I recently inherited a Lionel 2025 that has been in storage for years (more like decades). I have not had an opportunity to take a close look at it other than to identify the model number.
I don’t know where to begin or how long this will take. Any thoughts or suggestions on where to begin would be greatly appreciated.
Mark
Welcome to the Forum, Mark
I am not an authority on restoration, but there are a lot of pretty intelligent
people on this Forum, that will help you. One thing, I will ask, is if you tried to run it??
Chuck
Hey Mark! On the 2025 some of the first things to do is check to make sure the drivers and other wheels turn ( Nothing rusted or seized up) then right off the bat you’ll do well to take the motor drive mechanisum out and clean the E unit and the motor armature and brushes, Check for broken wires and worn brushes.
The drum in the E unit will need polished and this can be done with a pencil ereaser,It’s better if you can take the drum out of the E unit by Carefully And I stress! Carefully prying on one side of the bottom of the unit where the drum turns,The fingers are fragile too so do be careful with them but if you do bend them they can be straghtend,They also will need cleaned with the ereaser on the part that touches the drum.
The armature plates can be cleaned with an ereaser also.
The best book you can buy for this job is the one that Kline sells that will show you a total breakdown of alot of postwar stuff including this engine plus wiring diagrams for your engine if you get in a bind there too.
Parts are readdely avaible for this engine so that shouldn’t be a problem either.
Clean your wheels and your pickup rollers between the drivers and you should be good for a long time!!!
Considering how tricky it is to get an E unit back together without damaging anything, even for the experienced, I would suggest trying it first. It might very well be just fine. Cleaning the armature is less risky; but I would try it out before going to the trouble of cleaning the commutator.
Thanks! I’ll have to take a closer look at the engine tonight. This book that you mention… who is the author and what is the name?
I will have more questions about the parts and how to identify them later. I look forward to this project and learning from anyone who can offer advice.
I did see a lot of parts on e-bay for reasonable prices and that is encouraging.
What recommendations are there for restoring the tracks so they don’t look so “old”?
Mark
Hello Mark ! If you need Parts for your 2025 Olsen’s Toy Train Parts has a wide variety of 2025 parts for your engine and they also have diagrams of parts that you can download on your computer for your convenience as well! Their phone # is 1-216-226-0444 or just type in their name on your computer. Let us know what happens. Good luck.
The 2025 is one of the harder engines to disassemble. Just about every visible screw needs to be removed to get the boiler off so make notes as you take it apart like the location of the crankshaft that actuates the smoke piston. As for restoring track I’ve used aluminum paint on the rails. Brush it on freely just avoiding the ties. After its dry wrap a board with a layer of cloth and drip some lacquer thinner on the rag to clean the rail tops. I wouldn’t use this track on a layout (though you could), rather I use it on the display shelves. From the side its looks new.
Pete
I am interested in having it look newer and being able to run. Will it run if it has the aluminum paint? And am I to assume that the thinner on the top is to keep better contact between the rails and the train?
Old track that has lost its tin plating on the railheads is hard to keep clean; and the rail joints are often have a troublesome amount of electrical resistance. So, before you try to restore the old track, consider simply replacing it with new. O27 tubular track isn’t expensive and will work as well as look better. You can now buy yard-long straight sections, to get rid of a lot of the rail joints:
http://www.k-linetrains.com/products/viewprd_new.cfm?prdID=1B176209-6C6C-11D4-ADA90060B0576B82&secID=B17A068D-6D44-11D4-ADA90060B0576B82
So the train will work with newer tracks??? What about the controls?
I’m assuming that what you have is O27 track, which Lionel got when they bought the Ives company back in 1930. The only difference in that track in the last 75 years has been rounding the edges of the ties so that they’re not so sharp. If the straight pieces measure just under 9 inches (not counting the track pins), that’s what you have.
There are several elaborate digital schemes now used for running trains. But the traditional transformer is still very much in use also. The modern transformers often have separate controls to blow the whistle (horn) and ring the bell, whereas the old locomotives had only the whistle. That’s about all that is different.
There are also several new kinds of track, mostly costing more and trying to look more realistic than the traditional tubular track. Your train will run on them. Which if any is best is often hotly debated here.
Mark; Sorry I was gone so long!,Domestic issues!
Here’s the book you want.
Complete Service Manual for Lionel trains By K-Line,
Or, Greenbergs’s
Repair and operating Manual for Lionel trains,Seventh Edition
I think You’ll find alot of good stuff for what ever you are working on, Either book will do,There the same info just two different sellers.
The Greenberg’s book was put out by Kalmbach,ISBN 0-89778-455-3
My K-Line book doesn’t have the ISBN # but I’m thinking they still sell it.
Hope this helps!
The Greenberg book can be found here:
http://store.yahoo.com/kalmbachcatalog/10-8160.html
The K-Line is here:
http://www.k-linetrains.com/products/viewprd_new.cfm?prdID=1B175F50-6C6C-11D4-ADA90060B0576B82&secID=B17A068D-6D44-11D4-ADA90060B0576B82