I acquired a Lionel UP 2023 ALCO A & B unit set from an estate sale. I was a take all or nothing kind of deal. I am a steam locomotive guy and really know nothing about these diesels. I believe they are from 1950 to 1957. It has copper coil uncouplers. The A unit has a battery compartment that holds a D cell battery for horn operation. Of course the battery was still inside and the holder needs replaced. They are both filthy. The finish under the dirt seems in decent shape. The parts that look like they would break off seem to be all there according to the pictures I have viewed online.
I have located the replacement battery compartment from the Train Tender and will order that. My questions are:
What is the best way to clean these? I need both products to use and methods please!
What other areas should I look at to see if they need repaired or replaced?
Are these difficult to disassemble? Any tricks or pitfalls?
Any other information that you can share will be appreciated.
At this point since I'm running a steam layout I'm not sure if I will keep these or sell them off. I guess the question is what was the time period that you would see both steam and diesel locomotives running together? My steam set is a Pennsylvania Flyer freight set. I don't have the model number in front of me at this time. The diesel set looks like an early 50's diesel which would match the time that it was manufactured. Another issue would be a Pennsylvania RR running with a Union Pacific I suppose.
Thanks in advance of your help!
Dave
