WHAT’S ON THE WORKBENCH AT THE MOMENT

Obtained a postwar Lionel MKT 600 in the spring. It needed a bit of overhaul, cleaning and repainting. I always liked the gray and yellow version of the 600 and since the frame needed repainting anyway, this was the time to do it. The gray is from Hennings Trains and the yellow is Erie Lackawanna yellow. I added LED lighting with headlight lenses from Trainz. The colored paint was applied using airbrush over lacquer primer. It's not perfect but good enough! The locomotive runs well for something as old as this one,

I finished adding constant LED lighting to my two sets of passenger cars.  Six RailKing Western Maryland Scenic Railroad cars and four Lionel New York Central cars.

@Ed Samsen posted:

Missing is a container of "Kitty Treats"

They're kept in the kitchen, not on the workbench so they don't get contaminated with anything that might get him sick. Wouldn't want anything to happen to him and vet bills are high!

Off the workbench today is this 665.

Before

After

It just occurred to me that this engine, 665, has the same number as the house where I got my first Lionel 60 years ago!

Strasburg has acquired a few more cars. The coach is former Long Island and the Combine came from the PRR. Just out of the paint shop.

Pete

I have a few Lionel woodside cabooses that I’m always trying different things on as far as details and lighting. I use Atlas trucks and had flicker free lighting. There’s nothing to see as far as an interior. So the only lights are the Tomar lanterns. I have a designated caboose track in the yard. No toggle switch to shut the power off. So they all sit there with their lanterns lit. Certainly not prototypical. I had read many years ago about adding a magnetic latching relay for lighting cars using battery power.  Rivarossi is doing something nowadays with their Magic Wand lighting. I understand a little bit more today than years ago on electronic projects and decided to give it a try. I used a 9v battery for power and a couple of boards and removed the rollers from my trucks. Seems to be very reliable. It’s just a matter of how long the battery lasts.

Dave, gorgeous as usual!…..any chance you’re adopting adult children?

Pat

@Norton posted:

Strasburg has acquired a few more cars. The coach is former Long Island and the Combine came from the PRR. Just out of the paint shop.

Pete

On a visit to West Albany shops, I was able to see the progress firsthand on these cars,…..Craftsman level quality!….

Pat

Dallas Joseph,the dry transfer decals I buy. The decals I create from pictures are water slide created with an ink jet printer and sealer.

Years ago, I put together a Santa Fe Fast Mail train consist and made a streamlined rider coach to bring up the markers.  Further research told me how the rider coach was almost always a heavyweight combine.  To right this wrong, I sold the streamlined coach at a train show and modified this GGD combine to make a better representation.

It will soon get decals from ProtoCraft, a platform gate from Keil, and RYY markers from Tomar.  It will not be exact, but mighty close...

Thanks to the heat, I’ve found myself deep in my postwar Lionel closet and my box of “to do!”  Top of the list now is a couple of 6464’s with rusty wheels and trucks, not severe but definitely not anything I want to admit to, yet! And in a couple other cases, the door guides have spots of rust. My last attempt at rust removal on the door guides removed all the paint too, and the quick fix was to buy a couple of new sets. But I have the old ones, devoid of paint. Can they be satisfactorily repainted? Which shade of black? Protect against future rust how?

For the wheels and trucks-a couple of hours soaking, tooth brush, Dawn and warm water and an open air dry overnight. Will that protect the bluing or a drop of oil on a cotton cloth wiped over the dry assembly (Cotton swab in the hard to reach spots) protect against future rust or recurring rust..or something else?

like so many others, I learn from everyone here and am so grateful for the many topics.

Dick Lawrence

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Experimenting what I asked Walter M to do a long time ago....

Do you happen to have a picture with the shell off showing the wiring ?

In the process of painting , adding weight, and installing kadee's on menards oil cars. I am changing wheel frames, ladder . Oil car Platform to black from gray. Adding weight to cars and putting kadee # 742 couplers. I have 12 to do. These pictures are a sample of the starting process.

My public service announcement for the day: Always check engine gears and electronics before running them!

This Williams 5207 Hudson came to me from the fine folks at Trainz. Brand new sealed in the plastic. Took the gear box apart (boy, what an over engineered marvel that was taking apart 😂), and low and behold the brass and nylon gears were dry as a bone. Wonder how long that bad boy would've lasted without oil and grease?

Just finished up this Williams kit. Lionel trucks and K4 decals.

Strasburg picked up one more car from the PRR. Just out of the shops and ready for service.

Pete

https://ogrforum.com/...6#177539554876817526

Ross, what paint did you use on your beautiful 665 restore?

I just un-boxed some items picked up from a local online auction.  The description wasn't clear, and the pic was only a box full of pieces and parts, but I took a chance.  It came with a 225E loco and the 2602 baggage that are in pretty rough shape.  I need to find what proper tender came with it.  The other pullman cars and tender are also in rough shape but will make for a great cleaning/restoration project.  My list of things to find to complete the sets increases. prewar

225e needs a 2235w low couplers (2651 freight 2751 series freight  2245w for 2600 passenger cars (high couplers)  both are cast tenders.  there was a tubplate tender 2225w which is a waffle top usually in gunmetal.  Go find a 2600 and 2601  if notseveral 2600 and a 2601

Ed

Note if you cannot locate the proper cast tender, a 2224W can stand in as a 2235 by changing the drawbar   to stand in for a 2245W change the rear truck to the high couplerand the drawbar.  NOTE the prewar box couplers I would use are the ones with the simulated knuckle coupler on the box  aka 1940 pattern

Ed