Talk about Train and Town Hobbies

Visit our Affiliated Pages:
Building temporary and permanent railroads with big model trains
Return to Family Garden Trains Home page
Visit Family Christmas Online
Big Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village. Visit Howard Lamey's own web page, LittleGlitterHouses.com

It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:15 am

Note: This site has just been moved to a new server with slightly different software. We've tried to make certain that nothing important has been lost, but if you notice any broken links or other issues, please let us know as soon as possible by using the contact page.


All times are UTC - 5 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 113 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Thu May 23, 2019 7:18 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:03 am
Posts: 286
LOVE LOVE LOVE that shades of green above.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 12:17 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
Last week I spent an hour in the shop of a friend rewiring this early example Lionel 259E:

Image

I needed some help unsoldering the 90+ year-old wiring...didn't want to make too much of a mess of it. Got some lessons from a master, which I can put to use on a few other pieces in the project pile.

This having the e-unit, the wiring is a bit more complicated than a manual reverse. Best to either make yourself a wiring diagram before beginning, or methodically unwire/rewire in order. If you just disconnect everything before soldering in replacements, one can quickly lose track of what goes where. It's kinda like replacing the ignition wires on a car...disconnect and replace each wire one at a time, otherwise you risk having the firing order balled up.

Paul II


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jun 18, 2019 6:18 am 
Offline

Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:03 am
Posts: 286
Re-wiring ANYTHING is something I would never try myself--let alone on such a wonderful piece-and even with help. Some people are born with the re-wiring gift---and you certainly are! Beautiful train.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Jun 21, 2019 6:01 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
Recently I was having trouble soldering, which I had attributed to my advancing age, diminished dexterity/patience, etc. Turns out my forty-five year-old iron had developed a short which would cause it to occasionally cool while I was using it. Picked up a new pencil iron at Sears the other day and I'm back to soldering like the old days. I've got a few motor rebuild/rewire projects in the queue, so now I'm looking forward to working on them.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jul 03, 2019 6:51 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
javinda wrote:
Re-wiring ANYTHING is something I would never try myself--let alone on such a wonderful piece-and even with help. Some people are born with the re-wiring gift---and you certainly are!

Practice is the important thing. Get yourself a decent iron, some quality solder, flux, then find some bits to practice on. Solder some wire onto any little metal scraps you can find. Tinning the tip and learning to "flow" the solder is the important aspect. When I was 14 or 15 I built myself one of those HeathKit stereo amps and a receiver...still had tubes back then, lol. Learned a lot from that exercise. Now I'm a bit rusty because I don't do it that often. Probably most important, don't be too frugal...good soldering requires good supplies.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:27 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
A nice Lionel 252, re-wheeled and ready to rock:
Attachment:
File comment: A Lionel 252 in olive green.
Lionel 252.jpg
Lionel 252.jpg [ 155.65 KiB | Viewed 14377 times ]

Manufactured between 1926 and 1935, olive green is the most common color. This one, a Christmas gift from a good friend, will get a run in over the next few days.

Paul


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2020 7:19 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
A Lionel 259 from the mid-1930s:
Attachment:
File comment: Lionel 259
Lionel 259 late.jpg
Lionel 259 late.jpg [ 158.33 KiB | Viewed 12537 times ]
The four-cycle e-unit had been introduced by Lionel years earlier (an adaptation of the Ives unit acquired when Ives folded) and was used in the 259E, yet Lionel re-offered a manual-reverse version in the mid-1930s. Not sure why, perhaps to offer a lower cost version of Lionel's least expensive O-gauge steamer during the tough times of the Great Depression, or possibly to just use up available parts stock.

A simple design, still runs like a champ nearly 90 years later.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 4:41 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
The 1668, Lionel's prewar O-27 model of the Pennsylvania's shrouded K4 Pacific:
Attachment:
File comment: Lionel 1668
Lionel 1668.jpg
Lionel 1668.jpg [ 221.22 KiB | Viewed 11444 times ]
This is a late version in gunmetal (the 1668 was also made in black), it's production run 1937-1941. The 1668/1668E was a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement (unlike the prototype which was a 4-6-2 Pacific). There was also a 1688/1688E which used the same boiler casting and trim, but had a 2-4-2 wheel arrangement.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 4:59 am 
Offline

Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:03 am
Posts: 286
Now that's a beauty. Have an opportunity to look at some old train catalogs this weekend at an estate sale this weekend---if I get there first. I will of course post lots of pix if I am lucky.
The guy was a collector of Lionel and Marx.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 1:50 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 7:05 am
Posts: 588
A nice little Lionel 629 Pullman found recently:
Attachment:
File comment: Lionel 629
Lionel 629 Pullman.jpg
Lionel 629 Pullman.jpg [ 175.67 KiB | Viewed 11365 times ]
The copper journals need a good cleaning, and the clerestory window films need to be cemented back into place. Other than that, it's in really nice shape.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 113 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron


Click to see sturdy Lionel(r) trains that are perfect for your Christmas tree.


Visit our affiliated sites:
- Trains and Hobbies -
Return to Big Indoor Trains Home page
Return to Family Garden Trains Home page
Big Indoor Trains Primer Articles: All about setting up and displaying indoor display trains and towns. Garden Railroading Primer Articles: All about getting a Garden Railroad up and running well
On30 and O Gauge trains to go with indoor display villages and railroads
Big Christmas Trains: Directory of Large Scale and O Scale trains with holiday themes
Visit Lionel Trains. Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Visit Papa Ted Althof's extensive history and collection of putz houses, the largest and most complete such resource on the Internet.. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Craft and collectibles blog with local news of Croton NY.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
- Music -
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable. Own a guitar, banjo, or mandolin?  Want to play an instrument?  Tips to save you money and time, and keep your instrument playable.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group