pre-war locos

[Anonymous]

I have just aquired 6 eight wheeled pre-war freight cars 812,813,817 etc.I would like to know if a 259e steamer or a253 electric would pull these cars and look compatabile with these cars? I would appreciate any info from the forum.
pennsy ed

[3railguy]

Coupler compatibility is a concern here. Lionel changed coupler designs over the years and heights changed too. They basically came with box or latch couplers (your 800 series freights had both). Box and latch couplers work together but if the heights are different, they cause derailments. 800 series cars are of the large variety. A 259E or 253E is of the small starter set variety. These engines will look dwarfed by the cars (in my opinion). They won't pull many 800 series cars and there could be a coupler compatibility problem (height). Something like a 251 or 254 electric or 260, 263 steam is better suited.

[Dave Farquhar]

I just happen to own a 259E and a set of 4-wheel freight cars that came with it--an 803, 902, and an 807. I also have a handful of 8-wheel freights., and an 8-wheel 630 observation car. The 269E is a little small for the 8-wheel cars, but if you're careful how you order your cars you can minimize the effect. For example, put a tanker or gondola up front and put the bigger cars further back. Then it looks better.

Prewar can be a bit tricky since the only standard was the width of the track, and since it's harder to find prewar engines than postwar, I find myself running things together that I really shouldn't. As my collection grows, that'll be less of a problem. In the meantime, since my only operational prewar loco is a 259E (I also have a postwar Marx 591, which looks the part but is a much weaker puller), I make compromises until I get bigger locomotives. That means not only the gondola trick, but also making conversion cars to take care of incompatible couplers and/or heights. You can make conversion cars out of junkers, cobble together parts, or scratchbuild.

We prewar guys have to be pretty resourceful, especially when we're just getting started, but I think the results are worth it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the helpful info.It's nice to know that there are people out there that will be willing to help others without having to open your wallet!
pennsy ed

[Anonymous]

Interesting! I have a set that my great-uncle bought new and it
consists of a 253 (peacock), 815 hopper (mojave), 816 tank
(olive green) and 817 (peacock/dark green). The 253 looks a
tad (but actually is correct size) small and it pulls the cars with
ease. I have several other 800-series cars that I add on behind
to make a longer train and the 253 pulls just fine. I also pull
these cars with a 256 (orange) but the 256 actually looks BIG
even in front of those cars! The 256 was really only meant to
pull a dedicated set of passenger cars. A really good steamer
to pull those cars and look good is the 260E. I believe it came
with sets of these cars. Will have to go look. Hope this helps
a little more. BTW you KNOW you have a matching set when
you have the 253 with orange windows and ventilators and a
817 with orange windows! (I do.)

As for couplers, you can run latch and both types of (electric)
box couplers with no problem. The latch couplers have enough
up-and-down slack designed into them to accomodate any
mis-match. Again, I do it all the time (and I'm the third generation
to play with these things) with no derailments. It's really quite com-
ical to make up a train consisting of a mixture of #800 series(large),
#600/3600 series (late small 8-wheel), and #800 series (early
small 4-wheel) and watch it run! If you are really careful you can
tack the #817 caboose on the end of a train of small cars pulled
by a 248! Or in reverse, you can make up a train of HUGE #800
cars, pulled by a 256 and stick a #807 (early small 4-wheel) caboose
on the end! Talk about an "end-of-train-device"!

Anyway, yes, the rolling stock is compatible and will run just fine
as long as you distribute your load (box cars, tank cars, etc. up
at the head end and gondolas, flats, and small series cars at the
rear end of the train), and run with a light hand on the throttle.

Enjoy!

(edited for typos)