Your assessment of the dies is spot on. Because the basic shell was used on numerous locos, the original dies would tend to wear out. This would cause weak spots in the castings. I have done extensive research with regard to Lionel’s die casting process, with a lot of my Prewar locos. When the bodies were casted, they all had “Flashover” that needed to be removed, plus certain elements for E unit slots, railing placements, etc., were done after the fact. A basic body would have these openings, (railing holes, E unit slots, machined, or drilled, prior to the painting process. The bodies were also sanded to remove major blemishes, prior to painting.
I agree with alank's observations. I've spent a lot of time researching numerous Greenberg older price guides, (large format), and have found no references to the #2026's window configuration. This led me to believe that since other steamers have at least a comment regarding cab windows the #2026 was made in a 4-window configuration and that 3-window cabs were the result of hard use or a creative railroader wanting a 3-window cab. However something I did not consider was the fact that the dies for the shell may have been deteriorating and as a last resort Lionel could have been trimming the horizontal bar splitting the right-side window from two to one. I have a parts box that contained 2 @2026 bodies and one of them also had the 3-window cab. Not that this was imperical evidence of a 3-window cab but it furthers the argument of a bad die.
Thanks for all of your comments. Steve
It is not uncommon to come accross three window 2026s. I believe they were all 4 window at one time, and some of the casting around the window may have been weak, and a cross member got broken or cut out. Whether the factory ever did this I don't know, but it isn't uncommon to see a 3 window 2026, usually the rear window is double size.
My Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains 1945 - 1969 by David Doyle Makes no mention of the windows at all, which it would of if there was a difference. Just the difference of the two models. 1948/49 and 1951-53 the main difference was the earlier one was a 2-6-2 later was a 2-6-4 and other changes.
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The 2026 loco shared the same casting for the 2026, 2036, & 2037, and ran in different time frames. The only differences were how the number was stamped, with the 2026 as 2026-65; the 2036 as 2036-5; & 2037 as 2037-2. There is an off chance that inside the shell, there may have a stamping number of 2026-?, possibly 2026-1, indicating the original casting was a 2026 Casting.
I know on the Turbines; 671, 681, 682, & 2020 shells, they all are 671-3 castings, and the trim numbers denote what number is stamped on the respective shells. I would have to agree that one of the window struts may have been a poor casting, and the result is a 3 window finished product.
Does anyone know for sure if Lionel ever produced the #2026 with both a three window and a four window cab? I have two #2026's both from the early run and one has a three and one has a 4 window cab. Thanks for you help. Steve
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