After finding an low mileage but long forgetten 2026 this Christmas, has peaked my interest in steam. My little 2026 in a G or VG b/c of paint chips but mechinally its smooth and quiet - smokes as soon as I put on the tracks something I can’t say for my PE Berkshire. Anyway, I find another orphan steamer a Lionel 225E from late 30’s or early 40’s. I have never had a lot of interest in a Prewar or early O other than thinking it has a real quality feel. Is the 225 a 1666 or is something different and is it meant to be grey or did someone paint it along the way. If it is grey from the factory what type of set did it come in. Thanks for your help!
I’m developing an interest in pre war Lionel myself. If you don’t have a reference book handy, do a search on Ebay of 225 and the 1666. There you will see photos of the different trains as well as what people are paying for a certain condition.
Jim
I looked on Ebay and some idiot has one like for $5000 OBO - thats about $4850 more than I paid for mine! Looks like it is different than the 1666 - I’m just trying to figure out what set consist this engine came with.
The premium price is primarily for the GM (Gunmetal Grey) tender as there were few were made in that color and therefore somewhat of a rarity and does command more $$, just don’t know about $5000. GM tenders that are rare are any of the diecast water type i.e 2226W (came with GM hudson, 2224 diecast in GM for the 224 and 2235 GM for the 225E. All GM engines should correctly have the E on the plate as they were produced early in the run. There were no GM 226E’s. If you look at the sellers other items, he does ask a prmium for them, and sells few items. You can always ask for as much as you want. I have seen many trains at shows from dealers that are trying to sell the same train for years at a high price—
Hello FEC! 225Es Pulled 2600 series Freight/Passenger Cars. The Die for the 225E was Modified for the postwar 675/2025 Engines. When buying cars for this type of engine do a measurement of the Tender Coupler using the middle rail of a section of Track as a reference point. The reason for this is that some of the Couplers were mounted high & others were mounted low. If your 2235 Tender has a high coupler then, use that information when looking for cars to buy & if low do the same also. Otherwise, You will have derailments if the Tender Coupler is low & the coupler’s on the car’s are high as they will not mate well with each other. Take Care. P.S. Hello FEC- I corrected my mistake about the 225s pulling 2800 series Cars. The 2600 series is what you’re looking for. Take Care.
Lionel introduced three new “small” steamers in 1938, with the 225E being one of them. All were 2-6-2s. The 225E is nearly the same casting as the Postwar 675. It came in gunmetal gray the first year, then both gunmetal gray and black in 1939 and 1940. Its final two years were in black only. The 225E was actually part of Lionel’s “lower-priced” offerings. The rarest of these is the 1939 gunmetal gray with the diecast tender. Initially in 1938, the 225E came with a sheet metal (waffle top) tender. In 1939, diecast tenders were used with cataloged sets. Beginning in 1941, plastic tenders were coupled with the 225.
Using catalogs over this time period, the 225 came in both freight and passenger outfits. The passenger set for 1939 listed the 2245W tender with a three car passenger set of red 2600 series cars. The freight set consisted of a 2235W tender with several different freight cars of the 2650 series. In fact, the No. 97 Coal Elevator was part of a set that featured the 225 (Lionel Freight Outfit 151W) The different tender numbers reflected different heights for the trucks. The 2600 passenger series needed higher trucks. By 1940, a plastic tender was paired with the 225. Below is a picture from my 1939 catalog.
been on the hunt for a grey 225E myself. Have any pics of yours? Even been trying to find a boiler and build one.