Anyone do much Prewar Lionel restoration/collecting? I like to buy them cheap, regardless of condition, just so I can restore them. I could maybe spend less if I just bought them already in good shape, but what fun is that? The most I've even spent was $70 (for my 115 City Station), but most pieces were bought for under $30. 
Here are some pics of some of my prewar trains, which are displayed on shelves below my N scale layout. The "Peacock" 253 and cars was the first set I restored, during the Covid lockdown. The loco was really rough, from it's shell to it's swollen and cracked wheels. It was completely rebuilt by me, during which I learned a lot about prewar train construction. The "Blue Comet" set was next, and it still features a 100% original mechanism, including the wheels. It just required paint, and all of the trim pieces, which were gone. The cars were really rough, and looked like they had been in a house fire. I know the paint scheme isn't original, but I like it. The all red set was really rough, and the loco looked like it had been stepped on. It was a real test of my sheet metal skills! The cars are much older, and the baggage car is actually an Ives piece, refitted with Lionel prewar trucks and couplers. The 262E steam loco was mostly complete when I bought it (for $20!), but lacked a tender, and didn't run. During teardown, I realized the E-Unit drum was missing, so getting it to run was easy enough. The tender took me a while to find, but I eventually got one. It and the loco are both painted with black appliance epoxy spray paint. Super shiny and super tough! All nickel trim is original - just cleaned up and polished. The #115 station is my most recent restoration. It was also mostly complete, but was badly stained and faded. It got stripped, and repainted with "Antique White" spray with red trim. I also rewired it, so the station stop feature works as advertised. (The pics I took during the restoration were still on my phone, so I included a handful, so you can see what I started with. Yes, I also added windows next to the clock on front and back. Lionel never had anything in those holes, but there were tabs inside the station, as if they intended to) Lots of other stuff can be seen, but I've probably bored you all enough!
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