2034 Lionel Lines Scout

Production: 1952

History
The 2034 steam locomotive was designated by Lionel as a Scout locomotive. Lionel used the word Scout to denote its entry-level 027 steam locomotives. Generally speaking, Scout engines had a 2-4-2 wheel arrangement and were primarily used in beginner or starter sets. These locomotives had few features and could rarely pull more than a three or four car freight train.

The 2034 was only produced in one year -- 1952. Although this was classified as a Scout locomotive, it used a die-cast boiler as well as a three position E-unit.

Finally, the lifespan, usage and number of the 2034 are a bit of an oddity:

• Lionel usually produced a scout steamer to head up several -- or many -- catalogued sets during a two, three or four year production cycle. For the 2034, this was far from the case. It's production cycle end after a single year and it only headed up one catalogued 027 gauge freight set!
• As for its number, this too remains a puzzle. Scout steamers produced in the late 1940's and early 1950's were numbered in the 1100 series (1101, 1110, 1120, 1130, etc.). How and why Lionel used the number 2034 remains a mystery.

To this day, the 2034 remains an oddity. Experienced collectors believe Lionel probably had bigger plans for the scout series in future years. Looking back, however, we notice 1953 was the final year for the scout series -- until they were re-introduced in the late 1950's as the 200 series -- and in a significantly cheapened version.

The end result is the 2034 steamer is a fairly hard locomotive to locate. Because of it's classification as a scout steamer, collectors generally pay little attention to this locomotive. The good news for collectors of the scout series is the 2034 is a fairly reasonably priced engine for a fairly hard item to locate.

Features
The 2034 Scout steam locomotive included the following features: die-cast boiler painted black, silver lettering, three position E-unit, a single metal drive rod on each side, functional headlight plus a headlight lens.

The 2034 was produced with the 6066T Lionel Lines non-whistling tender.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information

Only Known Variation - Shown in first photo above. - All 2034's are painted black with silver numbers.

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