Rebuiding/Restoring Engines-What did you start with?

The easiest steam locomotives I have found to repair are the ones with the spur gear motors, which is most of them. Everything is open and accessible, and easy to repair. The single vertical motor diesels are easy to service also. Next step up are the steam locomotives like the 726/736/746 and the horizontal motored diesels with their motors that need complete dis-assembly to service properly. The dual vertical motored diesels and GG1's are next with their requirement to get two motors running the same speed. All e-units are a challenge until you get a feel how to do them without getting frustrated and overwhelmed by them. Finally, the hardest task to do without the proper tools is replacing and re-quartering the wheels on steam locomotives.

Getting a basket case missing parts and getting it to run like new gives great satisfaction.

 

Larry

I'd echo Larry's ideas, plus you can take the opportunity to add additional details or a fancier paint scheme.  The early postwar 675/2025 is plentiful, and a great runner.  I found one that had paint spilled on it and been in a flood, and turned it into this:

 

Bottom line: do it.  My experiences like this one lead me to take on more complicated projects.

Larry,

 

Thanks for the great tips and 49 Lionel....she is a beauty!!

 

Joe G

Well, I've repaired PS1, 2, and 3 and frankly they aren't as hard as some old locos - if you have the right parts!

 

The first serious repairs restorations I did where Mark tinplate pre-war/post war locos including some wind up and electric.  I started with inexpensive tinplate and postwar locos I bought largely just the learn on.  I rebuilt a number of post war steamers, etc., and its just a matter of reading up on it and taking your time.  Many older locos are good projects because there is a little (or a lot) or everything: redoing and repairing bodies and doing "body" work on finish and paint, motor and mechanical repair, electrical, etc.  I have not worked on anything I consider valuable or rare, though, although that would not stop me necessarily.  

Hi Joe,
I find repairing trains to be very rewarding. The forum is a great source of knowledge as well.  I started with Santa Fe f-3s.  I repaired three of them at the same time. I kept one intact to use as a guide so I knew how it should look put back together.  I also found jwtrains.com to be a good source of repair manuals. You can order them by engine, but as suggested earlier, many engines are similar so what you learn from one will help on others.

Good luck

 Setting junk car repair aside, tin plate was the first, and most fun. Getting early MARX wheels off and on without them shattering is a challenge to be proud of upon success. But the most satisfaction came from altering a small mpc loco in need of a ten dollar motor, a rectifier, and some fishing sinkers to make it heavier. Not a prototypical restoration, but a fun one, my "happy" yard mule....

 

    

hello guys and gals..........

 

Two weeks ago I overhauled the Lionel #18117 Santa Fe F-3 ABA set that was new in the box and I spend about 150 dollars for parts to rebuild and up graded The F-3 as it came with 2 bend armatures.  It never been run since the day it was packed in the box in Dec,16,1993 (Lionel code date 13503 stamped on the inside of the box).  It took me about 15 hours (few days) of hard work.  Now this LTI era F-3's are just as good as the postwar 2383 but with fully trim better painted shell.  I am very strangely attracted to it.   The non-powered "A" unit came with a very simple electronic horn, it still works !!!!!!!!!!!!. My hard work paid off and it is a sure KEEPER !

 

the woman who loves the S.F.5011,2678,2003,200

Tiffany

Service manuals for modern era trains are available at the Lionel site

Free material for prewar and postwar Lionel trains are provided by Olsen's.

 

I started by working on anything that came my way.

I've done several Pre/Postwar Lionel steamers. 1666 that looked like it spent time in a wet basement. A Marx 999 that had been played with to the point that a lot of paint was gone. Now I'm working on a 2026 I recently got off the bay. Picked all these up pretty cheap, and some time and TLC, scrounging parts off the bay and junkboxes is really fun. A few years ago I picked up four Prewar 1600 series passenger cars for $1 each. Three still had good paint, just needed roofs and a few trucks to be put back in service. The fourth had suffered from a really bad paintjob, and was made into my version of a 442 Diner.

I also picked up a Chatham body that had damage to one end, and am working on it.

I have enough trains(don't tell my Wife I said that)that are runnable, so I like to search the junkboxes for winter projects, plus I get to help bring some back to life.

I won several steamer shells in one auction. Most have been returned to service. These include a gunmetal 225E with a homemade Vanderbilt tender,2037, and a ,Postwar 1666.

I took two damaged short streamlined tenders and made a nice coast to coast style tender. Also a couple of the very rare SP cabooses with the broken roof. 

I have a Lionel prewar 392e passenger set if any of you restore guys want to buy it to restore.

.....

Dennis

Thanks for all of the great info and pics. I did not know someone sold the manuals spoken about above. I will definitely have to check that out.

 

JoeG