Michael,
What a fantastic find. I'd love to work on it myself. Assuming there are no plastic parts on it, and I see nothing that looks like it, a carburetor cleaner like Gumout would make quick work of the gunk build up, and free up the reverse valves underneath the cylinders. Relubrication will be necessary afterwards, of course. Remove the DC motor from the tender if you need to spray that as well, because it would be damaged by solvent. New valve levers can be easily fabricated from metal rod.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
8500HPGASTURBINE wrote:I am a UP nut, as you can tell from me screen name. By the way it's a UP class 9000, not a Challenger. I would love to see more pics of it along with a scale so I can get a idea of it's size. If you ever decide to get rid of it PLEASE let me know.
I happen to be reading Loco Profile No. 16 on the UP 4-12-2's, by Profile Publications Limited U.K., published in September 1971. A very interesting read, excellent photos and technical details about the 88 UP's 4-12-2's and the teritory they ran in, covering the years from 1926 to 1956.
Isambard
Grizzly Northern history, Tales from the Grizzly and news on line at isambard5935.blogspot.com