Need advice, inherited many o gauge items

I've have restored some pretty sad locomotives, so rusty they were seized. I'm a "do-it-your-selfer" so my advice is just do 1 item at a time.  I think if you paid someone to do each item, you could have just purchased a new one for the same price or less

Removing any batteries is excellent advice!

 

I suggest that you give yourself plenty of time to decide what to do with all those trains.

Your plan to improve the storage is a good one.

A word of caution: DO NOT use bubble wrap. It is known to sometimes leave patterns in the finish of some trains that cannot be removed.
Over the years there have been many threads about how to store trains.
I like to store trains by putting them in food grade plastic bags, and leaving them open so moisture is not trapped in the bag with the trains (I like to let them breathe)

I then either put the train (in the bag) in a train sized box, or wrap them in newspaper. (Don't wrap directly in newspaper, the ink can rub off on the train, and in rare instances, the newspaper can get stuck to the train)

I would not use snap-lid plastic containers because once again, you are trapping whatever in the container with the trains.
I have many trains that have been in storage since 1974 with no ill effect.

 

I think you will find that paying somebody else to clean up your trains will be cost prohibitive. Figure out which ones are low value, and learn how to do the work yourself by working on those.

 

When your kids get bigger they can help you clean them up.
My kids were sitting on my lap, working on trains by the time they were three.

 

Trains can be a great hobby. My older son agrees that the skills that he started learning by working on trains and building train layouts laid the foundation for what he is able to do today.  He is remodeling an old house, has built his garage from scratch, and is able to fix just about anything with a motor and wheels.

Being that I too have 2 boys age 2 and 5 I have an overwhelming number of those baby blankets from the hospital.   I wrap my engines and locos in those and store them in plastic bins.   I would NOT wrap them in any kind of plastic wrap. 

 

Then as above setup a spot where you can clean each 1 by 1 and once you get started it will go pretty fast.   Again I have 2 boys as well and COMPLETELY understand the difficulty of time.   The way it works now is the boys go to bed at about 7pm and from 8pm to 10 I have 2 hours to work on stuff.   I'm building a layout in the basement and have been converting cars to Kadee couplers.  I figure by the time my youngest is 8 years old I'll have a running layout!

 

Best thing to do is go through them, it can all likely be cleaned up or saved as many have said.  Check for rotted wiring on the older trains and corrosion/tarnish on the new trains circuit boards.  For the fast track, if you can clean it with a green scotch bright pad, it will probably be ok, although it is the inside of the rails that is hard to clean if it is rusty and that must be good if you hope to have good continuity around the track.

Take it slow and its good that you have two starter sets that are clean so you can add to them as you clean the stuff up.

Check with your local LHS and see what they charge for a basic

tuneup. Mine disassembles and cleans and lubes the entire engine.

for $35 is a good deal. Especially if you don't have the time....

I would also suggest checking with a local hobby store to see if there are any formal or informal collector clubs in your area. Everyone I've come in contact with concerning this hobby has been generous with their expertise and time. I think most will also see the opportunity to pass along a love of the hobby to a new generation as valuable for everyone. You and your children may have the opportunity to run some of your godfather's trains on other layouts until you can build your own.

Working on the engines and cars is most of the enjoyment. Oil and grease the engines and they will run for a long time. There is a lot of good info right here on this site. don' be afraid to ask.

There have been lots of good threads on this forum about cleaning up older traincars and locomotives, many of which have step by step photos which are very helpful.  So, I'd start by searching that topic. You can search using postwar restoration, locomotive restoration, rust removal, tune-up and other topics.

 

CW gave you great advice -- don't be in a big rush to get things done. It is very easy to get frustrated trying to do too much at once and feeling buried under the magnitude of the task. As suggested in other responses, pick one or two pieces and start on them. You have the two starter sets and as you get other pieces cleaned up you can then add them to the starter sets.

 

The paint (especially lettering) on some of the postwar cars may disappear when washed with soap and water, so be very cautious and start in a small area, rather than soaping up a whole car. If you separate the car bodies from the frames you can usually do a better job, as you are cleaning plastic in one case, metal in the other.

 

The leading O gauge train magazines have also run articles on cleaning up older trains. If you can search and find them, you can get digital versions of OGR, purchase the relevant back issues from the printers or look for them at train shows.

 

If you take your time, the information out there will help you bring those older pieces back to serviceable condition.

 

Take the time to enjoy your newly acquired trains. Your collection will grow along with your children!

JustLuckey,

Here's a Lionel Post War Library, which might give you some idea of what you have: http://www.postwarlionel.com

RJL

You don't say how much space you might have , so here's an idea for you to mull over.

 

Do you have the space for a standard door on sawhorses, or more than 2 doors? If you do start with an oval around them and get to running those babies. You can add from there if space permits.

 

As for cleaning don't worry , do it as you have time, start with the easiest stuff first. engines will be your hardest, steam your worst, as they are finicky, leave them for an expert. You can learn a lot if you can watch, some don't want you to watch, avoid them.

 

Get on here and ask questions, there are guys here who know their stuff, and will help you.  Most of all, ENJOY !!!!!!!!

 

Rod

Thanks for all the comments. I've learned a few things already (diesels have batteries, for one). Also, Thanks for the tips regarding storage, my wife has a ton of paper that's like newspaper, but no print/ink she uses for storing dishes and china. I think that might work. Regarding space, I have none. We have a modest house for our, now, 4 person family, but my sister fell on hard times and recently moved in with her 2 kids, so any space we had is gone. I can't even fit a o36 circle of track anywhere to see if this stuff works. I'm going to inquire with some LHS's and see if they can help, regarding the comments about being cost effective, I fall into a different category than most, as all of the stuff I have came free, so spending $35,$50, or double or triple that to get a $200-400 engine back in working condition is worth the money. Even if it ended up costing as much as a new item (for a lessor costing item), these items have a sentimental value that is incalcuable. Having said that, I'm not going to pay $10 to get each section of track cleaned. But the refrigerated milk car and working platform is a different story. I'll research those links posted regarding cleaning. I will try to tackle some myself, but the quantity of stuff (it filled the bed of my pickup and crew cab of my Ram) is way too much for me to tackle even if I chipped away at it for years. The hardest part will be trying to inventory everything, the stuff that's intact is easy, but there's a bunch of engines separated from their plastic or metal in some cases. Also, the innards of what looks like several engines in various boxes. I'm going to have fun with that part, as its a matching game and I'll be using the Internet a good bit for research. Again, thanks to all. I feel so blessed to have received all of this stuff. This kind of thing never happens to me (get handed a massive amount of anything). I guess the act of donating a kidney may have some good karma attached to it. Regards, Warren Living Organ Donor 2/1/11

When it comes to the mess of partially assembled/disassembled engines, use a digital camera to take some pictures of the parts and post them here. There are a lot of very knowledgable people here who can help you figure out what goes with what and where.

 

I strongly second checking for and pulling any batteries you may find. Even NiCads are known to leak!

 

The paper you have available from you wife sounds like it should be ok. Definitely stay away from the newsprint and bubble wrap!

 

Chris

LVHR