Lionel 6-8309 Southern Mikado Steam Engine Tender FARR #4 SET LN Lot146

  
This is the FARR Set 4 including the #8309 Famous American Railroads Series #4 Southern Mikado Diecast Steam Engine and Tender that Lionel made circa 1982. Features Smoke, Electronic Whistle, Magnetraction and Sounds of Steam. Our Opinion is that they are generally in Like New Condition +. All Original in our Opinion.

Some of the cars are like new and a few look more mint. Also includes the 6-9451, 6-9887, 6-6104, 6-6306, 6-7304 and 6-6431. One car box is scrunched on one side. 1st pic had the 7304 missing, but you can see it is there in other pics.

These were TESTED with conventional transformer and did great forward, reverse, lights, sounds of steam and whistle. Lionel once again used a hybrid Berkshire to head up the set, this time replacing the four-wheel rear truck on the engine with a two-wheel model, creating the first 2-8-2 in Lionel history. The engine's catalog number was 8309, but the engine itself was marked 4501, in honor of an actual Southern 2-8-2 used in excursion service. The real Southern 4501 still exists and can be seen at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, and the tender of the Lionel model has the initials'TVRM' on the top flank just under the coal pile. The set also featured the only die-cast tender in the FARR series.

Like the previous three sets, FARR #4 included a boxcar (9451), refrigerator car (9887), hopper (6104), tank car (6306), and a bay window caboose (6431). The sixth car was a stock car, number 7304. Unlike the previous sets, the production version of the Southern FARR set differed significantly from the catalog illustrations.

In the catalog, the engine was painted very dark green (almost black), with sans-serif lettering. However, the engine when produced was painted the lighter green used on the Southern and and had serif lettering, like the actual 4501. Also, the caboose in the catalog was dark green with a gold lettering, matching the engine, but the caboose was produced in red with white lettering, like actual Southern cabooses. The hopper was also the first Lionel hopper to include a plastic coal load.

The Southern set is believed to have had the shortest production run of the five sets. In 1983 Lionel decided to move production to Mexico, and the manufacturing timetables were badly disrupted, resulting in delays and abbreviated schedules. Catalogued in 1983, the set was actually not released until the following year. Some Southern sets are believed to have been made in the U. But most were made in Mexico.

Please see more store for many other great trains! Follow me to see all the updates. Please note: Unless otherwise clearly stated, the trains in our listings have not been tested nor do we assume they are operational, neither are they guaranteed to be operational. We take great care and expense to offer mostly premium, mint and like new collectable trains at Fritz Trains.

Some of these trains have never even had the boxes open. Frequently, mint and like new trains have not been run in years if they have been run at all. This can include simple lubrication to sometimes more intense repairs from a respectable service station. Some listings will state tested.

This means that they worked great at testing time. Some listings do not say tested. That does not mean that they do not work or that they will work. It just means that they were not removed from the box and tested by us after putting in inventory. Thank you for looking at this listing.