I became intrigued with the Lionel 1688E, after reading an article posted on CTT magazine's Forum. The article was a reprint under "Timeless Classics" as one of the features of the forum. The original article was published back in 2005, authored by John A. Grams (now deceased), who highlighted an odd 1688E that didn't look like all the others. The article stated that most of the 1688/1688E locos were all pretty common, except for the one he wrote the article about. It was the very first issued 1688E, made only in 1936, that had Forward facing open windows in the cab. When you look at the multitude of 1688's, whether 1688 or 1688E, at least 98-99% don't have that feature. When the article was written, he stated that they (presumed other collectors) didn't know how many were made, or how many are still out there.
I decided to search mostly eBay, and other sites to see if I could find one. As luck would have it, I did find one, and later two more. I presently own three of these first issues from 1936. While doing my searching I started to see a whole lot of different characteristics, that made me think that they were not all common, as most would think. An interesting note about the body/shell of these locos, is that the same body was used on Lionel's 1588 wind-up, and the 1668/1668E locos.
The only reference at the beginning of my searching, consisted of Doyle's Catalog of Prewar, but very little was found showing all the different changes in the casting, that I was noticing. I then started to do some deep research, and have been doing it for at least 5 months, looking at thousands of photos, buying different bodies, and sometimes a complete loco. I later purchased Greenberg's Guide to Lionel 1901-1942, Vol. II, "0 & 00 Gauges. That book showed and noted variations, from different known collectors, who provided the entries into his Guide. The 1688/1688E listed 8 variations. The 1668/E he showed 3 variations, and only one variation for the 1588. That total of all three loco bodies came to 12. I have since found, the combination of all three locos, a total of 26 variations. The 1688/E has a total of 18 by itself.
Attached is a PDF file of what I found, with additional information pertinent to Lionel's manufacturing process. The PDF file is 4 pages long, but if you have any interest in Lionel's production of the 027 version of the Loewy Torpedo, check it out. There was one omission, from the 1588 list. The third version, did not have a roof hatch, or the Winged Keystone.
View attachment Rev. 1-Variations of the Lionel Torpedo Castings.pdf
The PDF file is repeated in Post #40, of this thread. The original PDF file that was included in this post, had errors, and I have replaced that file, with the updated version.
This is a photo of the Open Window version
I decided to search mostly eBay, and other sites to see if I could find one. As luck would have it, I did find one, and later two more. I presently own three of these first issues from 1936. While doing my searching I started to see a whole lot of different characteristics, that made me think that they were not all common, as most would think. An interesting note about the body/shell of these locos, is that the same body was used on Lionel's 1588 wind-up, and the 1668/1668E locos.
The only reference at the beginning of my searching, consisted of Doyle's Catalog of Prewar, but very little was found showing all the different changes in the casting, that I was noticing. I then started to do some deep research, and have been doing it for at least 5 months, looking at thousands of photos, buying different bodies, and sometimes a complete loco. I later purchased Greenberg's Guide to Lionel 1901-1942, Vol. II, "0 & 00 Gauges. That book showed and noted variations, from different known collectors, who provided the entries into his Guide. The 1688/1688E listed 8 variations. The 1668/E he showed 3 variations, and only one variation for the 1588. That total of all three loco bodies came to 12. I have since found, the combination of all three locos, a total of 26 variations. The 1688/E has a total of 18 by itself.
Attached is a PDF file of what I found, with additional information pertinent to Lionel's manufacturing process. The PDF file is 4 pages long, but if you have any interest in Lionel's production of the 027 version of the Loewy Torpedo, check it out. There was one omission, from the 1588 list. The third version, did not have a roof hatch, or the Winged Keystone.
View attachment Rev. 1-Variations of the Lionel Torpedo Castings.pdf
The PDF file is repeated in Post #40, of this thread. The original PDF file that was included in this post, had errors, and I have replaced that file, with the updated version.
This is a photo of the Open Window version