1668E Lionel Engine

[postwarman1959]

hi i have two lionel prewar locos 1668E & a 1668 type locos the one is my first prewar train set is a gun medal gray 1668E with a 1689w tender made in 1936 that has a lionel lines name plate on both sides of the tender i had to repaint the loco shell and tender shell and frame then shorty after that e-unit had to be replaced after doing all that everthing has been good with it  but i think i may have paid i bit to much for it got it from trainz.com a few tears ago there down in G.A  but last week  i have just picked up realy nice looking a lionel prewar 1668 in black with a 2689w tender on ebay that has white painted or heat stamped lionel lines on both sides of the tender and a lid or box type cover over the cupler lach plus! i seen a headlight lens in the boiler front that my 1668E didnt have? and im not sure what year my new black 1668 was made in? dose any body know?  it was listed as not running when listed on ebay so i got pretty cheap but when it got here i put it on the tracks and it lighted up but would move and the 2689w didnt sound so i tool it all apart clean everything out and then put oil on were it was needed put back on the track and then it started to move within a few laps everthing ran nice and smooth then added oil to the tender fan blade and that now works fine as well so i lucked out on that deal but i wanted to share my story and hope that one of you guys can help me on what year my black 1668 with 2689w is from i am a new member to this site and hope to be welcomed to all the other members and im a single dad takeing care of my two kids and  i am a big  lionel trains lover & collector i have 18 to 20 lionel o gauge sets off the top of my head from the 1930s to today sets the prewar and postwar sets are my main sets i run and play with some of the newer sets are ones my kids wanted i only have a 40 x 60 layout in my 2 bedromm apt  and is working on my deam home for me and the kids and to put all my ideas to work on my dream layout soon down the road to come thnk you all and pleas let me know!!!

[LL675]

and it could have been a never sold left over you got in '51.

[1688torpedo]

Hello Tuleysr! your 1668E was made between 1936-38, In 1939, Lionel Dropped the "E" on the number plates of their engines as they assumed that the buying public then knew that all of their Trains had a E-Unit(Reversing Unit) in their Trains. If your engine has a thin casting(No Firewall in the Back of the Cab) & a Keyed Wingstone then it is from 1936. without the wingstone it is from 1937, In 1938 Lionel changed the Die to make the Castings heavier & thicker( The Cow Catcher for example) & if you have the heavier casting then it was made in 1938 or after. If you can, Post a photo of it here & we'll try to ID it for you here. BTW- 1688/1668s were not made in 1935 at all. In that year they only existed on Blueprints in Lionel's Engineering office. Be careful if you use Greenburg's for information as they contain some typo's & other error's as well. Also, They used two types of coupler's on the Tender's: Latch & Box. Latch Coupler's were used on the Tender's from 1936-39 & in 1940 they were phased out & Box Couplers were used. Some of the Box Coupler's used a Solenoid to make them uncouple around 1941-42 & the manuel versions were used around 1940-41. BTW- You must have been a very Good & fortunate boy to recieve a brand new 1668 in 1951! Hope this helps & have a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year. Take Care.

[lionelsoni]

The couplers and the E suffix are pretty definitive.  The E was used only before the war; and only Janney and Scout couplers were used after the war.

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to date my 1668E Lionel engine and tender. Greensberg dates it between 1935 and 1937 but that does not jive with my recolection of when I got it. I was about 10 years old and that would make it about 1951. I seem to remember it was new but that was a long time ago. Anybody have any comments?

 Price - Corpus Christi, Texas