I am looking for an early PW 675/2025 and have seen several on ebay. I wanted to get a knowledgeble opinion before I seriously considered bidding. I have pasted the link below for the engine. My question is two-fold. Does this appear to be a repaint. It looks clean, but appears to be a little to clean. Wasn’t sure if the boiler is a repro either. I think it is the 48 or 49 version, yet it doesn’t have the die-cast knuckle coupler in the cowcatcher. I have never seen the 48 or 49 version without it. To the best of my knowledge on the 47 version came with a cowcatcher with no kuckle coupler. Is there anything about the engine that would make you raise your eyebrows???
To the best of my knowledge, the '47 version had an unpainted aluminum smokestack. Not sure about the cowcatcher. Maybe a repaint, maybe not. A lot of years have gone by since this baby came out of the factory. There may be a couple of non-original parts. My 2025 has a cast coupler on the cowcatcher and an aluminum unpainted smokestack.
I like that yours has a “675” herald. I think those are hard to come by. These babies are beautiful runners and very reliable engines. I love mine!!
I’ll provide a little food for thought while you wait for the experts to weigh in.
I did check my David Doyle reference book on the 675. There were 5 variations listed for this engine. From the Ebay picture, it appears this one will fall into one of the first four variations. Variation # 5 was from 1952, had a simulated coupler in the cowcatcher, and had a 4-6-2 wheel configuration. The Ebay item is a 2-6-2 version from the 1940s. Perhaps one of our forum experts can pick out some details from the photos to lend guidance. My take on the photos is not so good. The photos are too dark to show enough detail to make a comfortable buying decision. One thing you need to find out is whether the cowcatcher (pilot) has been replaced. There are repros available for most pw steam engines. Thus, it is possible the original was broken and replaced with a repro (and perhaps not the correct version). You need to get that issue answered.
Now, my take on the seller: on the plus side, she (I assume “she” since the Ebay name had Susan in it) has a decent feedback even though the percentage was below 99%. I checked the feedback; she had only 2 negatives and she had responded quite appropriately. My take on the two negatives was in favor of the seller. Buyers, too, can be dumb. On the negative side, the seller sells everything including the kitchen sink. From the ebay description, it appears she has no train knowledge beyond what was stated. Thus, she most likely will not be able to provide the detail that you need. You would be buying the item “as is” with no likelyhood of returning it.
My Greenberg price guide of 2005 shows this engine’s value in excellent condition to be $155.00. However, that price includes the appropriate tender. While my price guide is 3 years old, I doubt if most PW prices have changed substantially in 3 years. The
The front trucks are missing, and it has smoke pellet residue. sold as is,untested could be another clue. Drivers do have rims, Me I would tread litely as the untested part always bothers me and I usually won’t bid. I suspect some changes were made but it’s your call.
I don’t know off the top of my head which one goes with the 675, so hopefully one of the other fellas can chime in. I think the second one goes with the 2046 that they have for sale.
My bet is the person selling these items is a man using his wife’s account. Many knowledgable collectors know the tender can fetch a higher price because they are typically hard to come by. This drives me nuts because they should be sold as a set and only when the engine is damaged beyond repair should the tender be sold seperately.
I’m no expert on the subject, but looking at the pictures, it almost appears that the boiler front has been replaced. It looks like a darker shade of paint than the engine shell. I almost think the engine may have been dropped and a replacement boiler front and cowcatcher were used. The boiler shell, however, looks original to me.
I would look at some of the other seller’s items train items, and see if they appear to have replacement parts on them, or if it is disclosed in the description.
Lastly, if you like and want the engine, think of the maximum you would pay, and try and buy it. They are nice runners and look pretty good doing it.
According the info I can get on the 675, the proper tender should be either a 2466W, 2466WX, or 6466WX. The 2046W goes with the 2046 steam loco, not the 675. The info I got is from Greenberg’s pocket price guide for Lionel 2008.
The “675” boiler front & no dummy coupler makes this a 1947 model, therefore it should have an unpainted aluminum stack. It’s been repainted - stack black included - a rookie error. OR, it’s been cobbled together with a 48/49 cab.
I also think it is a 1947 model because the lip on the stack is thin. On the 1948/49 production the stack, which is part of the boiler casting, has a much thicker lip.
Thank you all for your help! I think I am going to let this one pass. There are just too many questions about it that I don’t think the seller can answer. I am looking for something for my son to run. Of course I get nervous when I run some of my other engines and he touches them, but I think everyone with kids can relate to that:) Looking at a 1666 and a 2026 on ebay now with a starting bid of 59.99. Auction ends around 11pm tonight, so I might check back later and put a bid on it.
1666 is a real nice and smooth running engine as well. In fact, in terms of smooth running and reliability, the 1666 and 2025 are similiar. I think the 2025 pulls better than the 1666. Its a bit on the beefier side. Can’t go wrong with either, though.
Well, we certainly covered the 675 issue didn’t we guys? My misstatement on the tender, which for a 47 correctly is a 2466wx, just for the record, according to Doyle, and per turning mine over. Just so you all don’t think I’m just blowing steam. [:o)]
I’m still most sentimentally attached to this and my prewar No 4.