671 Lionel Lines or Pennsylvania

Production: 1946 - 1949 & 1952

History
The 671 steam engine is Lionel's representation of a turbine locomotive. The 6-8-6 wheel arrangement supported Lionel's advertising claim of 'it's an impressive 20-wheel locomotive!' The prototype was produced for and used by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Due to inefficient fuel consumption, the S-2 was a commercial failure and a second locomotive was never manufactured.

For Lionel, the success story of the turbine locomotive was different. The turbines were a marketing victory. The first turbine was introduced in 1946 and the final one rolled off the assembly line in 1955. Between those years, Lionel produced thousands of turbines. Other examples of postwar Lionel turbines include 681, 682 and 2020, all of which remain popular with collectors and operators. Note that a 671 is the same as a 2020 except the 671 was sold with O gauge track and the 2020 was sold with 027 track.

The 671 (along with its 027 gauge counterpart the 2020) was the first turbine introduced by Lionel. Originally introduced in 1946, it remained in the line until 1949. It also made a brief appearance in 1952, but was finally discontinued after a single year of production. Although none of the 671 turbines have Magnetraction, the sheer weight and reliability of the turbine continues to make it an excellent locomotive for pulling long freight trains.

Features
The 671 turbine locomotive remained in the Lionel family for five production years. During its production run, Magnetraction was never included on any model of the 671, even though there were four different versions of this engine. Standard features of all 671 turbines included; a 6-8-6 wheel arrangement, single drive rod, six wheel die-cast pilot and trailing trucks, smoke unit, three position e-unit plus an illuminated headlight. Additionally, some of the variations by model include:

• Smoke Bulb - This version was produced only in 1946 and uses a special light bulb to heat up the smoke pellets and to convert them to smoke. The easiest way to recognize this version is by looking into the smokestack. If you see a light bulb in the smokestack, it's the Smoke Bulb version. Standard features of this turbine include:
• Three-position E-unit, without a lever protruding from the top of the shell
• Smoke bulb
• Nickel-rims on all eight drive wheels
• The tender was always a 671W Lionel Lines whistling tender
• 671R with Electronic Control - Produced from 1946 - 1949, this is a special locomotive included with the infamous Electronic Control Set. It has a unique feature in that the operator was able to operate or uncouple any of the trains in the Electronic Control Set anywhere on the track, at any point in time! Pretty impressive for the late 1940s! Standard features of this turbine include:
• Electronic Control unit
• Three position E-unit, with a lever protruding from the top of the shell
• Smoke element
• Nickel rims on all eight drive wheels
• The tender was a Lionel Lines whistling tender, numbered either 4424W or 4671W.
• 671 with Smoke Element - The 671 with smoke element was introduced in 1947 and is the most common version -- remaining in production until 1949. This locomotive is basically the same as the Electronic Control version, but without the Electronic Control feature. Standard features of this turbine include:
• Three position E-unit, with a lever protruding from the top of the shell
• Smoke element
• The tender was either the Lionel Lines 671W in 1947 or the Pennsylvania 2671W for 1948 and 1949
• Drive Wheels - for each year of production, the style of drive wheels varied slightly:
• 1947 - All drive wheels had nickel-rims.
• 1948 - The first and fourth drive wheels had nickel-rims, while the inner two drive wheels were blackened.
• 1949 - All drive drive wheels were blackened and without the nickel rim
• 671RR - Due to material shortages caused by the Korean War, Magnetraction was eliminated from all steam locomotives in 1952. For this reason, Lionel simply re-ran the 681 turbine from 1951 (but without Magnetraction) and labelled it 671 RR (for re-run). It is interesting to note, the number on the 1952 turbine can be found with both 671RR or simply 671 printed under the side cab window. Standard features of the 671 RR include:
• Three position E-unit with a lever protruding from the top of the shell
• Smoke element
• All drive wheels were blackened and without the nickel rim
• The tender was the 2046W-50 Pennsylvania whistling tender.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The length of the turbine without the tender is approximately 10 3/4" long (front to back). Since the 671 was available with different tenders, its overall length depends upon the specific tender provided with the turbine.

Smoke Bulb - The smoke bulb version of the 671 is hard to locate as it was produced for only a single year.
Electronic Control - The Electronic Control version is hard to locate. Even though production lasted for several years, few were actually made.
Smoke Element - Regular production 671 turbines with the smoke element are the most common of all 671 locomotives.

• Shown in first photo above - 1947 version with nickel rims on all drive wheels and a 671W tender
• Second photo above - 1949 version with all drive wheels having blackened rims and a 2671W tender

671 RR - The version without the 'RR' stamped on the cab is in the photo above. Either of the 671RR locomotives are somewhat difficult to locate.

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