Lionel's #6-8008 - The Cheaper Chessie Steam Special- Classic MPC 4-4-2 Steamer

[@rrad8106]

Wow! I remember when those came out!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

It was only yesterday!

[@georgebenson6036]

I bought the 1980 Chessie Steam Special set new in Atlanta, Georgia from a place called Cresent Limited Trains. I was an engineering co-op student working in a power plant back then. I saw it and had to have it. I still have it to this day and it still runs well, sound of static and all. Thanks for sharing.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Excellent!!!

[@markattardo]

Great info and quick repair👍👍

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks!!

[@asteroidrules]

The Lionel Atlantics will always have a special place in my heart. They weren't exactly prototypically accurate to anything but they run very well and smoke even better, the perfect characteristics for a starter or childrens locomotive. I think I had one of these Chessie units growing up.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks for sharing!

[@Battleb0rn]

I have an earlier one with the filled in e unit lever, silver bell, although missing, and mine has a red glowing firebox. Mine had a bridge rectifier installed as well but i replaced it with an aftermarket circuit board e unit. Unfortunately mine has a damaged pilot because i ran it off the edge of our xmas layout when i was a kid.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Oh, so Lionel actually made some with the firebox glow! Interesting!

[@jce13jce]

ME TOO I GOT MINE FROM KIDDY CITY IN PHILLY ABOUT 1980 AS TRAINS FOR UNDER THE TREE. A PERFECT SET FOR THAT PURPOSE. I DONT THINK MANY WERE MADE WITH FIREBOX GLOW.

[@carldebellis7310]

Great work!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks!

[@Engine1988]

I have a similar case with the Final Spike steam tour, and have always been hoping to get one of Marx's CP locos.

[@paulbervid1610]

Great video.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@huntercoleman460]

Cool Mike.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thanks!!

[@jamesdenny4734]

Hello, I see a lot of lionel 4-4-2s on eBay. Is there a way to tell if they are AC, or DC just by looking?

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I believe the only DC-only 4-4-2 is the #8008. Otherwise, if you see a E unit level coming through the top, it's a conventional motor. No lever and it's a DC motor with an electronic reverse unit for AC operation. Lionel MPC considered these to be mid-range models and they generally kept the DC-only operation to 0-4-0, 2-4-0, and 2-4-2 steamers (except those in the 1980 catalog).

[@jamesdenny4734]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks Thanks 😊

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

A fun and informative video! I don't own one of those 4-4-'s, not planning on it either, but you never know, do you? While DC motors have greater flexibility especially concerning slow speeds and precise control I suspect the real reason Lionel wanted to go that route was they were probably cheaper than the traditional AC motors. I can't prove that though. Oh, and that ex-Reading T-1 used for the Chessie Steam Special, the one ruined in the roundhouse fire? It's been suggested that had the boiler been filled with water the effect of the fire maight not have been so severe. But the running season was over and the boiler had been drained. That being the case the fire destroyed the temper of the boiler steel rendering it unsafe for any further use. Too bad, Thanks for posting!

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Yes, it's about cost. Can motors are certainly cheaper than standard open-frame universal motors - and if you can avoid the expense of a rectifier and reverse unit, it's a bonus.

[@johnblair8146]

2101 was NOT destroyed in that fire. However, 614 WAS in a little better condition and was deemed easier to put back in service given the time constraints involved in getting ready for the Chessie Safety Express. If the B&O Museum wanted to reactivate 2101, it could be done without too much trouble. The fact that there's another Reading T-1 operating (Reading and Northern 2102) is another obstacle to making 2101 operational. Your ferroequine friend still lives, albeit in suspended animation.

[@johnknippenberg-LandmarkYards]

The weekend of Fall York 2023, the American Freedom Train was moved from the B&O Museum for a cosmetic restoration. Not sure where to or who's doing the work.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

2101 would essentially need a complete rebuild of the boiler and all appliances to meet FRA requirements because of the fire. It COULD be done but it would be extraordinarily expensive.

[@johnblair8146]

In short, a full Form 4 rebuild. That would have been necessary just from sitting for 45 years. Form 4 work is necessary in all steam restorations. Furthermore, T-1 No 2100 is also nearly finished with its restoration. @@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks

[@IndianaNorthWestern]

​@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks It IS being done, and they're genuinely halfway done! They did a steam test of the rebuilt boiler qnd AFT 250 (that's what they're calling it now) is on the home stretch to prowl the rails again. Although it will be oil fired instead of on coal. 2102's restoration really overshadowed 2101's restoration, especially since they aren't marketing it as the "Chessie Steam Special" so it won't show up in searches under that, but they have an awesome group of people that are dedicated to do the work, and they're getting stuff done. If I remember right they said it should be done by 2035 at the latest, but with more funding they can get it done by 2030. Tl;dr: Chessie Steam Special is now American Freedom Train 250, it's halfway done with restoration, donate donate donate, off he go he zoom.

[@lucasquintanilla1673]

@@ToyTrainTipsAndTricksoh BOY do I love the chessie steam special locomotive sets! Whether it be the 442 Atlantic that you have with the yellow tender the 282 mikado Lionel has on the market the C&O 614 with black paint and yellow Chessie system script, the Prototypical 484 northern or the MPC era 284 Berkshire locomotives I really love these steamers! Honestly, it gives you quite a interesting aesthetic as for what things would’ve looked like if steam had lasted much longer and locomotives like these had served alongside not just streamlined diesels used by the chessie system but also freight diesel locomotive is like GP units and SD40-2s. Also, the fact that Lionel made a Conrail Reading T1 is just the icing on the cake and all of that pretty much makes me want to model a hybrid, steam and diesel freight yard taking place circa 1980 featuring the Chessie system, Conrail, and passing Amtrak passenger trains that use both the old FP40H diesels from the 1980s alongside the American freedom, train locomotives for passenger services on Amtrak. excellent video and happy Easter! Keep up the good work!

[@chrisresor1893]

Enjoyable video Mike! Being a model builder I really enjoyed the cosmetic repairs you did. Have a blessed Easter.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

Thank you - and to you and yours as well!

[@ronalddevine9587]

MPC should have done some research. At this point they owned American Flyer. AF experimented with d in the late 40s and early 50s. FAILURE. I will say that they were on a learning curve, and their offerings improved dramatically over time.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

I wouldn't necessarily call it a failure. DC can motors have become the industry standard. Lionel just went a bridge too far in expecting seasoned operators to give up the bells and whistles (literally) of their AC powered trains.

[@ronalddevine9587]

In 15 years from now, good luck finding replacements. At least the old open frame motors are repairable.

[@modelrailpreservation]

The Korean War also played a factor in AF going back to AC. See, DC motors need a permanent magnet field, unlike AC motors that use an electromagnet field, and AF's magnets were 'Alnico' types, which meant they were a mix of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt, materials hard if not impossible to get during the Korean War. This is also why Lionel's magnetraction was unavailable in 1951. Flyer had to go back to AC motors, no way around it at the time.

[@ToyTrainTipsAndTricks]

@@ronalddevine9587 Actually, replacement can motors are available. I replaced the can motor in Marx switcher with a new motor from Amazon a couple videos ago. You just need to match the voltage and dimensions.