The 400E

Indydanny has quite the collection of 400e engines. Its hard to resist all the color variations...same goes for the 408e. One drawback is that these engines are BIG!!  I like the brass piper and opted for the blue variation vice the 400e comet.

 

Sunrise

I'm a relative newbie in the Standard Gauge world... coming up on almost 1 year now.  I stumbled upon MTH Tinplate catalogs from 2005 or so when MTH produced 400E's in various roadnames/colors like the C&O and Great Northern.  

 

Lately they've been doing more stuff like Blue Comets, Red Comets, Green Comets... but I'd love to see 400E's offered in heritage railroad paint schemes again.  I'd definitely be in for a couple -- especially with matching state-size passenger cars.

 

David

I agree, I saw a Daylight version on the bay a few days ago, I would definitely go for one of those.

A Milw Rd set would be nice.

 

Sunrise

I think they missed Christmas White!  Let's see here, blue, lighter blue, green,red, chrome,pink,orange purple,black,and grey. Any others. I think a a white one would look quite nice. Especially around the holidays.

Nice idea... white with brass trim and gold lettering/paint accents.

 

Sunrise

Bob,

 

Just one.... is all you need

 

Sunrise

Coming from O-Gauge, Standard Gauge definitely "looks" big!  But if you really want to talk big, you gotta see the Standard Gauge Brute or Goliath.    Those gems are ENORMOUS (and heavy too)!

 

David

Got my first 400 this summer and 87 curves to run it on. 

 

Bob

 

Here you go

Originally Posted by Bob Severin:
       Do you guys run these things?

Tim, what's the radius on that curve in the video?

Nominally 13 foot

Originally Posted by Bob Severin:
Tim, what's the radius on that curve in the video?

I have two 400E's:

 

"Lionel Classics" 2-400E, dark grey/nickel trim/black drivers plus diecast air whistle in tender

 

MTH Proto 2.0 Blue Comet with nickel trim/black drivers

 

Like'em both a lot! 

Don't forget all the crackle colors the 400s came in.  I have a black 400E from 2004 or so. Bought it in 2009.  I missed the chance to get one from the 30s priced at $700.00 about 6 years ago.  

 

Anyway, for other colors, along with the white, I think a chrome 400E would be sharp, too.  You just need to remember to wear clean gloves, or else it will get covered in finger prints.

 

It's an icon of Standard Gauge. I have three, a black with brass, one in NYC livery and one in B&O livery. I need to get a blue comet set one day.

John.

Sunrise,

 

I agree!  But with none available, I settled for a 400e with Milwaukee Road colors and related history, i.e., a Harley Davidson 400e in black with orange stripes.

 

Bob

I have the LCT Blue Comet and Cars...I don't need to go much further than that (I'm lying). I would sure like to see a do over of the Christmas set that MTH did some years back.

 rat

With the increasing number of folks "re-discovering" Standard Gauge Tinplate these days, that Christmas set based on the 400E with state-size passenger cars would sell like hot cakes.  I'd definitely be in for one. 

 

David

What catalog was that set in? I don't remember seeing a 400e. 

Tinplate Vol2 2005 had the 400e Christmas set

 

rat

Thanks for that link. That is a nice set. Right up my alley

Run these things?  Naw, nobody runs 400's.

There's a famous Tom Sefton interview in which he said he didn't run his 400's on the layout because the pilot trucks kept jumping the track.  So he only ran the 408's and 381's.  All his track was on the Lionel rubber base pieces, so I guess it bounced around a lot or something.  But still, a world class collection like Sefton's and never run the 400's??

 

 

 

MTH's two prettiest ones (B & O and the SP Daylight), I don't have.

 

 

I can't stop smiling everytime I see your layout.  Nice bunch of 400e's. Now I don't feel so bad wanting a couple more. They do have a special quality about them.

hojack,

 

I can't recall, has your layout evey been featured in OGR?

I send a request regularly to MTH customer service to reissue the 400e Christmas and other paint styles. I make a comment to Pat at Pat's Trains every time I go about what I would like to see rereleased.  I think if we put a bug in the ear of dealers and to MTH they will see that people who started collecting in the last 5-10 years are willing give $ for these sweet pieces that are almost impossible to find.

 

 

 

It would be interesting now that I think about it, it would be nice if someone did a compilation of all the 400E variants that have been built.  Starting with the classic Lionel originals of course and then all the variations of reproductions made through out the years. It could also include a bonus section on spinoffs, such as the 400e based Hudson and Challenger. It could be done as a registry kinda like they do for classic cars. The information could be compiled by knowledgeable sources and then people could submit photos of all the various types out there?

FYI:

 

The TWO MAIN reasons for the pilot truck on the 400E locos not tracking properly are:

 

1. Insufficient spring tension on the FOUR diecast wheel bearing "blocks".

 

2. LACK of lubricating grease on these same "blocks", where they move vertically in the truck frame.

 

Replacement springs are readily available from MTH and others, and a good quality grease will take care of the other issue!

 

Once these concerns are addressed, ALL 400E's will track better even on larger radii like 072 and 084! 

I have found if you just run large engines and their tenders, they don't behave the same as opposed to them with a decent amount (or full set) set of cars. With my Comm. Vanderbilt, it would jump track with engine & tender alone but run smooth as silk with the full payload. Is that normal? 

ej deme:

 

NO - what diameter were you using - the Lionel standard CV requires 072 or larger.

Not true.  Commodore runs perfectly on regular 42" track.  Personal experience -- and was designed to do so.

While not required, the manual says 72" or larger is for best appearance & performance.

Has the blue comet 400e with nickle trim been made in proto 3? I looked and could not find it on their website unless I missed it. If they haven't maybe could see one soon.