At the Amherst Railway Society show in Springfield I adopted some vintage Lionel pieces to be my next projects including 2 248 locomotives from 1927 (orange with strap headlamp) and a 252 locomotive. I've been putting together a list of parts I'll need to order and have started to disassemble them to clean and repair. But, even after scrubbing gently with a mild soap on a soft cloth, I can't get some of the dirt and discoloration off of the shells of the 248s. I tend to be a purist and won't repaint unless there's significant rust and rust damage but in the cases of these two, I'm wondering if I should just strip them down and repaint? Given that some of the replacement components are going to be 'shiny new' in comparison, I'm starting to think that a complete overhaul might be best. I picked them up as projects and not as an investment to my collection. Thoughts?
Also, when I opened the 252 I saw a sticker inside the roof saying "Charles Klarsfeld & Son, 52". From what I can determine, they had a toy/train store outside of Albany, NY, in the 50's and 60's. Apparently they worked on this train at some point (1952?). Naturally I intend to leave the sticker in place and will not repaint the 252 as it doesn't require it and I want to preserve this little bit of its history.
