Lionel has revived its classic O gauge model of the Pennsylvania RR S2 Steam Turbine. I recently shared the story behind the outstanding versions cataloged by Lionel during its golden age of the 1940s and 1950s. Lionel enthusiast Keith Beyer shared some useful information about the Nos. 671, 681, and 682, with special emphasis on repairing and maintaining those great 6-8-6 locomotives.
Now I would like to carry the story forward almost exactly 80 years. In 2025, long after Lionel introduced its first Steam Turbine in 1946 with the Nos. 671 and 2020, it expanded its roster with several new renditions built to O scale proportions. The newcomers were announced in the Lionel Catalog Volume One for this year. What a wonderful way for Lionel to mark its 125th anniversary!
Quick review
Lionel’s model of the Pennsylvania RR S2 Steam Turbine was the firm’s first completely new locomotive of the postwar era. Introduced as the Nos. 671 (for the O gauge lineup) and 2020 (for the O-27 gauge lineup) in 1946, the Turbine was cataloged all the way through 1955. The model was upgraded with Magne-Traction in 1950 and designated the No. 681. Then in 1954 and ‘55, it was modified in detail as the No. 682. And please don’t overlook the No. 671R that was used in the innovative Electronic Control Set from 1946 through 1949.
Unfortunately for purists, especially within the ranks of Pennsy lovers, none of the postwar Turbines came close to having O scale proportions. They were all diminutive, with their dimensions significantly reduced in order to facilitate production and find appropriate spots in the contemporary market.
Breaking new ground in 2025
As I noted recently in an essay developed for Trains.com, the Lionel Catalog Volume One for 2025 boasts an unbelievable assortment of outstanding and exciting O gauge models of steam and diesel locomotives. I gave plenty of attention there to the different 4-6-4 Hudsons, notably those influenced by the New York Central’s legendary Commodore Vanderbilt and its shrouded boiler.
Here, though, I really want to congratulate Lionel for filling its 125th anniversary roster with a stunning group of Turbines based on the Pennsy S2 from the past. It’s as though collectors and operators are finally getting what they might have dreamed was possible in 1946. Eighty-year-old fantasies become reality.
The first announcement of what the brilliant minds at Lionel wanted to accomplish for 2025 appears on pages 12 and 13 of the new catalog. There, we see the brand-new No. 2531630 scale replica of the Pennsy S2 Turbine equipped with Legacy command control and a ton of other extraordinary features and immaculate detail. To get your blood moving fast, the newcomer has as its cab number “671” – this is the engine Lionel’ leaders envisioned for 1946.
“For our 125th anniversary,” the description accompanying the picture of the scale 671 declares, “we’re bringing the icon back bigger and better than ever in full scale size with all the LEGACY bells and whistles!” Paired with this magnificent Steam Turbine is a streamlined Pennsylvania RR tender. The long list of special effects added to this instant classic include Turbine exhaust sounds in place of chuffs, whistle steam, and road-specific details. At 30 inches in length, the engine-and-tender combination surpasses the length of its postwar ancestor by an impressive 10 inches. The newcomer uses O-72 curves and not tight O-31.
Flipping ahead to pages 46 and 47 in the catalog informs Lionel fans that the new Turbine, like all Legacy-equipped steam locomotives, has RailSounds, Odyssey II Speed Control, a maintenance-free motor with momentum flywheel, Bluetooth Control, and a synchronized fan-driven smoke mechanism. There also are directional lighting (an operating headlight and backup lights on the rear of the tender), two-color illuminated classification lights where applicable, traction tires, interior illumination in the cab, a die-cast metal body shell and trucks, and neat engineer and fireman figures perched in the authentically detailed cab.
More and more
Now to the real pleasure – checking out the solid array of realistic and imaginary Turbines presented on pages 48 and 49. Start with a pair of prototypical variations: the Nos. 2531440 S2 cab number 6200 as built and 2531450 with smoke lifters. Suddenly, you’re taken back to 1944, when the Pennsy introduced its 6200, a spectacular experiment using a 6,900-horsepower Westinghouse turbine in place of reciprocating pistons. As noted in the catalog, “This greatly simplified valve gear and improved balance while providing more than ample power for the passenger trains it was designed to pull.” Sad to say, high fuel and maintenance costs plus the Turbine’s enormous size limited its potential and ultimately doomed the full-size S2. But not, fortunately, the Lionel replica.
Lionel has ignored the problems of the full-size Turbine to mark the contributions the O gauge version made to the success of its postwar line. Therefore, it has also brought out a version based on the builder’s photograph created by Baldwin Locomotive Works (No. 2531510) plus a couple of fantasy Pennsy versions. Historians of the Pennsylvania RR will applaud the No. 2531460 in a stunning paint scheme with gold striping inspired by industrial designer Raymond Loewy as well as the No. 2531470 painted in the Pennsylvania RR’s Tuscan Red with gold striping and a mammoth keystone herald on the tender.
Lastly, you have an eye-catching Turbine whose silver-and-orange scheme hearkens back to an experimental 6-8-6 engine developed by the Chesapeake & Ohio (the No. 2531490). And Turbine lovers who don’t mind stretching the bounds of realism will opt for the No. 2531500, which offers them an S2 decked out in the orange-and-maroon associated with the Southern Pacific’s famous Daylight steam engines and passenger cars. It bears the cab number 800.
