John, thank you for writing that recent article; it was very helpful.
Here’s some before/ after pics of detailed cleaning from 66+ years of funk on the frame & truck assemblies of Lionel’s Southern 2356T (Non Powered A Unit). In the last pic, you can see the amount of grime accumulated over the years from just this alone. All that’s needed now is to reattach the shell & lubricate for its new life here on the rails @ FRV.
Next up is the B Unit, then on to the A Powered Unit…
Happy Friday to Y’all Train Folk!
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Flint that is one good looking PW Sothern great shape and a job well done cleaning! By chance what do you use to clean? I enjoy buying PW engines that need to be brought back to life again and run for another 70 years. Think for me just tearing them apart and degreasing is just as much fun as running. God Speed enjoy the fourth of July!
FRV’s latest Repair Series on Lionel’s Postwar 2356 Southern ABA.
Happy Railroading from The Beautiful Hill Country of Texas,
~Eli
Today’s Tip is brought to you by
800 Grit Sandpaper...
Do you want your contacts on your O22’s to be clean & refreshed as possible making a super snappy connection when activated?
Take a tiny piece of sandpaper (I’ve got all grits, but using 800 here) & polish the upper contact by applying lite pressure w/ your finger & scrub the paper back & forth a couple times. Flip over & get your bottom contact. I use a tiny flat end pick to apply pressure while scrubbing each available face as switch is in said position. The bath it’s sitting in is mineral spirits, which I find works best for me. You may choose whatever cleaning agent of your preference.
They’re so clean, an ant could use those contacts as a mirror. 🪞🐜
With a bit of elbow grease & effort, You too can have worrisome & trouble free O22’s that are super responsive & a pleasure to operate.
Bottom pic is my current project. Finally getting around to cleaning switches & laying track for this 30”x8’ addition off the original 8’x8’ layout. Put it off for far to long, so I’m pretty excited to get this tackled!
From Eli here @ FRV,
Y’all have a Wonderful Monday!
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I’m sure there’s info already out there like this, but here’s my take on it.
Lionel’s 153 Block Signal is a great little accessory, & is super easy to work right alongside your O22 Switch. This isn’t even three minutes long, & basically shows the tools & materials needed to perform a few simple tasks & perhaps have a “brighter” view of things.
Fresh off the rails from
the Service Yard of FRV…
We’ve got an Outstanding Crew at the Service Yard of FRV…
Their turnaround time for things that roll through their yard is amazing!
Step by Step Process on this fun addition to any layout.
Eli! Just what I have been looking for! It’s like Christmas right now!
the 2332 black GG1 refurbish was an illumination of what’s inside mine! I have a Black 2332, a 2340, and a 2360 shelving their inner souls! So, that being expressed I want to thank you for that refurb video you posted. I have always been a bit intimidated to open them and maybe hear Boing! Stuff scattering about! Lol. So many parts! My steamers have been no stress fun but the GG a whole N’other thing! but really you have given me some hope. Certainly more game to set it all out methodically and just go for it. Thanks buddy, I appreciate you.
btw, that single motor 2332 when the entire mechanism is done right walks away with the congressional cars! Holy smokes man! Got my attention.
Great job on the 68 rebuild. I did the same thing about 4 months ago and couldn't find anything on it. Thanks for sharing!
@Leroof: So glad you liked that clip. Gave me a BIG Smile reading your comment.
Thank You, Sir!
I’ve got like 4+ GG1’s to get ran through the Service Yard here, at some point. Gonna be nice to have some of them all lashed up together pulling heavy loads.
@texgeekboy: Thank You Sir for your compliment!
I don’t know what’s out there & what's not, but I do my best to document & share each engine/s & car/s as I prepare them to be “Rail Ready” for My Layout.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Do You Want good solid Track Connections for your Power Feeders or Block Powered Sections across Your Layout?
Here’s a 2 min 40 sec Tutorial on how simple it is to solder your Power Wires to your Tinplate Track. Having good solid connections is key, for All wiring aspects of Your Railroad!
One thing I’d like to add:
If the three strips of solder are not enough, use it/ them to get the wire/s secure- then add more solder off the roll as needed. Be sure to hold your wire down when adding more solder, so it stays in place where you want it to & doesn’t move on you.
Hope this brief clip helps some of you w/ your layout wiring!
Have a great evening, Y’all!
~Eli
(I have had numerous criticism of this clip, saying “the joints are poor quality”, “cold joints that are sure to fail”, & some folks “shuddering at the lack of flux paste used”. Let me assure Any & All of those that this particular solder joint is/ was heated up properly, & is in no way a “cold & or poor joint”. And by the chance that You happen to think otherwise, I will give you my address & you can come test them across the entire layout for Yourself… Any Takers?!?!?
If You’ve followed along at all, this ain’t My First Rodeo! And if you were to yank/ jerk/ pull/ & or grab at any of these power feeder wires solder joints- the wire would break off the strand long before the joint ever broke.
This is Toy Trains Y’all, NOT soldering per specs from NASA on the Space Shuttle…..)
Latest Rebuild from the Service Yard of FRV.
The Service Yard of FRV is rolling’em out.
The Service Yard of FRV
has just rolled out a few FM’s
like they’re Factory Fresh.
"Do You Want good solid Track Connections for your Power Feeders or Block Powered Sections across Your Layout?" I read your post and it's too bad that someone hurt your feelings. Me? I am going to watch your video to learn from you!
Love and learned from this series Eli.
Thanks for all you share
I’m loving this thread as well! I plan on refurbishing a number of my childhood postwar trains when I get some more free time next year after I retire. Fortunately, Eli has already featured a number of them in his videos within this thread, so I am looking forward to following his process. Keep ‘em coming, Eli. Can’t wait until you get to those US Marines/Army missile engines, showing us how you replace that sponge and get those missiles firing again as well as the usual deep clean!
Thanks for the compliments
- Everyone!! 😊
Picto Series of stripping down Lionel’s Postwar 6425 3-Dome Gulf Tanker from 1956 for a deep cleaning.
Notice the bent handrail & the rusty wheel.
All tools used to perform this project are as shown, minus dawn dish soap, a paint brush & a different toothbrush & warm water, & my favorite little mini vise used to straighten out the handrail (& of course oil at the very end for lubricant).
All I used to clean the handrail was the scotchbrite pad. Also, only one ladder needs to be removed for complete disassembly
Now that there’s Fresh Oil pumping out deep from the bellows of FRV, we’ve gotta have somewhere to put it for transport. This is the first tanker car of my original set of ten.
One down… Nine to go!
(& that’s not including the 30+ I acquired all together a few months ago. lololol)
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Rich Melvin or Alan Arnold should give Eli a monthly column in the OGR magazine for this in the spirit of Barrett in the back shop.
What's the liquid in the dish you are using for cleaning? Beautiful looking car after you've done your magic.
Great work Eli. Thanks for documenting your repairs and rebuilds too.
Bob
@Strap Hanger: I’ve no idea who those Gentlemen are, but I’d be Thrilled to have such an Amazing Opportunity. Lord knows I’ve no shortage of things to share w/ the masses…
And Thank You so much for your kind compliment, Sir! 🙏🏻
@Scotie: the liquid is Mineral Spirits. It works wonders for all things - except painted engine shells & car bodies.
And Thank You Sir!
@RSJB18: Bob, really appreciate your compliments, always Sir. Thank You very much!!
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These Ten Tanker Cars have waited patiently well over a decade for their opportunity to Ride the Rails of FRV.
As w/ any engine/ rolling stock/ etc, not a single thing hits the track till they’ve been thoroughly gone through & made as new as possible.
It’s a lovely site to see the crud knocked off the wheels & everything dust free gliding down the tracks. It’s been a long time I’ve waited to tackle this project, & couldn’t be happier seeing them finally on the layout.
Hope Everyone enjoys the clip,
& Thanks for Watching!
On to the next project…
Latest Rebuild from the Service Yard of FRV. Hope Y’all enjoy the clip!
Great work! On the tanker cars, are those decals? Did you replace them? I am curious about how they went from the discolored rectangles to a clean look. Thanks!
@jjm: Yes they’re decals, of the all original variety. Each car is all original & nothing was replaced. The shells cleaning/ detailing process involved nothing more than dawn dish soap & warm water, along w/ a toothbrush & a chip brush. All the frames & truck assemblies were cleaned/ detailed using mineral spirits w/ a toothbrush, stainless wire brush, & a beat up scotchbrite pad.
Tons of detailed pics n’ clips of full cleaning/ detailing processes on my channel…
And Thank You, Sir!
Howdy Train Folk!
I've rebuilt tons of things since I posted the 726 ^^above. Though only uploaded a few to the tube. In order w/ what’s posted of the rebuilds on my channel, here’s the first of several…
Hope Y’all enjoy!
Here’s some FM’s for Your Rebuilding Pleasure…
Over an hour long, but lotsa great stuff to be seen in this clip.
I have a pristine all original 2354 ABA, of which some months ago turned the rear 2354T unit into a 2354P. I used the nice shell & put it on a second (decent) 2354P motor & truck frame I had laying around. So now I’ve got a Dual Powered 2354 ABBA for the rails. After that project was done, I took the (decent, not the one to the set)) B Unit & customized it to house an operating Horn. This little project has been on the back burner, as I still need to finish fashioning the horn holder. It’ll be a fun train when done.
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As I’ve stated before, not every rebuild gets posted on the youtube channel. I share most all of my stuff on my facebook page, & some on instagram. So if you’re interested in the daily ins & outs of FRV, that’s a great place to see what goes on here weekly.
Here we have my first F3 ever, The Texas Special AB. After many many years of just sitting there, they finally made their way into The Service Yard. Along w/ the original AB Units, I custom built a rear 2245P from a random decent shell & a complete all original 2333 motor & truck frame. Creating an all powerful Dual Engine ABA Texas Special.
Hope Y’all enjoy the views!
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There again, not everything gets an actual rebuild clip of its own.
In keeping w/ The Texas Special theme, I decided to get out these 210 AA’s & 211 AA’s, both all original. I rebuilt these so quickly I didn’t even take the time to document hardly a thing.
I am proud to present to Y’all this beautiful Dual Engine Powered Texas Special AAAA Lashup.
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While not a rebuild, here’s a little something to show my appreciation to all those that follow & enjoy the trains & layout of FRV.
The Dual (4) Engine Powered 2343 Super Chief AABAA…