The "Gravedigger" posts here unless there is two of us, or they borrowed it or I'm sleep posting other sites... all fine by me 
That one is worse. A clearcoat candidate if I've ever seen one. I badly want to dip it in clear enamel and look for a suitably "tarnished" tender and caboose. Shiney litho between them🤗 ...but only on Wednesdays once the car roster grew 😎
The dirt kinds presevered some of the cars and finish on mine.
It was my Grandmothers Christmas present 1936-37 because she eloped at 17 and was married already 38. It ended up in Great Grandfather's dirt floor carriage house, and slowly got buried by wind under the doors over decades as it's use was reduced to nothing. In the 80s it became lawnmower storage and occasional shade for BBQs. I bet I walked on it all 1000 times myself. Heck, the lawn chairs usually straddled the box, lol. Just inside the right hand door 3ft into it, maybe an inch of hard packed dust/dirt on top of the box. "Wasp's nest-ish" A hard rake hit the box top and I yanked it off stirring a thick cloud of dust. I still recall watching the open box comming into view thru the cloud. Loco in the left closest corner on it's side. Soaking in a half bath sink for an hour or so, screwdriver & wire brushing mud away, and drying on the fuel oil room heater in July heat. Soaked in an oil bath, sprayed dry. It sparked, R-unit moved and it budged. I polished the wheel treads and shoe and it took off like a bat out of hell. I was laughing my *** off instantly hooked. Born with a Lionel waiting.... I was a Lionel snob until that moment.
The one on the left. Only the engine nose was bad, the Brown cattle head car, a red,wht,blue car, and GN hopper were "snake skins" on piles of rust dust; a cavity = air = iron oxide. The repaint was Rusto' cured in my freezer with only short periods of warm up each day for about a week. The imediate result is a awful white haze, but this will fade over a month or so and the result is a near perfect match to a very nice vintage finish. It looks "right" with its well used tender.(headlight lens is a thick magnifying lens ground down for a "big bulb"/ eyeball at the peephole/"big-eye bi-focal" look).
But this is my rat rod. A mechanical mystery why is doesn't ever derail. It can push or pull all day without complaint. I replaced the armature someone here had gratiously donated while it didn't belong to me, then he (his girlfriend) decided it was too old and he should sell it... I traded a pair of boots for it I think before it got pawned for two coffees or something. It will be here if he wants it back. That's how my collection rolls, cheap, but willing to sell it back cheap near original price if the deal is right the first round. I just care for them 
