What is Lionel jr.?

Nice set. There was a guy awhile back looking for one. They are Ives made by Lionel after Ives was bought out. I have a set close to that. How much $$ ??

I believe that set is from 1934-35.

Ok, I found it, it's a 1054 Freight set, 1934. I can't resist, I think I'll snag it.

I like the little building that comes with it. Very nice set. You made a great find

you've been bitten by the tinplate bug! nice find.

The cars are not hard to find and somewhat inexpensive so it would be easy to upgrade the quality of your set a piece at a time. The loco, tender and power house can be a little more pricey, but still not bad. Boxed sets though are tough to find.

Enjoy it

Steve

you will find the 1680 tanker was available in both Shell and Sunoco. You'll find the couplers interesting too. Nice find.

moonman that's cool.  I hope she runs, that would really rock.  Is the 1662 car a caboose?  That looks to be a really nice car.  I have been bitten by the tinplate bug since you helped me get my dad's No10 running.  Now I have a pretty nice collection of standard gauge prewar stuff.  There is something inherently righteous about a toy train made over eighty years ago strutting it's stuff for us grown up kids today.  Good luck and have fun!

Hope it's a runner. Those prewar litho trains are addictive.

I have attached a PDF file of the loco trim parts etc. The Train Tender, Olsens and others will have some of what you might need. Much of the trim parts are common to the 259E.

If the driver is only slightly loose, it can be repaired. Same for the pilot wheel as long as they are not suffering from serious zinc pest. A 14V bulb should do the trick.

Steve

Steve,

if I could lean on your experience-what is ethical when you have found better condition cars for a set? I suppose I have no way of telling if these are the original set. The wear seems consistent on the them. The tender seems to have a repro frame as it's new a shiny paint with no marks.

Anyway, I feel that if they are original in better condition and are correct for the set it would be ok. 

I agree

"Lionel Jr." is the predecessor of "0-27." Lionel had ceased making Ives trains in 1932. Lionel was on the ropes financially in 1934. "Lionel Jr. for little brother" was made at minimal cost for families in the depths of the Great Depression.These little trains are hard to find in good condition. I'm with Moonman on exchanging original cars in better condition. That's how many collectors built their collections.

They are yours to do with as you please. Swapping out an exact replacement in better condition, to me is of no harm, but adds to the value. You need to look closely, there were probably some minor changes such as bearing covers or tinned vs blackened wheel, however those can be swapped with the existing pieces from what you have.

Steve

Thank you, Steve. I've seen your passion and respect for this era of trains.

I know this set isn't a show stopper, but I still respect what it is since it survived.

Why would you want the thread deleted?

Moonman (Carl),

I just deleted one response to your, "googleized" remark. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It is perfectly clear that you have your own opinion as well.

Each one of us has our own research libraries I'm sure. Only so much material available today can be deemed accurate the rest is just a, "shot in the dark". Until Bruce Greenberg completes his three volume Guide To Prewar O-Gauge Lionel Trains we're basically on our own for the next six years.

Google has quickly become one of the most accepted search engines out there. There are those in the professional setting that do call upon Google from time to time. I do give you sympathy for being "creeped out".      

quote:

personal preference only, no other reason.  it just creeps me out, that within seconds of posting something, you can pick a key word and search it and it's on Google.

I think you will find that you cannot delete the thread yourself. Once another member posts to a thread, it can only be deleted by someone with elevated privileges.
If having Google pick up your posts is bothersome, then I don't know how you can participate on ANY chat board, or public forum.

I try to remember that everything on the internet is public before I hit transmit on anything I write.

The same goes for email.
Once you hit transmit, the recipient has complete control, and could even accidentally pass on something that shouldn't be shared. I've seen it happen more than once.

I don't mind the reference being here. Your point is taken. I'll edit my personal remarks out and leave it stand.

Have you ever searched your name? Let me know how you feel about Google's algorithms after you do that. Public domain and privacy issues. Heck, the Feds want Google to "share". You don't see the analytics behind the scenes.

I don't need sympathy. Perhaps empathy with respect to privacy protection.

Pappy,your a great help to the tinplate folks. I'll defer to that.

CW, I am well aware of the risks of the internet. I usually don't post anything personal and happened to post some here because of my excitement.

I even made the mistake of posting the photo in the body of post. I usually leave those in the attachments to keep the thread short and bury it in the forum. But, it's on Google now.

Thanks, I appreciate your help and personal interest.

quote:

Have you ever searched your name? Let me know how you feel about Google's algorithms after you do that. Public domain and privacy issues. Heck, the Feds want Google to "share". You don't see the analytics behind the scenes.

Yes, I have searched my name. Plus a have a fairly good understanding of Information Technology.

As I wrote earlier, I try not to post anything that I would not want the world to see. Because they can.

To get back to the subject at hand, Carl asked opinions on upgrading set components, here is my opinion:

It really depends.

If the components of the set are in matching condition, then I probably would not replace any pieces.

If the condition is mixed, then I see nothing wrong with upgrading pieces, so long as the correct variation is found. Of course then you are in the position of trying to match conditions.

I spent years looking for the correct variations of the cars in a mid-1960's set that I had. The locomotive was nice, but every single car, including the tender was heavily damaged.

CW, thanks for the perspective.

the Jr. sets represent an interesting story in the history of 3 model train companies. That's for another thread. It looks like Lionel used Winner tooling on these more than Ives. The Station transformer is a 1012 Winner with Winner removed in 1934.

I have determined the best that I can, that the set is representative of the first Jr. sets in 1934. Most have copper bearing journals and copper rails and two copper hatches on the Sunoco tank car, which these cars have. I am only guessing that the nickel plating happened later when Lionel was out of trouble.

I think my contribution in its preservation will be new wheel sets for the engine and a period correct cord for the 1012 station. It also needs the knurled thumb nuts for the output posts. The roof is shown as green in most photos that I've seen for the 1054 & 1056 sets. This one is more terracotta.

The engine runs very nicely on a 180 Powerhouse. I want to see how it does with the 1012.