I own only modern trains except for this Lionel 1615 that I bought about a year ago because I wanted a genuine Lionel piece from the 1950s that was “Made in USA.” I keep the 1615 on a stub track at the front of my 10’-by-5’ layout and recently picked it up and examined it from every direction. The manufacturing quality impressed me the most – the castings, paint, wheels and rods. Some light file marks are evident at the parting line on top of the boiler and cab roof – undoubtedly done by hand by a worker in New Jersey. And, after at least 62 years, no zinc pest that I could see. Although modern technology has far surpassed this little locomotive, it certainly is a good example of why Lionel trains were so widely respected in the early postwar years when I had them as a youngster.
MELGAR
