I looked at a lot of pictures of 283s and 21084s on eBay, present and past offerings.
Then, I looked at my original photos with a magnifying glass and a bright flashlight.
And, thanks to all of the great information from all of you, I can identify my engine as a 283.
The cab of the engines has two windows with a post in the middle. On the 283s, most of the number is in front of the window and below the forward window section. None of the number is below the rearward window section.
The 21084s numbers go into the rear window section area (and is wider overall).
Looking at my original 1965 photo with the magnifying glass, the numbers are clearly forward of, and beneath the forward window section, only. Also, when I compare the width of the numbers of a 283 or 21084, my numbers are definitely the size of the 283.
I am now confident it was a set #20320 Mountaineer Freight (or possibly an uncataloged set), with the 283 engine and the 900 series cars. I have no way of knowing which version of the generator car or the rocket launcher car I had because one number of each is 1957, and the other numbers are 57-58 or 57-60. The hopper car has to be the 24216, 58-60, as mentioned above.
I have been curious about "What numbers was my train" for decades. I'm glad I asked you guys, and I am very, very thankful to all of you for taking the time to help me nail it down. Thank you again! I will now set out to locate that set in the very best condition I can find it, preferably with the set box. If anyone comes across one in great condition, whether online, or while you're at a show, please email me at RickSinVA@gmail.com.
Thank you again! You guys are great!
Rick
Tom,
The set was bought in Northeast PA. Dad must have bought extra track, or one of the extra cars, at the same time.
