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Not being very big on these things, I was nevertheless alerted to one by a friend of a friend this past week.

I enlisted the assistance of a friend who was well-versed in all things postwar (seriously--he made a game of matching license plate numbers to PW Lionel catalog numbers). He negotiated a substantial reduction in the asking price of four boxes of heavily played-with postwar (we each went in for half of the final price), and divvied up the take at his place. He got a couple of steamers (one of them a Berkshire with a 6-axle tender), some 027 passenger cars, 022 switches and a mess of 031 track. I got the rest.

Now I usually wouldn't give postwar equipment a second glance, especially in the condition all these pieces were in. Everything was dirty and scratched, almost everything was missing some pieces, etc. But all of it could be made run-able with a modest investment, and since they were now in my collection, I might as well see to it they are well cared-for. My take-rolling stock wise consisted of.:

--a pair of cosmetically beat-up 2343 Santa Fe F3 AA's (horizontal motored) that belched to life when one wire was reconnected to the E-unit. Man, these are some weighty units. I'll have to find some shells and mounting screws at York, since the shells are beyond restoration. No battery damage whatsoever--it looks like there was never a battery installed in these. I'll need a mounting screw for one rear truck sideframe, since that one's gone too..
2343-before

--a 236 Scout loco and tender, which ran without hesitation, even the smoke unit started puffing seconds after putting power to it.
236-before

--2460 crane (chewed up boom-lifting screw, missing hook)
2460-before

Either I'll need to cut new threads through here, or get a replacement boom-adjustment crank. It won't go all the way through the barrel that lifts the boom.
2460-boomscrew

--3357 hydraulic maintenance car (Cop and Hobo?). Missing wheels in one truck. Somethng else to look for at York. I have the gantry, not so sure about the figures. Not too concerned about the action--I run stuff that's too big for the gantry anyway.
3357-before

--6343 barrel car. (Don't know how many barrels are supposed to come with it). It should clean up nicely, though.
6343-before

-- 6457 caboose. This one looks clean in the pic since I washed it and spritzed it with Pledge. Also banged out a bend in one of the end platforms on the chassis. trucks appear to be mismatched, as you'll see in the photo after this one. Maybe I'll put an LED or two in this one.
6457-after

I found something interesting while cleaning this one up. Nevr-Dull polish really does a number on postwar wheelsets. The truck on the left had its wheels shined up with Nevr-Dull after scraping off the usual crud, the one on the right is the "before" version. This photo was going to be a Photo Fun entry by itself, then I decided to photograph the whole lot and make a dedicated post.
nevr-dull on postwar wheels

--6462 gondola. Mysterious paint spill inside--may just cover it up with canisters or spraypaint it after cleanup.

 

I'm beginning to suspect I have most of a set that encompasses the F3's, the above caboose, this gondola, a Shell tanker and a Lehigh Valley hopper. Still not sure if I'm going to look for those two cars and "complete" the set at York, as it'll be run with more than the cars in this thread, mixed with more modern traditional-sized stuff.

6462-before

--Kusan/KMT boxcars. This motley trio of little value was bequeathed to my half. I'll need to find at least two trucks for the NH and UP cars, and perhaps a few more as spares. Didn't think anything from the postwar period was as lightweight as these, but there you go. Only thing metal in these are the screws holding the trucks.
KMT NHbox-before
KMT pennsy-before
KMT UPbox- washed

--No.50 gang car. The only piece that doesn't work as of today. Probably a simple fix once I get under the hood.

 

50-gangcar-before

 

 

 

Attachments

Images (13)
  • 2343-before
  • 236-before
  • 2460-before
  • 2460-boomscrew
  • 3357-before
  • 6343-before
  • 6462-before
  • KMT NHbox-before
  • KMT pennsy-before
  • KMT UPbox- washed
  • 6457-after
  • nevr-dull on postwar wheels
  • 50-gangcar-before
Last edited by RailRide
Original Post

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Originally Posted by Greg Houser:
Nice haul. Will look nice when fixed up.

-Greg

I'll say Of the batch, the barrel car looks almost new after washing. I think it may have been one of the last add-ons the original owner received before the trains got put away, since it has nowhere near as much wear as the other pieces.

--

 

Originally Posted by WftTrains:

Not bad!  Unless they are hidden from the photos, you'll also need to pick up 2 ladders for the 6457 caboose while you're at York.

 

Bill

No ladders on this one. (does google image search).

Ah, I see what you mean. One more item added to the parts list. I do believe this caboose has mismatched trucks though--one of them is a coil coupler (stuck in the open position) and the other is...well the photo below it shows the other one. Looking at the results of the google search again, it's clear that the coil coupler is the non-standard piece. I'll replace that one too.

 --

 

Originally Posted by TrainsRMe:

Many a pleasant evening ahead of you.

A few, at least I cleaned them all up Sunday between computer stuff, TV stuff and feeding old mail into the shredder. All that's left is gathering the parts to make them runners. I'll have "after cleanup" pics this evening.

--

 

Originally Posted by Tom Shirey:

nice catch....looks like some fun ahead. If you want to sell the f3 shells, contact me at: tomandcindyatzoominternetdotnet.....have fun!  Tom

The shells are cracked at the rear, at least one screw boss is broken off, and one of them has a bulge in its roofline behind the roof screens. I'll take detail photos if you're still interested.

---PCJ

Last edited by RailRide

Well, I got into cleaning some of this stuff Sunday, and I couldn't stop

The 2343 dummy unit came out quite well. It could use a visit from an airbrush with an appropriate shade of silver, but its passable for a 64-year old chassis.
2343-dummy chassis after

Here's the Scout loco. Not only did the shell clean up really well, nothing was broken off. The side rods were corroded, but a sanding block and Nevr-Dull gave them a shiny reflective matte finish that was really smooth to the touch.
236-after

The 2460 crane needs a rope and hook, and a fair amount of appropriate-sheen black touch-up paint, but in the meantime it came out pretty well after the wash job.
2460-afterwash

Another view of the 2460 showing how clean it came out.
2460-afterwash2

The 3357 needs replacement trucks since both are missing the knuckles, and the pivot holes are pretty chewed up. I don't plan on running it as a cop/hobo car since the gantry is too low for a lot of my rolling stock, so I disengaged the springs to lower the platform. Everything is still in there, though. Just need a body screw to keep it all inside.
3357-afterwash

The 6343 came out amazingly well. It had to have been the last add-on car the original owner received before putting the trains away, as it has almost no wear and tear.
6343-after2

We've already seen the cleaned-up 6457 in the first post. It needs some end ladders, an appropriate truck and two body screws.

6462 gondola came out very clean except for the splotch of white paint inside.
6462-after

The Kusan trio. Scratched up, but now clean. I still need at least two KMT trucks to make the UP and NH into runners.
kusan boxcars washed

Here's a closeup of a KMT truck. Anyone have some to unload, or know a York tableholder who has these, point me to 'em. I'll get up to a half-dozen extras after equipping the two boxcars.
kmt truck


---PCJ

Attachments

Images (9)
  • 2343-dummy chassis after
  • 236-after
  • 2460-afterwash
  • 2460-afterwash2
  • 3357-afterwash
  • 6343-after2
  • 6462-after
  • kusan boxcars washed
  • kmt truck
Last edited by RailRide

Railride:

 

Good job in cleaning them up!

 

Re the 6457 trucks and couplers, as you figured out, the correct truck is the one without the coil coupler.  It came with staple end trucks until its last year when they used bar end trucks.  I can’t tell for sure from your photo which one your correct truck is but it looks like it might be the bar end type.  You would want to get one that matches.  I see that your NYC gondola has bar end trucks.  Those are readily available but if it’s the truck with the pickup roller that will cost more.

 

Re the Kusan trucks, I don’t remember ever seeing any at York as I’m in the market for a few myself.  But ask that question over here on: AMT_Kusan_KMT_Kris_Williams_Trains - Yahoo Groups .

 

Hopefully somebody on there will know if there’s a Kusan parts vendor at York.  I have to miss it this time but I’ll watch for an answer so I can get some at York in October.

 

Good luck and have a great time at York,

 

Bill

Project addendum:

 

--The Kusan boxcars received replacement trucks and are now run-able, although their extreme light weight means they'll be kept together and confined to the ends of whatever trains they run in, with very little trailing weight behind them. All three have had custom boxes made for them.

 

--6462 NYC gondola: resides in a custom box along with the Kusan gondola once purchased for its trucks, but now resides as part of the collection

 

--6343 Barrel ramp flat: resides in a custom box

 

--3357 Hydraulic Platform car: Missing hardware and trucks replaced. This car will run as a standard 027 boxcar since its accompanying gantry is too low for some of the rolling stock I run. As such, the platform has been lowered to the car roof by relocating the springs that held it up. A box will eventually be made up for this one.

 

--236 steam and 2343 diesels: The 236 has been cleaned and boxed, remaining in operating condition. The 2343s have replacement shells with all detail parts installed save for one ladder on the rear truck of the powered unit--it's screw hole is partly stripped such that the mounting screw finds threads if the ladder is omitted. Otherwise these units are now in sturdy boxes awaiting their turn on the test track.

 

--50 Gang car. Stored out-of service, needs motor brushes and/or brush springs to operate.

 

--6462 crane: Received block/tackle (hook) and cord purchased from Brasseur Electric Trains:

 

6119 and 2460 complete

 

6119 Work Caboose: This piece was kind-of forgotten, it's major components scattered across the two boxes of stuff I left in the basement. When I sought to consolidate the load into one box, I found the bin and superstructure of the work caboose and finally realized it as a complete piece. Beyond washing the parts and reassembling the car, I didn't do much of anything with it owing to the fact it was built without a rear coupler.

 

Later on I found out about the 0480-25 coupler plate that can be hooked over the axles of a coupler-less postwar truck to give it a functioning coupler. I ordered two--one for this car, and one for a 16-wheel depressed flatcar that lost one in a fall years ago. All replacement parts in the above photo were from Brasseur Electric trains. 

 

---PCJ

Attachments

Images (1)
  • 6119 and 2460 complete
Last edited by RailRide
Fun stuff. I had the same opportunity last weekend. Just had to take  screw driver to the layout and remove what I wanted. Some if the stuff was ok the rest were ugly with layout paint and dust. Managed to grab several pair if nice O22 switches with controls. 2 ZW transformers. A KW transformer. 5 153 block signals. 4 262 crossing gates. 145 gateman. Reissue of cop and hobo car. Various LV hopper cars. Several other misc  post war freights. Boxed set 2275W. Some O72 track. A 450 signal bridge. Lots of broken Plasticville to part out. MTH buildings. It amounted to 4 large tubs of stuff. I didn't even get to the modern stuff. Been cleaning and repairing all week.

Gandy
Originally Posted by TheGandyDancer:
Fun stuff. I had the same opportunity last weekend. Just had to take  screw driver to the layout and remove what I wanted. Some if the stuff was ok the rest were ugly with layout paint and dust. Managed to grab several pair if nice O22 switches with controls. 2 ZW transformers. A KW transformer. 5 153 block signals. 4 262 crossing gates. 145 gateman. Reissue of cop and hobo car. Various LV hopper cars. Several other misc  post war freights. Boxed set 2275W. Some O72 track. A 450 signal bridge. Lots of broken Plasticville to part out. MTH buildings. It amounted to 4 large tubs of stuff. I didn't even get to the modern stuff. Been cleaning and repairing all week.

Gandy

Sounds like a nice opportunity for a "before and after" photo thread

 

---PCJ

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