There is something about postwar steam engines that sets them apart from modern steam engines. I think it is the extra noise and rumbling as they run around the track. I remember watching real steam engines and you could feel the ground shake as they approached and passed by. Postwar steam engines have more of that feel then my modern engines. The modern steam engines have less noise, due to the can-type DC motors and because they are made with more precision, but they lack that feel of power that a postwar steam engine exhibits as it rumbles along the track. IMO, Postwar engines are just more fun to operate.
Earl
I agree especially when you run a big one for back then like a 671, 681, 2020 or some of the other 2-8-4 or something. I love running my 681 with 2671W with a nice line of PRR cars behind it. (Not often get to do that as don't have pernament layout. ) now for modern I prefer Diesel and tmcc/legacey don't know why. Guess I'm more of a diesel type person but if its steam I prefer postwar. Now the newer ones with the electronic chug and all are nice but I agree I prefer post war steam
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
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Earl, I agree. In the past, I had a couple of modern engines that hummed along quietly, but now all of my 10 engines are postwar. The postwar engines have a louder, unique sound of the motor and e-unit that modern engines don't have. Even my smallest postwar steam engine has that unique rumble. Also, half of my postwar engines are diesel and just like the steam engines, I prefer their sound. Each engine has its own sound and one of my 623 sw-2 switcher really growls.
It's more subtle than the engines but postwar freight and passenger cars also have a different sound than modern cars with their fastrack wheels.
"There is something about postwar steam engines that sets them apart from modern steam engines. I think it is the extra noise and rumbling as they run around the track... "
I think you're right. Some will chalk it up to nostalgia, and to be sure there's a certain element of that involved. But at the same time, the people at Lionel were very familiar with the sight and sound of real steam engines, as were their customers. These were all folks who knew well how a steam locomotive should sound and feel. And those postwar locomotives do fit that image very well.
Try the experiment of putting your eyes at track level, as so many kids did when these locomotives were new and chugging around the Christmas tree. Turn off the analytical part of your brain, and just go on instinct. What impressions do you absorb? Noise, growing in intensity as the engine approaches. The click-clack of steel wheels over rail joints. A headlight appearing in the distance, then looming steadily more brilliant, like a giant's burning eye, as it approaches. The clash and clatter of mechanical parts echoing from track and cars, and then it swoops past you in a blur of wind and color and flashing drive rods.
Just like standing at trackside watching the real thing. And I watched plenty of the real thing, on the PRR mainline that went through my hometown. The wizards at Lionel (and AC Gilbert) knew how to capture the sensory impressions. Those postwar locomotives were born in another world, and they're still capable of transporting us back to that world -- if only for a moment -- if you know how to listen to them.
Sight, feel, sound, smell, and bulletproof simplicity. Postwar steamers float my boat. Around Christmas I find myself letting the trains run around the tree even while I am trying to do other things. I have a fireplace and all of my home entertainment stuff in the family room, and just the tree and the trains in the living room.
When folks come over to the house for the holidays, with no prompting other than that sight, feel, sound, smell, and simplicity they are drawn to the living room to watch my 2046 do what it has been doing for nearly 6 decades......sparking the mind and the imagination in so many different ways.
Jack.
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
I guess that I am the odd man out in this thread, I grew up with an AF set that I loved(and wish that I still had) and also got into HO fairly young. I entered the 3 Rail side of the hobby in 2005, and had read so many posts regaling the virtues of Postwar that I eventually bought a 736 Berkshire. It was one of the few train purchases that I have actually regretted. My 736 does not run well, and the reverse unit cycles randomly when I don't want it to, and inconsistently when I do want it to cycle. I will stick with my more modern equipment, Lionel Lines on the tender doesn't do much for me either. Others seem to enjoy them, and that's Great, but the appeal just isn't there for ME.
Doug
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
Amazing what American ingenuity can accomplish!!!!!
Ralph
Earl, Thanks for bringing up this topic. There is something "magical" or "alluring" about PW Steamers.
Nostalgia, Yes for guys our age that grew up with it, but last Christmas Eve, we had my family over our house. In the past it was at my Mother's, but she is getting up there and this was easier for her and we have more room for this growing family. My brother from Colorado and his family were here and his 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter could not get enough of running PW steamers. I had it set up to use either conventional or TMCC. They preferred running the conventional engines, maybe for simplicity, but Evan said that he likes the way they sound and smell. They ran the 685 and 2055 for hours and loaded and unloaded the milk cars. My sister in law said that is the best that they have played together in months. The adults got involved and it brought the family together and exposed a new member of our family, my sister in law Alysse, to the magic of Model Railroading. She never had been exposed like this and she wants to set a loop around their tree this year. She wants a Lionel Train and after going to shows she is making up her mind and she wants a Post War Steamer and she is going to let my brother know what one she wants.
John
Challenger3980 makes a good point: Postwar steamers are less accessible to some simply because they are old. Like any old piece of machinery, they need to be serviced from time to time. But for me, that is an attraction: I CAN service them!
This may sound silly, but I feel like I "know" every pre- and postwar engine on the layout; have serviced them all at some point. The newer TMCC-equipped locos are fun, but I don't like them as much, because they are all circuit boards and electronics inside. There are enough computers in my life already, thank you!
Nostalgia does not play a part for me, because I am too young (I do sometimes get nostalgic for Kughn-era trains!) For me, the postwar and prewar steamers stand on their own merits: simplicity, durability and beauty--they may not have all the applied detail that folks insist on now, but they are well-proportioned and really pleasing to the eye.
nickaixLike any old piece of machinery, they need to be serviced from time to time. But for me, that is an attraction: I CAN service them! This may sound silly, but I feel like I "know" every pre- and postwar engine on the layout; have serviced them all at some point. The newer TMCC-equipped locos are fun, but I don't like them as much, because they are all circuit boards and electronics inside.
This may sound silly, but I feel like I "know" every pre- and postwar engine on the layout; have serviced them all at some point. The newer TMCC-equipped locos are fun, but I don't like them as much, because they are all circuit boards and electronics inside.
I got to thinking about the unique sound emanating from a postwar steamer rumbling around the track. I think it may be akin to the 'Harley' sound from a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I used to ride motorcycles and subscribed to a motorcycle magazine. The magazine did reviews on the motorcycles similar to the reviews CTT does on train engines. In virtually every performance category, the Japanese manufacturers (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, etc.) beat the Harley Davidson and yet today, Harleys appear to be the motorcycle of choice. None of the Japanese motorcycles have that sound of dominance like the Harley does and none of my modern steamers have that sound of dominance like my postwar steamers do.
Hi: I love the (2-4-2) 1655/54/64 and the (0-4-0) 1662/63/65/56 Post & Pre War engines. Two basic motors (slight gearing change), a repairable/tune-able E-unit, fairly simple valve gear, ease of dissassembly and repair, and designed & built to last forever. It is really hard to believe they are/were Toys! I pick up junkers all the time on E-bay and at meets and get them running again, what a wonderful reward to hear and see an old toy train moving down the tracks again. You get to thinking about all the folks that ran it in the past! I had one that was just a mass of rust and white powder, a one week soaking of WD-40, about three hours of dental pick/toothbrush/q-tip/dental floss and dremel tool work and it was moving! I even did the brushplate bushing repair using a brass auto brake-shoe rivet. The only thing I have had bad luck with, is trying to straighten out a bent drive axle. But they are easy to purchase from a large group of parts dealers. Can't do much of the above with the new stuff!
I grew up with postwar, so yea there is an attraction and a familiarity. Of all the locos I've got, i have only one steamer with tmcc.
I like my Postwar steamers, but I MUCH prefer my modern steamers. They are smoother opperators, generate loads of smoke, and the sound system in them can't be beat by Postwar clickity clack.As for fixing them, no thanks... that is what I have a LTS for (and if they don't get my business then they won't be there for long).
Post war steamers are my choice. I get a real thrill when I see something that was made 60 years ago running like a champ down the track.
Mike
I agree with liking my post-war steam locos more than my modern steam locos. I do believe that it is nostalgia (sounds and scent) mainly followed my the simplicity of repairs.Bob.
Toy Trains, they are not just an adventure, they are a way of life !
To me, it's the ozone from the arcing commutators in those old horses permeating the air that is mesmerizing and down right addicting.
Add the growl from a bunch of loose fitting spur gears and you have a recipe for fun times.
I started this hobby out when I was a kid with a 2037 set that my dad purchased before I was even born (my older sister still lays claim to it, even though she wouldn't know how to wire track power much less an entire running layout.) It still runs around my home layout and is one of my most reliable performers (sticky e-unit notwithstanding.) I've recently been exposed to more modern steam engines--our club has a good supply of MTH DCS steamers, and, while they do generate more smoke and more realistic sounds, I have to agree on PW stuff--I can't fix or maintain any of this new stuff, but my PW stuff comes apart easily for cleaning and lubing. Still not 100% confident with all repairs (see also the e-unit comment,) but I'm getting there. I'll stick with PW stuff, too. Oh, as a side note, I'm also in on that motorcycle analogy: I ride a Suzuki Boulevard which is mechanically superior to all my friends' Harleys, but we metric riders still get crap from the Harley guys because our bikes don't have the same sound. But my bike has a sound all it's own with an aftermarket exhaust, and that's just fine with me, I'm always an "outside the box" thinker. Plus the PW stuff just has that smell and sound that transports you--not only back to childhood and simpler times, but to a completely different era that guys my age never got to experience.
While I like trains of all ages, I like the postwar pieces due to their heft and simplicity. Something about a heavy cast engine just makes it a bit neater than the lightweight little plastic things we have today. Those old things could go too fast around a curve, fly off the table and slam into the concrete a few feet below and the result would be a chipped engine (that still worked) and an equally chipped concrete floor! These new plastic engines would fall to their deaths leaving shattered remains to sweep up. I'm not encouraging anyone to treat their engines in such a way but modern durability is a far cry from those old pieces.
Those old engines were also very simple. If one stopped running you just pulled the shell off. If you understood how a doorbell worked you could probably figure out how to fix them. There were no circuit boards to worry about. No sound boards or speakers. Just a motor, an e-unit, and maybe a smoke unit and lightbulb and that was it. Simple and to the point. Simple is reliable and durable. That's what appeals to me about them. In 60 years we aren't going to be seeing many auctions for old "early 21st century" plastic engines as most aren't going to live that long. I'll bet we still see postwar pieces then though!
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