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In my case, swapping out the bulb with an LED was completely reversible.  And a postscript to the above story.......the seller of the 736 told me that in going in there to put in the LED, I broke something. ?????        Bent an axle?         But I see your point, Adriatic. The things I've modded have been for the most part reversible (like this example) or if it's a quality engine, I leave it as is.

Roger

I don't sell things very often, but when I do I don't inquire as to the buyer's intentions with his purchase.  It's not as serious as giving my daughter away to be married (ultimately allowing a stranger to join my family).  I made the mistake of promising to keep some prewar sets I bought in the eighties from the original owners.  My interest has since changed, but they are still sitting on my shelf.

I get and respect the "100% original" guys. The way I see it: As of now, I want to keep this engine 100% original (at least cosmetically), or at least as close as possible. Then again, it is my engine and only my engine. I could chop it in half and throw it in the river and light the original boxes on fire, never to be seen again if I wanted to!

I've sold things, mainly in "waves" to help fund other purchases and/or clean out space. Once the money hits my bank account and I ship it, the new owner can do whatever they want with it. I don't care what they do as it isn't mine! 

As for wiring, I kind of see that as a "consumable" object just like a light bulb. I want it to be original at least cosmetically. I plan on replacing the headlight lens. I asked my tech to try and save the original if at all possible so I can keep for the future. I also told him I want it to run and run for years trouble free so I'm open to anything to do that!

Great locomotive, I have a 682 in my collection same thing as 681 but with the oiler linkage.

You've been recommended to Olsens and I'd do that first. These are pretty robust but still you need to watch what you do in them. The motors have many small parts that are easy to overlook when disassembling like the use a small bearing ball on the back end of the motor for thrust reaction on the commutator. You'll find that motor removal to allow cleaning and lubrication of the primary gear reduction will do much to reduce the amp load and resultant motor heat which will allow more cars to be pulled.

I wouldn't rewire anything if it isn't needed; not because I'm a purest but these solder connections are to what can be delicate parts and the less they are disturbed with heat the better for them.

Bogie

SJC posted:

Something I noted with the 682 turbine.

I tightened the trailing truck screw (which was a little loose) only to easily break the head off! Uh oh! No big deal as I was very easily able to get an authentic postwar replacement.

Leads me to think - anyone have metal fatigue issues with Postwar?

No, never.  Zinc Rot has never been a problem on any of my PW equipment (prewar is a different story, though).  Your trailing truck screw may have been overtightened by a previous owner, weakening it.  Lionel sometimes used screws with large heads and thin shafts, which do not take well to too much tightening.

 

I picked up a 1949 version 2026 from a dealer in a trade for some HO that I was disposing of, and though it had a frayed wire on the headlight that dragged down causing shorts when I tested it the first time, after replacing the wire, giving it a thorough cleaning and oiling, it runs like a Swiss watch.  In fact, I don't even hear it run.  Smooth as silk.  My 1951 2046 Hudson ran like junk when I got it, but, doing essentially what another poster described above with a thorough cleaning and lubing, and while loud, it runs well too.  Mine get out from just before Thanksgiving to New Years on the holiday layout and while the cars get packed away, the engines go into a cabinet in the living room on display behind glass, with the 2046 going on the mantle.  EVERYTHING gets cleaned and lubed before the season and then once a week at worst when the layout it up.  Maintenance is the key to a happy engine with PW Lionel, however, I too wonder who had my old trains before me and how they enjoyed them.  It's neat to think that trains made when my Dad was a kid (and some even before he was born in '49) still do what they were intended to do without fail, some 65+ years later.  I ended up getting rid of the HO, throwing away the rivet counting magnifying glass and just have a ball with the old Postwar O Scale.

SJC,

Many thanks for starting this topic!  I ran HO until about 5 years ago when I switched to O gauge.  I was mesmerized by the modern steam engines produced by MTH and Lionel.  I was first introduced to postwar engines when one of our daughters bout ma a thrift store 2026 and some cars for Christmas.  Since then, I acquired a couple more.  One is a 671, that is a very nice engine, but not as nice as yours.

Also many thanks to all the folks who shared advice on postwar engines!!  This has been a good topic to save!

Cool purchase. I've also been tempted to pick up some post war at our local show just to have some stuff to tinker with and fix up. The new stuff is great, but plug and play gets a little boring some times! (I hope I didn't jinx myself!!

I had a lot of fun last year when a friend brought over his dad's postwar set that he wanted running again for his kids Christmas tree. Tons of fun working on that and seeing how happy he was to see it running again. 

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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