Lionel prewar 248 too short.

Can you take the coupler off of the engine and flip it upside down?

@rplst8 posted:

Can you take the coupler off of the engine and flip it upside down?

Like this?

@Tom M posted:

Like this?

LOL.  Well, not like that!

I just meant that the coupler was below the mounting tab... if it could be raised to be above the mounting tab, it looks like it might line up.  I don't understand why it's now pointing DOWN though!

Sorry, I'm not a tinplate guy, I just noticed the coupler was below the mounting tab and it looked like flipping it might put it in line with the others.  I'll shut-up now and let some tinplate experts chime in.

@rplst8 posted:

LOL.  Well, not like that!

I just meant that the coupler was below the mounting tab... if it could be raised to be above the mounting tab, it looks like it might line up.  I don't understand why it's now pointing DOWN though!

Sorry, I'm not a tinplate guy, I just noticed the coupler was below the mounting tab and it looked like flipping it might put it in line with the others.  I'll shut-up now and let some tinplate experts chime in.

I might be able to work something out like this. I'll have to put my thinking cap on.

If I were able to raise the frame up to the height it should be, with the axles lined up with where they should be on the frame. Then it lines up perfectly with the passenger cars.

You're trying to mix and match 2 different series of trains. The 248 was meant to pull small 800 series freight cars (027 style) . The passenger cars were meant for larger O locomotives. A little basic shop work and you can fabricate a L shaped bracket from a piece of brass strip and solder on to the original latch coupler. The incorrect box coupler on the engine now will have to be changed out.  

Before you expend a lot of effort on the modification, I recommend  making a temporary coupler from wire or string and running it to see how the loco will handle the weight. Those cars are going to be a lot of drag. As Chuck said, the 248 was sold with the small 800-series 4-wheel freight cars and 600-series 4-wheel passenger cars. The 248 is pretty light, and I'll be surprised if it will pull your cars without a struggle.

John

It was fairly easy to modify this engine. Plus if anyone wants to drop it back to the floor it will only take minimal effort to drop the frame back down and put screws in the original holes.

The engine pulls these two cars with no problem!

Nice work! I should've looked more closely at the picture to see you were trying to pull only 2 cars. A 3rd car might be  problem but it would be a fun experiment.

I was able to modify this locomotive with the following supplies.

1/8" drill bit.

Hemostats

M3 screws and nuts

A headlamp

After taking out the 4 screws that hold the body on the motor, I slid the body up and double checked the placement. The screw holes above the original holes on the one side are at the perfect height. All I did was widen them to hold the M3 screws. On the other side I positioned the body mount so the top covered half of the square cutout on the motor. When drilling be careful not to drill into wires or the winding for the motor.

I used the lock washers from the original screws. The hemostats are necessary to place the lock washers and nuts in the correct position to thread the screws into the nuts.

And voila, height adjusted.

Did not come in gray. Red, orange, terra cotta, dark green, peacock, and some even without door grabs. Lionel used cab body in an ives engine as well

@Jagrick posted:

Did not come in gray. Red, orange, terra cotta, dark green, peacock, and some even without door grabs. Lionel used cab body in an ives engine as well

Well, if it is a repaint then it is a beautiful job. Looks like it was completely disassembled for paint. They even used a rubber stamp for the lettering.