What projects have you done?

I have rebuilt several steamers from bare shells, and made a couple of tenders to go with them. Haven't acquired the patience for rebuilding e units so far, so some are forward only, which is fine with me.

a homemade turntable using Lionel bridges and a backhoe seat swivel,round house from scrap wood.

224E,225E from a bare shell and tender from junk tender shell and PVC pipe.

2037 and tender both from toy show junk boxes

Prewar 1630 cars again from junk boxes

bought this work caboose for $8 for the trucks, and the rest kept calling out to me...

Two out three of these 2400s were bare shell rebuilds

long distance tender from two junk shells

unfinished 4-8-4 from broken shells

my PRR Torpedo and tender from junk shells

and OO7 (Sean Connery of course) stopping to pick up lunch for M and Miss Moneypenny at my home made diner.

You know, steamer, if you are looking for another shell project, I have one I started, but never finished.

Just finished painting a Marx Commodore Vanderbuilt Locomotive,

still have to service the motor and she will soon be pulling 6" tin 4 wheel

passenger cars also from Marx.

El Classico posted:

You know, steamer, if you are looking for another shell project, I have one I started, but never finished.

you have my attention sir......

This is a shell project I started, took the tender and frame paired with the 8625 steamer, and a 2026 shell. Stripped them both, and spray painted them Hunter Green, think it was a Rustoleum color. Brush painted the gold highlights, and the silver smoke box. Painted one handrail mostly gold, never finished the other one. Meant to pair it with a 1666 steam chest, shaved out to fit an MPC 4 wheel truck, and install a 6 wheeled 2037 mechanism and a 2 wheel trailing truck from a 2026. Not going to have the time to finish it however, which sucks.  

and what would you need for this?

I haven't had too many basket case type projects.

This one would probably be the closest.  A 1946 first year Lionel 2020 turbine I bought off the forum.  I bought it from the second owner, who stated that he bought it as a project from the original owners who had played very roughly with it as kids.  This was obvious as it needed a replacement rear truck and I eventually had to replace a front drive wheel since the original had come loose on the axle and bored out the hole inside as it slipped on the axle during operation.  He said it had been dropped, which would explain the damage.

Anyway, it turned into one of my best runners.  I believe shortly after I finished rebuilding it I ended up putting it into service on my Redford Theatre Christmas display as the modern locomotives were giving me problems.  The crowds loved seeing it, especially from the generations that owned train sets from the pre/postwar eras when they were still new.  I had a lot of comments about the memories it brought back.

This 224E was a cheap find at a train show.  I eventually did a little work on it such as replacing the original worn out brush plate.  It's also a very good runner.

I have rewired most of my postwar locomotives and have had to replace/fix E-Units and the usual gremlins that often show up in those types of locomotives.  None have been too difficult though.

Shoot me an email.

Just realized I forgot the improtant parts of my listed project engines. Here they are:

610: added a cab light. It was weak, so I wrapped some aluminum foil around a piece of a potato chip canister and wedged it inside the shell to make a reflector. It works pretty well (usually).

258: Added a firebox light using a red grain of wheat bulb, with one wire wrapped around the shoe and the other around part of the trailing truck.

I also forgot that I had a 3472 milk car I replaced the truck on with a bolt on one, and an MPC coupler due to issues. Also have a 3356 I repaired, again part of my Great Uncle's 1567W. Rewired a 1053 when I needed a new transformer for my outer loop, it works well now. Manualized a number of Chinese 027 switches. That is all the projects this time.

From reading a post learned how to remove and replace a complete Marx pickup for

my Marx 333 with the assembly bought from Grossman.

Now if i could just fine me another smoker shell for my other spare motor .

     My grandfather's 1926 Lionel 252 was missing a lot of trim parts and its brush-plate. The trim was easy. The brush-plate, however, was the impossible to find metal brush-plate. I found out that a newer (and available) fiber brush-plate could be made to fit with longer screws and custom-made spacers (drilled-out dowels). It has got to be one of the smoothest running locomotives I've got.

Current projects:

1.     My layout.

2.     My grandfather's Lionel 262 is in pieces right now. I have all the parts but am currently looking for the time to do some frame repair (It took a dive down a flight of stairs in Chester, PA back in the late-30's or early-40's busting the cowcatcher off).

3.     Several months ago, I took a project Lionel 520 off the hands of Don "scale rail" Mccuaig for price of shipping. Except for E-Unit fingers that should be replaced, it is mechanically sound. I plan to make it into into a light-duty electric (It looks like it would match 0-27 passenger cars nicely) with a functional pantograph for my eventual catenary. I also want to add constant brightness LED directional headlights.

4.     My grandmother's Marx M-10005 (fat-wheel) and a Lionel 239 are waiting for the day when I can locate replacement idler gears.

5.     A Noma station with a mechanism I need to rebuild. The grommets are dry rotted. I shimmed it to prove it could work, but I need to do a more permanent job.

6.    While not toy train related per say, a fireman's cab signal display from a GG1. Maybe I'll mount it in the train room hooked to the not as of yet built signaling system.

I've just scratched the surface.

like to see some of those SP...especially the GG1 signal

I have a fat wheel idler gear lying around you could use for the Marx engine... The Lionel 239, I'd suggest just dropping another Scout motor in in its stead.

El Classico posted:

I have a fat wheel idler gear lying around you could use for the Marx engine... The Lionel 239, I'd suggest just dropping another Scout motor in in its stead.

You've got mail.

Ok, I'll play too.  Like many guys on this forum, I enjoy a good project...

Look good.

Found some old broken Marx 4 wheel cars. They were the plastic kind. Anyone ever put trucks on them? I think I found my next project, curious what other peeps have done though.

Everything is a project with me!!! I like to buy beat up and broken things because I enjoy working on things and I like the price!!!! 

This Williams Hudson was decent when I bought her.....VERY simple but a solid runner. But I saw how easy it would be to upgrade it to a much nicer model....and as it was cheap due to no DCS etc, no sound or smoke.....I could put some work in her and still come out at a quarter a new one would cost. 

The start....

Markings were paper stickers. Air pumps missing under nose. NYC plate missing from nose.  I thought colors were wrong. 

Stripped paper decals. Made custom decals, painted loco, add air pumps, added skirts to tender and detailed the running gear. Happy with my results.