Today is going great so far, came into work and a large box is sitting in my office. Opened it up, and was greeted by a picture of a little boy playing with a train next to a logo "Ives toys make happy boys".
To rewind a little, earlier this month I was visiting my family in the Midwest and while I was there spent some time with my grandfather (just turned 91). Every time I'm out to his place, I try to sneak down to the basement to take a peek at his old train he got as an 8 year old boy displayed on a shelf bolted up to his cinder block basement walls, complete with some Christmas lights draped over the whole setup. That mental picture has been in my head, unchanged for almost 25 years now. I never really knew what it was, other than it looked pretty old, and very very neat. I never dared to touch or play with it, it just looked too old and fragile. That was about to change though. This time while I was out there, he took me aside one day and said "we need to have a little talk, you know my train right, do you want it?" I was really taken by surprise, I barely got a YES! out and proceeded to thank him profusely.
I had to leave a little earlier than the rest of my family, so my parents helped me out by boxing it up and shipping it out to me on the West coast. Five long days later, here it is sitting on my desk on three pieces of it's track, hard to imagine it's really here.
All week I've been researching as much as I can on Ives and all the models they made in their short run. One website has been invaluable, http://www.ivestrains.org. I've made contact with "Dave" from the site via email and we have been going back and forth a little while I waited for the set to show up. I just sent him a breakdown of what I see here so hopefully he can give me an ID. From the PDF files on his site I think I've got it narrowed down, I'm excited to hear what he has to say.
I'll post up pics of the unboxing and inventory when I can get them off the camera, the short version for now is it appears to be a complete 1924 3235 set with original track, in the original box, including transformer. Today is going to be a long day at work...
Congratulations on receiving a piece of your family's history. I can't wait to see the pictures.
Paul
UPS was a little rough
Love the slogan
Some dust on the top from being displayed
The Ives 3235 Locomotive
171 Buffet Car
173 Observation Car
Track assebled
Transformer, tested it out per the directions with a volt meter
Track couplers
Somethings not right here...
So I put it all together, check the voltage with the meter, and nothing. I dug into the locotmotive a little and seems there are some parts missing!
DDog,
Not a major setback, still one fantastic story. Now you have the responsiblity to get it running again for the NEXT generation!
What a major find, Congradulations !!!
Don
The paint and lettering all look dirty, but otherwise in really great shape. I can't imagine having a hard time finding a new armature or a re-built one from a parts guy.Other than that, box and all you've got a heck of a set!
Jon
Easily cleaned, greased, and lubed. It is beautiful. I love old tinplate. Wonderful find. Enjoy!!
Be very careful when you go about cleaning up that train. Very often, those old tinplate trains have very delicate finishes. If the train was mine, I'd avoid water. Louis Hertz recommended using light oil on a soft cloth. He also recommended trying to clean a hidden spot first. Be gentle, and keep using a clean spot on the cloth. It is your train, and it's not for me to tell you what to do with it, but if it was mine, there is no way I would even consider a restoreation. I would not want to remove the character imparted by my granfather.
dezertdog - First off ---> .
Looks like that bay window area is perfect for your treasure. Just a word of caution, if that area gets direct sunlight, get window shades.
Otherwise, great story. 2 paws up!
Finding an antique train like that is a great find. Finding an antique train that belonged to a family member is priceless.
My father-in-law had a train from his childhood up until recently when he disposed of it. He died shortly there-after. I never saw the train and my father-in-law was unaware of my interest in trains when he sold or gave away the train. I would love to have that train today. Knowing my father-in-law, I know that the train would have been in immaculate condition because all of his possessions were pristine.
Earl
Thanks for all the kind words guys. I've been pleasantly surprised how great this community is in helping me to find info on the set and get it repaired etc. I've even been sent some wiring diagrams on the locomotive which is great.
The official ID is that it's a 1924 3235 690 set. I've been watching eBay trying to find a 3235 that I feel comfortable buying and using for parts. I imagine that I could find some new parts and make it work, but I think it would be nice to give the soul of an old beat up 3235 another chance. There have been a few 3235 auctions that have gone by that were in too good condition to consider; waiting for one to come up for sale that isn't a crime to salvage. :)
dbaker48, rthomps - What a great responsibility it is! My grandfather gave the set to me I think because he knows I'll get it up and running again. I haven't had a moment to call him up and ask about he missing parts, but in talking with my father, he wasn't surprised that they got "re-purposed", after all in those post war times nothing went unused.
cwburfle - I agree! My intent is to clean it up as carefully as I can in this condition, and enjoy it from there. One of these nights soon I'm going to set about getting the locomotive and cars cleaned up. I've got some good advice from you guys as well as from my contact at ivestrains.org. I'll take some light oil and see how it works on a patch inside one of the cars. The paint is really actually in pretty fair condition considering it's 85 years old. Other than dust on the tops from being displayed so long in the open, I think it will turn out well. I've been told that this isn't a very valuable set compared to some others as it was the lower end of their offering (not that it's for sale anyway), and that most of it's value will come from cleaning up the paint job in a way that does not alter or destory it.
fifedog - Thank for the tip, I was just using the bay window for some good light as I dug into the set and got it put together. It's secure in the box in the store room till it's time to work on it again.
So as of right now I'm in a holding pattern till I sit down and do some cleaning and find the right donor 3235 or parts to try an attempt at 3235 open heart surgery. Since I now have the wiring diagram I should be able to make some progress I hope in at least getting more comfortable with what I'm working with. I imagine the cleaning will come first some time this week, I'll post up some pictures of my progress then.
Check with Joe and see if he can help out.
http://www.tinplatetimes.com/profiles/Joe%20Mania/mania.htm
Roger
dezertdog,
What a great family heirloom. Your grandfather is lucky to have someone to pass it on to who will enjoy it. So many get sold off at 'estate sales'.
I hope one of my grandkids will be as thrilled with my Lionels in 20 or 30 years. Until then, I'm going to enjoy them.
wyomingscout
I've been in contact with some Ives gurus and it seems I'm missing at least the armature (which is a difficult one to find for this engine) and also some motor brushes and brush springs. The consensus seems to be the same as I was thinking, find a 3235 that I can live with parting out and go from there. I've got my eyes peeled on eBay etc waiting for the right one to come along.
Last night I pulled the engine and cars out and started to clean them up. A little test with 3-IN-ONE oil and a clean cloth seems to work really well. It brought the green back from an almost pastel closer to the "medium" green it originally was. I'm red/green color blind unfortunately, but in the sunlight I can see it pretty well. :) All the black trim paint, engine frame and trucks are now a nice gloss black again too. I need to spend some more on the nooks in the motor and cars, but it's looking good! I'll see if I can snap some pics in the sunlight before it gets dark tonight.
Well, looks like I found a potential donor locomotive, picked up another 3235 from eBay just now for a fair price.
Had some good light today to take pics of the set after the cleanup. There is still more to clean, in between the cow catcher, inside the cars etc, but a good start I think.
dezertdog Well, looks like I found a potential donor locomotive, picked up another 3235 from eBay just now for a fair price.
It has arrived! Have myself a new (new to me at least) 3235R sitting on the desk here. One coupler got a little bent up during shipment, but all else seems to be OK. I hope the "R" version won't be an issue since mine has a manual reverse. I'll be sure to take pics of the surgery and post up, and with some luck some video of the first run!
Ok, surgery pics as promised!
The donor 3235R from eBay
Exploring the insides of the 3235R to see what I'm missing. This thing has definitely had some work, so I didn't feel too bad about using it's parts.
Missing parts identified!
My 3235 as I received it
The next part had me a little confused. What I was seeing, and the wiring diagram didn't seem to match up. I've got in touch with Albert from http://www.themotordoctor.com and he was able via email to walk me through the wiring and assembly. Thanks Albert!
Cleaned up and assembled:
At this point after some testing with the transformer the wheels moved for the first time, it's ready to roll!
Got the track all set up, put the train on and coupled it all together, and nothing! Seems to be a trend. :) I got the multi meter out and found a short to the center rail and traced it back to a piece of track with a broken AC hookup. Fixed it up, started over, and off it went!
Here is about 4 minutes of the first run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzwQWoxp-1w
Can't wait for Christmas now, I see a tree in this trains future. :) The only loose end to tie up now is to find a replacement light, and maybe some more track!
Very cool, Thank you for posting these pics and sharing your venture with us.
If your locomotive has the typical prewar threaded miniature socket, this lamp should work and is easy to find:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103783
Bob Nelson
Great, thanks Bob. I never thought of Radio Shack, but that makes sense!
I wonder if there is a source for some with copper bases like the original?
lionelsoniIf your locomotive has the typical prewar threaded miniature socket, this lamp should work and is easy to find: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103783
Haha, woops! I got a set of bulbs, but didn't notice that someone put the 4v lights on the 14v stud. For about 1/10 second I had the brightest 3235 in history...then nothing. Have to head back to the store today and try again. :)
dezertdogHere is about 4 minutes of the first run:
I really like the music on your video. Who is it? I'd like to get some
Thanks
Terry Thomann Fredericksburg, Virginia That is me on the left. My brother got the train TCA 09-64381
Here ya go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGD78mWcss
Civil WardezertdogHere is about 4 minutes of the first run: I really like the music on your video. Who is it? I'd like to get someThanks
I ordered her CD from Amazon. I never heard of her before. She recorded this in the 1960s. Great music.
Thanks.
Haha, that's great. Funny what these threads turn up sometimes.
Civil War I ordered her CD from Amazon. I never heard of her before. She recorded this in the 1960s. Great music.Thanks.
Yea. Thanks. Great singer. I never heard of her untill I saw your video. I was in High School when she was recording. Brings back memories. Love your Ives train set too.
fantastic story, thanks for sharing. Ives made some beautiful tinplate. Be sure to send the video of the train running to Gramps!
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
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