I have the same engine. It was my Dad's, and it largely was used under the tree at Christmas. Dad is gone but his train runs like a top 88 years later. It will always be under our tree as it is now a Christmas tradition for our family. Thank you for your post, I really enjoyed it.
Love the loco and I have one similar, but you may be wrong saying it was originally by Ives. The locomotive was made by lionel *and* ives, yes, but as with most of the other transitionals it was made first by lionel. At least to my knowledge it was. Though you've probably figured that out on yer own Edit: A lil fun fact, Lionel planned on making an o gauge steam engine in 1915 to go along with their original electrics, but it was scrapped late in production. I wonder what it would've looked like
4 роки тому+1
Incorrect. The 258 went by the 358 number by Ives from 1928 to 1929. After Ives went bankrupt and Lionel bought all their tooling, the 358 was rebranded under Lionel Lines roadnames and given the 258 number in 1930. The tooling is 100% Ives, but the fully transitioned engine shown here is Lionel.
Gaviñ The Ives Co.fell on hard times in the late 20's,partly because of poor management.When they filed bankruptcy both Lionel and American Flyer split on acquisition of Ives assets. Lionel was after what is now referred to as an e-unit,how ever they produced some of Ives rolling stock.This transition time is a study in itself.
@@robertnielsen2461 It wasn't because of bad management, at least not entirely. For years Lionel had been making defamatory advertisements about the lives corporation talking on about how their cast iron locomotives were worse than their tinplate locomotives. One point I remember being made was that "it doesn't matter how heavy the body is, it matters how heavy the motor is. A heavier body actually wears down on the bearings, meanwhile our heavier motor gives increased traction" I'm paraphrasing because I do not have it on hand, but believe me it wasn't just "poor management" that led to the demise. It was the doing of Lionel
After collecting & running more & more "realistic" models, I realized that I really preferred the "Tin Plate" looks AND sounds. Electronic steam chuffing is okay, but all the other modern sound effects I find to be an annoyance - and none of the electronic whistles sound correct, I say. When I need to hear 'real train sounds' , I can just listen for the trains on the bridge to Canada, near my house - I hear one right now, even though my windows are closed. Give me the rattle of loose couplers, the buzz of chunky electric motors & heavy gears, and even the wheezy air driven whistles of pre-War 'toy' trains ! Plus that smell of ozone and hot oil !
Watching that little loco chase its tail brought back memories of a day long past when I would lay on the floor with only the tree for light and watch my little 259E chase its caboose,while dreaming of the day when I could do more than pretend.
My Great-Grandmother and my Grandpa had a freight set that had one of these in it, by the time I got to see it it belonged to my aunt and it was only ever taken out at Christmas time and only for display, I've never actually seen it run. The really crappy part is that my aunt often would send the train to my dad for him to fix it, but with strict instructions never to run it and send it straight back after he was done servicing it, didn't pay him or anything either. The sad bit is I never got to meet Great Grandma or Grandpa, they both died before my time, but everybody tells me they'd be delighted I'm a train buff too. The silver lining to the whole story is that while I'm not likely to inherit their train anytime soon, I highly suspect they had something to do with me getting my own Lionel postwar train a few years ago. Wouldn't call it a ghost story, but the circumstances were rather eery on how I got the train, it was so out of the blue and coincidental I don't think it was entirely by chance. About the actual train itself, I personally like these old prewar trains a great deal, there's something to be said for the simplicity of a caricature of a toy train layout vs a scale model railroad. The thing that always impresses me the most is the sound, the old stuff sounds huge as it goes slamming down the rails with all the metallic clanks, clinks, and rattletrap noises, a lot like a real train in a way.
Cool train, we collect various makes of prewar O gauge and restore broken ones. The early 257/258 are wonderful 2-4-0 engines. Some facts for share: The early 257/258 was sold as either an Ives or a Lionel. The Ives have a higher value on the collectors market. The brass cab tags and the underside plate will reference either Ives or Lionel. (Beware of Ives cabs on Lionel motors) The spoked wheels are not machined through, they are die castings with a steel nickel plated tire pressed on. You can see the faces of the drive gears behind the wheels on the geared side of the engine. The early 257/258 do not have opening boiler fronts. No need to open them since the bulb screws right into the front. 257 models came with a 4 wheel tender, 258 models came with a 8 wheel tender. The 257 runs forward only while the 258 has a manual reversing lever (switch) in the cab. True, late 258 is 2-4-2. These are entirely constructed of sheet metal. (Early 257/258 have die cast frames and sheet metal boilers).The late 258 has the e-unit, which is a remote reversing mechanism.
The coal load shown is a reproduction replacement, the original has a more densely populated rounded pattern. But if you like it, it does not matter. The journals are copper. The flags are made of metal and may be purchased as reproductions. Nice to add them if you can.
I have a 249E 265W Tender. How does one take apart the loco to oil & lube it? The camshaft I'm worried about. This thing sat in a display case for over 80 years. It's FAVULOUS. Still retains it luster. Also, should I be using white grease on the gears? I've only been able to 'oil' all of the moving parts I can get to with a diabetic syringe with the needle. Oh, both work flawlessly, but the Tender clicks when I make it whistle. I oiled it already, and it seemed to quiet it some, but not enough for me. That clicking drives me nuts. Is it suppose to do this? Thanks
4 роки тому+1
Oil and lubricant is applied straight to the wheels and in the half-circle slots on the very bottom of the motor. No need for disassembly
You may have already resolved the problem so bear with me.If you feel so inclined and you open the tender you will find a tuned sound box with a small motor driven impeller that sends air through the air chambers.Also a d.c.relay that when activated routes current to the motor and from there to ground.Since you say everything works as intended set only the tender on the rails and see if you spot the problem,a good visual could be helpful.Since the only moving parts are the relay contacts and the armature impeller assembly,a few minutes of careful inspection should reveal the source of of the rattle.A word of caution,if it appears that the rattle comes from inside the sound box do not open,instead take the tender to a service technician for help or use ear plugs.Hope this helps in case you still have the rattle.
I have the same engine. It was my Dad's, and it largely was used under the tree at Christmas. Dad is gone but his train runs like a top 88 years later. It will always be under our tree as it is now a Christmas tradition for our family. Thank you for your post, I really enjoyed it.
This was fun. You nailed the way I feel about my 258 and all my old trains.
Love the loco and I have one similar, but you may be wrong saying it was originally by Ives. The locomotive was made by lionel *and* ives, yes, but as with most of the other transitionals it was made first by lionel. At least to my knowledge it was. Though you've probably figured that out on yer own
Edit: A lil fun fact, Lionel planned on making an o gauge steam engine in 1915 to go along with their original electrics, but it was scrapped late in production. I wonder what it would've looked like
Incorrect.
The 258 went by the 358 number by Ives from 1928 to 1929. After Ives went bankrupt and Lionel bought all their tooling, the 358 was rebranded under Lionel Lines roadnames and given the 258 number in 1930. The tooling is 100% Ives, but the fully transitioned engine shown here is Lionel.
@ Are you sure? I've collected tinplate for a while now, the lionel 258 was made first in 1930 and the Ives 258 didn't come out until 1931
Gaviñ The Ives Co.fell on hard times in the late 20's,partly because of poor management.When they filed bankruptcy both Lionel and American Flyer split on acquisition of Ives assets. Lionel was after what is now referred to as an e-unit,how ever they produced some of Ives rolling stock.This transition time is a study in itself.
@@robertnielsen2461 It wasn't because of bad management, at least not entirely. For years Lionel had been making defamatory advertisements about the lives corporation talking on about how their cast iron locomotives were worse than their tinplate locomotives. One point I remember being made was that "it doesn't matter how heavy the body is, it matters how heavy the motor is. A heavier body actually wears down on the bearings, meanwhile our heavier motor gives increased traction" I'm paraphrasing because I do not have it on hand, but believe me it wasn't just "poor management" that led to the demise. It was the doing of Lionel
After collecting & running more & more "realistic" models, I realized that I really preferred the "Tin Plate" looks AND sounds. Electronic steam chuffing is okay, but all the other modern sound effects I find to be an annoyance - and none of the electronic whistles sound correct, I say. When I need to hear 'real train sounds' , I can just listen for the trains on the bridge to Canada, near my house - I hear one right now, even though my windows are closed.
Give me the rattle of loose couplers, the buzz of chunky electric motors & heavy gears, and even the wheezy air driven whistles of pre-War 'toy' trains ! Plus that smell of ozone and hot oil !
Watching that little loco chase its tail brought back memories of a day long past when I would lay on the floor with only the tree for light and watch my little 259E chase its caboose,while dreaming of the day when I could do more than pretend.
So cute!!! I remember building this train out of LEGOs!!!!!
I absolutely LOVE that!
I loved your comments and the loco !
My same old comment to tin-platers : You need to run the train slightly slower to be better seen. I did really like your 258 and 600series cars !!
My Great-Grandmother and my Grandpa had a freight set that had one of these in it, by the time I got to see it it belonged to my aunt and it was only ever taken out at Christmas time and only for display, I've never actually seen it run. The really crappy part is that my aunt often would send the train to my dad for him to fix it, but with strict instructions never to run it and send it straight back after he was done servicing it, didn't pay him or anything either.
The sad bit is I never got to meet Great Grandma or Grandpa, they both died before my time, but everybody tells me they'd be delighted I'm a train buff too. The silver lining to the whole story is that while I'm not likely to inherit their train anytime soon, I highly suspect they had something to do with me getting my own Lionel postwar train a few years ago. Wouldn't call it a ghost story, but the circumstances were rather eery on how I got the train, it was so out of the blue and coincidental I don't think it was entirely by chance.
About the actual train itself, I personally like these old prewar trains a great deal, there's something to be said for the simplicity of a caricature of a toy train layout vs a scale model railroad. The thing that always impresses me the most is the sound, the old stuff sounds huge as it goes slamming down the rails with all the metallic clanks, clinks, and rattletrap noises, a lot like a real train in a way.
It is cool. Also Happy Valentine's Day.
valentine's is the 14th i thot :P
KnexPäerdz It could be..., I might have derped again...
KnexPäerdz But still. *Hugs tightly* LoL.
Cool train, we collect various makes of prewar O gauge and restore broken ones. The early 257/258 are wonderful 2-4-0 engines.
Some facts for share:
The early 257/258 was sold as either an Ives or a Lionel. The Ives have a higher value on the collectors market. The brass cab tags and the underside plate will reference either Ives or Lionel. (Beware of Ives cabs on Lionel motors)
The spoked wheels are not machined through, they are die castings with a steel nickel plated tire pressed on. You can see the faces of the drive gears behind the wheels on the geared side of the engine.
The early 257/258 do not have opening boiler fronts. No need to open them since the bulb screws right into the front.
257 models came with a 4 wheel tender, 258 models came with a 8 wheel tender.
The 257 runs forward only while the 258 has a manual reversing lever (switch) in the cab.
True, late 258 is 2-4-2. These are entirely constructed of sheet metal. (Early 257/258 have die cast frames and sheet metal boilers).The late 258 has the e-unit, which is a remote reversing mechanism.
The coal load shown is a reproduction replacement, the original has a more densely populated rounded pattern. But if you like it, it does not matter.
The journals are copper.
The flags are made of metal and may be purchased as reproductions. Nice to add them if you can.
I have a 249E 265W Tender. How does one take apart the loco to oil & lube it? The camshaft I'm worried about. This thing sat in a display case for over 80 years. It's FAVULOUS. Still retains it luster.
Also, should I be using white grease on the gears? I've only been able to 'oil' all of the moving parts I can get to with a diabetic syringe with the needle.
Oh, both work flawlessly, but the Tender clicks when I make it whistle. I oiled it already, and it seemed to quiet it some, but not enough for me. That clicking drives me nuts. Is it suppose to do this?
Thanks
Oil and lubricant is applied straight to the wheels and in the half-circle slots on the very bottom of the motor. No need for disassembly
Yeah, I saw those.
That it?
This thing is like right out of the box.
Thank You, Much!!!
You may have already resolved the problem so bear with me.If you feel so inclined and you open the tender you will find a tuned sound box with a small motor driven impeller that sends air through the air chambers.Also a d.c.relay that when activated routes current to the motor and from there to ground.Since you say everything works as intended set only the tender on the rails and see if you spot the problem,a good visual could be helpful.Since the only moving parts are the relay contacts and the armature impeller assembly,a few minutes of careful inspection should reveal the source of of the rattle.A word of caution,if it appears that the rattle comes from inside the sound box do not open,instead take the tender to a service technician for help or use ear plugs.Hope this helps in case you still have the rattle.
That`s a Spicy Meat Ball.
Like it vary nice.
Cool
I enjoy them all but favor the tinplate.