Lionel 681 Turbine 1950 (Postwar) | Nix’s Review

Welcome back for another Nix’s Review! Today we are looking at the Lionel 681 PRR Turbine produced in 1950. This engine featured magma-traction and pellet smoker compared to its earlier counterpart the 671 Turbine - 1946.
Lionel would produce thousands of their 4 variations of turbines - 671, 681, 682 & 2020. Final production run was 1955.
The PRR S2 turbine 6200, lives on forever because of Lionel’s early toy trains. Many other O gauge / scale brands have also created postwar look alikes or full scale command models.
Enjoy!
Happy Railroading!

[@williamkolina3988]

Keep the history and technical lessons coming.do it for all of your collection

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! I love history and learning about these locos 🚂💨

[@frankrowan1249]

Great layout and engine.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! 🚂💨

[@rj78productions88]

Sweet locomotive and awesome PRR history.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! Too bad they scraped her 🚂💨😂

[@chiconian49]

Great upload! I love my 671 and 682 Lionels. The 682 has Magnatraction, however probably doesn't need it. The weight of the locomotive gives it plenty of traction. My favorite tender to run behind them is my 12-wheel 2671W.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! That’s awesome! I’m on the hunt for a 12 wheel tender lol I’ll just have to pay up 😂🚂💨

[@chiconian49]

@@NixCrossing My tender came with the 271. They were both given to me by my dad, used of course in about 1959.

[@huckstaunfiltered8200]

​@@chiconian49 I have the 681 with 2671wx (Lionel lines) tender... Thank you for sharing which Engine the tender actually came with.

[@northpennvalleysteamrailroad]

Awesome locomotive friend!!! My grandfather has the 681 too!

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! That’s awesome! I feel like I need all the variations now 😂

[@douglasschultz9808]

Got my postwar turbine back up and running thanks to the Edison NJ show having the parts I needed

[@NixCrossing]

That’s awesome! They are fantastic runners

[@ralphdaveler8595]

your videos are really starting to pop. Great job. Love the alien leaving the outhouse too.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! 😄

[@williamohara2638]

Thank you, great review 👍🏻

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! 🚂💨

[@mikeberthold1593]

Thank you for the video have that exact same engine it was found in my aunt's attic after she passed away it was a set with rolling stock in a big box that was never opened up until about 15 years ago my dad and I just had to see what was in the box😊

[@NixCrossing]

Thank you for watching! Sorry to hear about the passing of your aunt. Thankfully we have these treasures to carry on all of the memories and family history.

[@mikeberthold1593]

Thx😊

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

Great video 😎👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! 🚂💨

[@TwistedMacGyversTrains]

The Turbines are my favorite Nick. Awesome video!

[@NixCrossing]

They are pretty cool! The full scale ones are huge

[@gregt6363]

Looks good nick. Layouts looking good. I like when you run the trains with the camera on the train

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@ronalddevine9587]

The turbine is my favorite Lionel steamer. Solid runner, easy to service (3 screws & done). I have a 1946, bulb unit which smokes nicely with one drop of smoke fluid. Also a 1947, and a 1950 681. Your spillage of smoke pellet residue might have been caused by a worn out gasket. You can put smoke fluid in a pellet unit. The disadvantage of switching to the newer type is if you leave it in neutral too long the register will overheat and be destroyed.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! I forgot to mention that about the serviceability of this loco compared to a 2025 haha so much stuff sandwiched under the boiler plate. I think it sat in a damp place for a while and just got all messed up. I always keep these guys running, never in neutral… unless I’m taking a thumbnail photo 😂🚂💨

[@alfonsolanzagorta5138]

This locomotives can smoke with ANYTHING. Let me tell you that I have this one and the 726 1946 Berk. Since in México was quite difficult to get smoke fluid or pellets unless you traveled frequently to the States, mexicans operate this engines putting some lubing oíl named "3 en 1". They worked very well and nothing happened to the smoke unit. Another postwar quality proof. They are bullet proof.

[@petrberanek4230]

9:09 imagine driving remote country road at night and hearing that somewhere behind you, very close....

[@dbtech7914]

Great review, and interesting facts about the Turbine!

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! 🚂💨

[@JDWorkshop-wn9tt]

Nice explanation of the history of prototype and, models. I like my SP smoke pellet engines because, I like the different smell. They can be messy though! Nice oil conversion and, clean up you did on that and, fast! Timonium show was only about 2 weeks ago I think. Nice video edit with music that goes well with the train run content. Very cool!

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! I’ve actually thought about making a smoker to burn pellets just as a room scent smoker lol thanks again! It’s fun bringing these classics back 🚂💨

[@mr.shadestrains6033]

Love the little aliens wicked awesome 👽👽👽👽👍

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much!

[@johnsaxon7029]

Nice vid Nick. I have a 2020, 671 RR (revised revisited or some folks call them re-runs) made during the Korean war and a 681. All great runners. The 682 with the extra valve linkage command a premium price. Thanks for the vid.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! I’ve heard of that with the 682s lol 🚂💨

[@EngineerEd-xt2qu]

Nic that was great I really enjoyed this. Thanks

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! 🚂💨

[@johnschimmel2607]

Awesome review! I have a 671 and it’s a favorite. It’s also converted to liquid from pills. Runs smoothly and is a great puller in spite of no magna traction

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! I think this piece is going on the favorites list. My manga-traction doesn’t like my MTH Trax, but the engines love the switches so it’s a nice compromise lol. I’ll probably end up with all 4 turbines at some point. 🚂💨

[@dagryffynhobby]

Great engine and great videos. The front truck on my MPC era 6200 bounces around too, don’t know about switches, but I was considering trying to fit a small spring to put a little pressure on the truck and hopefully keep it planted. Might be worth a shot on your Williams.

[@NixCrossing]

That’s a fantastic idea! unfortunately there’s no room to add weights, but a spring would be awesome! Thanks for watching! 🚂💨

[@JamieMakin]

Great review! I really enjoyed learning about the history of 6200 as I previously didn't know much about it. Fun to watch yours run too, and glad you're able to keep those old trains going.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! These old trains will last longer than my lifetime lol 😂

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Great find on the 681 Nick! I got one myself in 2017 at Henning's Trains in Lansdale. I wasn't looking for a Pennsy Turbine but there it was, serviced and tuned-up and with a Pennsy tender and at a too-good-to-pass-up price. A few minutes later and it was "headin' south!" Great runner, it still has the pill smoke unit however I use J-T's Mega-Steam fluid in it and it smokes just fine with that. The Magne-Traction still works too, but since I run on nickle-silver track it doesn't do me much good! Then Thanksgiving weekend the next year I was in Henning's again and found an MPC six car streamlined PRR passenger set, so now my 681's got "varnish!" How lucky can you get?

[@johnknippenberg-LandmarkYards]

I was wondering about the tender, I think mine is a 2671W. But I like the PRR badge on the Williams tender, the whistle not so much. Cool ride-along footage too.

[@randallellison6421]

Cool locomotive Nick! I would always see these in the TM Books and Video movies and wonder why they didn't have the extra side rods the other steamers had not knowing at the time they were turbines, very unique design, thanks for sharing!

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! The 682 has an extra draw arm, but yes I was the same way when I would see these at Christmas train layouts and such. 🚂💨

[@billb1736]

My first time seeing the Turbine was in a book by Lionel, thought it was so cool. It was the one from the FARR set. Then I saw the scale one in the catalog. Thought it was so ugly. For some reason I didn't put it together that they were models of the same engine. The more I looked at the scale version the more it grew on me. I'd say the FARR version is probably my favorite engine/set ever!

[@NixCrossing]

I’m the same way to be honest, I really like the post war variations compared to the scale ones. For some reason they just don’t have the Same charm.

[@billb1736]

@@NixCrossing I agree wholeheartedly!!

[@billb1736]

@@NixCrossing there's a book if you don't already have it called The Lionel Inspiration. It has a very good write-up on the Turbine along with several other prototypes of Lionel's postwar engines.

[@coverdalemineoscalemodelrr7074]

Hey Nic I just subbed great engine my first been in my family since it was new

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much! 🚂💨 that’s awesome! Definitely a family treasure!

[@Nathan5Chime]

Too bad you can't find one of those hidden in the woods, like you did the GG1. Definitely one of my favorite engines.

[@NixCrossing]

Haha so true! Thanks so much!

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

good vid

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much!

[@trevithickrob]

There has always been something with a Postwar Turbine. One of these days, I will have one. Side note, yesterday and today I have been think about getting that lionchief mth tooling turbine that Lionel had in their last catalog.

[@NixCrossing]

Thanks so much for watching! Oh wow! I had no idea they made those in Lionchief! I’ve seen the original Railkings, they are very nice with PS2 🚂💨

[@williamkolina3988]

Nick perhaps the front pilot problem on the Williams is related to spring tension.I have similar problem with a Mikado

[@NixCrossing]

That’s an excellent point, maybe I can add a spring to hold down the front. Thanks for watching! 🚂💨

[@williamkolina3988]

@@NixCrossing don't listen to me.i am a novice.i listen to more experienced folks than myself.i hope to meet you in person tomorrow at allentown.texting is so impersonal

[@NixCrossing]

@@williamkolina3988 No worries! See you at the Allentown!

[@CP17787]

What part do you have to buy to upgrade the smoke unit? I just bought one of these and it's sounding like I should definitely not use pellets if they're that corrosive 😬 I'm also very new to the hobby so I don't know what parts can be used with what trains and whatnot. Excellent video by the way, I love this so much 😊

[@NixCrossing]

Excellent question and I’m here to help! They sell them as a full kit which includes the smoke resistor , plastic cap, and fiberglass wick material that holds the smoke. There are videos on KZbin that explain how to do it and I plan on doing a video on this once I get another post war loco. The kits usually sell for around 5-15 bucks. I highly recommend to use liquid smoke once the unit is replaced. You’ll most likely be replacing the batter material and element