Post-War Power

My biggest Post-War beast, Lionel  Erie Lackawanna FM Trainmaster:

I have the Marroon Top and it is a beast when it comes to pulling. 

RJT posted:

I have the Marroon Top and it is a beast when it comes to pulling. 

I will take a video of the FM Trainmaster pulling a bunch or cars and post it. Arnold

Here is a short video of the Postwar FM Trainmaster in action:

My 31 inch radius reverse loops limited the length of the train. With wider radius curves, no reverse loops, and a  fresh drop of oil on the wheel axles, this engine could have easily pulled three times as many cars. It's a brute.

Arnold

Rick, I love your signature quoting lyrics from City of New Orleans.

I've only got one postwar locomotive, a 2343 AA set from 1950. I repainted the frames, truck side frames, pilots, and pilot shields silver (never liked the blued pilot shield) and replaced the scratched up shells with Lionel CC replacement shells. I also added a Railsounds II F3B unit and another early 90s F3B unit. The ABBA set pulls the El Capitan on my layout. 

Lou1985 posted:

I've only got one postwar locomotive, a 2343 AA set from 1950. I repainted the frames, truck side frames, pilots, and pilot shields silver (never liked the blued pilot shield) and replaced the scratched up shells with Lionel CC replacement shells. I also added a Railsounds II F3B unit and another early 90s F3B unit. The ABBA set pulls the El Capitan on my layout. 

 

Lou, it looks to me like you did a very good restoration.

how about a pair of Turbines....

Arnold: You temp me as of now it sits in the display case and had not been run in close to 25 years as with all of my Post War Motive Power. When the new layout is up I will have a mainline capable of running conventional ie: Postwar. Thank You for the comment on my signature quote. One of my favorite songs both version Arlo and Willie.

RJT posted:

Arnold: You temp me as of now it sits in the display case and had not been run in close to 25 years as with all of my Post War Motive Power. When the new layout is up I will have a mainline capable of running conventional ie: Postwar. Thank You for the comment on my signature quote. One of my favorite songs both version Arlo and Willie.

You're very welcome, Rick. Looks like you have several PostWar Beauties.

Arnold

Postwar Power would not be complete without the Lionel Brunswick Green 2340 GG1 pulling Postwar extruded aluminum passenger cars:

An 8 second video of my Christmas present in 1958....

Peter

Putnam Division posted:

An 8 second video of my Christmas present in 1958....

Peter

Peter,

Weren't those wonderful times?  The catalogs were art that stimulated the imagination.  I received a ZW for Christmas in 1958.  Still have the '58 catalog and the ZW.

Lou N

some post war carpet central action. Taken with an older cell phone camera, the quality is lacking.

Love your Postwar NH diesel checkerboard AB units, Peter. That is something I don't have yet, which I could easily spring for at a train show.

Whatever we may be collecting and/or operating now, the charm of these Postwar gems is what got many of us started.

And now, the Postwar Lionel NH EP5, and the elegance of its McGuiness livery:

That is what I most wanted as a kid and never got; so nice to have it now.

Instead, I got this Postwar Lionel B&O 626 center cab 44 ton diesel, which I also cherish:

Arnold: will a Postwar 2332 count? Third shelve from the top third from the left. The top shelf is the Postwar extruded alum passenger cars. The second shelve is the reissue Lionel set from around 1991, it is 1 extra B Unit that goes with the Postwar set above it but the shelve is not long enough to fit it in. The bottom set is the MTH Set from 2005. I do like my covered wagon War Bonnets!

RJT posted:

Arnold: will a Postwar 2332 count? Third shelve from the top third from the left. The top shelf is the Postwar extruded alum passenger cars. The second shelve is the reissue Lionel set from around 1991, it is 1 extra B Unit that goes with the Postwar set above it but the shelve is not long enough to fit it in. The bottom set is the MTH Set from 2005. I do like my covered wagon War Bonnets!

Yes, Rick, of course, they count big time!  You have a marvelous collection.

Lou N posted:

Putnam Division posted:

An 8 second video of my Christmas present in 1958.

 

Peter

Peter,

Weren't those wonderful times?  The catalogs were art that stimulated the imagination.  I received a ZW for Christmas in 1958.  Still have the '58 catalog and the ZW.

Lou N

You bet, Lou!

Peter

One my favorites in PW power. The Erie Alco 2032s.

Arnold, are those original stripes on that 2340?

eddie g posted:

Arnold, are those original stripes on that 2340?

I am pleased to answer "yes."

eddie g posted:

Arnold, are those original stripes on that 2340?

One more thing: regarding the GG1, I can remember like it was yesterday when around 1959 I saw the awesome appearance of the real GG1 in Penn Station, as my mother and I boarded the train bound for Princeton, NJ.

As as little kid, I loved the fact that we could buy sodas and peanut butter/cheese crackers on the train. Arnold

Over the years I have seen 2 or 3 feature articles in O Gauge Train magazines about Frank Sinatra's trains and layout. They would often show beautiful green Southern Railway engines.

I bet Old Blue Eyes, who loved Lionel trains, had Postwar Southern Railways F3s like these in his collection:

Arnold, in the 1980s we has train pulling contests at our monthly TCA meetings in the Bay Area. Flat cars were laid out with lead weights loaded on them. Every round more weight was added. About every type of post war engine was entered. Every time, and I mean, every time, a Trainmaster won. Don

The only piece I have from my earliest Lionel days the 2025 from Santa Christmas 1947.

Ron

Arnold, in about 56 years I went from postwar Lionel to N gauge, to HO gauge, back to postwar Lionel, to MTH Premier scale, and now back to postwar Lionel again. It's really hard to beat the smell, sound, sight and feel of the old originals!

Here is a video of my latest creation.

TJ

Arnold: Based on the short and excellent videos you are posting you have a pretty nice collection yourself. Do you have the B Unit for those Southern F3's? Also is that the same set of cars as the GGI or do you have several sets of those car, if so I am jealous! Years ago Kalmbach  Publishing put out a book Classic Toy Train Layouts and it featured Frank's Layout and then they did a series of VHS Types featuring the layouts in the book. Great book and he had a great layout also a great voice still love listening to him.

Rick, I only have 1 set of Postwar aluminum passenger cars. I have the B unit for the Southern F3s, but rarely run it because my train lengths are limited by my reverse loops (train hits it's own tail if too long) and I'd rather add a couple of more train cars.

TJ, your Postwar train video is awesome.

Don, those train pulling contests sound like great fun.

Thanks everyone, for your interest in Postwar Power.

By the way, I also love the modern locomotives, especially those that run prototypically slow and smooth and pull long trains.

Arnold

Some of my favorite Postwar Lionel engines are: