# Pre-War & Post War Lionel



## Alchemy-Z

This train set was my Grandfathers then/ Father now mine. We use to set them up every christmas but it's been about 14 years since they have been out of the boxes so I decided to start up the tradition again. Not knowing the condition of the trains/tracks I kept it simple and mostly focused on getting stuff working.





































all the houses are scratch built from ply-wood by My grandfather and painted by my grandmother.

My wife and I are currently working on a train station to add to the layout ( I will get pictures up when complete)

also work on getting some more pictures of the rest of the set as well.


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## Dave Sams

Very nice!

Good job on the photography.

I like the buildings as much as the story.



Thanks for posting, I enjoyed it.


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## gunrunnerjohn

Amazing work on the hand-built scenery, great that you were able to revive the old family tradition.


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## Big Ed

Welcome to the site.

Nice.:thumbsup:

Did you clean the track yet?

Scotch brite and something like goo be gone then IPA (rubbing alcohol) to rinse. The IPA will dry quick, no steel wool or sandpaper.

Did you ever service the engines?
A bunch of us here use 5/20 motor oil instead of the heavy lube Lionel used.
Just a few drops in the right place will do it.

You should notice a difference with clean track and lubed engines.

Buildings look great, are you staying with plywood for a station?
When did Grand dad make them? A long time ago?
They have some fine alternatives instead of plywood.

From what I see of the trains they have a nice patina to them.:thumbsup:
They look in good shape.
Have you ever worked on the engines?
If not we have threads to help you get the shell off so you can service the motors. (we should have) if not some will be found to help you out.

You could use one more passenger car, huh?


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## Alchemy-Z

big ed said:


> Welcome to the site.
> 
> Nice.:thumbsup:
> 
> Did you clean the track yet?
> 
> Scotch brite and something like goo be gone then IPA (rubbing alcohol) to rinse. The IPA will dry quick, no steel wool or sandpaper.
> 
> Did you ever service the engines?
> A bunch of us here use 5/20 motor oil instead of the heavy lube Lionel used.
> Just a few drops in the right place will do it.
> 
> You should notice a difference with clean track and lubed engines.
> 
> Buildings look great, are you staying with plywood for a station?
> When did Grand dad make them? A long time ago?
> They have some fine alternatives instead of plywood.
> 
> From what I see of the trains they have a nice patina to them.:thumbsup:
> They look in good shape.
> Have you ever worked on the engines?
> If not we have threads to help you get the shell off so you can service the motors. (we should have) if not some will be found to help you out.
> 
> You could use one more passenger car, huh?




Yeah I cleaned the track with goo gone and 3M plastic scuff pads ( i knew sand paper was a no no with magnets)

All I have done to the engines is take the shells off clean them really good and a squrt of two of WD-40. gonna have to try the motor oil.

The houses have been around longer than I can remember so 30+ years we re painted them a few times and they need some TLC currently.

I will check out some threads for servicing the engines.

and I have the passenger car and a few other pre-war cars...they are just on the work bench at the moment. I will try to get some more pictures of the collection before we pack them up for after new years.


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## Big Ed

PACK THEM UP!

You don't need the dining room table to eat on do you?:laugh:

Make a nice shelf for the wall and display them all year long.:thumbsup:

Then you can eat on the table.


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## erkenbrand

Thanks for sharing! Those are some great pics. My grandfather got me into this hobby as well, and every year he still breaks out his American Flyer set. Even though he's 80 now, he still gets down on the carpet to get it all going and watches it round and round.


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## tjcruiser

Alchem,

Great looking set! It's always heartwarming to see family traditions being dusted off, cleaned up, and brought back to life for newer generations.

I have a 259E loco, and love it. It's a strong runner, and has a classic tinplate look. I'm a bit jealous of those small passenger tinplate cars, though. I recently bought/restored a 610/612 passenger set, but the cars are too large to fit the proportions of my other tinplate locos. The little 530 style would be a much better fit.

Thanks for sharing,

TJ


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## Alchemy-Z

yeah I always loved the little red glowing stack on the 259E as a kid. I have a few more Tin plate cars as well I need to get some pictures of.

Thanks for all the replies, finding alot of great info on this forum!


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## T-Man

They look great!:thumbsup: Keep them running!!

Love those buildings!


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## fairfax4dc

I just found this thread and and am tickled to see the photo of a 259E which looks exactly like mine. It was my father's when he was a child in the 30's and was always around our Christmas tree when I was growing up in the sixties. Ten years ago I dug it out of the box, had the set re-furbished, and its been a Christmas staple in our family. It came with a few 650 series freight cars,and over the years I've picked up a couple more in that series. 

I also picked up a 1679 "Baby Ruth" box car and a 1680 Shell tank car. The scale's not quite the same as the 650 series, but they're pretty and have the same couplings. Does anyone know the history of the 1679-1680 cars? Are there more in that series? It seems odd that they are somewhat duplicitive of the 650 series, but a little different size. Anyone know the story?

Lastly, I've got 603 and 604 orange Pullman cars. Definitely out of scale with the 259 engine but still fun to run. Mine are a bit banged up but I've since seen beautiful ones in red and green. Anyone have a back story on them?


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## tjcruiser

The 1679 box and 1680 tanker were usually teamed with a 1682 caboose. There are a few variants of each, but these were the main staple of mid and lower ranges Lionel sets in the 1930's. (Later variants had a 2___ designation with a box coupler, rather than a latch coupler.) The trio of cars were often teamed with my beloved 1681 loco and 1661T tender. These smaller-scale cars are a carry-over (more or less) from Ives and the Lionel/Ives transition era.

TJ


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## fairfax4dc

Thx. Any idea what years the 259E loco was made?


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## tjcruiser

From fuzzy memory ...

1933 through about 1938. I think the 259 (without e-unit E) may have predated a year ... 1932.

I can look up in my books in more detail on Monday.

TJ


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## Big Ed

fairfax4dc said:


> Thx. Any idea what years the 259E loco was made?



Greenberg's book lists, 
(259e) at 1933- 1942.
(259) at 1933.


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## fairfax4dc

big ed said:


> Greenberg's book lists,
> (259e) at 1933- 1942.
> (259) at 1933.


Thank You Gentlemen!


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