TP #263E Lionel Lines Steam Loco & Tender/3.0

Cataloged from 1936-1939, the O gauge 263E steamer was part of
the last hurrah of tinplate – Lionel’s final attempt to convince the
boys of America that real steam engines had chrome-plated domes,
smokestacks and piping. The 263E was the successor to – and looked very
much like – Lionel’s first O gauge steamer, the 260E introduced in 1930
with great fanfare: “Boys – here is the most remarkable “O” Gauge Steam
Type Locomotive that has ever been produced. Dozens of blue prints and
photographs of famous new locomotives from railroads all over the
country were examined, and the best features of each were utilized by
Lionel’s Engineering Department in designing this locomotive. It
represents a miracle of model railroad engineering.”

But six years later, in the catalog that introduced the 263E,
the future was apparent in the more-realistic all-black locomotives
portrayed on the cover and the scale-sized Union Pacific streamliner
inside. Nonetheless, Lionel’s copy writers pulled out all the stops in
describing the train sets led by the 263E. Passenger Outfit No. 283W
was led by “A long, sleek whistling locomotive. The Blue Comet in “O”
Gauge for the first time. One of the most beautifully proportioned
models ever produced.” For work train Outfit No. 277W, the language was
even more effusive: “There’s a thrill a minute in the operation of this
fascinating, whistling “O” Gauge work train.”

Today, the 263E returns to the Lionel Corporation Tinplate
lineup but just beneath the graceful lines of the tinplate boiler, lies
the excitement of Proto-Sound 3.0 whose revolutionary electronics
control a smooth-running chassis capable of running at just a few scale
miles per hour. Cracking open the throttle and bringing the locomotive
forward releases the first blasts of smoke from the engine’s stack
enhanced with the realistic sounds of chuffing. As the engine picks up
speed one notices that each huge puff of smoke is timed to the driver’s
revolutions. The wail of the whistle and the clang of the bell further
stimulate the senses until the realization that the flash and color of
yesteryear is but a faded memory when compared to a Proto-Sound 3.0
equipped Lionel Corporation Tinplate locomotive.