The Engine and train

The Engine and Generator

The main engine in this locomotive is a General Motors EMD 710 series engine. The "710" means that each cylinder in this turbocharged, two-stroke, diesel V-12 has a displacement of 710 cubic inches (11.6 L). That's more than double the size of most of the biggest gasoline V-8 car engines -- and we're only talking about one of the 12 cylinders in this 3,200-hp engine.

So why two-stroke? Even though this engine is huge, if it operated on the four-stroke diesel cycle, like most smaller diesel engines do, it would only make about half the power. This is because with the two-stroke cycle, there are twice as many combustion events (which produce the power) per revolution. It turns out that the diesel two-stoke engine is really much more elegant and efficient than the two-stroke gasoline engine. See How Diesel Two-Stroke Engines Work for more details.

You might be thinking, if this engine is about 24 times the size of a big V-8 car engine, and uses a two-stroke instead of a four-stroke cycle, why does it only make about 10 times the power? The reason is that this engine is designed to produce 3,200 hp continuously, and it lasts for decades. If you continuously ran the engine in your car at full power, you'd be lucky if it lasted a week.

Here are some of the specifications of this engine:

• Number of cylinders: 12
• Compression ratio: 16:1
• Displacement per cylinder: 11.6 L (710 in³)
• Cylinder bore: 230 mm (9.2 inches)
• Cylinder stroke: 279 mm (11.1 inches)
• Full speed: 904 rpm
• Normal idle speed: 269 rpm

This giant engine is hooked up to an equally impressive generator. It is about 6 feet (1.8 m) in diameter and weights about 17,700 pounds (8,029 kg). At peak power, this generator makes enough electricity to power a neighborhood of about 1,000 houses!

So where does all this power go? It goes into four, massive electric motors located in the trucks.

This Identification Guide for Lionel Electric Trains covers the "Post-war Era" only from 1945 until 1969. During this period Lionel produced a wide variety of engines, rolling stock, accessories, track and transformers. We are listing those engines, cars and accessories that Lionel produced in O Scale. See the chart below for the range of scales that are available in model railroading.

See the Lionel Track page for more specific information concerning the size of the O Scale trains that Lionel produced during the Post War Period. The information contained on these pages is not meant to be inclusive of everything that was made by Lionel, but rather to give you enough information to identify the trains that you have. To find the current prices of these trains we recommend one of the price guides that are listed here. Refer to the links to these pages below to help you in identifying the items that you have.

Locomotives Small Motorized Units

Diesel Engines Electric Engines

Lionel Rolling Stock Identification Guide

Accessories

Track

Transformers

Master Index

We would welcome your comments for improving these pages as they are always being re-arranged as we attempt to simplify and make this site more concise.

LIONEL TRAINS IDENTIFICATION GUIDE  Lionel Locomotives  Lionel Diesels  Lionel Electric Engines   Lionel Small Motorized Units  Lionel Rolling Stock Identification Guide   Lionel Accessories  Lionel Track  Lionel Transformers  Master Index

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The fact that these pages have expanded over the last few years is due, in part, to the advice and assistance of many members of the TCA (Train Collectors Association) and TTOS (Toy Train Operating Society). To them, and especially toRobert Powell who has supplied pictures of some of the rarer Lionel items, the editors are greatly indebted.