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Franktrain was kind enough to work out a deal with me for some additional Marx 234/234/236 stream line passenger cars for my Norfolk and Western Powhatan Arrow project which I hope to get back to soon.

Only ‘problem’ now is that I have 2 observation cars. BUT I also have been wanting a trolley...and I have a spare motor with a 2position e unit. Soooo....Long story short, the worse of the two observation cars will get the motor transplant.  It will also allow me to experiment with the paint/taping so I get it right for the Powhatan arrow cars  

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Can anything be done with the passenger paper inserts? Can they be cleaned? Do they sell replacements or do I need to remake them in some fashion?

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Last edited by JD2035RR
JD2035RR posted:

Franktrain was kind enough to work out a deal with me for some additional Marx 234/234/236 stream line passenger cars for my Norfolk and Southern Powhatan Arrow project which I hope to get back to soon.

Only ‘problem’ now is that I have 2 observation cars. BUT I also have been wanting a trolley...and I have a spare motor with a 2position e unit. Soooo....Long story short, the worse of the two observation cars will get the motor transplant.  It will also allow me to experiment with the paint/taping so I get it right for the Powhatan arrow cars  

A9FB2EEE-0F68-48B1-92A7-862B39A7DAB8

CE21A3C5-5012-4872-A3EE-ECBC89191F74

CE4DDFB1-3CE6-45DC-AEBB-4678F3C18D69

 

A3C80A52-AE98-4A6C-AD1C-763198A4FC29

Can anything be done with the passenger paper inserts? Can they be cleaned? Do they sell replacements or do I need to remake them in some fashion?

JD,  I havdn't the faintest idea how to help or advise you, but I greatly admire you and others who have the skills and willingness to take on such a challenging rusty resurrection project. Arnold

JD2035RR posted:

Franktrain was kind enough to work out a deal with me for some additional Marx 234/234/236 stream line passenger cars for my Norfolk and Southern Powhatan Arrow project which I hope to get back to soon.

Only ‘problem’ now is that I have 2 observation cars. BUT I also have been wanting a trolley...and I have a spare motor with a 2position e unit. Soooo....Long story short, the worse of the two observation cars will get the motor transplant.  It will also allow me to experiment with the paint/taping so I get it right for the Powhatan arrow cars  

I recommend keeping the truck at the tapered end,  and mounting the motor at the blunt end,  a'la what Marx did with the F3,  

Can anything be done with the passenger paper inserts? Can they be cleaned? Do they sell replacements or do I need to remake them in some fashion?

I think Olsen Toys might have repros;  consult them.  

Good luck and keep us posted! 

Mitch

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:
JD2035RR posted:

Franktrain was kind enough to work out a deal with me for some additional Marx 234/234/236 stream line passenger cars for my Norfolk and Southern Powhatan Arrow project which I hope to get back to soon.

Only ‘problem’ now is that I have 2 observation cars. BUT I also have been wanting a trolley...and I have a spare motor with a 2position e unit. Soooo....Long story short, the worse of the two observation cars will get the motor transplant.  It will also allow me to experiment with the paint/taping so I get it right for the Powhatan arrow cars  

I recommend keeping the truck at the tapered end,  and mounting the motor at the blunt end,  a'la what Marx did with the F3,  

Can anything be done with the passenger paper inserts? Can they be cleaned? Do they sell replacements or do I need to remake them in some fashion?

I think Olsen Toys might have repros;  consult them.  

Good luck and keep us posted! 

Mitch

Thanks, Mitch!  I may also need to source a pantograph or at the very least a trolley pole...

 

Regarding motor placement, I also thought it would be an issue to place it in the center as it would not be able to negotiate any curve.  I thought I would just stick the motor on one end, and keep the truck on the rounded end.  However, I think it would still be an issue because the motor has zero room for any kind of swivel movement.  The Marx F3s used a truck that allowed some swivel, seen below.  I don't think a static motor on one end while maintaining the standard truck on the other end will work.

My solution to all of this is to go back to placing the motor in the center, remove the stock trucks from the frame, then re-attach the stock trucks to a short piece of tin that allows the pivot point to be nearer to the motor in the center.  This way it acts more like steamer with a lead and trailing truck that articulate, rather than just pivot and it should negotiate 031 curves.  

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Last edited by JD2035RR

41241306-AAC5-4872-AC0A-7B2D2D5A38C9Marx 236 to Trolley Project:

I cut out the bottom of the observation car chassis to insert the motor. Still need to sand and paint but it’s on its way. I also ordered the repro passenger insert. 

To run the trolley with the 2 position e unit, I will isolate the center rail in a few places, wired back to a button that observers can push to get the trolley to the next point. 

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As stated on another thread, I am in process of re-positioning a turn out and siding, in order to eliminate a voltage drop on a main line of my layout. It's a lot of work, but very gratifying because trains are as already running much better.

Will post photos tonight or tomorrow. Arnold

PS: you folks that are train doctors are the best. Love to hear about all your successes.

 Thanks PRR, I reworked the photos.

Not so much a resurrection as a reincarnation.  I plan to put a something in it (maybe keep the newly painted cement containers with washers on top for the 282 crane) and run with a Pennsylvania Power and Light Shay.  Decals ended up looking old which was good!

AFTER                                                                                                                                     Before

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Found this under a dealer table and was not familiar with this model transformer(TW)  it was labeled 175 watts so for $5 I took a chance.

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First thing I did was open it up and found someone cut a few of the wires, not a good sign! Got my Greenberg manual out and did some research. This may be one transformer that may not be resurrected. At 60 watts and some strange operation I think it will go back under table for someone else that may need parts.

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I may try putting the wiring back together and put a cheap cord on it just to see if it works.

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Marx 236 to Trolley Project

First pic is what the rusty cars looked like after evaporust. Removed all of the rust and most of the lithograph. Forgot to take a picture of the trolley at this stage.  2nd picture is base coat on the trolley.  3rd pic is the paint scheme I willbe attempting to mimic.

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JD2035RR posted:

Marx 236 to Trolley Project

First pic is what the rusty cars looked like after evaporust. Removed all of the rust and most of the lithograph. Forgot to take a picture of the trolley at this stage.  2nd picture is base coat on the trolley.  3rd pic is the paint scheme I willbe attempting to mimic.

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Looks like your well on your way, JD, to a beautiful resurrection. We all look forward to seeing the final outcome. Arnold

Arnold D. Cribari posted:
JD2035RR posted:

And the evaporust bath:

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This looks like very powerful stuff. Is it important to use evaporust in a well ventilated area and away from the oil burner or furnace? I would think so. 
Any other precautions that you recommend  to avoid some potential disaster when using it?
Where does one buy evaporust? Arnold
 

Amazingly enough, it’s very safe,  stable, and environmentally friendly. I was amazed at what it did to the rust and any oils - including the litho paint. I bought mine from amazon, but I think some auto parts stores carry it. Here’s the description:

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Regarding JD's successful use of Evaporust, which I had never heard of before, It occurred to me it might be useful to remove rust from tubular track and especially track pins.

I did a search and saw that this subject has been discussed on this Forum before. Rusty track pins will cause voltage drops, so I do my best to replace them, but being a pack rat I usually save the rusty pins if they are not too far gone. 

I plan on getting Evaporust and try it out on my rusty pins and track. Will do a Google search to find out where to buy it. 

I am hoping that the Big E has stuff like Evaporust, bright boys, smoke pellets, bayonette bulbs, spray glue, O Scale trees in large volume, scenery materials, and other stuff that train nuts like me need periodically. LOL, Arnold

I'm not exactly a train doctor, but my latest repair was on a modern Madison car from the 2008 GG1 #2124W set. It started shorting when going over 022 switches. Luckily, just the ground clip came off. There are two light holders on the frame bottom. These holders have two twist tabs, that lock it to the frame. The lights are interconnected to reduce flickering. They are grounded by a c clip to the truck stud. When I replaced a bulb and twisted it back in the wire wrapped around the socket and pulled the c clip off. It's good to get an easy repair once in a while!

Chris

Arnold, there probably won't be evapordust but if you take your time and look, you will go home nearly anything you need (or not need!). The better living center, the Largest  hall is on your right opposite the live stationary steam engine. . It's an odd shaped building but you can plan out a path by using the map that is given to you when you enter. I circle places I have been and how to revisit tables by the number and letter location. This is a multigage show so, you will find parts people scattered Throughout. 

Tons of merchandise and interesting layouts make for a grand time.

 

caa posted:

I'm not exactly a train doctor, but my latest repair was on a modern Madison car from the 2008 GG1 #2124W set. It started shorting when going over 022 switches. Luckily, just the ground clip came off. There are two light holders on the frame bottom. These holders have two twist tabs, that lock it to the frame. The lights are interconnected to reduce flickering. They are grounded by a c clip to the truck stud. When I replaced a bulb and twisted it back in the wire wrapped around the socket and pulled the c clip off. It's good to get an easy repair once in a while!

Chris

Chris, sounds like a good diagnosis and treatment to me.  Good work, train doctor!

*bump* a good title for me as I refer to this MTH Standard Gauge train Engine as being BACK FROM THE DEAD... and just in time for Halloween! My Gold Millenium version of the AF President’s Special had been boxed and out of action for years. Finally after moving, and sitting In its box for two years here, it was time to build the Layout this train set would live in. The layout was built, but the engine was a no- go. This early Summer 2020 I had a MTH repair guy that came over to our home to see it. He immediately identified that it needed a new board and It needed a new chip. I got the engine back in late September 2020. This video is of the first time it was run on this layout- not just the other three cars being pretty posers on a not-yet live track.  

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