Another old, very old loco repaint and repair.

[Raymo]

Sorry but Someone had to say it.

[sdrees]

The very old locomotive looks great Tom.  After reading your posts, I guess it should be buyer beware when purchasing an old locomotive from Ebay or some other unseen merchandise source on the internet.

[jbvb]

Sometimes old used brass is worn out or damaged, sometimes it just wasn't 'ready to run' straight from the factory.  There were a lot of good articles on fixing and improving brass in 1970s MRs, which can often be had for the carrying away.

I've done some brass repair and I'm not afraid of it, but I don't have Tom's experience.  It's interesting looking at the suite of tools & techniques he uses.  I haven't used a torch on brass, I'm more comfortable with resistance soldering.  And the acetone soak to get rid of paint & epoxy is a good idea - not that acetone is super safe, but I know exactly what it is, which can't be said for many commercial strippers.

[ACL1504]

Sorry but Someone had to say it.

Dan,

Yep, I agree. But I still have the hot rivets handy in case you feel the need. Sizzle sizzle!

Tom

[ACL1504]

The very old locomotive looks great Tom.  After reading your posts, I guess it should be buyer beware when purchasing an old locomotive from Ebay or some other unseen merchandise source on the internet.

Steve,

Very kind support for the old brass repaint, thank you. I agree with you on the Ebay and other sites. Buyer beware for sure.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Sometimes old used brass is worn out or damaged, sometimes it just wasn't 'ready to run' straight from the factory.  There were a lot of good articles on fixing and improving brass in 1970s MRs, which can often be had for the carrying away.

I've done some brass repair and I'm not afraid of it, but I don't have Tom's experience.  It's interesting looking at the suite of tools & techniques he uses.  I haven't used a torch on brass, I'm more comfortable with resistance soldering.  And the acetone soak to get rid of paint & epoxy is a good idea - not that acetone is super safe, but I know exactly what it is, which can't be said for many commercial strippers.

James,




Ah, the 70's and lots of brass articles in the mags. That was when brass was King. I would have used the resistance soldering on this one but I couldn't get it working so I used the torch, in a good way. Although this one could easily be scrapped.

Thanks for the very kind words on my work and for stopping by.

Tom

[S&S RR]

Tom


I'm reading through your brass locomotive threads with great interest. I keep thinking about all those brass locomotives on Howard Zane's layout. He must have a team working on those things.

[ACL1504]

Tom


I'm reading through your brass locomotive threads with great interest. I keep thinking about all those brass locomotives on Howard Zane's layout. He must have a team working on those things.

John,

Thanks for checking in. At our last visit to Howard's, I counted 116 brass locos on the layout. He does have two guys that do all the DCC and repairs for him. He once told me that when the layout was small, he did his own painting.

He does all the scenery and structures. He has others help with track and electronics.

Must be nice.

Tom