Info on Lionel post war engines

I wouldn't bother with the 2333 because it lacks Magnatraction.  The maintenance and upkeep on all three is about the same.  Just about all the parts are interchangeable with each other.  The 2353 does have its horn mounted in the dummy A, and lacks a small amount of detail, if this is important to you.  It does not have the nose grab irons, the seperate side ladders leading up into the cab and has the molded in roof vents.   I had the 2353 as my first set of engines and I about wore them out...

Marty

I am a big fan of the 2343. In my mind, they are the best of the PW Santa Fe F-3's.

They have all the original detail of the 2333, but have mangetraction. 

Some will say that the vertical motors of the 2353 run smoother, but I love the growl of the horizontal motors on the 2343.

As said above maintenance and upkeep is about the same for all three. 

The 2333 would be a shelf queen if I had one.

I think you know where my vote is.

What about rust in the battery compartment of the 2353? Could it present a major problem?

I will vote for what Martin said with one exception.  The 2353 is easier to maintain than its earlier 2343 brother.  However, as Martin stated in his e mail, you lose some details when you pick the 2353 over the 2343.  You have to decide on that one yourself I would think.

The other option, if you are not a "strict" collector/operator ,is to get the 2343 AAs released by Lionel as part of their Conventional Classics offerings.  You want one with the new, shiny shells, not the dusty looking shells that came with the Conventional Classics 2343 in the first place.  The CC 2343 AAs are new and don't face the same maintenance issues that the originals do.  The electronic e unit and horn on the CC 2343s are far superior in terms of reliable operation than the  the PW horn and e unit on the 2343/2353.

Hope this helps with your decision.

Ed Boyle

The 2353 has horizonal motors also...They all have the same motor.   THe 2333 had a different brush plate and brushes, but all will fit each other...

Marty

I have serviced all three numbers, and own a 2353 set, if someone offered to trade the 2333 for mine, I would do it in a heartbeat. All of Lionel's premagnetraction era locos run better than their successors, and the little bit of pulling power isn't worth it. The most popular Berkshires, for example, are the ones (726) from the '40s, they pull as well or better than the 736, and coast a lot better when the power is cut. The older engines are made to closer tolerances than the magnetraction locos, and are much smoother. Realistically, how many post war cars do you want to pull? The 672/2025 series is another example of smoothness versus the 2035 and the baby hudsons. Unless you have a big layout and want to pull 20 car trains, buy what you find the best deal on. Given the horizontal motors tendency to suck amperage, you are limited by current availability, not pulling power.

I own 2 horizontal motored F3's but don't like the maintenance required and they can be a bear to work on. My pic would be anything with verticle motors like the 2353 and later.  I swap out the rollers on the 2333/2344 with the 2023 alco collector arms and rollers. This solves the worn out roller problems prevelant with the first types of F3's. The new conventional classics would be ideal.

Rob

This should bring a snicker to you, free of charge. I have all the Santa Fe's of post war era, they are all great. I found a pair of 2333's in beat up condition and they lacked pulling power of my first set,,,,,so what did I do,you say.?

I glued a pair of rubber tires to the 33's and let them set well, I put the rubber tires on both motors trucks same side too, because this raised the trucks a tiny bit. Now they really pulled as good or better than their brothers. I did not grove the wheels.

Remember this is food for thought or laughter.  By the way,I did this in the 1960's, still running today.

Rod

Just want to let you know that the #2353 does indeed have the separate side steps going up to the cab.  The #2243 and #2383 have molded on side steps.

Bob

Hi Nick, Besides the visual details which you can decide for yourself. Depending on the track you use & how your layout is set up another important difference is the rollers. The 2333 has a very wide roller.  The 2343 has wide roller, but not so wide as the 2333. These wide rollers can short on some track sections such as UCS & postwar stockyard & coaling station.

    The 2353 has a much narrower roller, the same as the 2023 Alco uses. This causes much less problems. Actually no problems.

    The 2383 has vertical motors & 1 collector roller on each truck. They also have magnetic couplers instead of coil couplers. Vertical motors run quite well & smooth. The couplers work well also. These are probably the worst looking & best running.

   Nick if you are running SuperO you'd be better off with 2353 or 2383.

      Very best, Don Johnson