Lionel 1684 Steam Locomotive Saved From The Junk Pile

The first two minutes of the video includes a description of the 1684 locomotive before and after photos as found then cleaned up. This 1941 Lionel 2-4-2 locomotive was one of the last if not the last Lionel diecast prewar steam engines built as Lionel transitioned to a war time manufacturer. This particular 1684 was found at a flea market literally in a junk pile. The vendor said it was no good because everything was rusted solid but maybe there were some usable parts. So for only a few dollars I took it home to see what I could do with it. You can listen to more of the story in the video starting at 2:04 . I did not do a complete restoration because I did not want to repaint it, but I cleaned each part, installed a new contactor shoe, one new side rod and restored the marker lights with some nice green crystals. It now runs nice and smooth and can pull a decent load without any wheel slip. I was even able, with some effort, to get the original reverse (e-unit) working again. If you enjoy the video please like and comment.