I picked up a 1949 version 2026 from a dealer in a trade for some HO that I was disposing of, and though it had a frayed wire on the headlight that dragged down causing shorts when I tested it the first time, after replacing the wire, giving it a thorough cleaning and oiling, it runs like a Swiss watch. In fact, I don't even hear it run. Smooth as silk. My 1951 2046 Hudson ran like junk when I got it, but, doing essentially what another poster described above with a thorough cleaning and lubing, and while loud, it runs well too. Mine get out from just before Thanksgiving to New Years on the holiday layout and while the cars get packed away, the engines go into a cabinet in the living room on display behind glass, with the 2046 going on the mantle. EVERYTHING gets cleaned and lubed before the season and then once a week at worst when the layout it up. Maintenance is the key to a happy engine with PW Lionel, however, I too wonder who had my old trains before me and how they enjoyed them. It's neat to think that trains made when my Dad was a kid (and some even before he was born in '49) still do what they were intended to do without fail, some 65+ years later. I ended up getting rid of the HO, throwing away the rivet counting magnifying glass and just have a ball with the old Postwar O Scale.
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