Jim Waterman posted:StevefromPA posted:Picked this up at a flea market-antique mall. Not usually a steam locomotive guy but The front coupler had me intrigued, didn’t really know what I was getting...or getting myself into lol(spent the last 10 hours working on it). Unfortunately no tender but this dude it’s pretty cool
I've had one of these since I was a boy. One of the main rods remains 'repaired', ie spliced, as we could not find a part back then. Mine has the bell tender (another repair on the bimetal wire thing that cycles the bell. Runs like a little champ. Since I was doing postwar back then, tender trucks got swapped out for postwar coupler types.
These guys seem to be pretty rare, I suspect more of the scale versions were made than these. Lionel continued with the 4 wheel version after the war (1656, 1615 etc), but this one is the real deal .
Jim
continuAwesome story, @Jim Waterman ! Thank you for sharing. The responses to my purchase of this 203 switcher, I.e. members like you saying “this one is the real deal” makes me teeter closer to the edge of keeping it. I have a pre-war she’ll tender from my grandpop that, due to issues with the solonoid, I had the one coupler replaced so it’d be a good transition piece. Again, thanks for sharing, I hope I get to see my B6 run like a champ justlike you have gotten to see yours!
