[Jeff T]

Or so I thought!!

Opened up the dummy A and the windshield had an even yellow patina. Grabbed my plastic polish and it cleaned up in just seconds.

Opened the powered A and somewhere along the way, someone decided to clean it with some type of solvent.

Needless to say a new windshield was ordered!!

BTW - The newly acquired 2343's ran flawlessly for four hours yesterday!!

 

[seayakbill]

Hard to beat the terrific looks of the Red Warbonnets.

Bill

 

[Jeff T]

Hard to beat the terrific looks of the Red Warbonnets.

Bill

You should have seen the faces of many of the people when I told them those little engines were 70 years old!!

 

[Andreash]

Beautiful engines....

 

[Krieglok]

Nice locomotives! I know you found new windshields. Nice that they are available.

Sometimes clear plastic can be polished up with car wax and some elbow grease.

Another option, if the scratches are not too deep, is to spray the part with gloss clear coat from Testors...

Tom

 

[Jeff T]

Great thing about these old F3's, so many parts are available. New windshield was the same as a Starbucks! That one isn't worth wasting time on.

 

[Dieseler]

You have a beautiful pair and also an owner of the 2343 aba they just are great and made in a day and age where things lasted .
Thanks for showing yours.

 

[santafe158]

It's amazing how far a little cleaning will get you on making these things look amazing. I've got a 1950 2175W freight set with the 2343 F3's and love running it, although the paint on mine was touched up and partially redone at some point in its life. Yours look great! I'll have to look closer at my windshields and see if they could use a bit of attention too.

I've also got a 2151W set from 1949 with the 2333 F3's that I purchased last year from the sister of its original owner. Following some minor repairs and cleaning, it got a lot of running time in over the holiday season and will be running again this weekend at a local train show. The seller will be attending to see the set she remembered enjoying with her brother when they were kids after many decades of sitting in her attic. I'm looking forward to her reaction. I think these F3's are addicting... I wouldn't mind a set of NYC units someday.

 

[Jeff T]

Very nice Jake, yours look very clean!! My dummy a has the better nose decal. Time to swap the shells!!

 

[santafe158]

Very nice Jake, yours look very clean!! My dummy a has the better nose decal. Time to swap the shells!!

That's an easy fix :laugh:

And Thanks! My 2151W 2333 locomotives are extremely clean. The powered unit has some minor scuffs (I assume from rubbing in the box) on one side, but other than that everything was very well cared for and not stored in a damp basement. My 2343's in the 2175W set on the other hand are definitely runners, but they still look nice and run well.

 

[Millstonemike]

Nice locomotives! I know you found new windshields. Nice that they are available.

Sometimes clear plastic can be polished up with car wax and some elbow grease.

Another option, if the scratches are not too deep, is to spray the part with gloss clear coat from Testors...

Tom

A page out of Lione's "Golden Age". Beautiful.

This works on faded car headlight lens: clean them up, use steel wool if they have a yellowed coating. Then drench a paper towel in 90%+ nail polish (acetone). Wipe the wet paper towel across the lens - one smooth wipe. The acetone on the plastic acts like a Zamboni on an ice rink - melting and smoothing the surface in one sweeping motion.