Postwar "Barn Find" - Restoration DONE!!

You'd be nuts not to do it.

Definite potential. Plenty of parts available. Tear it down to the bone and start from scratch. Take your time. May take months or years. I’m all mouth on this cause I’ve never done one but am excited thinking of the fun and enjoyment you will have. Good luck. 

If you don't want to take the time to restore it don't toss it, give it to someone else to restore it.

Bob

While I typically wouldn't purchase something in that condition, I would unquestionably accept it and get 'er running. In the unlikely event I couldn't get it going, I would hoard it for parts.

Nice find ! definitely clean it up and restore it. a good cleaning  job with some lube will do wonders for it.

Yes, this is what "Resurrection Monday" is all about.

Evaporust will Clean up those rods and wheels. I would try to restore it. It will turn out great. 

No, life is to short!

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

No, life is to short!

I agree with John here, it is junk and I would not waste my time trying to restore it.

if I got it I would part it out, clean up the parts if possible, shell, motor, etc. and sell what you can. Spend no more than a couple of hours on it. 

If more time is required, send it to the circular file and move on with your life.

Dave

hey,

it survived...with a mild clean up and some lube it will probably run. I am guessing it's a 1946  with smoke pellets and that motor it will surely give you the Postwar smell

or just sell it - you have some money there

bmoran4 posted:

While I typically wouldn't purchase something in that condition, I would unquestionably accept it and get 'er running. In the unlikely event I couldn't get it going, I would hoard it for parts.

Agreed.  With time and patience, I think that 671 could be brought back to life, and there's a special satisfaction in doing so. 

balidas posted:

You'd be nuts not to do it.

Agreed! What were you thinking?  "Throw it out Dept. " E Gad!

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

No, life is to short!

No, life is "too" short... 

I totally agree with most of the others: finding a neat old project like this is where the fun is. You can spend your time on this, or spend it waiting for your latest new purchase to arrive from the manufacturer after you had to send it back for them to repair...hopefully still under warranty. 

Mark in Oregon 

I'd give it a shot and see if you could bring her back to life. You have plenty of members here in which to ask for help as you progress through the restoration process. She could turn out to be a favorite runner!

Rusty

Nice project! Piece of cake if you have a wire wheel Dremel tool and wd40!

  Boiler paint might look acceptable by washing with a toothbrush and Sunlight detergent with warm water.

  Should be an awesome runner!

Al

When you get it done please show us your master piece. As this could become one if just in the runner state. Think how great it will feel to get it running. I would do it in a heart beat. 

I wouldn't so much restore it as revitalize slowly it as a runner. 

  Shell off, motor out, chassis and trucks in a coffee can for occasional wire brush visits and repeated soak times is how I'd tackle that one.  It might take a few months to get into the pits, but it would save a lot of elbow grease to go at it slow.

   I soak in motor oil and clean & agitate with gun cleaner/rust prevention spray.  Once the deep scale stops returning fast I drop the motor oil soaks and clean it just a bit more a few times a year. 

(I like Sheath, low odor, decent penetrant, nice sheeting . I "rinse" and flush dirt/rust deposits or mucky cleaner with cheaper WD40 and a soft cloth.

I would give it a shot and restore it

That thing is far from gone. No need to replace much of anything.....those front and rear trucks will clean up like new....the rods too.....those parts will clean up quicker than you think....Let WD-40 be your friend.....you’ll be surprised.....like others have mentioned, I’ve brought back to life way worse than that...Pat

It could be a nice rainy day project. Work on it on rainy days and by next spring, you'll have a nice working train

Fix 'er up.  I have taken rusty parts and put them in a reloading tumbler and 8 hours later, they are like new.  Nothing beats old turbines.  I like them better than the 773.  They run better too.

Nice to think others see some potential in this old machine.

I think I may see what I can do on this....the fact that it wanted to run, and it tried, gave me the idea that maybe this antique still has some life in it.

A few questions....

1) What would be a good way to clean the white crud and rust off the wheels, trucks, rods, etc. I've seen WD40, Evaporust, etc recommended. I don't have any fancy tools other than a Dremel and do not really want to go buy special tools for this project. I prefer to keep it as original as possible. The drive wheels and rods in particular I'm curious about.  I took a little hand soap and a basic brush quickly to the tender shell - that seems to have made a slight difference.

2) I took the shell off, took the motor and E-unit out as well as the smoke unit. The wiring is shot - most of the solder joints, etc broke and it is pretty rigid and has little flexibility. I'll probably have my LHS handle that part - I know my limits and soldering is WAY past those limits ()! As this unit has the double worm drive on the rear and front drive axle, it has the drive shaft running the length of the frame. I was able to pull the shaft and bearing out on the motor end but not the front. The smoke unit "flap" seems to be in the way but I don't see any obvious way to remove this. Once I get that done, I can really do to town on cleaning the chassis and frame. Anyone "been there, done that" in regards to getting everything out of/off the chassis?

Thanks for the help - this will be fun!

SJC posted:

Nice to think others see some potential in this old machine.

I think I may see what I can do on this....the fact that it wanted to run, and it tried, gave me the idea that maybe this antique still has some life in it.

Thanks for the help - this will be fun!

Glad to hear you've decided to give it a go. I was going to comment on the fact that, in spite of its rough condition, it still has a "heart beat". As has been mentioned here a million times, you just can't beat the Post War stuff for durability. 

Will look forward to see how it all comes out.

Mark in Oregon

SJC, some of us do nothing but restore old rusty "junk." That's where the fun is.

If your motor turns, most everything else is cosmetic. Take absolutely everything apart. CRC and Q-Tips for electrical cleaning including Commutator, field, brushes,  and springs. The E-Unit could probably benefit from a hit of CRC too. The drive wheels, trucks and side rods need an Evaporust bath. Take the axles and wheels off the truck sides first. The pick up rollers and springs look like a dremel with a scotchguard head will clean up that corrosion. The cast body and boiler front can be cleaned safely with vinegar and baking soda applied with a tooth brush. Rinse thoroughly to get rid of the baking soda residue and dry with a hair dryer. So far you're 90% done and have spent next to nothing. When you replace the drive wheels, use a vise to press the wheels back on their axles. Then apply some Mothers polish on the side rods. If there is any finish left they will buff up beautifully.

The whistle tender probably only  needs a good cleaning, lube, and oiling if the relay functions. You can easily test the relay to see whether the relay armature closes the circuit. You can also bypass the relay to test the whistle by placing your positive lead to the right side brush holder, and the negative lead to ground.

A major problem with the older WS-85 metal casting air chambers is lack of lubrication on the impeller bearing. The impeller is the fan like thing that spins to move air through the chambers. It is on the same axis as the armature. The bearing holds the stem of the impeller. Use a needle applicator with light oil, pressing in the bearing and applying a small amount of oil each day over a couple of days to let the bearing accept the oil. There is a tiny ball bearing  that sits between the stem and the bearing itself. It  needs that light oil, but not much.  You should also blow out bugs, spider webs, dirt, and debris  from the air chambers of the whistle. Over decades, a lot of crud finds its way in there. Then address the electricals. Replace wires with faulty insulation. Remove the brush plate and clean as thoroughly as you did with the 671's motor. Don't forget the contact rollers.

If it still doesn't whistle there is probably an air leak somewhere, very common with the old cast air chambers. The gasket may be worn out and that is a pain to fix, since you'd have to pull all the rivets, replace the gasket and seal it, then re-rivet the back plate. I have done this several times and it is never worth the effort or expense needed to get it right. I would instead salvage parts from the whistle tender and move on.

Hope this helps.

Pete

without question that is savable! I have seen much worse brought back (by my own hands included) It shouldn't take much at all to have it running. If you don't want to try it, list it for sale here, it'll go fast. But if you decide to toss it in the trash...let me know where your trash can is so I can scoop it up! 

Go for it, Plenty of parts available and you`ll have a great engine to run...

Save that bad boy!  And keep us posted on your progress!  

Mitch 

According to others, we, who play with our train, are all alittle nuts.  All seriousness aside however, I agree with everyone that you should keep it all and have fun restoring the turbine.  

Good luck and if you proceed with restoration please take photos of the progress. Will make a great story here on the forum.

Check for spiders in the whistle chambers!

  Don’t ask me how I know 

lol

Al

Gentlemen,

   Lots of potential and lots of restoration work both!  Go for it and have fun.

PCRR/Dave

Work on the motor and e unit separately and keep any solvents that can soften lacquer off the coil's magnetic wires. The rest being rewired, saturation of cloth and fibers etc. isn't a concern. Most takes it in stride anyhow.

A wheel brush will speed things however wheels also remove far more material..

Oil will pretty much only attack the rust and its bonds. A soak loosens hard bonds. A wire brush agitates, loosens, and exposes a fresher surface for another soak. 

Id try by hand for a couple sessions then decide if and where to focus a wheel, but only if I felt urgancy.  Over time, oil, agitation, and removal alone is enough.

  I prefer to soak in oil , which will slowly break down the "rust to rust bonds" and agitate rust then rinse it away with WD-40.  Normal oil works but a penetratiing oil like PB blaster, Liquid Wrench, Creep oil, Crows oil, Aerokroil, etc. will help speed things even more via stronger chemical processes... which can be pretty stinky as you'll note by smell being relatively roportionate to how well a brand kinda works.... except these have use on rust frozen general hardware more in mind.

  Once the easy, heavier stuffhas been cleared I like to switch to gun cleaning processes oils and chemicals. They smell less, still work hard, and protect better between applications. Sheath by Birchwood/Casey is a rust prevention spray that is low odor (imo), has no staining color, and does a good job on rust breakdown and coating, soaking further between sessions has really warmed me to this stuff. Not overly slick, a fast wipe with a clean cloth leaves a nice clean to handle, lightly oiled finish like a weapon.

  Its thin as WD-40, but more expensive, hence once the surface oil gets full of rust I use WD to "rinse" (always using an oil last as WD-40 is not a lube nor a good metal protectant (more like good for a couple days max, its just a wire drier) It does clean metal well though.

You want a stainless steel brush for the bad spots and heavy removal, heavy brass then fine brass once you're developing metal that shines. Maybe soft Scotch-brite (careful, some can scratch just like sandpaper)

Evaporust is a good product too. 48 hours of soak would likely clean most of it. It likes agitation to go deep too though. (gun oil is the ultimate solution imo, lol).   It is an acid that could discolor plating or pickled finishes too. Ive only used it on tin. It did change the tone of some galvanised. It's normally safe on paint, but not all paint and during long soaks (hours) it can sometimes start to creep under paint and lift it too.

albertstrains posted:

Check for spiders in the whistle chambers!

  Don’t ask me how I know 

lol

Al

Soon to be a major motion picture!😱

Lots of excellent advice! Go for it; there is no price on the satisfaction you will get in bringing it back for your fun and enjoyment.  Falcon70

I would go for it, from looking at it looks like it really just needs a lot of cleaning and tlc, you likely wouldn't have to replace much. You would need to disassemble the motor to get at the gears, clean the old grease out and grease that, would need to clean the commutator and make sure the brushes are long enough and clean them, the e-unit needs cleaning and lubing (I would use tuner cleaner, CRC or another brand). Wiring should likely be replaced in the engine and tender, others  have covered the rust and whatnot.

I understand why some say it isn't worth the time, but I think they are looking at it financially (which this unit likely won't cost you much to restore but will take a lot of time) or that you will spend time repairing this where you could buy another engine and run it, but the value here is if you find doing something like this fun, bringing something back to life from the dead, then the time spent doing it is not wasted, it isn't part of the  'life is too short' kind of thing, since you are enjoying doing it, that is the value. Not about ROI (return on investment in time and/or money), but ROJ (return on joy). 

This reminds me of some forum posts 12 or so years ago. One guy "dumpster diving" for pieces of electrical wire, and another sweeping his driveway for ballast stones. 

Steamer goes shopping for engines like that and a few of us aren't far behind.

This should be a "Hobby", not a job.

If it is not fun for you, fire yourself.

When you get to the shell, take care around the numbers. I usually take clinging surface rust off with barely damp thumbs and baking soda, because it’s easier to regulate how much pressure you put on an area vs. a Q-tip. The Drexel will clean up the rods and wheels. We’ve had a lot worse stuff that turned out very well. 

If your trash hasn’t left yet, you might shake the rust out of the box and see what else is in there