[Felginator]

I just picked this set off of eBay. I bought this set to use around the Christmas tree this year. They are in rough shape, but I was hoping to restore them. I'm not looking to resell these to make money, so I am not worried about the value decreasing by repainting, etc. Is it difficult to find replacement pieces or reproduction parts?

I did find some info about the train, but not as much about the pullman cars. I found some pictures but they were green, not blue.

Here's some pictures: :thumbsup:

 

[gc53dfgc]

It is usually not that hard to get replacement parts for these types of trains but yours might be a little harder to get original parts for, but from what i see in the pictures i don't see any missing parts to them so you just need to remove the parts before sandblasting or whatever method you choose to strip the paint off and then repaint them. If you want you could probably even get the metal detail parts chromed at a chrome shop for a shinier look that will fit with the new paint. What kind of paint job were you considering for the cars and locomotive and tender?

 

[Felginator]

I was just planning on repainting them in as close to original colors as possible. I was worried about the lettering and numbering and losing them in the repaint. Are those usually painted on? I haven't actually received the train yet, so I am trying to get all of the silly questions out of the way so I can get started once I get them.

 

[T-Man]

Welcome to MTF!
You can buy rubber stamps. A sprcial ink is used.
You would be surprised to see what a little rust removal and cleaning would do.
On the down side. There is always the chance it may not get done in time. Why dissappoint yourself? Deadlines are for television where the bike gets done by the next show. I would suggests a good cleaning and see how well it works. The 221 looks great. It's from a good period, somewhat rare. The cast material is not the strongest made and can be damaged.
What made you want to buy something old to refinish?
MTH makes great repros, just georgous for Xmas tree display. Used once a year it easily would retain it's value.

 

[Stillakid]

Felginator, Welcome to the group!
Nice Set!!!

Consider how close to the holidays you are. What you're proposing, might keep you from enjoying the set for Christmas. I think they look pretty good for their age. You might want to give the Loco a good cleaning(wheels, gears, drive train) and lube. The cars, well I'd clean up the trucks(wheels and couplers) and just repaint the roofs for now. T-Man has some great "How-To's" regarding cleaning and waxing. That way you'd get a good start and be able to plan the "complete" overhaul. It will take some time to get all that you may need, but it's all out there

You're gonna have a ball!!

Jim

 

[Felginator]

Thanks for the welcome guys! And thank you for all of the help and advice. Maybe I was being ambitious about having them done my the holidays, so perhaps it is a good idea to just get them going mechanically first.

I've been into trains for a while, I mostly had HO and N scale. Now that my girlfriend and I just moved into our own apartment, I used that as a way to get the "new" old set. Her old roommate wasn't into the holidays, so she hasn't put up a tree for the last couple years. She is just so excited about finally having one, I asked for her thoughts about a train under the tree and she loved it.

Anyway, I chose the old set because I always liked the way they looked, they were just expensive when I was a kid and I just stuck with the cheaper stuff I could afford. I sort of like to dabble in all antique stuff, I'm restoring a 65 Rambler Ambasador, and I just bought an old Lane cedar chest from the 1940's to refinish. Guess I just can't help myself.:laugh: I have a feeling that since I bought this set, I'm going to keep buying more to fix up.

 

[tjcruiser]

Felginator,

Welcome! You're a man after my heart! I've had the old-school Lionel bug for a year or so, and have been working my way backwards in time. Started with a 1958 set passed down through my family. Then, I picked up a nice 221 like yours ... it had been repainted black, and I used Woodland Scenics #MG712 silver dry-rub decals to redo the #221 number tags on the cab. Looks great.

This thread looks under the hood of a 221:

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3483

Since then (as encouraged by T-Man and Stillakid, above), I've gotten heavily into the prewar tinplate restoration ... full strip and repaint jobs. I have some threads here on the forum that you might want to look at ... to get a sense at the level of work involved.

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3847
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3748
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=3571

In your case, I'd encourage you to take small steps as you develop your skill level. The comments above to focus on cleaning, lubrication, etc. are good ones. If you want to tackle some repaint work, the roofs on the passenger cars is a good place to start. They are easily removed.

Many guys (myself included) strip off old paint by soaking the parts in a spray-bath of Easy Off Oven Cleaner ... the strong stuff, not the scent-free stuff. A tin tray (like a throw-away lasagna pan) covered in aluminum foil works well. The Easy Off might eat through the bottom of the tray, so you might want to double up, and let it sit outside for a few hours.

After that, and a soapy water bath on the stripped parts, a Dremel with a stainless steel wire brush is your best friend. Use that to remove any "spider web" veins of rust, and give the now-bare metal a nice, polishy look.

Wipe down with denatured alcohol, and spray with a primer. I use Krylon "rudy brown", mostly. when the primer dries, give it a very soft rub with a green (fine) Scotch Brite pad to smooth the finish just a bit. Another wipe down with a clean cloth, then your topcoat spray. You should stick with primer/paint mfrs ... i.e., Krylon for both or Rustoleum for both.

If you opt to strip and repaint the loco or the cars at some point, all of the trim and metal parts should be removed. You'll get familiar with working carefully with the little metal tabs. Go carefully, and bend them only as much as is needed to remove what you're trying to.

The trucks (wheelsets) on the cars will likely be rivetted to the frames. You can drill those out and use screws with locknuts to reinstall.

Check through the Woodland Scenics dry rub decal inventory to see if you can find a good match to the size/font of the lettering on the cars. In my opinion, these dry rub numbers offer a much more pleasing result than the typical wet transfer decals, which always have that clear film overlay.

Be patient, and have fun. Don't set an unrealistic deadline. This type of work takes time. If Christmas is key, focus on cleaning and lubing, and maybe strip/respray work on the car roofs, only.

Good luck!

TJ

PS --

Many dealers offer replacement parts for old Lionel trains. I've had great success with Jeff Kane at www.ttender.com .

 

[Felginator]

TJ, thanks for the great post. I'm going to take a look at your other posts now. Those older trains are just so cool!

I've used the Easy-Off to strip anodizing off of aluminum before and it's pretty effective. I've also used Castrol Super Clean in the past to strip paint off of remote control vehicles I've restored. Not sure how well it would work on this paint though.

Thanks for the replacement parts link too, I am going to need a new coupler for one of the pullman cars, it's missing. I'll update this thread as I get the set and get to work on them.

 

[T-Man]

I guess you have a bad case of the retro bug. My Dad had a 59 Rambler Wagon and a 69 Rebel wagon. I guess you are a busy guy. The 221 is really nice. Do you have any track?
Above all don't get drawn into TJ's work. I swear he has 100 elves locked up to do his paint stripping and polishing. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot get them that clean.
Stick around and have fun.

 

[tjcruiser]

Fel,

Olsen's has a fabulous online library of Lionel manuals, specs, parts, etc. They also sell a large inventory of parts, though shipping with them can be expensive.

221 info:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/221.htm

At quick glance, your cars look like #2430 and #2431. Info:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=577

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=578

Cheers,

TJ

 

[Felginator]

According to the auction, there's 35 straight track pieces, 25 curved track pieces, 3 switching tracks, and then the transformer and speed control. The track looked like it should clean up ok, not sure about the transformer and speed control though. Should be enough track for now!

 

[tjcruiser]

Above all don't get drawn into TJ's work. I swear he has 100 elves locked up to do his paint stripping and polishing.

Dohh! My secret is now out of the bag! Funny thing, too ... the elves all claim they're from New Jersey ... and they're all named Little Ed!

TJ

 

[Felginator]

Fel,

Olsen's has a fabulous online library of Lionel manuals, specs, parts, etc. They also sell a large inventory of parts, though shipping with them can be expensive.

221 info:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/221.htm

At quick glance, your cars look like #2430 and #2431. Info:

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=577

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=578

Cheers,

TJ

Thanks TJ, those images are going to be a huge help. Time to go download them all.

 

[Big Ed]

Dohh! My secret is now out of the bag! Funny thing, too ... the elves all claim they're from New Jersey ... and they're all named Little Ed!

TJ

They are then called Little Eds. (More then one)

Welcome Fellow New Jersey'ite to the site.
Tell TJ what exit you live around. He loves that.:laugh:


Screw the original paint colors and paint them a nice Christmas color.
You can find plenty of Christmas Stickers and decals to decorate them.

Fill the cars with little elf figures. The possibility are endless.:thumbsup:

It's only an old train set.

 

[tjcruiser]

Fel,

Ed's been sippin' too much 190-proof again. Sorry 'bout that ... we'll try to calm him down a bit. :laugh:

TJ

 

[tjcruiser]

Ed ... on a serious note ... where'd ya' see that Christmas Carol tour train? Neat!

 

[Big Ed]

Ed ... on a serious note ... where'd ya' see that Christmas Carol tour train? Neat!

On the internet.

 

[Felginator]

I'm exit 30 off of rt. 80:laugh:

 

[Big Ed]

this was posted on 8/6/ 2009 TJ

The Walt Disney Company has turned the tables.​

To promote–or may I suggest EXPLOIT the studio’s upcoming November 6 release of director Robert Zemeckis’ re-telling of Dicken’s classic A CHRISTMAS CAROL starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, and Colin Firth, Disney put its mighty publicity machine ON TRACK!​

The House-of-Mouse has commissioned a 4-car costum designed vintage rail cars train pulled by an Amtrak engine.​

The traveling movie exhibit left L.A.’s Union Station on Memorial Day Weekend and after some 40 stops in 36 states will reach its final destination—New York’s Grand Central Station at the end of October.​

The train tour leaves Oklahoma City on August 23 for its 23rd stop in Kansas City on Tuesday, August 25. Its public whistle stop will be at Union Station, 30 West Pershing Road, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.​

What can you expect as you stroll through the train?​

Authentic artifacts on loan from London’s Charles Dickens Museum, artwork, costumes and props from the film, demonstrations of PERFORMANCE CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY employed by the film and a chance to morph your face into one of the film’s characters.​

There’ll also be a 3-D presentation giving you a sneak peek of the film itself, as well as other behind-the-scenes materials from the movie.​

All that plus Christmas Carolers (hired locally) and faux snow.​

The ticket price prices? Absolutely free!​

Must all cost the studio a fortune you’d think?​

Maybe. Maybe not.​

There’s help from Disney’s Commercial Friends like Hewlett Packard, Dolby, Panasonic, and Amtrak, just to mention a few.​

My suggestion? It’s definitely worth checking out on August 25 before the train pulls out of Union Station bound for Omaha, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville—you get the picture.​

And Hats Off to Disney’s innovative approach to mass(terful) marketing.​

 

[Big Ed]

I'm exit 30 off of rt. 80:laugh:

YOU CAN'T BE OFF THAT EXIT!

It's got to be off the Jersey pike.

You are a man without an exit.:laugh: