Love running the 671 turbine. It was my dad's first set back in 1947 and still looks and runs great. Interesting that Lionel's lasted longer than the real thing. Funny you mention the crane boom was broken. I wonder if they did the same thing my dad did. He tried to pick up the 2344 NYC F3 with it. It didn't work too well. I remember fixing the crane in the late 70's after he told me that tale. Thanks for the history on the Lionel turbines, Al.
@jrmeindl That is definitely a great story and memory of your dad! The Turbines are well made and will probably last another lifetime or two as long as they are taken care of. I enjoyed bringing this set back to life, and I am glad you enjoyed the video.
Just got my third turbine (‘46 2020) and MAN it’s surprisingly good. The worm shaft that drives both the rear and the front axles makes it run very smooth👍
I just got my first turbine 5 days ago. It was a basket case. It was in pieces in a shoebox. By Sunday it was up and running, including the smoke bulb. The 1946 671 has the added bonus of an illusion of flames coming from the smokestack.
Ironically I have 2671wx tender with my 681 as well. Unfortunately the rear stairs are broken on my engine. I see they sell reproductive stairs on eBay, but would love to find the original stairs, to keep my grandfather's Lionel trains in good condition. Thank you for your knowledge and video.
Finding original metal steps might be hard to find and hopefully you can find them. The reproduction steps are pretty close to the original and I had to install them once. I was lucky that a little metal was remaining and was able to peen the new metal steps back on. Otherwise you may need to tap the metal and use screws.
The 2020 is the same as a 671 except for the number and tender. Note that the Turbines and Berkshires did not have E-unit levers in 1946 during their 1st year of production. Lionel added the lever in 1947 which probably had something to do with reliability, or more likely saved on the cost of using the plug wires in the back of the cab to activate the E-unit or lock it out. Not having that lever made the locomotive look more realistic without a protruding lever. Hope this helps!
Hey Al, great Lionel Pennsy turbine collection. I've got the 671 with the 12-wheel Pennsylvania tender and the 682 with the Lionel Lines, 8-wheel tender. These locos are so heavy and have so much power, they don't really need Magnatraction which my 682 has. Don't know why, but they seem to be the best smokers of all my Lionel. Merry Christmas.
One thing I have never heard mention is the catalog price difference between the 671/2020 if bought separately was .75cents,grab an old catalog and check it out
Looking at the 1946 & 1947 catalogs, the 2020 was $32.50 vs $35 for the 671. In 1948 & 1949 catalogs, the prices went up to $35 for the 2020 vs $37.50 for the 671. I can understand the difference in price for 1948 & 1949 versions in that the 671 now included a nicer 6 wheeled truck streamlined tender (2671W). Not sure why the big price difference the first two years as they were essentially the same.
That transformer car is pretty interesting. We have the crane car and that caboose, looks the same as yours. Also our locomotive is a hudson, maybe similar period to yours? Has the switch on the top like that. Still runs good.
Lionel made several Hudsons in the 1950s. What is the cab number on your engine? The small Hudsons were numbered 2046, 2056, 2055, and 2065 which were all 1950s. Lionel also made a large 773 Hudson in 1950, and again in 1964-66.
Great video! I own too many turbines and just bought another 671 smoke bulb engine w/2671 on Saturday. I couldn’t pass it up for the price. I do not own a 671 RR which is on my list.
An excellent question and one I should have explained in the video. There is a wire with a plug that is inserted into an opening inside the cab that provides power to the E-unit. Unplugging it does the same thing as moving an e-unit lever allowing the direction of train movement to remain unchanged when interrupting power, or locking it in one direction.
Love running the 671 turbine. It was my dad's first set back in 1947 and still looks and runs great. Interesting that Lionel's lasted longer than the real thing. Funny you mention the crane boom was broken. I wonder if they did the same thing my dad did. He tried to pick up the 2344 NYC F3 with it. It didn't work too well. I remember fixing the crane in the late 70's after he told me that tale. Thanks for the history on the Lionel turbines, Al.
@jrmeindl That is definitely a great story and memory of your dad! The Turbines are well made and will probably last another lifetime or two as long as they are taken care of. I enjoyed bringing this set back to life, and I am glad you enjoyed the video.
Just got my third turbine (‘46 2020) and MAN it’s surprisingly good. The worm shaft that drives both the rear and the front axles makes it run very smooth👍
@@colestrains1 Awesome! They were definitely very well made back in the day.
I just got my first turbine 5 days ago. It was a basket case. It was in pieces in a shoebox. By Sunday it was up and running, including the smoke bulb. The 1946 671 has the added bonus of an illusion of flames coming from the smokestack.
Awesome! I always liked the Turbines and the 1946 versions look more realistic without the E-unit lever sticking out of the boiler. Enjoy it!
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Ironically I have 2671wx tender with my 681 as well. Unfortunately the rear stairs are broken on my engine. I see they sell reproductive stairs on eBay, but would love to find the original stairs, to keep my grandfather's Lionel trains in good condition. Thank you for your knowledge and video.
Finding original metal steps might be hard to find and hopefully you can find them. The reproduction steps are pretty close to the original and I had to install them once. I was lucky that a little metal was remaining and was able to peen the new metal steps back on. Otherwise you may need to tap the metal and use screws.
Did the later 2020's have a typical e-unit lever?
The 2020 is the same as a 671 except for the number and tender. Note that the Turbines and Berkshires did not have E-unit levers in 1946 during their 1st year of production. Lionel added the lever in 1947 which probably had something to do with reliability, or more likely saved on the cost of using the plug wires in the back of the cab to activate the E-unit or lock it out. Not having that lever made the locomotive look more realistic without a protruding lever. Hope this helps!
Hey Al, great Lionel Pennsy turbine collection. I've got the 671 with the 12-wheel Pennsylvania tender and the 682 with the Lionel Lines, 8-wheel tender. These locos are so heavy and have so much power, they don't really need Magnatraction which my 682 has. Don't know why, but they seem to be the best smokers of all my Lionel. Merry Christmas.
I really like the Turbines as you can probably tell. I have another as part of a passenger set that did not make it in this video. Merry Christmas!
One thing I have never heard mention is the catalog price difference between the 671/2020 if bought separately was .75cents,grab an old catalog and check it out
Looking at the 1946 & 1947 catalogs, the 2020 was $32.50 vs $35 for the 671. In 1948 & 1949 catalogs, the prices went up to $35 for the 2020 vs $37.50 for the 671. I can understand the difference in price for 1948 & 1949 versions in that the 671 now included a nicer 6 wheeled truck streamlined tender (2671W). Not sure why the big price difference the first two years as they were essentially the same.
That transformer car is pretty interesting. We have the crane car and that caboose, looks the same as yours. Also our locomotive is a hudson, maybe similar period to yours? Has the switch on the top like that. Still runs good.
Lionel made several Hudsons in the 1950s. What is the cab number on your engine? The small Hudsons were numbered 2046, 2056, 2055, and 2065 which were all 1950s. Lionel also made a large 773 Hudson in 1950, and again in 1964-66.
For my money, Lionel's best steam engine. Solid and reliable. Easy to service.
I agree!
Great video! I own too many turbines and just bought another 671 smoke bulb engine w/2671 on Saturday. I couldn’t pass it up for the price. I do not own a 671 RR which is on my list.
Just got my first Turbine 671 from eBay today! It’s now my best puller, boom!
Awesome, they are great running machines!
Nice
Question: on your 46, since it does not have an e unit top switch, how do you make the engine stay in one direction?
An excellent question and one I should have explained in the video. There is a wire with a plug that is inserted into an opening inside the cab that provides power to the E-unit. Unplugging it does the same thing as moving an e-unit lever allowing the direction of train movement to remain unchanged when interrupting power, or locking it in one direction.
Thanks for explanation, awesome engine