I was wondering if there are any sites that talked about prewar lionel trains? That told about the details when they were made and all the different versions.
Give me steam locomotives or give me DEATH!
Berkshire Junction, bringing fourth the cry of the Iron Horse since 1900.
Berk.....try www.postwarlionel.com
BTW, your layout is smokin! Now you have 3 steamers cranking with so much running room, elevations, and an interesting non-linear approach. Great stuff. Thanks for the updated video.
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
OOOOPPPPSSSS!!!! Sorry, I thought you said postwar. Don't know any prewar sites like postwarlionel, but I'll bet someone else does. Jack.
RockIsland52 Berk.....try www.postwarlionel.com BTW, your layout is smokin! Now you have 3 steamers cranking with so much running room, elevations, and an interesting non-linear approach. Great stuff. Thanks for the updated video. Jack
Thanks! I thought about setting up another 0-72 loop that goes around the perimeter of the garage, just in case I find a 700E Hudson.
I don't know of any website similar to postwarlionel.com for prewar.
Probably your best bet is to pick up a copy of David Doyle's Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains, 1900-1942. It lists pretty much everything, including major variations, and has a whole lot of pictures. It's also very reasonably priced.
I think it was Ivesboy who posted this reference for train99. He has some Prewar info which is hard to find.
I also like the Doyle Book. In rereading the thread I also have a CD set for Lionel that has the catalogs published over the years. Some years are skipped but enjoyable to view and print out. You get to see the original prices too.
Correction, I researched the old thread and it was rtraincollector who gave me the link. Both have been very helpful. Thanks.
There are not any compilation prewar websites online. I would agree with Ben10 that the Greenberg reference covers the things you want to know. Dub's Train99 reference is a good online example of what's out there. Sites that cover a portion of the prewar era for one manufacturer, but not a comprehensive one like postwarlionel.com.
Hey Berk....
Prewar is a very different world. We are not as anal as the postwar guys, no offence anyone! however the trains we seek usually were made in drastically smaller quantities and in a time period where most families couldn't afford such lavish playthings. Anyway that might explain the lack of good prewar sites. www.standardgauge.com is a neat site. It deals with high end standard gauge. Other than that there is the standard gauge blog and my email... I'd be happy to share info with you or answer any questions. I know how hard it can be as a young collector trying to get the old time prewar guys to hepl you out. Price guides and the majority of reference books im sorry to say kinda suck. Most listings contain mistakes and leave out any useful tips ofr dating or identifying veriations. Let me know if i can be of any assistance. Ill warn you though once you buy a standard gauge set you will sell everything you own and eat sleep and breathe th big trains....
You do not want a 700E or a 763E. They can get nasty zinc pest and are far too over priced and fragile to run. Get a nice 226E which will still crush your wallet and run that. Good luck.
Thanks I will send you an email. Yeah those 226Es are very nice engines. Closest ancesters to the 726 Berk!!
We are working to build an archive for identifying and documenting prewar lionel trains at www.prewarlionel.com , it's a Member built site and it's free. Many folks from CTT have contributed.
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