1946 726 w/o whistle

Lionel would have had to provide tenders with no whistle in areas using 25 cycle power. A whistling tender used in an area with 25 cycle power would have whistled continuously. 

I have a 2671 Pennsy tender without a whistle.  The frame is stamped 2671T.  You didn't mention, so your 2426 is probably not stamped "T".  Maybe something Lionel did a year or so later.

The 6 wheel trucks on my 2671 don't have roller pickups and they have some components not installed on trucks with rollers.  I would imagine your trucks also have the same 'non' pickup parts?

Clearly the 2671T came from the factory that way.

Good morning,

 that is correct John, I have none of the roller pickup hardware just the shoe for the coupler.

 The tender was not stamped on the bottom at all, but the original recept shows it as a 2426 T.

There is so much information on other variations, it's been a puzzle to me that nothing exsists on something like this .

Justin

A beautiful locomotive - One of Lionel's finest

I looked up the engine 726 and set # 2115ws in Greenberg's price guide. The engine # 726 is listed with a whistling tender from 1946. There is no mention of a non whistle tender for that engine.

What is possible is that somebody substituted a different tender for that one because of price of the set. I have a 249E with a 2225T tender from 1938, it was my dad's engine, so I know that the set wasn't tampered with on his end but maybe before it was sold there was a different tender placed with it.

Lee Fritz

That was a thought as well Lee, I'm getting a new education after moving to Canada. The variations that I'm running into that I had not seen . 

The Greenberg's guide gives you the listings that are known to exist and not every possibility that happened. Lionel issued some sets that were sold by Sears and are not cataloged at all. Plus I have found that engines in modern times don't have the whole number on the engine any where so you have to cross reference them.

I would not use any guide book as "the reference source" for all variations. There has been some stuff from the post war time that Lionel threw parts together for to sell because of being short on certain parts like truck assemblies and couplers.

Lee Fritz

Thank you Lee for your help. 

Thought I would bounce this out to the net to make sure I was thinking in the right direction .

To start with, not all tenders had numbers stamped on the bottom, and were just plain.  The 2426 was based on the 2666W from Prewar, and basically re-issued and renumbered for Postwar as the 2426W.  Any reference book only indicates that it comes with the whistle ( I own roughly 15 books covering Prewar & Postwar).  In all likelihood it was modified after it left the factory by the original seller.  Of some of the books I own, and used for reference are: The Standard Catalog of Lionel Train Sets 1945-1969 (Doyle); Greenberg's Guide 1945-1969 Vol. IV, Uncatalogued Sets; Greenberg Guide 1901-1942, Vol. IV, Prewar Sets (Dave McEntarfer.  Either of the 2666W 2646W were only issued with whistles.

The 25cycle current on the mains is the big issue.    If the Lionel whistle relay would not work on that current (ie 26 in message), the only way to sell lionel trains in that area is without one.    They could have designed a new circuit, but if the market was small, it may not have been worth it.

  In all likelihood it was modified after it left the factory by the original seller.

I would expect to find marks from the mounting screws if the tender ever had a whistle. There might be marks from the base of the whistle mechanism inside too.  Were the tender mine, that is what I would look for.

That's the first thing I looked for C W .  In the places ware the screws would have been and ware the whistle would have rested . It has no marks and no sings of screws ever inserted and torqued down .

That's the first thing I looked for C W .  In the places ware the screws would have been and ware the whistle would have rested . It has no marks and no sings of screws ever inserted and torqued down .

And I believe you posted earlier that you have the original sales receipt listing the tender as a 2426T.......

In my book you have a legitimate piece, enjoy owning it.
Don't worry about other people's opinion.
If you decide to sell, you may or may not get a premium for the non-whistling tender. If I owned it, I wouldn't sell, so it would not matter to me.

I'm not to worried about the value , as I so see stumbling onto another in this condition anytime soon .  Thank you for the great info.  Thought some of you would injoy this shot of this set the night I picked it up. Set running while in the tail end car as we were heading south .

I'm thinking it never had one. If Lionel had large dealers in areas with 26 cycle systems then why put a whistle in the tender. It would only make problems for the dealer. "Hey there is a whistle in the tender but it won't work" type of problems. Don

I had a 46 726 that in a moment of stupidity I got talked into selling it for $100. It had a bent over cab roof and ran good. I still cry ever time I think about it.

Figured a couple shots of the loco were in order .

Nice one!

What does the tag say? I am not familiar with it.

C.W.

Its says "Do not attempt to revolve wheels. "This loco is equipped with worm drive and the wheels will not revolve unless under power"

franktrain

Thanks!

Enjoy your engine.
Does it still have its smoke bulb?

In 1947 Lionel started offering kits to convert the engine to use a heater type smoke unit. Those kits were offered up through 1969 and are collectable in their own right. (A kit was made for the turbines too)>

The 1946 Smoke Bulb 726 Berkshire is absolutely my favorite Lionel locomotive. I have owned a number of them over the years.

By the way, some worm drive mechanisms can be rotated by hand. It depends upon the gear ratio of the worm and worm wheel (gear).

According to material I found on the web, when the gear can turn the worm, it's called "back driving", and when it cannot it's called "self locking".
The article states:

As a rule of thumb, worm gear ratios over about 30:1 will probably be self-locking. Spur, helical and bevel gears are not usually self-locking.

The bulb is still in place and operational .  

The bulb is still in place and operational .  

That is how I prefer them.
Original Lionel bulbs are fairly common and not difficult to obtain. They show up on EBay quite frequently.
Town & Country had some good reproductions made too.
(Older reproductions are just automobile bulbs with a depression added)

I don't bother trying to make my smoke bulb engines smoke, but a number of people have discussed techniques to get them to smoke without making a mess.

I have one with the original bulb and I like the way the smoke comes out of the stack without modifications. It's a beautiful engine with a gorgeous tender. Sure, puffing O-rings like my 1950 773 are cool but there's something special about the smoke out of my 1946 726 and 1946 67. Just sayin'.

Mike

I have one with the original bulb and I like the way the smoke comes out of the stack without modifications. It's a beautiful engine with a gorgeous tender. Sure, puffing O-rings like my 1950 773 are cool but there's something special about the smoke out of my 1946 726 and 1946 67. Just sayin'

What product do you use? And what, if anything do you use to keep it in the depression so it does not spill out?

I think I read that one person used some modern smoke batting with smoke fluid. I am not certain how it was held in place.

Jetracy,

that is a beatiful set.  Appears its original owner took good care of it.  Must say that is the first time I have seen a Lionel train set up in a privat rail car.  Pretty neat

thank you Nick.  As for ware the the set was running, is still talked about at work and asked if im going to do it again .

sorry for such a late reply, i just want to thank you all for your input and time.

Like some of the others, I've come across lets like this.  One was a prewar 224E/2224T (stamped T) diecast tender with the 1941/42 low coupler.  Yes, I know the low coupler diecast tender is odd by itself  let alone without a whistle in that set. Never been apart, it did come that way.  It was part of a brown 2442/43 passenger car set.  Same thing, it came from an area with 25 cycle power.  These sets were not in our catalog without the whistles but were sold in those regions that could not support the whistles electrical requirements.

Very nice set you have there.

Beautiful piece!   I sort of prefer the early double worm drive with the horizontal motor, yes a bit slower than the ones that had the inclined motor and just the rear axle driven.  But the side rods last so much longer with both front and rear drivers powered.  I had a '46 Turbine that was like this, with its original smoke bulb.  When running at speed, I could see the smoke better in dim lighting since it was lighted by the bulb up thru the stack!  Great find!  Enjoy!     Mike

Nothing like the sound and the look of the 46 worm drive at all , I think there one of the best in my book . I know some prefer the 50s on, but as far but as far as the engineering side and the look, you can't beat them. 

I have the 46 turbine with the similar drive. I have always wanted the 46 Berk but the price has never been right. The 46 Berk has actually more detail than the later ones whereas the 46 turbine has less than the later ones. Why I have no idea.

I have a 726 berk also.   I am not sure of year.    My older brother bought it for my dad for Christmas one year when I was small.   It does not magne traction and did have coil couplers.     And it had the coil smoke unit which stopped working somewhere.     it is in pretty decent shape.

But what is interesting is that you can easily rotate the drive wheels without power.    I have heard it said it has a "double worm" or some such.    but it rolls somewhat freely without power.    And it runs very smoothly with power.