I know these are quite rare, but trying to find some info on the Ives 1864 electric locomotive. Intention is to get a Williams repro and drop a motor in. My Ives bolok has very little information on this, and the Lionel books I own have nothing.

Questions is, what kind of motor would go in these? I know it was a transition piece, would a Lionel motor be appropriate? What model would I lift it from? And would it have an e-unit, or manual reverse?Thanks,

Tim

I have a Williams 1694 the Mike Wolf probably assembled himself. They came unpowered. A Lionel 262 steam motor is what it was designed for. The manual reverse unit handle sticks through the roof. Lionel of course made the motors for the 1932 originals. The only difference is instead of the Lionel nametag on the pick-up roller assembly, The nametag says IVES-N.Y. N.Y.

Thanks Chuck. Exactly what I'm looking for.

Been torn between an old-style repro and the MTH. I think I'm leaning towards the William's version.

Ozone, got to love it.

Tim

I've had both. Both are about exactly the same although the can motorrs in the new flavors work extremely well. I have the Williams cars for my MTH 1694 and they are completely outstanding.

marc

quote:

Been torn between an old-style repro and the MTH.

I have three of the MTH versions. My favorite tinplate locomotives.

There are three good sources of information. For the original 1694, check TCA's online magazine, eTrain: "So That's Where They All Went!" In brief, Lionel's remaining stock of Ives trains were sold in Canada, Mexico, and overseas countries through Lionel's Export Department. They had Ives boxes or Lionel boxes.

For Williams versions, checkThe Story of WILLIAMS Electric Trains, by John Hubbard (A Greenberg Publication), 1987. In brief, Jerome Williams had acquired a train collection but wanted to do something new. He and fellow TCAer Fred Mills formed Classic Model Corporation in 1969 and made Standard Gauge trains of their own designs under the name Standard Lines. They sold some but Jerry wanted to sell more. He decided to reproduce prewar trains. Fred disagreed, so Jerry bought Fred's share in CMC and set up Williams Reproductions.
His first product in 1972 was a run of 300 "dummy" (unpowered) Ives 1694's. He sold out, and his 35-year career with Williams Reproductions began. In 1978, a second production run of 250 was accompanied by Ives 1695 and Lionel 1685 cars. The total number of Williams 1694's in all paint schemes is about 550, including a few that may have been assembled from leftover parts.

I have admired 1694 sets for years, though I couldn't afford the $10,000 price of an original boxed set at York. I imagined the scene after my beautiful and charming wife, Beverly, had asked, "What did you get THIS time?"

I kept asking Mike Wolf to reproduce this set in Tinplate Traditions. I was delighted to see it in his catalog. I bought one and wrote a review for Jim Kelly's online magazine, Tinplate Times. Last November, Jim asked readers to submit articles and photos for a Christmas issue. I took my MTH 1695 cars and a Lionel 262E restored by Vic Panza to The Christmas Putz in The Lutheran Home at Topton, PA. Go to www.tinplatetimes.com. Scroll down to "A Tinplate Christmas Putz." Click on it.

That article also contains a link to my review of the MTH set.