Well the first two items are completed. The unpowered A unit and the NYC operating boxcar. The F 3 unit was fun and I even pulled the wheels so I could clean the axles and add fresh grease(red & tacky). This is a shot of the more simple truck without the pickup rollers after they were soaked in kerosene and cleaned. I discovered the one brake shoe on the truck side, on the left, was broken off. The engine must have been dropped at some point.
The boxcar was not too bad, just cleaned and lubricated. I noted the doors are different on each side and the one shown has the latch mechanism on the wrong side of the door! Note also the extra washer between the horseshoe clip and the chassis. I believe this car was the late 40s. It has 4 screws holding the body to the frame. The doors are cast but a few years later they went to plastic.
Unpowered F3, all original except port holes, had to use reproduction ones.
The start of the F3 freight train! I am pleased with how they turned out. Lionel really turned out some great stuff up through the early 50s! When I think these are 70 years old and how well they look and cleaned up. I would have been thrilled to have a set like this but my Dad could never have afforded such an extravagant gift.
