My father has the above engine and tender from his childhood. Over the years they have deteriorated and need some restoration. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction…preferably in the Aurora/Chicago, IL area or the Madison, WI area.
Thank you for your help.
What is its # on the cab/anywhere?Then I could help more.
Locomotive restoration is my specialty, Lionel steam in particular, but I live way over in Erie, PA. Sorry. Good Luck, those are both good locomotives. Mike
Hey, but I live over in good ol’ Fond du Lac, WI
The only dealer I’ve used in the Chicago area for repair of a postwar-style locomotive is Mike Moore at Trains and Cars of Yesterday (7923 W. Golf Rd., Morton Grove - (847) 470-9500). Mike is a long-time Lionel dealer and really knows his stuff. Alternately, check your local Yellow Pages to see if there is a Authorized Lionel Service Center closer to you.
Consider restoring the locomotive yourself. One important resource is Greenbergs Repair Manual for Postwar Trains (1945-1969) available from this website or Amazon. Another is Jim Barrett in the Backshop DVD #9, available here
http://www.ogaugerr.com/products/videos/index.html
This DVD includes an extensive segment on restoring a PW steamer. It’s a 2056, but your 2025 motor/e-unit is very similar.
The cost of these two references should be considerably less than the cost of a professional restoration. For many of us, there’s nothing like the satisfaction of seeing a 50+ year old toy running around the Christmas tree and knowing we were able to make it work ourselves.[:)]
BTW, did you mean a 2466 tender? That’s what the 2025 would have come with (or the 6466).
Repairing those steamers is not a difficult job. They have a sturdy engine inside a boxframe and apart from the brushes and some oil they don’t need much more. You could put some new brushes in the motor, the same in the whistle motor and drop some oil on the axle bearings and gears. The smoke unit, if it has one, should be tested first, probably still works burning the residu of the tablets inserted long ago. those machines are build to last forever.
If you’re looking for a complete restauration, I would ask around for prices first and ask what they are planning to do with it. Having a few options open with the prices attached gives you a could view of what to choose.