Finally cleaned, repaired smoke unit and placed the correct spring, it’s all corporation Postwar just as it was designed , made to last. Having so much fun with this one!
Next, the rods and valve gear to be applied. Tender serviced great whistle , all should be ready to go Christmas!
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Those are some impressive smoke rings……
Boy you've got that sucker smoking GREAT!
I'm not familiar with that particular unit. Does it use an element smoke unit w/fiber packing? Did you retain the original element?
You're making me want to purchase such a project and dive into it!
Andre
Hey Andre. It was a project, I didn’t want to give in and just purchase a modern replacement for smoke fluid. I have a few bottles of original smoke pellets.So I managed to apply a new power wire to the original nichrome type wrapped wire luckily was in tact! After all these years! Yes there is packing, it was intact as well.
This was a tricky rebuild. Kind of lucky for now.
thx for your comments!
btw it’s a Lionel postwar heater assembly unit #675-225 there are modern replacements available for just this part.
heres a pic of mine vintage with grunge and grime!
Just looked for the heater assy and all I could find was #671-225. Did I miss something?
Thanks
Charlie
Charlie looks like that’s a possibility! Not sure what you were expecting? Need more info.
There are two smoke unit heaters, the 671-225 and I do not recall the part number of the other. But the only difference is the length of the wire. Some of the repro heaters have the resistance of the elements too high. This results in less heat, thus less smoke. This needs to be watched for.
Yes, great smoke rings from the 2025. I've got the companion unit, 2026, and it does the same thing. It's my pride and joy - the Little Engine That Could! My first train from my Dad over 70 years ago. I did replace the smoke unit with a liquid smoke chamber just to be able to use modern smoke fluid. It puffs great rings.
FYI, I added photos of the complete consist. Also was given a Lionel catalog from a relative who was cleaning out the house of his elderly brother-in-law who was a hoarder. He knew about my interest in model trains so thought I would be interested in the catalog. Lo and behold there it was - my 2026 and its consist for the "bargain" price of $49.95 (I'm sure not cheap back then)! It even has the 2025!
Whenever I show the layout to interested friends and family, I always run the 2026 puffing its smoke rings. Brings great joy.
Michael
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