Lionel 2026- Which variation do you prefer?

The later version has smoke, too. That's why the same model number, although they are very different locomotives.

Thanks for the correction, Chuck.

The middle version from 1949 is probably the best of them. 

The later version (1950 onward) with the 2-6-4 arrangement had a sheet metal trailing truck, and the earliest version (1948) had a smoke unit hot wire underneath that often came in contact with the ground rails and shorted the engine out.

The middle version (1949) had the wire problem fixed, while still having the die cast two wheel trailing truck.

I'm biased.  My very first locomotive was brought by Santa Claus, at Christmas, 1951 (when I was three).  It was a four-car freight set, pulled by a Korean-War version 2026.

I still have that locomotive, all its cars, its original track and 1033 transformer.  The only thing I've ever had to fix on the 2026 was the smoke unit, which eventually became clogged full of incompletely-melted smoke pellets that my preschool self dropped relentlessly into its stack. Some years ago, I replaced the smoke unit's innards, and it's been smoking happily ever since.

My personal history aside, another factor to consider, for those who are choosing, is that the early version (at least all the ones I've seen) uses contact shoes instead of rollers.  Whether you consider that a drawback or not is up to you.

I like the 2-6-2 version with valve gear and die-cast trailing truck.

For passenger service I like it better with an 1130T small streamlined tender.

I have both but like Ace the early is the fave. I just got this delivered last Friday. Just a little cleaning and polishing and this runs like a champ. Other than the sliding shoes there was very little signs of playwear. Much smoother than the later version I have. 

I think the early version is a nicer engine. However I don't care for sliding shoes.

I like them both, but if I had to pick one, it would be the earlier version.  As has already been posted, the one minor drawback are the sliding shoe pickups.
The earlier 2026 has a rather unique smoke unit arrangement. The puffing is controlled by a cam that is cast into the back of one of the drive wheels. The smoke lever is mounted between the motor's side plates and has a finger that follows the cam.  I don't think any other Postwar locomotive smokes that way.

Thanks for all the replies!

I have the 2-6-2 version and it's a great postwar example. Quiet motor and fantastic smoke output from repro pills or liquid. The only downside is it has limited pulling power. I assume that some of this is due to the lack of magnetraction.

Why are sliding shoe pickups perceived to be a drawback? They work just fine for me. They might actually work better than rollers because they have a larger rail contact area when properly adjusted. I suppose rollers might last longer for high mileage operation, although they can get grooved like sliders.

I once heard that sliding shoes wear out easier. It might be for just certain locomotives though.

Lionelpostwarfan posted:

I once heard that sliding shoes wear out easier. It might be for just certain locomotives though.

Marx locos and others often have plain copper sliders that wear faster. The slider contacts on my 2026 (shown in photo above) appear to be chrome-plated and fairly durable.

I too was a little hesitant on the sliders but after a good polishing with a Dremel brush the loco runs well with no hesitation on tubular track and MPC switches and on the other layout with Atlas track and Ross switches. 

I much prefer my 1949 version 2-6-2.  I got it for $50 a couple of years ago and was my first entry into Postwar Lionel after 35 years in HO.  It created a monster.

I have the 1949 2-6-2 version, which I bought at an antique fair because it looked lonely and out of place, and because I had no PW steam at that time. It didn't have a tender with it. It is a great runner and smoker, and I also like it because it is as old as I am. It is a bit slippery, but runs well with a lighter load. I really enjoy it.

Early, but that's more because I don't care for the trailing truck on the later version. As an aside, anyone happen to have a spare mechanism around? I am working on a custom version that I'm rebuilding shells up.

I only own the later version, my daughter found it at a thrift store and gave it to me for Christmas 2013.  The first train that was given to me, after 45 years of buying my own.

Thank you for the pros and cons of each version.  Maybe I should look for a 2-6-2

The 2-6-2 version - wouldn't mind having one although I question if I will buy more Postwar. My 681 turbine has been a real trouble maker - every time I try to run it, something shorts, breaks, whatever.

I could never get over that goofy looking trailing truck on the 2-6-4 version, especially with two different wheel sizes and styles.

The 2-6-2 version - wouldn't mind having one although I question if I will buy more Postwar. My 681 turbine has been a real trouble maker - every time I try to run it, something shorts, breaks, whatever.

I remember your thread about problems with your 681.
Maybe you should have Chuck Sartor take a look at it.

SJC posted:

... I could never get over that goofy looking trailing truck on the 2-6-4 version, especially with two different wheel sizes and styles.

The larger trailing wheel was for the theoretical booster engine. Were the later 2026 versions similar to this 2037?

They were basically the same as the 2037, except for no magnetraction and they came with 6466W, 6466T, and 6066T tenders.

The earlier version was always my favorite.  It was my first postwar (and for that matter O gauge) train in the form of a laundry hamper full of 1948/1949 Lionel trains and accessories all in original boxes that I got from my dad's 2nd cousin when I was 8 or 9.  About a year ago I picked up a later model 2026 cheap as part of a small bundle I got at a show in order to repair and flip.  You just can't beat the extra details on the earlier version like the full length wire handrails and the extra set of drive bars (I know there's a proper name for them).  Seeing those in action is something else!  When I was looking for something larger for O-gauge cars, I got a 2046 because it had the same great details!

Some locomotives in real life has had different sized trailing truck wheels on a four wheel trailing truck. Think NYC Hudson.

the early version, nickel rim drivers, die cast trailing truck, beautiful engine. when I got mine the sliders had holes in them, someone got a lot of enjoyment from it.

The strange thing to my mind is that Lionel was always so particular about engine numbers and their included design. So why did they make a change from a 2-6-2 to a 2-6-4 while retaining the number of the 2-6-2.

Bogie

The strange thing to my mind is that Lionel was always so particular about engine numbers and their included design. So why did they make a change from a 2-6-2 to a 2-6-4 while retaining the number of the 2-6-2.

Lionel reverted from 2037 to 2026 during the Korean War materials shortage because the engine was made without magnetraction.
The 736 reverted to 726
The 681 reverted to 671.
Some, but not all of these two engines had the letters "RR" stamped on the cab.
The 2026 was not given the "RR" markings.

Lionel was not consistent.

The 2046 became 2056.

OldBogie posted:

The strange thing to my mind is that Lionel was always so particular about engine numbers and their included design. So why did they make a change from a 2-6-2 to a 2-6-4 while retaining the number of the 2-6-2.

Bogie

I can guess: they eliminated the die-cast outboard-bearing trailing truck to cut costs, but to avoid having it look too sparse back there they improvised the cheap basic 4-wheel trailing truck. Why they didn't change the number? Maybe so they could phase in the different loco version more easily. Later on, postwar Lionel would often make trivial changes to some items and change the number and boast that it was "new" in the latest catalog.

I think I've heard that one set of the different-sized wheels in the basic 4-wheel loco trailing truck was overstock from prewar items but I don't know if that part is true.

Leave it to Lionel to make a 2-6-4 version of a Pennsy K-4 Pacific. 4-wheel pilot trucks won't fit on O27 locos without serious compromises to dimensions of cylinders, wheels, etc.

 Lionel 2035 "K4 Pacific", photo from internet

The early 2026 is one of my favorites

My 2026 blows the best smoke rings in the whole fleet.

Threads like this are what this forum is all about. Great stuff!

OK, question on the early 2026. I need/should replace the shoe plate, 2026-M4 part# as it is cracked. What is the best way to remove the plate from the complete motor assembly?

Like my 1948 2026 best because I got it Christmas morning in 1948. Don

OK, question on the early 2026. I need/should replace the shoe plate, 2026-M4 part# as it is cracked. What is the best way to remove the plate from the complete motor assembly?

If your engine runs OK, leave it alone. Those plates are a bear to replace.

Advise noted CW. It does run fine and it definitely looked like a no fun repair.

Love the early version although i need to replace the wiring in the tender as its starting to crumble and short out on the body of the tender

Hands down, the early '48 - '49 version.  With the added eccentric crank, die-cast rear truck sideframes, and separately applied handrails lacking on the '51-53 version, it is, in my own opinion, the much handsomer and more desirable of the two.  It also happens to be the first die-cast O gauge locomotive I've ever owned.  At one point I owned three of them.

Yes, it lacks Magnetraction as does the later version, but then the early version does predate Magnetraction by a couple of years and of course the plated steel rims negate the effectiveness of it, but the plated rims is another detail that makes the engine more visually appealing, IMHO.

You can repair a worn sliding plate pickup by soldering on small piece of tin from say an old 9v battery case.  This would be much easier and quicker than replacing the pickup.  I solder on a piece of tin on my homemade electrical pickups, made from thin brass shim stock, to reduce wear.

Charlie

The earlier version but have had both and can say just like the earlier version 675/2025 vs the later 2025/675 the earlier is a quieter smoother running engine .

Why is that? It has been said that the machining standards loosened later on, its been my observation those early version 2026, 675 , 2025 vs the later ones its true.

My opinion those early ones were indeed the Zenith years for Lionel spur geared motors.

Another vote for the 2-6-2 with diecast trailing truck, wire handrails and valve gear!

@TomWCarter posted:

I much prefer my 1949 version 2-6-2.  I got it for $50 a couple of years ago and was my first entry into Postwar Lionel after 35 years in HO.  It created a monster.

Pretty much the same with me; except my first was/is the #1666. Very similar but without the smoke unit, correct?

Mark in Oregon

@Dieseler posted:

The earlier version but have had both and can say just like the earlier version 675/2025 vs the later 2025/675 the earlier is a quieter smoother running engine .

Why is that? It has been said that the machining standards loosened later on, its been my observation those early version 2026, 675 , 2025 vs the later ones its true.

My opinion those early ones were indeed the Zenith years for Lionel spur geared motors.

Bingo @Dieseler, I couldn't agree more that the early 675s,2025s and 2026s were by far the smoothest and quietest running of this genre of engines.  Not sure why but perhaps they used a different motor altogether but loosening up the machining standards certainly could have caused the difference.  The later ones don't run nearly as quiet and smooth as the earlier versions.

@OKHIKER posted:

perhaps they used a different motor altogether but loosening up the machining standards certainly could have caused the difference.  The later ones don't run nearly as quiet and smooth as the earlier versions.

The biggest difference/impact was the move to aluminum parallel plates in 1950. They are just not as heavy, tight, & rigid as the original steel construction.

My vote is for 2-6-2! But I'm biased. As of now my only engine! My dad got this for his birthday in 1949. The entire set has been in a box and moved around the country for the last 50 years! The engine was in a cigar box (dad tried to "fix" it about 28 years ago) took it into the local train store and they were able to bring it back to life! Working on my first build now.

I have both but my 2-6-2 runs like the day it rolled off the assembly line.

@Mikado 4501 posted:

The later version (1950 onward) with the 2-6-4 arrangement had a sheet metal trailing truck, and the earliest version (1948) had a smoke unit hot wire underneath that often came in contact with the ground rails and shorted the engine out.

Is the 2026 pictured here the unit with the smoke unit Hotwire which shorts out?

This. Locomotive runs briefly before sparks fly and the engine stops.

I like the first version. It just looks better IMO. The sliding shoe contacts are the only things that bug me on it though.

@Christopher2035 posted:

I like the first version. It just looks better IMO.

I'll second that. 👍

Correct me if I'm wrong: isn't the 1666 the same, except that it doesn't have the smoke feature?

Both are are very handsome models of a prototype that I don't think existed...🙂

Mark in Oregon

I picked up this 2026 2-6-2 about a month ago just because of the detailed railing on the sides. Goes very nice with my 2035 too. Unfortunately, I’m having issues with the tender that I received with it. Keeps shorting out but haven’t even taken it apart yet so the 2026 is currently using a sloped tender. Need to pick up smoke pellets too.

I'm preferable to the later 2-6-4 2026. The only reason is that this was my first train, gifted to me by my parents Christmas 1991.

The engine on the bottom is my dad's 2018 that he got for Christmas 1954.

Around 1961 or 62 I inherited an early version 2026 from an older cousin. I already had a 736 Berk Set from 1956 but the 2026 had a certain quality to it and became a favorite! I literally ran the pickup shoes off of it. Many years later at the Allentown Train Show I found one in near mint condition and paid about twice what the average 2026 was going for at the time. It is one of the real gems in my postwar collection.