pre-war Hiawatha 250E resto help

Pride Lines made a Hiawatha years ago that was, I believe, a part for part repro of the original.  John Davanzo, the owner, passed away a few years ago, but you still may be able to get in touch with them or find one on eBay.

I knew John personally.  He would replace the anemic LTI Hiawatha motor with one of his.  He did this for many people.  His motors ran rough sometimes.  He always made good on anyone that wasn't satisfied with his products.  By the way, I believe his wheels came from George Tebolt, or some other parts source.

I just learned of Pride Lines the other day while browsing e-bay. The MTH wheels are readily available from several vendors out there. I would only like to replace the one bad wheel, but looks like I'll be changing them all to MTH so they match.

Thanks for the great information. When I got the train about 15 years ago the only repro that existed I think was the 1988 Lionel 51000.

Tim

  When I got the train about 15 years ago the only repro that existed I think was the 1988 Lionel 51000.

The LTI repro was actually made by MTH under contract to Lionel. At that time Mike was a big Lionel dealer, not a competitor. I don't know to what extant the more recent production MTH Hiawatha parts are identical to the 1988 LIonel version.