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Last week I was browsing Some auctions and I put a minimum bid for very nice Lionel 623. All said and done, I won with that minmum bid. The loco arrived today. I always heard that these early NW2 were smooth runners, but I never owned one. But wow, what a nice little engine. Runs at a nice constant speed too. 

Postwar isn't going to replace my Scale equipment, but I am definitely going to have to build a small PW style layout!

Just thought I would share.

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Nice acquisition!  I had a 623 for a time and really liked it.  Now I have the earlier, similar 622 with the annoying bell-ringing feature.  These are super engines.

I *so* wanted a Lionel switcher when I was a kid, because NW-2's or similar switchers used to ply the spur behind my house and I wanted an engine that looked like them.  I know I'm one of untold numbers of those who had to wait until adulthood to have the engine(s) we wanted so much as kids.  Once the postwar bug hits you, it seems to spread rapidly.  It did for me.

yankspride4 posted:

Last week I was browsing Some auctions and I put a minimum bid for very nice Lionel 623. All said and done, I won with that minmum bid. The loco arrived today. I always heard that these early NW2 were smooth runners, but I never owned one. But wow, what a nice little engine. Runs at a nice constant speed too. 

Postwar isn't going to replace my Scale equipment, but I am definitely going to have to build a small PW style layout!

Just thought I would share.

My favorite NW-2 ever. Great runners.

IMG_20170923_090847094

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The 623 was one of the first locos I bought when I got back into the hobby a few years ago. One of my favorites. I also have a pair of Alcos and 2026 steamer that has a new smoke unit. All three have magnatraction.

Put each on the track and the took right off when I bought them. A good cleaning and lubrication later they never leave the layout.

2017-05-06 08.55.272017-05-06 08.55.362017-07-09 08.09.16

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I never got cured of the postwar bug. It's still the love of my life. I've got so many great memories of the many layouts,Christmases,Birthdays and my Dad showing up with boxes full of garage sale finds. He had his co-workers looking for trains and for years there was a steady supply of Lionel and Marx. He still has the 1950 model 773 that a seed company rep gave him. I still have the trains of my youth and over the years added more. I've owned hundreds of the newer hi-rail scale locomotives and control systems. The modern trains ARE beautiful AND operate well but poor quality,lack of parts and higgledy pigglety control systems gave me pause a couple of years ago. My focus has been redirected back to those wondrous trains of long ago. Most of the modern era stuff is gone and due to the soft PW market,I've been able to obtain many more postwar,fundimensions and LTI items to enjoy. Layout 1977

This is my layout in 1977. 

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  • Layout 1977: My layout in 1977!
Last edited by Former Member

I ALWAYS called Postwar "rusty old sh*t!"

Had no interest in it. Didn't want it. Wanted only command control trains with sound, cruise, etc.

I ALWAYS wanted a 671 (or similar) Semi-Scale turbine. Don't ask me why, I just knew I wanted one. I gave up waiting for MTH to bring back the Rugged Rails turbine popular in the PS1 and Early PS2 days. I found the Railking Imperial turbine a bit large. Something about the 027 semi-scale unit I loved. I was on the fence about a modern Williams reproduction or an original Postwar.

Walked into Toy Trains and Collectibles one day. Dan had a very nice, boxed, 681 on the shelf. Price was reasonable. I asked about it, saw it run and said "pack 'er up"

Got it home and, quite frankly, didn't expect much in it's operation. Got it on the tracks and start watching it drag a train around, smoke puffing and air whistle blowing. I start slipping back into being that kid on the floor of our house on Falls Road with the Lionel train years ago........I was very impressed with how it ran, looked and was having a great time. I hadn't had this much fun with a train in years.

I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more.

I bought that 681 about 14 months ago, the first Postwar ANYTHING I've bought. What do I have Postwar today?

-2055

-726RR

-2065

-2025

-2023

In addition, plenty of freight cars. I also have two complete, all original, boxed sets - 1515WS and 1467W.

I'll be looking for a 773 at York this week.

As you may be able to guess, I don't call Postwar "rusty old sh*t!" anymore.....(well, some of it still is )

Last edited by SJC

Yes, I agree, Post War Lionel trains, from 1952 to 1965 was might favorite years. I was just a kid, but the 2332 GG1 set was my first Lionel Train...Then the Diesel 2338 with a few Cars was next....I envied the guys with the F3’s, 773’s, 736’s...Those were really fun days as we ran our trains....Great Post....Rolling forward to 1996 and forward, after college, marriage, Kids, their College, and getting back into the hobby, I went Century Club 1 to get started again.,..I do like Command the best. This is a great thread....Enjoy.

This is a great thread, I'm loving every entry. I can soooo relate.... For example RSJB18, I have a barn find (honest-to-God-in-a-barn-when-I-found-it find) 623 NW-2 - dirtiest cleanup I have ever done, but now runs like it's new and has many years of "Kid patina" all over it. Part of me prefers that, to serve as a reminder of what fun THIS engine has brought into some kid's life, and of course part of me wants it to look like new - on this one, a NOS shell is probably out of the question. 

RSJB18, I also have the 218 Santa Fe, acquired from a Goodwill store in Madison, Wisconsin in 1971 (great runner!), and I have a 2026 which is now partially disassembled, pending a good cleanup.

TMCC you say? I am slowly acquiring enough pieces to load up my first engine with it, but this will just be an experiment. With all the PW stuff I have, I don't think I'll ever go straight TMCC, or any other remote control system - those PW engines would drown out a sound system!

So, rusty old sh*t? Yeah, but there's no better in the hobby in my mind.

SJC posted:
Walked into Toy Trains and Collectibles one day. Dan had a very nice, boxed, 681 on the shelf. Price was reasonable. I asked about it, saw it run and said "pack 'er up"

Got it home and, quite frankly, didn't expect much in it's operation. Got it on the tracks and start watching it drag a train around, smoke puffing and air whistle blowing. I start slipping back into being that kid on the floor of our house on Falls Road with the Lionel train years ago........I was very impressed with how it ran, looked and was having a great time. I hadn't had this much fun with a train in years.

Hmm. Thought I knew all the D.C. area train stores, That's a new one on me. On the other side of the river but may have to make a trip one of these fall/winter weekends.

Glad you're in the PW club, SJC. Looks like you need some PW diesels now! 

 

Awesome thread! I caught the postwar bug in a department store toy department in about 1948. Christmas of 1950 a 2036 freight set appeared under the tree. Years later Dad allowed as to how they put it in layaway and paid 10 bucks a month for 3 months to make me a happy kid. A church friend got a 622 set that year with ringing bell and a front coupler. This was huge, as even a 5 year old knew real trains had front couplers, and also knew that 2-6-4 was a fake wheel arrangement in Tenn. at least. I coveted the 622 until another friend got a 1930 A-model Ford...

The postscript is that a TCA meet in the early 1980s there was a table with a boxed, reasonably priced 623. I still wanted a bell, but that was when you had to get a loan to buy a 622 in decent shape. I looked long and hard at the 623, walked the room, went back and bought it. When I got home and had it on the bench for quick clean and lube I noticed a black screw in the hood I had missed at the meet. It went to a whistle relay. The job was so neat, it looked professional. There was one more serendipity, also overlooked in the dim light of the meet hall. The front truck had a bell. I learned to live with the number not being 622.

Couldn't resist, had to throw some pics at you!

IMG_9313

A rough looking shell!

IMG_9318

Sliding shoe missing, and looks like straw in the side frame

IMG_9323

How do you like the custom light job?????

IMG_9338

See the white wire under the red one? It's not really white, it's black. That's some kind of white corrosion on the wire.

IMG_9340

Nasty!!!!!!!

IMG_9344

Let the cleaning begin! Hardened grease on frames was exactly like candle wax - could have been candle wax for all I know!

IMG_9468

Three of my barn finds - the 623 and trolley came from the same barn - $60 for the pair, trolley is low mileage.

The 6250 was $20 at a small train show - it was also quite dirty, but I had to go easy on it because the paint was coming off - But it's a beast!! Strongest magnets and smoothest running PW I've ever seen!

George

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"I NEVER MET A TOY TRAIN I DIDN'T LIKE, THAT IS UNTIL THEY INSTALLED THE @#$%#@#$! ELECTRONICS."

Which is pretty much the way I feel about F-N-R transformer control and a buzzing e-unit. Ouch.

Some PW charms me - like the scale Hudson, of course, and the NW-2 -  but I keep thinking how nice they would run with can motors, cruise and command. 

SJC posted:

I ALWAYS called Postwar "rusty old sh*t!"

Had no interest in it. Didn't want it. Wanted only command control trains with sound, cruise, etc.

I ALWAYS wanted a 671 (or similar) Semi-Scale turbine. Don't ask me why, I just knew I wanted one. I gave up waiting for MTH to bring back the Rugged Rails turbine popular in the PS1 and Early PS2 days. I found the Railking Imperial turbine a bit large. Something about the 027 semi-scale unit I loved. I was on the fence about a modern Williams reproduction or an original Postwar.

Walked into Toy Trains and Collectibles one day. Dan had a very nice, boxed, 681 on the shelf. Price was reasonable. I asked about it, saw it run and said "pack 'er up"

Got it home and, quite frankly, didn't expect much in it's operation. Got it on the tracks and start watching it drag a train around, smoke puffing and air whistle blowing. I start slipping back into being that kid on the floor of our house on Falls Road with the Lionel train years ago........I was very impressed with how it ran, looked and was having a great time. I hadn't had this much fun with a train in years.

I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more.

I bought that 681 about 14 months ago, the first Postwar ANYTHING I've bought. What do I have Postwar today?

-2055

-726RR

-2065

-2025

-2023

In addition, plenty of freight cars. I also have two complete, all original, boxed sets - 1515WS and 1467W.

I'll be looking for a 773 at York this week.

As you may be able to guess, I don't call Postwar "rusty old sh*t!" anymore.....(well, some of it still is )

You stated:
"I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more."
I moved from post to prewar (still keeping my post war) and asking the same questions. Always imagine the person who received this as a gift/Christmas present and the joy they got out of that

RonH posted:
SJC posted:

I ALWAYS called Postwar "rusty old sh*t!"

Had no interest in it. Didn't want it. Wanted only command control trains with sound, cruise, etc.

I ALWAYS wanted a 671 (or similar) Semi-Scale turbine. Don't ask me why, I just knew I wanted one. I gave up waiting for MTH to bring back the Rugged Rails turbine popular in the PS1 and Early PS2 days. I found the Railking Imperial turbine a bit large. Something about the 027 semi-scale unit I loved. I was on the fence about a modern Williams reproduction or an original Postwar.

Walked into Toy Trains and Collectibles one day. Dan had a very nice, boxed, 681 on the shelf. Price was reasonable. I asked about it, saw it run and said "pack 'er up"

Got it home and, quite frankly, didn't expect much in it's operation. Got it on the tracks and start watching it drag a train around, smoke puffing and air whistle blowing. I start slipping back into being that kid on the floor of our house on Falls Road with the Lionel train years ago........I was very impressed with how it ran, looked and was having a great time. I hadn't had this much fun with a train in years.

I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more.

I bought that 681 about 14 months ago, the first Postwar ANYTHING I've bought. What do I have Postwar today?

-2055

-726RR

-2065

-2025

-2023

In addition, plenty of freight cars. I also have two complete, all original, boxed sets - 1515WS and 1467W.

I'll be looking for a 773 at York this week.

As you may be able to guess, I don't call Postwar "rusty old sh*t!" anymore.....(well, some of it still is )

You stated:
"I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more."
I moved from post to prewar (still keeping my post war) and asking the same questions. Always imagine the person who received this as a gift/Christmas present and the joy they got out of that

I always wonder the same thing about any pre-owned locomotive. Who had it...where was it....was it a Christmas gift?....etc. For instance, I have a pre-war British locomotive manufactured by Hornby in Liverpool in 1937, and I always wonder where it was during the Blitz. (It didn't make its way to the US until the early 1990's.)

jay jay posted:
RonH posted:
SJC posted:

I ALWAYS called Postwar "rusty old sh*t!"

Had no interest in it. Didn't want it. Wanted only command control trains with sound, cruise, etc.

I ALWAYS wanted a 671 (or similar) Semi-Scale turbine. Don't ask me why, I just knew I wanted one. I gave up waiting for MTH to bring back the Rugged Rails turbine popular in the PS1 and Early PS2 days. I found the Railking Imperial turbine a bit large. Something about the 027 semi-scale unit I loved. I was on the fence about a modern Williams reproduction or an original Postwar.

Walked into Toy Trains and Collectibles one day. Dan had a very nice, boxed, 681 on the shelf. Price was reasonable. I asked about it, saw it run and said "pack 'er up"

Got it home and, quite frankly, didn't expect much in it's operation. Got it on the tracks and start watching it drag a train around, smoke puffing and air whistle blowing. I start slipping back into being that kid on the floor of our house on Falls Road with the Lionel train years ago........I was very impressed with how it ran, looked and was having a great time. I hadn't had this much fun with a train in years.

I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more.

I bought that 681 about 14 months ago, the first Postwar ANYTHING I've bought. What do I have Postwar today?

-2055

-726RR

-2065

-2025

-2023

In addition, plenty of freight cars. I also have two complete, all original, boxed sets - 1515WS and 1467W.

I'll be looking for a 773 at York this week.

As you may be able to guess, I don't call Postwar "rusty old sh*t!" anymore.....(well, some of it still is )

You stated:
"I also started thinking - here was a ~70 year old toy train. Wayyyy older than me. I started asking myself, while looking at it, "Who had this?", "Who got this for Christmas on year?", "Where has this thing been and what kind of stories could it tell?" For me, wondering those things cranked up the "cool" factor even more."
I moved from post to prewar (still keeping my post war) and asking the same questions. Always imagine the person who received this as a gift/Christmas present and the joy they got out of that

I always wonder the same thing about any pre-owned locomotive. Who had it...where was it....was it a Christmas gift?....etc. For instance, I have a pre-war British locomotive manufactured by Hornby in Liverpool in 1937, and I always wonder where it was during the Blitz. (It didn't make its way to the US until the early 1990's.)

We are just a bunch of sentimental folks. Shows where are heart and minds are

Jsulli21 posted:

2340

Found at an estate sale and a very happy camper. This one was well taken care of and the long wait finally paid off. What a steal for a piece of american made toy that will probably outlast me. Finally one for the good guys, Now if anyone can recommend what to use in cleaning up the body without any damage would greatly appreciate.

 

Jsulli21 posted:
Jsulli21 posted:

2340

Found at an estate sale and a very happy camper. This one was well taken care of and the long wait finally paid off. What a steal for a piece of american made toy that will probably outlast me. Finally one for the good guys, Now if anyone can recommend what to use in cleaning up the body without any damage would greatly appreciate.

 

Sure would like to be able to see the picture!

GeoPeg posted:
Jsulli21 posted:
Jsulli21 posted:

2340

Found at an estate sale and a very happy camper. This one was well taken care of and the long wait finally paid off. What a steal for a piece of american made toy that will probably outlast me. Finally one for the good guys, Now if anyone can recommend what to use in cleaning up the body without any damage would greatly appreciate.

 

Sure would like to be able to see the picture!

I see two postings of photos of the 2340. anyone else not see the photo?

Jsulli21 posted:
GeoPeg posted:
Jsulli21 posted:
Jsulli21 posted:

2340

Found at an estate sale and a very happy camper. This one was well taken care of and the long wait finally paid off. What a steal for a piece of american made toy that will probably outlast me. Finally one for the good guys, Now if anyone can recommend what to use in cleaning up the body without any damage would greatly appreciate.

 

Sure would like to be able to see the picture!

I see two postings of photos of the 2340. anyone else not see the photo?

I tried Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and Firefox, plus I did a reboot - still no pictures

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