I just got a Lionel GP7/9 from my brother with about 7 cars. He is not a model railroader but his heart is in the right place. He saw the stuff at a garage sale and bought it for me not knowing that I model in HO scale.
I opened the box and saw this O27 scale Lionel Milwaukee Road GP7/9. Looks like all it needs is a little cleaning and some oil and I bet it would run. This thing looks like it is from the sixties or very early seventies. It had the original “D” cell in it that was very old.
I am just wondering if it is worth anything, and if I did restore it and repaint it would I lower its value by doing so?
Definitely replace that battery ASAP, as a leaky battery can cause a lot of damage.
Cleaning the loco up won’t decrease the value (be gentle, as some of the old Lionel paint is fragile, particularly reds and yellows). Fixing the motor up and getting it running again will help the value. But stripping the original paint and repainting/decaling will most definitely affect the value. If it’s totally gone you have nothing to lose, but if it’s in nice shape, restoring will decrease the value. Since almost everything Lionel made in the postwar period has been reproduced by either Lionel or someone else, there isn’t a lot of demand for a restored vintage Lionel piece.
The loco is in nice shape, but the frame is a little rusted from the battery (I did remove it), and the black paint on the loco body is worn around the edges, and the “Milwaukee Road” hearalds on the sides of the cab are faded. So I just might repaint it and restore it and not worry about the value decreasing. At this point it probably will not hurt it either way.
If you’ve got rust and missing paint, it doesn’t have a lot of value to lose. Ultimately what’s most important is whether you’re happy with it.
As far as your other questions I see on th CTT side, it’s AC, and a range of 5-20V should be about right. Some Lionel transformers from that period maxxed out at 18V, others at 20. Even at 18V it’ll run like its hair is on fire.
I think if you take care of the rust and missing paint on the frame, you’ll have a very good-looking loco there. If it were mine I’d leave the shell alone.
If the discoloration on the rear truck is what I think it is, it will go away if you warm it with a hair dryer. The mold release Lionel used on some of its plastics discolors over the years. I don’t know if the hair dryer evaporates it or just makes it transparent but when it works it’s a very quick fix.
The most popular fix for frames like that is to bead blast and repaint. You could also use a chemical rust treatment on it, then strip the remaining paint and repaint.
All in all, I’d say you have a very nice find there.
I bought a new frame for it that has the updated handrails instead of the stainless wire that feeds through the cab. I will take it down to the local engine shop in town and the guy there will glass bead the new frame for me for next to nothing. I need the new frame bead blasted because it is painted blue.
The hair dryer trick didn’t work, I think it is corrosion on the truck. I plan on repainting the whole thing any way so I will clean it with a brass brush then prime and paint it.
