Recently, I had the good fortune of purchasing a Lionel 736 Berkshire with a 2671 12 wheeled tender. I got the set for a great price, but it did have a few issues. All of which were made very clear by the seller.
When I received the loco and tender, it ran poorly. It sparked severely and needed 18 volts just to move around the layout at a crawl. The tender was missing one rear step and the front was chipped. So I began to overhaul the set. I cleaned and lubed the motor and chassis, and added new pickup rollers to the locomotive. It now runs smooth and strong on 10 volts.
The tender was repaired with the generous help of CTT forum member Deputy. He sent me 2 original post war Lionel tender shells free of charge. I cut the rear step off of one and grafted it on to my damaged shell. The fit was so tight, that no filler was needed. I also re-wired the tender while I had it opened up. It screams!
Below are some before and after photos of this project for you to look over. All of the "Before" photos were taken by Michael Tanquary, the seller of the 736. I had a lot of fun with this!
Before: Loco's paint was chipped in many locations. The roof of the cab had a large area of missing paint. Note that there appears to be 2 old touchups (over front drive wheels) that I suspect were done at the factory or very early on it the 736's life.
After: Almost all of the chips have been repainted. I left the earlier touch ups as is.
The tender also needed work! Before:
After: New step grafted on.
As you can see, I didn't try to make the set look like new with a total repaint. I'm of the opinion that only a real basket case set should have that type of work done to it. I merely set out to make the set look more presentable by judiciously repainting most, but not all of its blemishes. All painting was done with a brush. It now looks and runs great. I hope you've enjoyed the photos of its transformation.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Great job! I love to see an old war horse brought back to life. She looks ready to run another 60 years.
Hello Jim! Very nice job on your Berk!
I've run into one issue with my 1946 726 that could use your obvious expertise (or that of anyone else here, for that matter). To properly lubricate the Berk you have to remove the plate on the bottom of the engine. That plate is held in place with screws and washers, the latter of which are ... PORCELAIN.
Well, on mine, a couple of those washers are cracked and the guys at the train shop say that no one makes replacements and they have to be fabricated (apparently they just fall to pieces when you remove the plate). I am assuming the problem did in fact rear its ugly head, as they've had the engine for a couple of weeks now when usually they fix stuff at lightspeed.
Now, these guys are incredilbly knowledgeable, but on the off chance is anyone aware of a manufactured substitute for these porcelain washers? Thanks a lot for any help OR advice.
What about using nylon washers as a replacement.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the hobby for me is restoring old clunkers from the parts bins back to life. Recently got a Williams GG-1 in parts that the seller could not get running, so he tore it apart into pieces. Put it back together, and all it needed was an insulating washer under the collector, runs like a champ now. Also got a box of 3 Noma stations and parts. I was able to get one excellent station and parts of 3 mechanisms. When I get some records,drive belts & turntable I'll have a complete excellent one and one very good station out of it .
The 1946 version of the 726 is different than subsequent versions, so I am not familiar with those washers. I'm sure someone must make some. Also, check eBay for some.
Don
1688torpedo wrote:Frank53 may be drooling over his computer causing it to short out!
It is a beautiful piece, and I am not holding it against Jim for stealing it out from under me. The fact that he has zero chance of ever getting his hands on the Santa Fe's I offered to sell him has nothing to do with him stealing this out from under me.
Really.
Totally unrelated.
Glad to see the old trains brought back to life.
The beauty of post war trains - no matter how much abuse they have taken, they can always be brought back to their previous glory.
Frank53 wrote: 1688torpedo wrote:Frank53 may be drooling over his computer causing it to short out!It is a beautiful piece, and I am not holding it against Jim for stealing it out from under me. The fact that he has zero chance of ever getting his hands on the Santa Fe's I offered to sell him has nothing to do with him stealing this out from under me.Really.Totally unrelated.
Totally unrelated. The truth is, Frank, I didn't know at the time (Mike told me after the fact) that I scored this train away from you. But knowing so now does make it all the sweeter! And as Jackie Gleason used to say - "How sweeeeeeet it is"!
Zero chance? Really?
Well i was just kidding until I got wind of this:
I didn't know at the time (Mike told me after the fact) that I scored this train away from you. But knowing so now does make it all the sweeter! And as Jackie Gleason used to say - "How sweeeeeeet it is"!
less than zero . . .
oh, by the way . . . thought you might like a photo of the set that has less than a snowballs chance in hell of ever running on your layout:
That's cold, baby!
actually, I have decided to sell those and I found a buyer immediately.
Baggie bought them.
Say, what did he pay for them, Frank?
jaabat wrote:What a sweetheart!
This from a guy who paints his trains pink.
I'd better reply to this one or he will not do my Berk.
Great job Jimbo!!!! [just being nice so I can get mine done]
BTW: Jim's new name is DR. TINKLE [not Tinker].
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
ChiefEagles wrote:I'd better reply to this one or he will not do my Berk. Great job Jimbo!!!! [just being nice so I can get mine done]BTW: Jim's new name is DR. TINKLE [not Tinker].
My boys should go by that name. They hit everything but the toilet!!! I guess the apples don't fall far from the tree...
jaabat,
That is one of the best restored pieces I've seen.
Thanks, Jim.
Don, I'd be happy to help with your 646 if and when...
Chief, send that 736 of yours up. I should have it back to you in 3 or 4 years and looking great.
Frank, just sell me the darned trains!
nice job on the restore...it looks wonderful..
question...is that a lionel specific paint used to do cover ups?
reason i ask is i have a 2025 which had a rough life and is chiped quite a few spots and i wanted to patch it up...or attept to...
It's a custom blend, Zeke. I could tell the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you. I will tell you that it's an exact match and even up close, you can not tell where the old paint ends and the new paint begins!
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