Lionel Lines Steam Locomotives

ABOUT POST-WAR STEAMERS

POST-WAR STEAM LOCOMOTIVES ON THE LIONEL LINES

If there is a quintessential "Lionel Train" it is the post-war steam locomotive. So many of the things we remember most fondly about the Lionel Train experience are tied to these die-cast mechanical wonders.

Gleaming side rods and valve assemblies gave off a rhythmic click-clack as the steamer made it's way around the Christmas tree. A bright headlight showed the way when you turned off all the lights and sat mesmerized watching it go round and round. The famed Lionel "whistling" tender, which you activated pretty much incessantly as the train came around the curve from behind the tree. The smell of "ozone" that was, and is, so distinctively post-war Lionel and the elegant smoke rings puffing from the smoke stack in perfect unison with the click-clack of the drivers.

It was those "Authentic" Lionel smoke pellets that we couldn't wait for our Dads to crack open and drop down the stack. You would have your eyes glued to the stack like there was a prize for spotting the first smoke ring.

And what kid from the 50's or 60's didn't lay on the floor and put their face right on the tracks to get a prairie dog's eye view of the steamer speeding towards them, only to pull away at the last second as the majestic steamer chugged past. Of course our mothers are having kittens while we do this and in classic "Red Ryder" fashion, our fathers are telling us "you're going to take an eye out if you keep that up - you mark my words!" What could be better than playing with trains under the tree?

Post-war Lionel steam locomotives were produced in a variety of models during the 24 years of the post war period. There were Scouts and Hudsons, Berkshires and "Baby" Hudsons, Turbines and Prairie's, a Dreyfuss, a "J" and everything in between. By my count, there were an incredible 70 different models issued during this time period. In true Lionel style, many of these models had a number of variations or "types", making the total number well over 100 and probably closer to 200.

You can easily describe most post-war Lionel steam locomotives as heavy, with a feel that you really had something significant on your hands, and by no means a toy. Although the Lionel Scout probably fell into the "toy like" category with it's motor fully enclosed in plastic. It was pretty much unserviceable. The fact that the Scout sounded like a cross between an egg beater and a cake mixer didn't help its fortunes much. Scouts typically came with sheet metal tenders and had really unreliable reversing units, which would snap back and forth on a whim. Not to beat a dead horse, but Scouts also had the worst ever graphics - particularly the tenders.

I have found from personal experience that the finest Lionel steam locomotives were built in the late 1940's. By finest, I refer primarily to their running ability. I am fortunate to own three - the #221 2-6-2 Dreyfuss (why are there two common spellings of Dreyfuss? - one "s" or two?), the #224 2-6-2 Prairie and the #726 Berkshire. As an aside, these number designations refer to the wheel configurations, as in the number of wheels on the leading truck, the drive wheels and the trailing truck.

Back to the running ability of these late 1940's steam locomotives. I have found these to be the smoothest running locomotives. They are nearly silent, have almost no E-Unit (the mechanism that cycles the train from forward to reverse to neutral) buzz, and they all have that wonderful distinctive click-clack of the side rods and valve assemblies. By contrast, I have seen steam locomotives from later years that sound like cement mixers and rumble down the tracks. I think Lionel probably started to incorporate cheaper materials and used some cost cutting methods as time went by which left the smooth running locomotives of the 1940's as a memory.

From a collection my Dad was given I have a 681 6-8-6 turbine with a 12 wheel Pennsylvania tender. This is also a smooth and powerful runner. However, this combination sports 32 wheels! It is a nightmare to operate on any pike with a #22 turnout. Yet so many collectors and post war fans have or want these engines. They are a tough and frustrating bunch to run.

As you probably have surmised, the #726 Berkshire is far and away my favorite. It has great sentimental value and is a magnificent runner. The 726 is like a work of mechanical art with nickel plated wheels, a bell, impressive weight and beautiful side rods. After being in storage for nearly 30 years, sometime in the 1990's my Dad climbed up into the attic storage and brought this engine out to display in his living room. It sat with the tender on two pieces of tubular track on an end table. Since he passed away in 2002, when it is not running on my layout, it sits on a shelf in my office on those same pieces of tubular track with the felt padding glued beneath them.



	#221 2-6-4 NEW YORK CENTRAL DREYFUSS HUDSON - I only became aware of this model after coming back to the hobby after a 40 year hiatus. This compact little steamer was one of the first locomotives produced by Lionel after World War II and it is the favored locomotive of "Dreyfus50" a fellow post-war Lionel aficionado. Like all of the late 40's Lionel locomotives, this is a silky smooth runner. This relatively small engine has plenty of gusto and it pulls a long freight or passenger set with ease. It has a working headlight, but no smoke unit.

#224 PRAIRIE 2-6-2 - This was the first Lionel post-war engine and the only one actually released in 1945. My Dad received this in a collection from a neighbor and although it has a lot of mileage and wear on it, it is one of my very favorite pure "runners". This is a smooth and nearly silent engine that will haul a surprisingly long consist effortlessly. With a fairly complex side rod assembly, it gives you a notable click-clack sound as it makes it's way around the Lionel Lines. The 224 has a working headlight, but no smoke unit.

#2026 PRAIRIE 2-6-2 - This is one of those little engines that run and run and run. My Dad came about this engine when we were kids and we never ran it because it had a bent axle. Probably from hitting the concrete basement floor. When I revived it and tried to run it, it had a bad case of the "shimmey-shimmey-shake" as it did the hula down the line. An internet train forum cronie of mine - Larry from Indiana - gave it new life and I had some additional fine tuning done at the local hobby shop. It smokes up a storm and has a working headlight.

#681 6-8-6 PENNSYLVANIA S2 TURBINE - This hefty locomotive was also part of a collection my Dad received from a neighbor. I vividly remember seeing this on my neighbor's layout when I was a kid. With magnetraction, a working headlight a smoke unit and a somewhat streamlined 12 wheel tender, the 681 was a premium model. Lionel made five replicas of the S2 turbine, even though only one actual turbine was ever produced due to issues with efficiency.

#726 2-8-4 BERKSHIRE - If I could have only one train, this is the one. This incredibly smooth and powerful steamer has been in my family for nearly 60 years and was my Dad's favorite. It has beautiful nickel plated drivers, a working headlight and a smoke unit that puffs elegant smoke rings compliments of very original Lionel smoke pellets. This is the gold standard of Lionel post-war steamers. Given the chance, it would probably pull stumps out of the ground.

#221 NEW YORK CENTRAL DREYFUSS HUDSON - The longer I own this model, the more I enjoy it. The pint-sized "scout like" sheet metal tender, to the best of my knowledge, doesn't even have a number, as it is unlikely you would pair it with any other steamer. It is a fun combination to run around the Lionel Lines.

#224 2-6-2 PRAIRIE/2466W TENDER - This combination is probably a mismatch, as all indicators point to this #224 being a 1945 edition - including black handrails. However, the 1945 release featured a tender with no drawbar, which is clearly not the case above..

#2026 2-6-2 PRAIRIE/2466W TENDER - The nickel plated drivers of the Prairie style 2-6-2, coupled with side main rods and valve gear make a glimmering site on the Lionel Lines. The basic whistling tender is pure Lionel post-war simplicity of design.

#681 6-8-6 PENNSYLVANIA S2 TURBINE/2671W TENDER - The 681/2671W is an impressive combination in size and heft. Capable of running on O31 curves, this locomotive/tender boasts 32 wheels in total, making navigating O22 switches a challenge. Note the water scoop beneath the premium whistling tender.

#726 2-8-4 BERKSHIRE/2426W TENDER - Spanning roughly twenty inches, the 726 with 2426W semi-scale whistling tender is a picture of powerful elegance. Although larger than most steamer/tender combinations of the day, the 726/2426W combination was made to comfortably navigate O31 curves.

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