Shortage of lionel postwar prewar repair shops?

[Barryf]

Had a question and thought I would ask the experts.... Is there becoming a shortage of Lionel post war and or pre war repair stations because a lot of the "old time" people are not with us any more, or are their plenty of younger ones coming up to fill the spots?
Thanks
Barry

[sir james I]

I live in an area where there are plenty of toy train nuts so repairs are not an issue here. However, elsewhere hobby shops are closing and repairs will need to be sent miles away from home. One bright side, the younger modelers are learning to repair the newer electronic stuff, thats a good sign for the future.

[Barryf]

Well thanks for your input. You say the younger ones are learning the newer electronics, which as you say is good, but I am just talking about the pre war and post war strock. Another question is as you say, the older shops are closing and not doing repairs anymore but is there also a falling market for repairing the older stock?
Thanks
Barry

[Firelock76]

I don't believe there is.  Typically every train show I go to has some parts dealers, pre and post-war, some shows more than others, so the interest is still there in keeping the old-timers alive.

Many repairs are actually pretty easy to do, motor cleaning, brush replacement, smoke unit rehabs and the like. 

If you're interested in trying it yourself pick up a copy of "Greenbergs Lionel Repair Guide," Kalmbach sells it, and for a quick and dirty tutorial TM Books and Video puts out a Lionel repair DVD which is excellent.

[teledoc]

The trend of Lionel repair shops has gotten away from the older Prewar & Postwar repairs.  The supplies for a bulk of Prewar trains is getting very thin, as are certain Postwar parts.  The repair shops that do work on repairs, are now into the newest line of remotely controlled, electronic sounds, etc..  The people that did repair work on old prewar stuff have reached the age that there is no profit and many have closed their shops, and have retired.  It basically comes down to the point of doing your own repairs or restorations.

[rtraincollector]

A lot of times if you can find a model railroad club in your area that deals with O gauge ( probably other gauges also) there is at least a handful of ones there that can and will do repairs or will asist you into doing the repairs. I do a lot of my repairs myself as I enjoy doing it I send out some items because I don't have the presses and dies for some items that need it but a lot of things I do myself and still learning. ( I feel we are always learning) The repair guide above is very helpful 

[Barryf]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to all who have contributed your thoughts.  As was said in a previous post "The repair shops that do work on repairs, are now into the newest line of remotely controlled, electronic sounds, etc..  The people that did repair work on old prewar stuff have reached the age that there is no profit and many have closed their shops, and have retired."  That's what I am getting at....  Is there now getting to be a shortage of shops and people who do that?  (repair the pre war and post war stock)  The modern stock is another topic.  They would of course do the repairs for the ones who do not want to tackle it themselves.  I understand the spot would not be a "quick get rich scheme" but do a service for those in need.  Bottom line.... is there still a market for repairing the pre war and post war stock because the older folk are increasingly not doing it any more and the new guys are concentrating more on the modern stock?

Thanks

Barry

[cwburfle]

Are you asking because you are thinking of starting a repair business, or because you are thinking about getting into older trains and are worried about getting repairs done?

[sir james I]

I think your question has been answered. Unless your saying one thing but mean something else.

Of course old repairmen fade away but there are still many people around to repair your trains. As I stated up top you just might have to ship them out for repair. If your thinking of starting a repair business go for it but have a good parts supplier on board.

[Barryf]

Thanks again for all who commented. Yes, I am checking into the viability of having a repair service for those who do not want to tackle the job themselves. But, as with any venture, you need to do due dilligence and see if there is a need for what you are considering before jumping in. That's why I was questioning about the need. Is there really a need or is the market flooded with such ventures already. For succes you need to provide good service at a reasonable price but not have a market with little need or with a great deal of other ventures doing the same thing. Thanks again to all who have shared your thoughts.
Barry

[Firelock76]

Remember the magic phrase, "Location, location location!"  An O gauge repair business could certainly be viable, but it depends on where you are and the level of interest where you are.  If you're up in the Northeast there's no shortage of them although they're not as thick on the ground as they used to be, other parts of the country no so much.

I think it could be a good part-time business, I don't know about full time.  This is something you've really got to do the homework on.

[alank]

In our area we lost 2 very good repair shops; one to retirement the other to medical.   Both were also very good parts suppliers.   I have also encounter fewer parts dealers at trains shows, but that doesn't mean they aren't put there.

[Barryf]

"Location, location location!"  Yes, that is one part of the equation that needs to be researched and considered.  This is something that is going to require a lot of "checking out" first.  This isn't going to happen overnight.  Thanks again for all who participated in the discussion

Barry

[rtraincollector]

If you have a free type newspaper you might put a add in it repairing prewar and post war lionels and see if you get any bites and let it go from there. My first question thou do you have the press and the dies to do that type work and wheel pullers. if not check this out from Jeff at train tender this is tools he sell http://www.ttender.com/partslist.html 

[alank]

Barryf,

     Not sure exactly what you are trying to do, but as an old district manager of mine told me "you have to walk before you run".   I believe there is a need out there for both postwar and prewar repair, and there will probably always will be, but the question is on what scale.   First I think you have to be good, and have a good parts source.   The friend I recently mentioned stopping to see in another thread, his brother did prewar train repairs/restoration for years, by mail.   He had a good following, and unfortunately today is no longer with us.  The new stuff is a whole different game.

When I was growing up and as a teenager had trains, in our community there was no such thing as a Train Store, but rather what we called a train store, was a business that had other lines of business too, and one of the things they sold was trains.  My friends father I think lived his hobby thru customers who came in for train items, but he had a much bigger business and trains were only part of it.

So if you think you want to give your hand a try, go for it.   What you want to specialize in, make sure you have the parts and ability, and have something else to hold you over till you get on your feet. 

[Barryf]

Thanks again for all you kind folks who contributed to this topic.  I am not expecting great things for this at the beginning.  This will take time to get going.  Understood.  Thanks to rtraincollector for the link.  I came accross this web site a little time ago.  He does have a nice selection of tools and a nice supply of pre war parts.  What tools I need for fill in I will have to get "further down the track".  One of the things helping success is doing something you really like doing and having a natural abillity to do it.  I think I have those two things in this situation.  God has gifted me with a natural ability to "fix things".  It comes naturally for me without much effort.  I think we have covered the subject now on this topic and once again thanks to all you nice people.

Barry

[rtraincollector]

Barry like you I would like to do that but my hold back is the cost of all the tools to do it right and knowing my luck my first job would be a bent driver axle lol. Or where I had to seperate the motor frame to do some repair. 

[Barryf]

The key to doing it right is to be prepared and equiped before you jump in.  And you could have a notation that you do not accept any locomotives that have been thrown across the room...... (G)  I figure this would take months to be ready.

[cwburfle]

Barry like you I would like to do that but my hold back is the cost of all the tools to do it right and knowing my luck my first job would be a bent driver axle lol. Or where I had to seperate the motor frame to do some repair.

Certainly you would need a basic set of tools to get started.

The original Lionel service station rivet press outfit and the wheel cups are limited in what they can do and are only the beginning. (Same goes for today's third party sets that are based on the Lionel one) Many service stations modified their Lionel tools by grinding to suit special needs. Outfits like Hobby Horse, Train Tender, and Hennings have developed numerous other press tools and wheel cup sets. I collect various machined pieces of metal to use as anvils and spacers to supplement the tooling.

You can do what many of us have done, and buy tools as you need them.
And there is no saying that you have to take every job. If you can't do a job, tell the customer.

[JTrains]

cwburfle

And there is no saying that you have to take every job. If you can't do a job, tell the customer.

I think that there is a lot of wisdom in this as a way to "dip your toes" into the business.  There are probably a few repairs that you've done a lot of and feel very comfortable with.  Perhaps you could advertise or go to some train shows saying you specialize in those repairs, and see what the response is.  That will help you gauge the market in your spare time with low risk as well as see if this is something you really want to pursue longer-term.

When the boy gets older, maybe as a father/son thing I've toyed with going to shows and being the "MPC coupler repair guy" since I've done a lot of those repairs myself. Maybe do a "while you wait" service at the shows. I wouldn't feel comfortable with doing a lot of repairs on other people's equipment, so I would't try.