New Postwar Inspired Green Alco Set

They are fantastic runners!  Love your Display layout too.  

Nice looking set. I'm keeping an eye out for breakups on these. Don't really want the engine but I **** SURE want the cars! 

Yep.  Got mine yesterday.   It is wonderful.  The locos are smooth runners, and everything is fine right out of the box.

I don’t do post war but these sure look enticing. Thanks for the post.

SJC posted:

Nice looking set. I'm keeping an eye out for breakups on these. Don't really want the engine but I **** SURE want the cars! 

Williams by Bachmann did the green passenger cars as part of the Golden Memories line.  Main difference is that they say Luxury Lines. I almost bought a set to run with a silver set of Alcos.

SJC posted:

Nice looking set. I'm keeping an eye out for breakups on these. Don't really want the engine but I **** SURE want the cars! 

Yeah, I suspect this set will be a candidate for break up by some dealers, especially for  customers looking for the passenger cars.

The green passenger cars were included in several Postwar sets like the S2 Turbine and a few of the 027 steamers.

Be nice to pair these cars with some different motive power to recreate those classic PW sets.

John,

The set is awesome, I am changing the lights in the passenger cars though to 14v so they light better, and I have a few of the older Alco coupler conversion kits, I might add to keep the coupler arm off the apron, but unlike in the other thread with negative comments, this set is a keeper!!!!!

johnstrains posted:

SJC posted:

Nice looking set. I'm keeping an eye out for breakups on these. Don't really want the engine but I **** SURE want the cars! 

The green passenger cars were included in several Postwar sets like the S2 Turbine and a few of the 027 steamers.

The green passenger cars were included in several Postwar sets like the S2 Turbine and a few of the 027 steamers.

Be nice to pair these cars with some different motive power to recreate those classic PW sets.

Hence the reason I want them....the Turbine engine and the three green cars is, without a doubt, my all-time favorite Postwar set. Got the Turbine, need the cars. "Luxury Lines" won't do, Lionel Lines only!

Well that was a coincidence. Just grabbed my latest copy of CTT which has been sitting in a pile of mail. They have an article on Lionel's offerings from 1948 and on the first page there are the 2400 green cars. Part of set 1430WS pulled by a 2025 steamer.

I hope to get a set of break up passenger cars to go with my Century Club Turbine!!!!!

Mark, enlighten me about the Alco coupler conversion kits. Are they coil couplers activated by the sliding shoe or are they some other configuration? When were they released & are they still available? Thanks  

ZWPOWER13 posted:

John,

The set is awesome, I am changing the lights in the passenger cars though to 14v so they light better...

Good idea. I think I have some of the same style bulbs -- 14v -- in my spare parts supply. Will have to try this.

Thanks for posting, this is a very colorful set, looks great, layout setting is really nice, Happy New Year....Please show more pictures of the layout, those passenger cars are awesome....

Dave Drake posted:

Mark, enlighten me about the Alco coupler conversion kits. Are they coil couplers activated by the sliding shoe or are they some other configuration? When were they released & are they still available? Thanks  

Hi Dave,

I ordered the kit from Jeff at the Train Tender. It has a non working coupler and a pilot  and washer of some type. 

Other than the finish, the coupler in the kit is exactly the same as the one on the Green Alco.  I drilled out the rivet and removed the bottom tab.  I then glued the coupler shut.  You can see in the picture below, that the coupler on the engine now lines up nicely with the coupler on the passenger car. The finish on the couplers are a bit different,  with the Green FA couplers more of a gloss black.

This close up of the coupler shows the metal tab on the bottom,  by removing it it provides enough clearance with the pilot. 

This is the kit from Jeff its part number is 8109-120, since the pilot is not needed, I emailed Jeff it see if the coupler has a separate part number.

Below are the couplers.   

to drill out the rivet,  I used a 1/4 inch drill bit on the top of the rivet, and only need to drill out a small amount to remove the rivet.  

Because the coupler issue was caused by the change to can motors, has anyone with this set taken the engine apart to assess whether the entire frame can be lowered to its previous condition by removing the conversion plate between the truck and motor which is causing the frame to be hiked up? If the can motor change was achieved with a conversion plate, it may be possible to upgrade the motor to a Pullmor, remove both can motors and get the appearance, sounds and smells of a proper postwar remake. And, no rivet drilling, coupler kits, etc. would be necessary. One more question: is that nose decal made out of metal like on the platinum ghost from 2000? The metal nose decal looked nice, but peeled away from the adhesive over time as it tried to straighten out.

johnstrains posted:

Well that was a coincidence. Just grabbed my latest copy of CTT which has been sitting in a pile of mail. They have an article on Lionel's offerings from 1948 and on the first page there are the 2400 green cars. Part of set 1430WS pulled by a 2025 steamer.

that's was my 1st set,which I still have

terry hudon posted:

that's was my 1st set,which I still have

Thanks for the video, Terry! 

Great stuff!

Thanks Dave :-)

The coupler conversion was for the #11734 Erie Alcos from the early 90's that were just terrible when they came out. It was the 7th and last Fallen Flags Set Made.

Ray, I love the colors and the looks of the set. The lights could be brighter and the coupler issue should of been noticed by Lionel, so I made the repairs, and sent Lionel a note as well about the changes that should be made. I know some from Lionel are monitoring these boards :--) and I dont think we will see anymore PWC or CC issues, everything now is either Legacy or the Lionchief Crap.,

leapinlarry posted:

Thanks for posting, this is a very colorful set, looks great, layout setting is really nice, Happy New Year....Please show more pictures of the layout, those passenger cars are awesome....

Thanks, Larry.

The layout is my version of the Lionel Dealer Display, D-105. It’s a 5x9 with two levels. I’ve been working on this for a while and need to complete the lower level. Hoping to do that this winter.

As a PW fan, it’s been a lot of fun building it and I would say it’s about 90 percent faithful to the actual D-105. Have made a few changes here and there to suit my needs/interests. I think the best part is that you get a lot of operating accessories, structures and trackside signals in a small space without looking cluttered. That was always the beauty of those old Lionel Dealer Displays.

Seems to me the best solution to many of the issues would be to purchase a set of Williams PW style Alcos and swap the shells with these handsome new Lionels!  A little matching gray paint and viola - you have a proven drive train and solid operation.  :-)

SJC posted:

Nice looking set. I'm keeping an eye out for breakups on these. Don't really want the engine but I **** SURE want the cars! 

I may be interested in just the locos. If you want, e-mail me. Thanks

ZWPOWER13 posted:

I hope to get a set of break up passenger cars to go with my Century Club Turbine!!!!!

I may be interested in just the locos. If you want, e-mail me. Thanks

John

is there any die-cast in these cars? I've got the Long Island cars that are all plastic except for wheels. Curious if Lionel put diecast trucks, etc on these car per the catalog.

thanks!

SJC posted:

John

is there any die-cast in these cars? I've got the Long Island cars that are all plastic except for wheels. Curious if Lionel put diecast trucks, etc on these car per the catalog.

 

thanks!

Yes, they are diecast. Pretty much the same ones they've been using on all the Postwar remakes (Conventional Classics)  passenger cars.

I have the Williams Luxury Lines Alcos with the matching cars and they look and run great but I have to admit this set is tempting.

Lennyski posted:

I have the Williams Luxury Lines Alcos with the matching cars and they look and run great but I have to admit this set is tempting.

Can you post a picture of the Luxury Lines Alcos and matching cars?

Haven't seen them in a while but didn't the Luxury Lines set consist of four passenger cars?

Almost bought them so many times but always passed. Ugh!

They are packed away. I'll see if I can dig them up and post a pic tomorrow

johnstrains posted:

Haven't seen them in a while but didn't the Luxury Lines set consist of four passenger cars?

Almost bought them so many times but always passed. Ugh!

Yep, 4 cars. Thought about buying them but, again, Lionel Lines or bust! 

I just noticed this FA still has the side ribs added by MPC.  Perhaps one day they will be removed.

I dug them out an took a couple of pics on what is left of my Christmas layout. Not the best pictures but it looks like the Lionel's green is a little richer.

Lennyski posted:

I dug them out an took a couple of pics on what is left of my Christmas layout. Not the best pictures but it looks like the Lionel's green is a little richer. Also, the big Luxury Lines on the engines isn't real attractive.

Thanks for posting. Yes, I agree with you, Lionel's green is richer. Also, it looks like WBB used a larger font for Luxury Lines than Lionel used on the engines. Lionel's looks more appropriate based on the few photos shown here. But, hey, the WBB set came first.

Has anyone tried using a real PW truck with magnetraction and coil coupler to replace this current truck? Are the two trucks interchangeable? I really like the look for this set, but it seems like everything from Lionel has the devil is always in the details.

The truck it came with already  has Magne Traction. So, regarding the coil coupler: If it was feasible to do, you would need to swap both the front and rear trucks. Otherwise, you would have no sliding shoe to activate your new coil coupler. Not even sure if the tooling is compatible. After all, they have modified the tooling on the rear truck for the can motor. You might want to consider an ERR upgrade to command control (so you have a method of activating the coupler and do a custom coil coupler installation.  

All,

Got the cars. I recall some discussion about upgrading to 14V (or similar) bulbs in the cars. Can anyone provide a part number for these? I have not been able to find an obvious fit that works for the cars. Of course, I'd like to order the RIGHT part ONCE!

Thanks!

SJC,

I actually just ordered a bunch of 14v bulbs the other day. I’m going to swap them out with the bulbs on this new set and also a couple of other similar passenger sets from the Conventional Classics series.

I got them on the Bay here.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/8352-...p2060353.m2749.l2649

Btw, although I didn’t realize it at first this is Henning’s Trains.

Edit: I'm going to give these a try but may still consider eventually converting them to LEDs.

Thanks for the review!  

This set appears in the 2019 Lionel catalog and might be my the first O Gauge train purchase in over five years.  I’ve had no room for a permanent layout, but we’re moving later this year and there will be room for a smallish layout.

I do have a question for anyone, how would you compare the running characteristics of this FA locomotive to recent Lionel Alcos with Pulmore motors, and to Willams Golden Memories?  

I have a Lionel Alaska Alco AA set and a Willams Santa Fe F3 set and prefer the Willams.

Alan

Alan,

These are can motors but mine pull perfectly well. Have to say that I've never run anything with the Green Alco AAs but the 3-car passenger set. On a small layout they'll be fine. 

I also have some of the Williams F3s and they are rockets. Real stump pullers.

raising4daughters posted:

Lennyski posted:

Not the best pictures but it looks like the Lionel's green is a little richer.  Also, the big Luxury Lines on the engines isn't real attractive.

Looks like WBB used a larger font for Luxury Lines than Lionel used on the engines.  But the WBB set came first.

I don't can't believe those ALCOs came from Williams lettered that way!  Looks like a homemade job (to me).   I believe these were released by the "old" Williams, not WBB.