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Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery
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Author:  winced36 [ Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Have at it...hopefully it looks good.

Paul

Author:  winced36 [ Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Here's another Lionel Corp (MTH) set I got a couple of years ago. The LCCA had this set manufactured featuring a 265E locomotive and a set of 2600-series passenger cars, the Lakeshore Limited:

Image

I admit I joined the LCCA just to get my hands on one of these...it really is lovely.

As with so many MTH products I've bought over the years the loco was dead-on-arrival out of the box. Under warranty I took it to my friends at Catoctin Mountain Trains in Emmitsburg, Maryland for repair. A quick tweak of the e-unit and it was running great.

I used this pic on our Christams card a couple of years ago...dumped a bit of plastic snow on the layout, stuck a bottle-brush tree in front of the bridge and there you go.

Paul

Author:  paulrace [ Sun Mar 08, 2015 6:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

GREAT photo. That bridge makes everything look good. :-)

Author:  winced36 [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

A Lionel 259E in gunmetal with 607/607/608 coaches/observation from the late 1930's:

Image

A pre-war American Flyer double-domed Sinclair tanker and a Marx post-war NYC box car sit on a siding. The double-semaphore is a Hornby, and that's a Flyer suburban station peeking out from behind the locomotive. The 305 HG bridge supplies the best backdrop on my layout.

Paul

Author:  paulrace [ Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Thanks for the photos, Paul. I don't really know the 259E all that well. Looks to be in nice condition.

- Other Paul

Author:  winced36 [ Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

The 259/259E was kinda responsible for getting me interested in this whole prewar gig. Back in the late 1980's / early 1990's I used to take my dad to train shows, mostly the big Greenberg events at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. Back then there wasn't much interest in prewar, and under a lot of vendor tables you could find lots of stuff that guys had no particular interest in. There especially seemed to be a preponderance of 259E's in various versions that could be had for nearly nothing. I never really cared for the looks of them, but they grew on me and the price was right.

The 259/259E was manufactured from 1932-40 I believe, and it featured a stamped steel frame rather than a die-cast frame that comprised all of the other steam loco's Lionel made (the 1681 Lionel Jr. had a stamped steel frame as well). This cut down the cost significantly and made an O-gauge steamer available to the masses at a reasonable price.

This particular 259E is a late gun-metal version with thick-rimmed blackened drivers...I believe the last versions had nickel thin-rimmed drivers. It runs really well, and has green running lights above the headlight, as well as a red-filter in the stack to give the illusion of red-hot heat below. Really a charming little locomotive, I think they are a bit disrespected. You can still find them in nice shape for not too many bucks...another nice round-the-tree runner.

There's a 258 locomotive that's a stripped-down version of the 259/259E (not to be confused with the 2-4-0 257/258 made earlier and sold under both Lionel and Ives nameplates). The later 258 is a pretty dreary looking piece, usually in flat black with a minimum of trim.

Paul

Author:  winced36 [ Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Here's a 253 motor with a drag of 800-series freights:
Attachment:
File comment: Lionel 253 electric locomotive
Lionel 253 b.jpg
Lionel 253 b.jpg [ 106.51 KiB | Viewed 10412 times ]

This was another loco I purchased in dreadful shape. I refurbished the shell and my friend Don Carver reworked the motor. I wish they had directional lighting, but they don't. You could probably easily make that change with a bit of rewiring.

The 253/253E were manufactured from 1924-36.

Paul

Author:  paulrace [ Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Great job on the refurb. That station looks in nice condition, too. - Paul

Author:  winced36 [ Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

Lionel 1681 locomotive, tender and cars from the early 1930's:

Image

This was pretty close to the bottom of the food-chain for Lionel during the depression, putting aside the Mickey Mouse hand-cars and the Winner line. The loco here was a fifty-cent yard sale find...needed some work but it's back among the living...

Paul

Author:  javinda [ Fri Apr 10, 2015 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Lionel Prewar-O Photo Gallery

love all these photos!

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