Is there a site for pre-war Lionel locos with pix along the lines of post-war with Tandem Associates? Does anyone know of any X-4-X and X-8-2, where the X means either 0, 2 or 4, Lionel locos with full Walschaerts valve gear made from individual pieces of metal, not stampings or castings? I have several unidentified locos, one has a 'Built by Lionel' builders plate cast on the boiler, but other than that, not one indication of who made these locos. They all have been heavily modified, thus the reason I put the X in the equation as I have no idea how they originally came, such as a 4-8-2 Mountain type that Lionel never built in the post war era, but have one with a custom made 4 wheel lead truck, and accurate valve gear including a reversing link made from 4 pieces of metal riveted together. Back in the late 30's and 40's, were their hobby suppliers where you could buy parts to create accurate drive gear, doll up your Lionel for more realism?
Question 2 - is there a list, if needed, of all O Gauge Lionel locos in this modern era, that shows their compatibility with original variable AC transformer control. Will a vintage ZW run the latest Lionel creation around the track or does it now take controls that send datawords to the locos?
Thanks.
