I just picked up a Lionel 8053 (726 Century Club) Berkshire shell. I am hoping it will drop onto a postwar Lionel 736 Berkshire chassis.
Anybody know offhand?
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It more than likely will. I doubt Lionel changed the mold much at all from the early 50s through the early 2000s.
One thing I've noticed: The Century Club Berkshire shell will not have an e-unit slot.
I guess there are workarounds for that.
So.... I received my Century Club Berkshire shell. As expected, the shell does not have an e-unit slot. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no sign of where the slot used to be.
I have not tried fitting it to a postwar chassis yet.
I think it would be very possible to use a 671-50 or 726-51 style e-unit without a lever to avoid needing to cut a slot.
I think it would be very possible to use a 671-50 or 726-51 style e-unit without a lever to avoid needing to cut a slot.
A standard E-unit could be used by simply removing the switch lever. The challenge is then to find a way to switch the e-unit off and on.
I've put together a few locomotives using a mixture of Postwar and Modern era parts. On a few engines lacking the e-unit slot, I removed the e-unit lever, and wired the e-unit to always be on.
I have one customized turbine where the original owner removed the e-unit and covered the slot. I reinstalled an e-unit without its handle and used a brush plate from an electronic turbine to control it.
I am not certain whether the berk shell has the clearance for an electronic turbine brush plate. I don't have another to use anyway.
