Is my 1952 lionel 726rr a prewar 226e in disguise?

[Curmudgeon]

James Huff

If the 726 rr has the same shell as a 226e can i install a red boiler light below the pulmor motor? is this possible?

 

 

Uh, yeah. No.

Never the same casting. Not even really interchangeable without work to rear mounting (if I recall) and complete removal of smoke unit.

Even if the add-on piping of a 226E is ignored, look at the blast pipes out the top of the cylinders. GENERALLY align with stack. On 226E they do. On 726 and later, mostly due to original dimpled bulb smoke unit, smoke stack moved aft.

I have all three for easy comparison!

TOC

[El Fixes Things]

Due to the way the 726/726RR/736 is designed, you really don't have any space above the rear truck to put a firebox lamp- because the motor is located there. I agree you might have better hope of trying that with a 2046/2056/646, which are much closer to the 226E. You would still likely need to modify something, but it would be much more feasible as there is some space to work with.

-Ellie

[Flintlock76]

I don't have a 726 but I DO have a 736.  I just turned it over and I don't see how you could install a light fixture in the firebox area without some serious modifications to the frame.  Honestly I don't think it's worth the effort, there's too much metal you'd have to remove and I don't see how you'd do it without damaging the frame beyond repair. 

[ADCX Rob]

Well, no. While the boiler casting of the 726/736/726RR was made from a modification of the 226E, the drive is completely different as the 226E is a parallel plate motor and the 726/736/726RR has a longitudinal worm drive.

Now, the 2046/2056/646/8600 much closer resembles the 226E as it also was made from a modification of the 226E boiler, but they maintain the parallel plate 6 wheel drive configuration.

[James Huff]

If the 726 rr has the same shell as a 226e can i install a red boiler light below the pulmor motor? is this possible?