Is it hard to find a 385E with a whistle as well as the chugger unit?? Is it harder to find a 385E or 1835E?? Why are the tenders for these steam locomotives often missing the whistle in the tender? I know the 385E and 1835E are almost identical, but what might be the price difference between the 385E and the 1835E? How much do these steam locomtives go for at train shows today? I have found that they run about $350 to $450 on ebay, wondering if they are more money at train shows? Thanks.
No to the first question. Most 385e's youll find have both a whistle and a chugger. I would say from personal experience a 1835 is more scarce than a 385. Th reason for the missing whistle is that they mostly used the 35-36 version of the lionel whistle nicknamed the saxophone for its shape. The are much more prone to die cast fatigue so many where discarded over the years. The engines are usually priced the same. although the 1835 usually books slightly higher. Basically if you buy it at a train show you will without a doubt get ripped off!!! Dealers charge inflated prices reminiscent of the 80's train boom for standard gauge figuring a wealthy fool will over pay for their dingus. If you want a clean piece you will pay, a runner is usually the way to go. I noticed after your last post that trainz.com has a nice buy on a 1835e.
Thanks for the info. Yes, I have been looking at Trainz.com. But, the 1835E they have has a cracked tender shell. If I am gonna spend over $300 I am looking for an all original, not broken loco. I would love to have a standard steam with a chugger and Whistle. I have no idea how to find them online. I tried ebay, but there are none at all, bad time I guess. Do you think the one on trainz.com is a good buy? Even though the tender needs some work. It has no chugger or whistle. But, the price is nice. I don't know, I have been looking for a 385E or 1835E for years now. Just cannot find one I like. I wish there was one a hobby store is selling that is around $400. I will continue to search. Do replacement parts or reproduction parts hurt the value of the loco?? Such as new wheels, rewiring, etc. Thanks and have a Happy New Years!!
Does the 385E and 1835E have a 3 or 4 position E-Unit?? What the the lever inside the cab used for on a 385E?? It is a little curved lever, not sure what it does. Is that for the chugger unit or E-Unit? Also, there is a lever on top of the boiler, I take it that the lever on the boiler top is for the E-Unit, correct?? Thanks.
Greetings,
My original 385E has a three position E unit. Forward-Neutral-Reverse. The Eunit lever sticks out of the boiler top and the chugger lever is in the cab. I had to replace the casting for the Ives style tender with a reproduction casting as the original was in about 25 pieces. As far as value goes I suppose original is always going to be worth more money but I would rather have a complete tender than a bunch of loose warped/broken diecast pieces. I got mine for Christmas last year as part of a complete Freight Outfit and I have been very happy with it. Hope you find a good one.
I hope I find a good one as well. I have always wanted a bigger standard steam engine. I really want the chugger unit and whistle. My 384E w/384T lacks both a chugger unit and whistle. I have a 6 car freight set that is waiting for a bigger steam loco. I think the 385E or 1835E will fit the bill. I like 100% original trains. But, being 80+ years old they are hard to find in good shape. I found one, but it has no chugger, but does have the whistle tender that I want. But, its around $700 and I know I can find a better deal else where. The reason why I would want another steam loco is that, My postwar lionel is all setup in my basement. A 15x8 layout of all postwar trains. And I am taking it all down on Monday to setup my standard trains until February. It will all be on the same platform. So I will have a 15x8 layout of standard trains for about a month or so. It will take me about a week to take down all my Postwar trains. I tested all my standard trains, and they run just fine. Got all the track I need and all the switches are ready. One last question, does the 385E or 1835E have problems going over switches?? I have 210, 222 and 223 switches. The loco does not stall over the switches or derail or lose power?? I only got one train item for christmas, but it was what i wanted. I got a superbowl 43 steelers high cube boxcar from MTH. Now, I have the Superbowl 40 and 43 boxcars. All I need is the first 4 superbowls the steelers won to complete the set. But, a 385E or 1835E will be icing on the cake. Thanks and have a happy new years!!
Did you check with ray ellen at www.trainmarket.com. He has a 385E thatb should have whistle and chugger and a 1835E both for well under 500. Give him a call, hes a great guy and wont sell you junk. Really consider the importance of a chugger to you...They are quite irritating, if youve never heard one call me and ill hold the phone up to mine, i think that will change your mind. More of the noise of pennies in a pop can!
I have never heard the chugger before. I thought they sounded like the chuggers on American Flyer steam locomotives. I guess I am wrong. Why did the best locomotives of that time have chuggers? Like the 392E and 400E?? But, then again some of them did not have it at all. You think that the chugger is just another thing that can break? The whistles, are they reliable as well? Do they sound like the postwar tender whistles? Maybe like a 2046W whistle tender? But, even if I got one with a chugger, isn't there an on/off lever in the cab to shut it off, correct? What might that lever do? I will check out the website, thank you so much.
The lever in the cab will shut off the chugger. It sounds nothing like the American Flyer chugg sound. It is more of an electrical sound. Like the MPC Mighty Sound of Steam except not that good. My 3 year old nephew doesnt like it and makes me turn it off. I like it more as a historic oddity, an example of an early sound system. The whistle sounds like the postware whistle and is just as dependable. The housing is diecast but it works the same way.
Thanks for that infomation.
The lever on top of the boiler on a 385E, Is it the same as a postwar Lionel steam loco? It will have a position to lock the loco in neutral? And the other position is to cycle the e-unit normally? I hope I am right. Does the 385E have any problems going over 210,222, or 223 switches? The pickups will not get stuck or cause a derailment? Thanks.
Anyone know if I am able to park the 385E on the track while using another loco on the same line? Thanks.
Yeah, I guess I can. It has a lever and the E-Unit is similar to that of a postwar steamer. Thanks.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month