascertainable, on the Services or in advertising materials.
We do not share your personal information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to provide information to you or as stated in this Privacy Policy.
We may create anonymous data records from personal information by excluding information (such as your name) that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We use this anonymous data to perform statistical analyses of users’ aggregate behavior so that we may enhance the content of our Services and improve Site navigation. We reserve the right to disclose anonymous data to third parties in our discretion. We also may use this information in the aggregate to analyze site usage, as well as to offer you products, programs, or services.
How We Disclose Personal Information
We may share your data with third party vendors, service providers, contractors, or agents (“third parties”) who perform services for us on our behalf and require access to such information to do that work. The categories of third parties we may share personal information with for this purpose include, but are not limited to, providers of:
- Data Analytics Services
- Cloud Computing Services
- Payment Processors
- Performance Monitoring Tools
- Website Hosting Services
We may also disclose or share the information we collect in connection with our Services with the following recipients and/or under the following circumstances:
- Government and Legal Authorities. We may disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by governmental and other legal authorities, including requests from national security agencies, consumer protection agencies, courts, and similar authorities.
- Law Enforcement. Under appropriate circumstances, we may disclose personal information to law enforcement personnel and certain third parties for use in connection with and in support of law enforcement activities.
- Business Transfers/Transactions. In the event of a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy or other sale of all or a portion of our assets, any user information owned or controlled by us may be one of the assets transferred to third parties. We reserve the right, as part of this type of transaction, to transfer or assign your information and other information we have collected from users of the Service to third parties. Other than to the extent ordered by a bankruptcy or other court, the use and disclosure of all transferred user information will be subject to this Policy. However, any information you submit or that is collected after this type of transfer may be subject to a new privacy policy adopted by the successor entity.
- Safety, Fraud and Government Requests. To the extent permitted by law and in addition to the disclosures discussed above, we may disclose your personal information to government authorities or third parties if: (a) required to do so by law, or in response to a subpoena or court order; (b) we believe in our sole discretion that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect against fraud, to protect our property or other rights or those of other users of the Services, third parties or the public at large; or (c) we believe that you have abused the Services by using them to attack other systems or to gain unauthorized access to any other system, to engage in spamming, or otherwise to violate applicable laws or in violation of our Terms of Service. You should be aware that, following disclosure to any third party, your information may be accessible by others to the extent permitted or required by applicable law.
Additional Privacy Information for Certain Jurisdictions
Residents of certain states have additional rights under applicable privacy laws, as described in this section. If you are a resident of California, please review our “California Notice at Collection” provided in Subsection 1. Subsection 2 includes additional information about your privacy rights under applicable California privacy laws. If you are a resident of another state that has enacted an applicable privacy law, please review Subsection 3 below for additional information about your privacy rights under applicable state privacy laws.
The California Code of Regulations defines a “resident” as:
- Every individual who is in the state of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and
- every individual who is domiciled in the state of California who is outside the state of California for a temporary or transitory purpose.
All other individuals are defined as “non-residents”.
California Notice at Collection
This Notice provides California residents with information about our collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information. Please reference the other sections of the Privacy policy for more information about our privacy practices.
This Notice is provided pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act, as modified by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (the “CCPA”) supplements and should be read in conjunction with this Policy. The information in this section applies solely to consumers who reside in the State of California.
Collection, Use and Disclosure of Personal Information
The chart below describes how and why we collect, use, and disclose personal information also describe how and why we have collected, used, and disclosed personal information within the past 12 months.
| Categories of Personal Information |
| Category |
Examples |
Purpose and Use of Personal Information |
| Identifiers |
Name; postal address; email address; telephone number; account and password information; IP address, cookies; and other similar online identifiers |
- To provide you information about our products and Services, including newsletters and materials related to our marketing initiatives
|
| Internet or other electronic network activity |
Browsing history; search history; session information; site navigation; referring source (including referring URLs); exit URL; browser type; browser identifier; and other similar information collected via the use of cookies, web beacons, or other similar technologies about how you use the Services |
- To improve your user experience on our Sites
- To enable the basic features of our Sites to function, such as allowing images to load
|
| Audio, visual, or similar information |
Photos, videos, and other recordings you choose to share when utilizing our services (e.g., accessing train-mounted cameras); to personalize your purchases (e.g., when configuring a personalized boxcar) or as part of occasional promotions we undertake |
- To personalize our products
- To offer promotions
|
| Commercial information |
Records of products purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies; payment card information, including card number, expiration date, and name on card that are stored by us to process future orders |
- To provide you information about our products and Services, including newsletters and materials related to our marketing initiatives
- To process your payment for purchases
|
| Inferences drawn from other information |
Any profile created about you that reflects likely preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitude |
- To provide you information about our products and Services, including newsletters and materials related to our marketing initiatives
|
| Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)) |
Name, address, telephone number, and payment card information
Note: The personal information included in this category is CA specific and may overlap with other categories. |
- To provide you information about our products and Services, including newsletters and materials related to our marketing initiatives
|
Selling and Sharing of Personal Information
Lionel does not “sell” personal information, nor do we have actual knowledge of any “sale” of personal information of minors under 16 years of age. That said, we may share information with third-party advertising partners for the purpose of promoting our Services as described above, such as for targeted advertising.
We may share the following categories of data with Advertising partners for this purpose:
- Identifiers
- Commercial Information
- Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity, and,
- Inferences drawn from other personal information to create a profile about a consumer.
To the extent that such sharing is considered a “sale”, "sharing", or "targeted advertising" under applicable state law, you may limit such sharing by following the instructions found below in the section titled “Exercising Your Rights” or by contacting us as set forth in “Contact Us.”
Retention of Personal Information
We maintain the categories of personal information described above for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this Notice or as otherwise authorized by law. This generally means holding the information for as long as one of the following apply:
- Your personal information is reasonably necessary to manage our operations, to manage your relationship with us, or to satisfy another purpose for which we collected the information;
- Your personal information is reasonably necessary to carry out a disclosed purpose that is reasonably compatible with the context in which the personal information was collected;
- Your personal information is reasonably required to protect or defend our rights or property, which will generally relate to applicable laws that limit actions in a particular case; or
- We are otherwise required or permitted to keep your personal information by applicable laws or regulations.
Where personal information is used for more than one purpose, we will retain it until the purpose with the latest period expires.
Additional Information for California Residents
The categories of and the sources from which we collect personal information vary based on our relationship or interaction with a specific California resident and the business purpose for which the personal information is collected. Please reference the “Personal Information We Collect” and “Sources of Personal Information We Collect” sections for more information about these practices. Details regarding how we may share your personal information is available in the “How We Disclose Personal Information” section above.
California Consumer Rights
Subject to certain exceptions, as a California resident, you have the following rights to your personal information:
Right to Know and Access: Request access to your personal information that we have collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you, including:
- The categories of personal information we have collected about you, including:
- The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected;
- Our business or commercial purposes for collecting or disclosing personal information;
- The categories of recipients to which we disclose personal information; and
- The categories of personal information that we disclosed for a business purpose, and for each category identified, the categories of recipients to which we disclosed that particular category of personal information; or
- The specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you.
Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain limitations. If you ask to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as but not limited to:
- Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
- Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
- Exercise free speech to ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
- Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code 1546 seq.).
- Comply with a legal obligation.
- Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
Right to Correction: You have the right to request that we correct personal information we maintain about you that you believe is inaccurate.
Right to Opt-out of Sales and Sharing: You have the right to opt-out of your personal information being shared for purposes of targeted advertising. Please contact us for such requests.
Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal information: We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information in any way that is governed by the CCPA.
Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of Rights: You have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination for exercising your rights under the CCPA. We will not discriminate against you based upon your exercising your rights with respect to your personal information.
Exercising Your Rights
If you are a California resident and wish to exercise any of these rights, please call 1-800-628-6202 or submit a request to TalkToUs@Lionel.com.
When submitting your request, you must provide sufficient information that allows us to verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or their authorized agent. This information includes your first and last name, email address, and billing address. When submitting your request, please provide sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate and respond to the request. We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. If we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud prevention purposes. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm that the personal information relates to you.
Authorized Agents
You have the right to designate an authorized agent to act on your behalf to exercise your rights under the CCPA. In order to do so, Lionel must verify your identity, and your authorized agent must have written permission from you. We reserve the right to deny a request from an agent that does not submit proof that they are authorized to act on your behalf.
Response Timing
We will attempt to respond to a verifiable consumer request within 45 days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and the necessary extension period in writing.
Additional Information for Residents of States with Applicable Privacy Laws
Residents of certain U.S. states other than California have the right to receive disclosures regarding a business’ processing of “personal data”, as defined under Applicable Privacy Law. Residents of these states may have unique rights with respect to our processing of such personal data. To the extent you are a resident of a state with such a privacy law, and we collect, use or disclose personal data subject to your state’s privacy law, this section of our Policy applies. For more information about the personal data we collect, use and disclose, please see “Personal Information We Collect,” “How We Use Personal Information,” and “How We Disclose Personal Information” sections in this Policy.
Consumer Rights
Under Applicable Privacy Law, you have the following rights:
- Right to Access: You have the right to confirm whether or not we are processing your personal data and to access such personal data.
- Right of Portability: You may have the right to obtain a copy of the personal data that you previously provided to us in a format of our choosing as long as it is accessible and machine readable.
- Right to Delete: You have the right to ask us to delete certain personal data we have collected about you.
- Right to Correction: You have the right to ask us to correct inaccuracies in the personal data we have collected.
- Right to Opt-out of Sale: A “sale” includes disclosing or making available personal data to a third party in exchange for money. We do not “sell” personal data as defined under Applicable Privacy Laws; thus, this right is not available consumers at this time.
- Right to Opt-out of Targeted Advertising: You have the right to opt out of the processing of your personal data if it is used for targeted advertising. Applicable state privacy laws may provide the right to opt out of the processing of personal data for decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning you.
Exercising Your Rights
If you are a resident of a state that has enacted an Applicable Privacy Law and wish to exercise any of these rights, please call 1-800-628-6202 or submit a request using this form.
Verification Process
We may request that you provide additional information reasonably necessary to verify you and your consumer’s request. If you submit the request through an authorized agent, we may need to collect additional information to verify your identify before processing your request. If you are using an authorized agent to exercise your rights, we may deny a request if the authorized agent does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf.
Response Timing
Upon receiving your request, we will attempt to respond within 45 days. The response period may be extended when reasonably necessary. We will inform you of any such extension within 45 days of receiving your request, together with the reason for the extension.
Right to Appeal
If we decline to take action regarding your request, we will inform you of our decision and reasoning behind it. If you wish to appeal our decision, please e-mail us at TalkToUs@lionel.com. Within 60 days of receipt of an appeal, we will inform you in writing of any action taken or not taken in response to the appeal, including a written explanation of the reason(s) for the decision. If your appeal is denied, you may contact your state’s Attorney General to submit a complaint related to the denial.
Non-US Residents
If you are located outside of the United States, please note that the information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States. By using the Services, you consent to this transfer and the processing of your data (personal or otherwise) in accordance with this Privacy Policy, to the fullest extent allowed under the law. You also consent to the adjudication of any disputes arising in connection with this website in the federal and state courts of, and in accordance with the laws of, the State of North Carolina. The applicable laws in the United States regarding the processing of data (personal or otherwise) may be less stringent than the laws in your country.
We make no claim that the Services are appropriate for use outside of the United States. Access to the Services may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Services from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with laws of your jurisdiction. Please contact us using the information in the “Contact Us” section below if you wish to exercise legal rights you may have under applicable laws in your jurisdiction.
Children’s Information
The Services are not directed at or intended for use by children under 13 years old. If you are under the age of 13, you should not be visiting our websites or using the Services. We do not knowingly collect or retain personal information from children under 13. If you are under the age of 13 and are visiting or otherwise using the Services, please exit immediately and do not disclose or provide any personally-identifiable information to us. If you are a parent or guardian who thinks your child has disclosed information to us, please contact us so that we can remove that information from our systems.
If you are over the age of 13 but less than 18 and would like to use the Services, please ask your parent or legal guardian to review and agree to this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions before you use any part of the Services. If you wish to use the Services, you must ask your parent or legal guardian for permission. Continued use of the Services indicates that you have obtained such consent; if you have not received such permission and continue to use the Services, you do so in violation of this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions. If you are a parent or guardian who has granted your minor permission to use the Services, you agree and understand that you are responsible for monitoring and supervising your child's usage.
Additional Notices
Copyrights/Trademarks
Please see the Terms and Conditions for important notices about copyrights, trademarks and other matters. You may not, without our prior written permission, “mirror” any material contained on the Services or any other content being displayed on the world wide web.
Any permission granted to you herein terminates automatically without further notice if you breach any of the Terms or Privacy Policy. Upon such termination, you agree to immediately destroy any and all downloaded and/or printed materials from the Services. Any unauthorized use of any material contained on the Services may violate domestic and/or international copyright and trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.
All trademarks, service marks, logos, slogans, domain names and trade names (collectively “Marks”) are the properties of their respective owners. We disclaim any proprietary interest in Marks other than our own Marks.
Third-Party Links
The Services may contain hyperlinks to other websites or advertisements of third parties. We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third party websites or advertisers. We do not share any of the individual personal information you provide us with the websites to which we link, except as stated elsewhere within this Privacy Policy, although we may share aggregate data with those third-parties. Please check with those third-party sites to determine their privacy policies. When and if we embed third party content into a page of our Sites, we will use reasonable efforts to ensure that it is evident we are doing so or to advise our users that they have exited our Services and are entering a third-party controlled website. You should read and understand any privacy policy noted on all third party websites that you visit.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to modify the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy or other disclaimers or legal terms at any time without giving you prior notice. Your use of the Services following any such modification constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by such modifications. For this reason, we encourage you to review the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and other terms whenever you use our Services.
Contact Us
Services are operated by:
Phone: 800-628-6202
Mail: Lionel LLC
6301 Performance Drive
Concord, NC 28027
Email: TalkToUs@lionel.com