Lionel 1666

It's hard to say without careful examination.  The coupler on the tender would be a give away, if it has the correct tender and hasn't been modified to work with post war couplers. Also if the tender has a bakelite shell and it is the correct one, then it would be post war.  The drawbar might give it away.  If it comes down to an upside down T then The drawbar and probably the rest of the engine is prewar.  I have also noticed that for some reason the prewar engine runs quieter than the post war engine.  At least the ones I have seen do.

this might help

http://www.postwarlionel.com/c...in/postwar?ITEM=1666

The floor in the cab of the post war engines i believe were rounded wheras they were squared off in the prewar versions.

You are CORRECT!!!

Do the pre war locos have the e-unit lever sticking up thru the top of the loco like the PW versions?

I believe the prewar 1666 had the lever sticking upthrough the top of the locomotive.

I have a postwar 1666 and it is a really good runner.  It is quite small, which is fine by me.  It looks really nice running around my 6x8 layout.

Earl

I agree with Earl, they look great on a small layout, although their pulling power isn't as great as a heavier steamer. But if you use modern freight or passenger cars, it pulls a nice sized train, and are good runners. I never understood why the 1666, 2025 and 675 are valued so low, when they are among the smoothest runners Lionel made.

I never understood why the 1666, 2025 and 675 are valued so low, when they are among the smoothest runners Lionel made.

It is likely because postwar is more about collecting than operating. Thes locos were the most plentiful and common because they were generally lower cost and in many sets. I run on 072 gargraves and these locos pull 10-12 cars and look quite nice on these curves.