Recent Additions

[romiin]

one more pic

[starfire700]

To light the loco lights without track, you can use leads with alligator clips to your transformer. Connect one to the pick-up or reverse switch terminal that goes to headlight and other to the motor frame or coupler.

[romiin]

Thanks. I'll try it.  I'm going to mount the set on a piece of straight three rail track.  Could I hook the alligator clips up to the center rail? , and feed the power to the light car and engine ?  And disconnect the wire that runs the motor.   This is probably common knowledge, just haven't hooked any trains up to power. Thanks Loco

[Terry]

If you want the loco to not work while the light is on, first try to put the reverse handle in nuetral. In the middle should work.  If you can't find neutral, take the wire that goes from the field to the reverse unit off.

[romiin]

I was going to try and rig up a light in the crane and caboose, can I hook those to the center rail for power?  Do you ground to the outside rail?

[Terry]

You always ground the outside rail. one wire to center rail, one to an outside rail. The two outside rails are connected with the ties.

[romiin]

Thanks Terry

[Terry]

Here's a different caboose. It has gold lettering on the sides. All my other Lionel 117 cabooses have black letters.

 

This is also a true maroon color. Same color as the 150 or 53 electrics. Mostly these cabooses are  either red or a brownish red color.

This caboose has dimples on the trucks for light pickups so is from after 1923.

[early0electric]

Lionel also used gold ink for the 801 caboose in 1923 and 1926 and on some of the late 822 cabooses with side number stamping.

 
   

[Terry]

Great. More for me to search for.

I don't have a gold lettered 822 caboose. I have a gold lettered 801 with the number on the lower right side, but not without the number.

I also don't have an 800 boxcar with the number under the door. I always thought I had one so I never bought one. Maybe I did have one and it got stolen or lost? I don't have one now.

This gives me cheap cars to look for at train meets whenever they start having them again.

[early0electric]

Yep Terry, You got it. That's the joy and the bane of being a collector...of anything.

[Terry]

Here's something new and interesting:

 

 

 

18 pullman car with straight couplers, perforated steps, "No. 18" and Lionel Lines stamps on ends and "Parlor Car" on sides. This car does not have cut away bolsters or primer.

Here's another 18 pullman that is more typical of the perforated steps cars:

 

Says " 18  Pullman 18" on sides in block lettering.

I have a combine and observation with 3-hole steps and block lettering. So this new car is out of series.

Here's comparisons of the cars:


 

 

 

The roof on the new car is obviously repainted. Notice the side color is slightly different. The Parlor car is more of a true dark olive while the earlier pullman is more dark green. I think the paint formulation was changed in about 1914 or so. All of my items from before about 1913 and before are the darker more grainy paint.

Neat car. Now I have to find the other cars for the set. I know the observation comes in block letters, perforated steps and no primer, but don't have one.

[Terry]

I just got this car:

 

A standard gauge gondola from 1908/09. It had reproduction trucks on it.

Here's what it looks like now that I've put original trucks on it:

 

The reproduction trucks are lighter and more poorly formed than  the originals. Here's a comparison.

 

I bet you could dip the reproduction truck in acid or lye and make it look much better.

[starfire700]

It seems to me that the cars I have with red primer under the olive appear darker. The primer is probably contributing to the color difference. Not saying that the top coat is not also different.

[Terry]

Jim - I think the dark olive paint changed in about 1913/14. The later paint is less grainy and more glossy. I don't have enough knowledge about paint, but it could also be the difference between spraying and dipping. The primer cars are sprayed. Later cars could be dipped? Looking at the wooden tanks, maybe later cars were sprayed too?