You will get a much better response posting your question on the Classic Toy Trains section of this forum. To help identify it they will want to know the locomotive number (off the loco cab) and approximate date of purchase. "Father's" could have a huge date range.
http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/default.aspx
What is the model number written on the cab? Are you asking about a Lionel electric train model of a steam locomotive?
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