My restoration is complete. The engine was given to me as a boy about 1950. It languished in my brother's celler until I picked it up last October. It was in really bad shape. See the slide show at:
http://www.lioneltrains.shutterfly.com/action/
I researched the web, asked a lot of questions at my local store, and finally decided to copy the picture on the Lionel train website. The paints are Scalecoat; the decals are Microscale. The only difficulty was that the decals are to scale, but the engine is not (it is shorter than the "scale" size). So I had to mount each letter and number individually. The new parts are from Olsen's. The running gear worked fine; some rewiring and light bulbs were all that was needed. I did not paint the running gear; I wanted it "weathered".
Although not perfect (I am very picky), I think it came out OK. If you have any questions, by all means let me know.
Chris
What an outstanding job! You should be very proud of that restoration. Thanks for sharing the process with us!
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Chris,
That has to be the nicest restored 2332 I have ever seen! Great job!
Very nice work. Says a lot about your skills and a few things about Lionel quality when a 50 year old GG1 still runs around and now is looking great doing it!
jaabat wrote: What an outstanding job! You should be very proud of that restoration. Thanks for sharing the process with us!Jim
I was told that stripping and repainting engines pretty much made them worthless. Is this true?If not then I am going to really be ticked that I didn't pick-up the fully operational GG-1 I saw a few years ago for $150.00. It ran great, the pantos open and shut without problem, the lights worked, lenses in tact. The only problem was the shell was very worn, no decals and there were some spots were the paint had worn off. I had thought of buying it, sand blasting the shell, priming it, then repainting it and appling new decals. I was told doing so would make it worth nothing...That leads me to my next question... would it be totally insane to pick up a GG1 that needs work, repaint it in a B&O scheme and then get some passenger cars to pull behind it? I know Penn Central and PRR were the only ones to really run GG1s, but I love that engine and would have loved to see it in B&O colors.
I was told that stripping and repainting engines pretty much made them worthless. Is this true?That leads me to my next question... would it be totally insane to pick up a GG1 that needs work, repaint it in a B&O scheme and then get some passenger cars to pull behind it? I know Penn Central and PRR were the only ones to really run GG1s, but I love that engine and would have loved to see it in B&O colors.
The GG1's had a Conrail and Amtrack paint scheme too. Take a look at: http://spikesys.com/GG1/paint.html Since we are the ones who put the value on our engines who cares? If you are going to sell the unit or pass it on to heirs then I guess you would look at a restoration in one way; if you are going to run the unit and want it looking better for that then you'd look at it another way. I love this engine too as do many. A B&O GG1 would be pretty exciting and I think except for rail fans few people looking at your layout would notice it as a fraud. And I like frauds; sometime the real thing is not enough or is too much. Ha.
lionroar88 wrote: I was told that stripping and repainting engines pretty much made them worthless. Is this true?If not then I am going to really be ticked that I didn't pick-up the fully operational GG-1 I saw a few years ago for $150.00. It ran great, the pantos open and shut without problem, the lights worked, lenses in tact. The only problem was the shell was very worn, no decals and there were some spots were the paint had worn off. I had thought of buying it, sand blasting the shell, priming it, then repainting it and appling new decals. I was told doing so would make it worth nothing...
I was told that stripping and repainting engines pretty much made them worthless. Is this true?If not then I am going to really be ticked that I didn't pick-up the fully operational GG-1 I saw a few years ago for $150.00. It ran great, the pantos open and shut without problem, the lights worked, lenses in tact. The only problem was the shell was very worn, no decals and there were some spots were the paint had worn off. I had thought of buying it, sand blasting the shell, priming it, then repainting it and appling new decals. I was told doing so would make it worth nothing...
For a GG-1, $150 IS nothing. A nicely restored model would bring in more than $150; a fantasy one--well done, mind you--probably would, too.
With most things, value is in the eye of the beholder. A good restored train probably wouldn't be worth as much to a purist collector, but some of us don't mind well restored trains. I have a couple of restored pre-war locos that I bought online. I'm very happy with them. I collect for the fun of the trains, not their value.
The GG-1 is about my favorite train. I have a GG-1 that I am currently 'building' from parts. I have an unpainted shell that I have considered painting in the B&O colors as well - I think it would great. I sayh Go for it, and save as many as you can!!!
I have to say your restoration is really great. I've been concerned about the stripes if I go with original scheme on the paint. You'll have to tell me where you got the decals, and how you got them to look so good.
Regards,
Jakeoregnao (aka Dwayne)
It's funny how the train hobby and car hobby are so similar. If you own the train, make it your own. I painted my RoadRunner Convertible a different color than factory and you should have heard the howls!!!!
In both hobbies, this is true....if it make you happy, go for it. You only have to please yourself!!
NICE WORK, by the way....GG1's just rock the house. If you do go B&O, DO post pictures. It's probably going to look AWSOME in that B&O BLUE!!
I am the monster in your head...And I thought you'd learn by now, It seems you haven't yet.I am the venom in your skin --- Breaking Benjamin
Jon:
The paint was Scalecoat 1, S61, "N. Pacific Dark Green". It worked very well through the airbrush. It was the closest paint I could find to the original color. Brunswick Green is almost black--not what Lionel used.
Jakeoregano:
The decals are Microscale 48-179, O-gauge, "Pennsy 5 Stripe GG-1 Gold Leaf Letters & Stripes". I set up a thin ribbon of masking tape across the engine as a guide to keep things straight. The decals were very thin but settled down quite well. There was some breakage though with the stripes, but repairs worked well. Over the vents, the decals had trouble settling in the grooves despite a lot of Microsol, and a few broke when the clear coat was applied. But again repair was easy. Be advised that there is not enough "3's" in the sheet, necessitating creating "3's" out of "8's"!! Since decaling is my favorite task in modeling, I didn't mind the extra work. Good luck!
Thanks for the kudos, guys! I really enjoyed doing it.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
marxalot wrote: I was told that stripping and repainting engines pretty much made them worthless. Is this true?That leads me to my next question... would it be totally insane to pick up a GG1 that needs work, repaint it in a B&O scheme and then get some passenger cars to pull behind it? I know Penn Central and PRR were the only ones to really run GG1s, but I love that engine and would have loved to see it in B&O colors.The GG1's had a Conrail and Amtrack paint scheme too. Take a look at: http://spikesys.com/GG1/paint.html Since we are the ones who put the value on our engines who cares? If you are going to sell the unit or pass it on to heirs then I guess you would look at a restoration in one way; if you are going to run the unit and want it looking better for that then you'd look at it another way. I love this engine too as do many. A B&O GG1 would be pretty exciting and I think except for rail fans few people looking at your layout would notice it as a fraud. And I like frauds; sometime the real thing is not enough or is too much. Ha.Jim
Thanks for the site link! That gave me a template to work from... here is what I came up with for a B&O GG-1:And here is what I came up with for a C&O GG-1:Since these would be pulling passenger cars that are painted to match the engines, I wouldn't start painting the engines till I have the cars (to get the lines to match correctly). I like them both, but that C&O really ROCKS!
And here is what I came up with for a C&O GG-1:Since these would be pulling passenger cars that are painted to match the engines, I wouldn't start painting the engines till I have the cars (to get the lines to match correctly). I like them both, but that C&O really ROCKS!
I'm wondering if it would look more impressive if you spread the B & O name across the unit more instead of just between the ladders as you have it now? Just a comment. I did not do well in ANY of my art classes! I like that C&O too.
marxalot wrote: And here is what I came up with for a C&O GG-1:Since these would be pulling passenger cars that are painted to match the engines, I wouldn't start painting the engines till I have the cars (to get the lines to match correctly). I like them both, but that C&O really ROCKS!I'm wondering if it would look more impressive if you spread the B & O name across the unit more instead of just between the ladders as you have it now? Just a comment. I did not do well in ANY of my art classes! I like that C&O too.Jim
Thanks for the infor on this. When I'm ready to paint my shell, I'll take photos and show progress.
Regards.
Great engine! You did a very nice yob with it.
And for the value, only an unworn piece with boxes complete will fetch a high price. Any heavy used train without decals or boxes and worn paint is not a collectors item. I even would think that a nicely redone engine like this would even fetch more than in the state it was in before.
But i'm not a collector, so my guess is a good as anyone elses
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