Post War Lionel Christmas Gift

Well you got the equipment from two complete sets in that box :

1501S from 1953 - 2026/6066T, 6032, 6035 and 6037

1551W from 1956 - 621, 6425,6562, 6362, 6257

plus some extras. The 621 has a 3-position e-unit, a horn , but no headlight when you go to check it out. The horn likely will take some work adjusting/cleaning, but the rest should work once the dirt/old lube is removed.

Peter

What a great Christmas present!

Great catch!  Post some pictures.  Did you get them running?

That is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Great score and what a wonderful daughter for taking the time and paying attention to your interests to pick those up for you!!

PS, Pictures would be great

A few years back at a NETCA meet I paid $30.00 each for the 6035

Tank Car Sunoco, and the number 6425 Tank Car Gulf. A great find.

Enjoy.

I love reading these Post's, you never know what you will find out

there.

Many thanks,

Billy C

Looks like a good haul to me. Nice work by your daughter.

A gift that will keed on giving.  Have fun

Brent

You got a good deal for $10.00. Considering the season, perhaps a donation to St. Vincent's might be in order.

Mark that is a real find. I think you owe your daughter a nice reward!!!!Thanks for sharing your great story with us.

Wow, what a gift. Some PW classics.

My son gave me a couple of Post War cars he picked up. Amazing condition. Looks like they were stored away for years.

6119 Work Caboose

Lehigh Valley Hopper

Peter,

thank you for the information on the sets.  That makes it more special.  

James and Dennis,

i will post some pictures.  Tonight was the last family event of the season, my elderly mother's birthday.  Now I will have some time to photograph and see if I can get them running.

Barristers2U,

I am in total agreement.  My wife and I have already decided to make a nice cash donation to St. Vincent's next week.  We have a good relationship with them, having made many donations of good used stuff over the years and the ladies in my family shop there a lot.  Also, they treat our daughter well.

As to my daughter, she has known I like model trains all her life, and she was very excited to get these for me.  I believe I will never part with these because of her.

thank you for a the nice comments.

With all the family activities during the past week, I only got a chance to try to run the Lionel #2026 and #621 locos last evening and took photos today. 

The #2026 2-6-4 mechanism moved freely before power was turned on.  It responded to power right away by shining it's headlight.  As I turned up the power, it started a buzzing noise, and moved under it's own power a bit when I gave it a helping hand.  Since the transformer has no direction controller, I assumed that is done with the lever on the top of the boiler near the cab.  It didn't seem to make a difference.  When I pressed the horn button on the transformer, I heard a relay click in the engine, but no horn.  Just when I was about to turn the power off, I noticed some smoke coming from the stack from the smoke tablet residue.  I forgot to mention a 3/4 full jar of smoke tablets came with the rest.  All in all, I was well pleased.

I went through the same routine with the #621 NW2.  I noted that there is no headlight.  When I turned up the power, I heard a similar buzzing noise, but it would never move.  I also heard the same relay click when I pressed the horn button.  Still I am pleased.  The engine looks great.  I will have to take the shells off, clean them up, lubricate, and see if anything needs replaced.

I will make my first try at attaching some photos on this forum.  I photoed the #621 and it's train first.  Then I setup the #2026 and it's train.  The pesky family dog did not like it.  She takes a fit when I try to run a train under the Christmas Tree running at it and knocking it off the track.  She even barks when I run the Ceiling Central RR even with the sound off.  She is a good pet, but does not like trains.  Since she was an abandoned 8-month old pup (the vet estimated her age) when we took her in, I wonder if the trains remind her of something from her past.  For instance it has taken her 3 years to get used to men with beards.  She was okay with men without beards from the start, but barked and barked at men with beards.

Anyway, I am going to try attaching the photos.  Thank you everyone for the information.  It has been a big help.

I also added a photo of the Lionel RC Polar Express the dog hates. ;-)

Your diesel engine is gorgeous .

Charlie,

Thank you very much.  While I am a basically a steam fan, I do appreciate a nice diesel when I see it too.  What's more, since it was made the same year I was born, it may be safe to say it has aged better than me.

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

fantastic find. be great to find some stuff like that.

Congratulations Mark.  Two nice pieces (sets) of Lionel history have made into your hands.  They really look nice!

Steve, Lady and Tex

Mark, A beautiful 621. Looks fantastic.

Love the Post War stuff !

Thank you all.  Yes, they turned out to be an excellent find; more than my daughter ever dreamed.  I don't expect that to ever happen to me again. 

A couple notes on operation - with transformers with no direction control ..quick on-off movements with the speed lever will cycle the e-unit out of neutral into forward then neutral then reverse then neutral again. The lever on top of the 2026 just allows the e-unit to be bypassed for forward-only operation or to be fully active. The e-unit contacts may be dirty within the e-unit or where the lever contacts it. The  2026 (the 6066T tender actually) has no whistle. The 621 works the same way (as I mentioned before  it was not made with a headlight) and the horn will likely need adjustment/cleaning to work.

Great pictures though and lots of enjoyment ahead!

Peter

Peter,

So that explains the e-unit and lever.  I have seen the e-unit referred to, but never had occasion to be concerned with it until now.  I will try that out as time permits later this winter.

Thank you again and thank you for the comment about the photos.

That 621 set was my first train xmas 1957. I only had it three days until the E-Unit malfunctioned- probably because it was a 56 set and had been sitting over a year. They then gave me another set. I always regretted not having kept that set. I have since had Len Caparelli repaint an earlier NW2 as a 621.

I took both engines to Lou Palumbo at the Underground Railroad Shoppe in New Castle, Pennsylvania.  They fixed both up and they run like champs!!  Very quick service, and I thought it would cost me more than it did.   I made a purchase of a RailKing P&WV 3-dome tank car when I dropped them off.  It is a cool looking car.  Lou said both locos look good and should run a long time.  I chatted with Lou for a while, and he lived up to all the good things I have read about him!!

And yes, for those who were reading this thread, we made a nice donation to Saint Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. 

Just yesterday, my daughter, who works there, sent me a picture of some HO cars they had just priced and put out on the shelf.  I saw the Tyco olive drab Western Maryland flat car that was in the first train set I bought as a 12-year old in 1968.  That set was damaged while in storage and thrown out years ago.  I quickly ran down to the store to see they had priced all the cars at 99 cents each!!  It is in perfect condition but minus the load.  Now besides the 621 set from 1956, the year I was born, I now have one of the cars from the first set I bought.  It has been quite a month!!

Lou is a great guy! Wish his shop was closer(the Mrs sure doesn't!)

Love the local thrift stores.

I buy my clothes there and find many treasures to resale on ebay.

The Apollo Pa. store had a collection of Vintage HO the last time I was there.

But whom ever posted the prices think they were made of gold.