Care for a Mint PW Train Master

My hope is the owner gets to enjoy this magnificent piece. Sealed in a box just to say it is mint and has never been opened sure would not add to the enjoyment for me.

If value is the primary concern, sell it so someone who will enjoy it.

He intends to run it.  He is worried about cracking the ends.  Right now he is looking for a caboose to go with it.

Norm

I think it all depends on why he purchased the locomotive.

Did he purchase it to run the locomotive?
Did he purchase it to take it out of the box and display it?

Did he purchase it to have something rare and difficult to find?

He may wish to just leave it in the sealed box and have the pleasure of knowing that he has such an unusual item. 

If he decides to open the box, and just display it, I think I would leave the screws alone. Any damage is already done.

If he decides to run it, the shell is going to need to be removed to lubricate the engine.

When replacing the screws, I would be careful not to over tighten them. I would think about making rectangular shims to go between the body and frame to take up the gap.

Honestly, if the engine were mine, I am not certain what I would do with it. Over the years I have purchased some Postwar Lionel sealed box items. So far, I think I have opened all of them.

I expect this thread and my comments will draw the usual responses about crazy collectors and people putting bricks in boxes.

Go to the local hardware and buy some small rubber O rings.  That should do it, no need to have the shell on tight, just snug...

Marty

loosening the screws would not be a bad idea.

CW mentioned placing shims behind the shell on each end and he is correct. That gap is actually what caused the cracking of the shells, not really overtightening, but that too on that old brittle plastic could do it. Unless it is one of the ultra rare blue/orange shell trainmasters I would run it and enjoy it. Grease the gears in the trucks and oil axles and armature and have fun.

Rob

Needless to say, loosening up the screws would help. Make sure he never picks up the loco by the shell. If he intends to run it a bit, he should remove the shell, take the motors out of the trucks, oil both ends of the armature shaft, clean the old grease out of the trucks, and regrease with Red n Tacky or LaBelle grease. It is much easier to get the oil into the shaft that the driven gear is on with the motor out of the way. If he is just going to display it just loosening the screws and careful handling should protect it. 

loosening the screws would not be a bad idea.

YOu find a clipart for ANYTHING!! Your good hahaha

Hi Norm, I hope this doesn't happen to your family member, but it happened to me. I had purchased in 1978 or 1979 an unopened sealed set #2243w from 1955, same set I had received at age one. I did open it up only to find the engine, a 2321 Lackawanna, already had the screw hole cracks! The frames were a bit to short for the body which had caused the cracks, so even though it came to me as a sealed set, the dreaded cracks were there.... just as it came from the factory....

This.  I'm surprised this fix isn't mentioned more often when the subject of PW TrainMasters comes up.

As Old Uncle Al wrote, the frames were a bit too short. So almost all FM's have cracks at the mounting screw holes.
Its been a while since I watched Don Shaw's video on FM's. I think he stated that all but the very last postwar FM's have the cracks. Its to be expected.

If I remember correctly, the very last ones don't crack because Lionel modified the body casting to build in spacers to take up the space between the frame and the original body casting.

Al and CW are correct. Almost all early versions had cracked shells due to the incorrect sizing. This was corrected in much later runs. 

All FMs that use the countersunk screws are in some danger of overtightening.  The later versions did use extra meat in the shell to combat this issue.  It was finally overcome with pan head screws in the LTI era.  Rule #1: Don't overtighten !  (the shims are a great idea too).

Thanks to everyone for their comments--they are appreciated.

Norm

My brother in law opened up his sealed PW Trainmaster today.  I have to say that it was an exciting experience,opening up a sealed box from 1955.  There were some grease spots on the brown wrapping paper where the trucks rested for so many years.

There was a very fine hairline crack heading south under the screw at the cab end of the engine.  The other end was not blemished.  We think that the engine was stacked on end which caused the crack.

He immediately gave the screws a turn to loosen them.  This evening he will tend to the greasing,lube,and general care of this classic.

Too bad that there was this fine crack but this blue and yellow engine remains a real beauty.  I'm really happy that he was able to snare this Virginian. 

Norm 

Any photos? I would love to see the opening of a sealed item from the 50s. 

According to Don Shaw, on some engines, the crack is so fine, that it cannot be seen in the paint, and is only visibile on the inside of the shell.

Regardless, I hope your family member enjoy's his new treasure!