The different types of cars...

To me the most rewarding part of the hobby is either to restore or custom paint a piece of junk.  I feel like someone has to save it.

Freight: 500 & 800 series, for your locomotive you want 500 series freight.

I don't know enough about all the different passenger cars to recommend any in particular.

I restore engines, cars, accessories, etc... all the time. Lots of guys on the forums do. I prefer my trains to be as close to new looking as possible.

Carstens Publications put out a very useful and concise guide to the trains of the Lionel Standard Gauge Era in1964, and it has been reprinted several times, including during the Richard Kughn era (1987). White River Productions now sells the Carsten books, It is a  concise, complete and inexpensive guide for a beginner with lots of B&W photos of all engine and car types.

It is available for $4.00 plus shipping at their bookstore on their website: Just Google White River Productions and search for Lionel Standard Gauge Era. The author is the late renowned train collector and publisher, Harold Carstens. He was a past president of the TCA and his splendid train collection was donated to a museum in Williamsburg, VA. He also published Toy Trains magazine for a couple of years in the 1950s.

Hope this helps! This booklet got me started in standard gauge back in the 1970s.

You can definitely repaint an old junk piece. I prefer not to alter anything that is C7 or better, except to clean, polish and wax. If replacing trim would make it C7, I'd do that too. 

If it's junk, be careful with the tabs. They break easy. Apply heat from a soldering iron when bending back or twist so you don't stress the joint. Also, remove any rust with Evaporust or a brass wheel. That will make sure your repaint will last and look nice. Lots of us use plain old Rustoleum or Krylon paint.

George

Not trying to hijack the forum here, but I have a tin caboos #1682, and it is faded on one side, or has some sort of fail3d clearcoat. Can anyone help me remove it without having to repaint/decal the whole caboose again? I’m just hoping to make it shiny again with out much work, as it will be a shelf queen. (Until I get some o gauge tinplate locomotives. Would you guys classify this as junk, and not even try?

NS6770Fan posted:

Not trying to hijack the forum here, but I have a tin caboos #1682, and it is faded on one side, or has some sort of fail3d clearcoat. Can anyone help me remove it without having to repaint/decal the whole caboose again? I’m just hoping to make it shiny again with out much work, as it will be a shelf queen. (Until I get some o gauge tinplate locomotives. Would you guys classify this as junk, and not even try?

That's a pretty low cost item, so if you fail, it's not much harm done. It doesn't have much rust, so the parts are worth it. The sides of the 1682 are lithograph. If the litho is faded, you may not be able to bring it back. If someone put a coating over it, you might get it off, but it will be hard to not damage the litho. I would start with automotive cleaners. Start with a plastic cleaner called Plastix by Meguiar. You could try some alcohol on a queue tip. If those don't work i would try carnauba wax. Last shot would be TR-3 resin glaze. Beyond that, you are starting to get into something that would strip the litho, and then you are looking at a repaint. Given that caboose is not worth much more than $9 and the cost of the cleaners, I wouldn't go crazy. 

The standard gauge trains discussed above are much more valuable, so they are worth the extra effort.

George

Ok thanks, if none of that works, I’ll just show the side that is clean. But first, I’ll try those suggestions.

For Freight cars I like the 100 series cars, The main reason is the price and availability. 
I only have the 35 and 36 passenger cars (newer versions without the side embossments) and price is a reason for these.
These are great to repaint as they the one I pick up are in such bad shape that usually needs a repaint and complete cleaning of the truck/wheels and couplers.

I have severa of the 10 series items as they are large and have a different coupler height, work well with my McCoys.

I hope Mr. Rascona will obtain the excellent Carsten's guide to Lionel standard gauge trains - it is worth every cent of the $4.00 price! I have many other more complete reference works, but I still reach for mine when I need a quick check on something!