Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

winced36 · Post by **winced36** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 4:31 pm

It's a little dirty, and the roof is scuffed up, but otherwise in decent shape. Love that little brass knob on the door...Lionel dropped that on their version and went with a pressed indentation, not nearly as nice.

Paul

winced36 · Post by **winced36** » Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:30 am

Lionel 1664 with 1689T tender:

Same boiler as the 224, 229, and 1666, with a 2-4-2 wheel arrangement. Manufactured 1938-1942. This locomotive tends to be a bit top-heavy and unstable. It usually came in sets with the Lionel-Ives style O-27 freight cars (1677, 1679, 1680 and 1682).

Paul

winced36 · Post by **winced36** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:40 pm

Lionel 249 from 1936-37, here mated with a 2225T tender (should be a 265T):

: Lionel 249 locomotive; Lionel 249.jpg (243.35 KiB) Viewed 31453 times

Another great runner.

Paul

Post by **paulrace** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 5:36 pm

Nice. I like the retention of the valve gear on a less-than-first-tier engine.

winced36 · Post by **winced36** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 5:48 pm

Not sure if I should post this here or on the MTH thread...a Lionel Corp (MTH) 254E:

Finding a nice, original 254E is tough. I looked for a long time...saw a deal on an LC set headed by a traditional (non-Protosound) 254E and jumped on it. The locomotive ran poorly when I first got it, but after an extended run-in period it has begun to run nicely. It can comfortably pull a half-dozen 800/2800-series freight cars.

Paul

Post by **paulrace** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 9:53 pm

I almost bought a basket case 254E on eBay once with the idea of restoring it, but someone jumped the bid way up at the last minute. Probably someone who knew what to do with the thing, so he probably saved me some frustration.

winced36 · Post by **winced36** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 10:32 am

The 256 was top of the line for O-gauge electrics in the prewar period, but the 254/254E/4U was right up there. That said, they seemed to have taken a dreadful beating in their youth. You can easily find a nice 248 or 252 in decent shape...maybe because they made a bzillion of them so more decent ones have survivied. You can find a decent 254 at York if you look long enough, but they go for a premium price. This one will have to do for me until I can find an original that's not off-the-charts price-wise.

Paul