Although I’ve had a few brass engines in my time, the only one I currently own is a Westside Southern Pacific GS-8 (imported in 1973 and built by KTM). I’ve owned the thing for over 30 years. The last time I ran it was probably over 10 years ago. Today I finally decided to see if the thing would run as I was thinking about selling it. Well, I applied power and the thing screeched like a 747 in dire need of a brake job. I haven’t had a brass loco apart for more than a decade, but it’s usually pretty easy to separate the boiler of a brass steamer from the chassis, especially the ones built by Katsumi, KTM, Fuji, etc. I figured all the thing needed was some lubrication, so I lubricated the motor bearings, the gearbox and the axles and put ‘er back together. What a difference!!! No more howling. I’ll admit the old open frame motor was a tad noisy at speed, but a can motor can take care of that. What impressed me, however, is how smooth the mechanism is, even with an old motor and after over 10 years in storage. I managed to throttle the loco down to where the drivers we turning at only about 6 RPM and that’s on a cheap power pack. 6 RPM is roughly equivalent to 1.25 scale miles per hour from an engine that hasn’t been run in over 10 years and has never been fully broken in . Not only that, but there was no evidence of any mechanism binding. The results were the same forward and reverse. Any thought I had of selling the engine has gone out the window. KTM made some really good solid locos back when I was still wet behind the ears.
About 15 years ago, I bought an MDC 0-6-0 that someone had detailed as an SP S-8. The loco is all metal and probably over 40 years old. Even when I bought it, it needed a thorough cleaning and a paint job. I finally got around to seeing what needs doing and it looks like I’m going to have a lot of fun with this one, too. I can’t believe how dirty the mechanism is, yet it still ran nicely before I dismantled it. There’s crud everywhere. It’s going to take a while just to get th
I have a Lionel Berkshire that my grandpa bought for my dad in 1958, Number 736. It works great and still smokes. I got a couple cars and accesories, some work while some don’t. 1 that doesn’t is the milkman car, I think I’ll see if The Hobby Shop can fix it.
Great to hear about restoration of old brass, there must be hundreds of locos in need of restoration that are sitting on shelves or stuck away in boxes under benches, not counting the beautiful old brass that is rotting away in disintegrating foam and collapsing cardboard boxes for the last 30 years from so-called “collectors”. Can we expect in the near future a flood of these brass beauties dumped on the market ? hopefully this will give a new generation of modellers the thrill of restoring as andrechapelon has discovered. Maybe this will instill some of you out there to dig out that old steamer (or diesel) and make it roar again Great posting!!!
It doesn’t have to be brass. There are a lot of old Mantua, Penn Line (now Bowser), Bowser, Model Die Casting and Varney engines out there that could use a good home and an overhaul (and maybe some added details).
All the 4-8-4 needed was a good lubrication and some run time. The MDC 0-6-0 needs a thorough cleaning and a re-paint. But that’s what’s going to be fun. Essentially, the 0-6-0 will be reduced to kit form and then re-assembled. The previous owner detailed it quite nicely, but I think I’ll remove the cast headlight and replace it with a Precision Scale one and add brake detail. When I’m done, I’ll post some pictures.
Guys,The golden oldies was made to last…At the club we have one member that has 10 Hobbytown of Boston RS3…The catch? All of them at 45 years old still running and all still have their brass wheels.We have Varney steam locomotives,we have old brass steam locomotives by United,Tenshodo,Sunset,Balboa,Key and so on…Most are 30-40 years old or more.
I second the motion that one should build a locomotive kit…This will give the modeler the skills he/she needs to trouble shoot and repair locomotives of all brands.
