Lionel 1033 Transformer any good? Lets take a look

If we put the clock back to 1949 a purchase was made by my dad William LaGrua of a Lionel 2047 set, an operating milk car and a cattle car. The included transformer was a 1033 rated at 90 watts. Eventually the set was given to myself and we built a  5 x 9 layout with an outer loop and a switched inner line. We added a few lights, crossing signals an uncoupler track a few accessories and later a 736 Berkshire. The layout grew but all I had was the 90 watt transformer and it was now getting warm from the current pull. It never failed and did the job nicely until dad eventually bought me a ZW transformer.

The 1033 transformer was built economically with a copper slider that ran across the windings to select the voltage and a spring slider switch for whistle control that cut in a disc rectifier. The picture of the top was the original 1033, now just a light power supply on my layout. The inside pictures are from one that I picked up that was sitting outside on my neighbors porch and was given to me. I now use it on the test bench.

Point is that from all the years of hard use, weather and storage in less than ideal conditions both transformers still function and put out a full 16 volts. The only thing changed was the addition of a solid state rectifier and a new power cord. The 1033 are antiques, solid units in every way and IMO the perfect transformer for an under the Christmas tree layout. You can find them for just a few bucks at the train shows. I guess that we can say "they don't build them like this anymore"  Take a look