# My Father's trains, now mine. (Miss ya Dad.)



## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

My father passed early this winter. My siblings decided that his Lionel trains should go to me and my boys. I will spare you the ugly 25 year story of remarriage and step-relatives. Anyway, after several months since Dad's passing, the boxes have finally completed the 1200 mile trek to my house where they will be safe from eBay and (gasp) Yard Sales.

I will post pics as I unpack and no doubt be asking many "what's this?" type questions.

I have some pieces that used to belong to my wife's grandfather that i resurrected to running condition, so I'm not a complete noob about cleaning and oiling, but I will definitely be picking the brains of the senior gurus here.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

I'm sorry for your loss but glad you were able to rescue his trains. When my dad past we lost all of his trains, including a custom detailed and painted Geep I did for him for Christmas years ago.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Condolences on your loss. What a nice tribute, though, to carry along your father's interest to your own children ... a lasting legacy!

Do post pics, questions ... our gang here will most certainly step in with help where we can.

Have you compiled an inventory list, yet?

Prewar? Postwar? Modern?

Regards,

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Condolences on your loss, and I echo the other comments, it's nice that you'll have this for you an your boys to remember him by.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

RedManBlueState said:


> I have some pieces that used to belong to my wife's grandfather that i resurrected to running condition, so I'm not a complete noob about cleaning and oiling, but I will definitely be picking the brains of the senior gurus here.


Some of our young guns are very knowledgeable here also, you can pick their brains too.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Sorry for you loss, glad to here that you saved the trains for your children. Welcome to the site, as you will find there are some great people here.


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

So sorry for your loss. I hope to pass all mine to my grandson. I think my son would agree to this.


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## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

Very sorry to hear of your loss. It's really nice you now have a family heirloom to continue the passdown.


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## prr2818 (Apr 26, 2013)

Very sorry for your loss, I will passing mine down to my daughter's child when she has one! 

Dennis
PRR2818
Piscataway, NJ


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## rrbill (Mar 11, 2012)

You have my condolences concerning your father's passing. Glad to hear that you wound up with his trains and that they can become part of your family heritage. We hope that your offspring treasure them as you do, and look forward to your sharing them with us via photographs.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

big ed said:


> Some of our young guns are very knowledgeable here also, you can pick their brains too.


Very True Big Ed. In this case, "senior" refers to knowledge and skill, not something you measure with a calendar.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

RedManBlueState said:


> Very True Big Ed. In this case, "senior" refers to knowledge and skill, not something you measure with a calendar.


I just wanted you to know that some of our 15 - 19 year old members are very knowledgeable also. :thumbsup:

Pick away.


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## john65002 (Dec 30, 2012)

Very sorry about the loss. In Jan. My father lost his father. I lost my grandfather. In my fathers eyes, were many tears that day. I have never seen my father cry but two times. I dont know what you feel, nor do I want to. However it gets better. Rather then becoming a memory, they become a legacy.

Sent from HTC Desire


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## Dave Sams (Nov 24, 2010)

In a small way, I'm sharing in your loss too. It's been over 20 years since my father passed, but luckily, I have many fond memories. You have brought them back for a while.

Just yesterday, I was in the local train store buying some buildings. My wife wisely got me a gift certificate for my 60th birthday.

When I was very young, my father traveled from time to time. Rather than go to the bars at night, he went to toy stores. He would come home with a car, or crossing gate or something we didn't have. I was too young to remember, but he told the stories.

I have many many memories, as do my sons, and now their sons and daughters.

I often wonder what will become of the trains after I go to that big layout in the sky.........


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

I'm trying to do this methodically, rather than just tear in like a kid on Christmas morning, which is what I REALLY want to do.

Apologies for the crappiness of these photos. My camera is a POS for anything but outdoor sunlit shots. I had to tweak brightness and contrast manually.

I'll start with what wasn't in a box at all.....

A #97 Coal Elevator!!


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

Randomly picking one of the smallish boxes, I opened it up to find these...

A 1033, an RW, and a KW.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

Well now I'm excited! Three transformers and a coal elevator. What could possibly be next?

I open up box number 2....

Hmm.. Missing wheels, broken couplers, and missing shells. Cool stuff, but not what I'd hoped for.
Alco B Unit with missing wheels and truck sides. No sign of an A unit so far.
The shell from a matching caboose, I assume it was a set once.
3 motors for #41 or similar, but no shells in this box. Motors look complete, but missing trucks.
There are a 2 bumpers and 2 guys loose in the box for the gang cars.
Loco has stripped or missing gears, you can turn the wheels freely and motor doesn't turn.
There's most of a cleaning car too.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

Box #3 shows us more parts and incomplete pieces. But the quality is improving.
I'm starting to wonder where all the "good stuff" is.

The 2 box cars with boxes look really good and ready to roll!
The flat car looks worn, but complete.
The tanker looks OK, but I think the loose shell is in better shape.
The maroon boxcar is missing a coupler and has a bent axle.
The crane arm is broken where the lift mechanism attaches - I think I can fix it with JB-Weld and a small washer for strength. Look Geppetto, no strings!
The milk platform is bent.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Keep looking, I'm sure you'll hit the mother-lode soon.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

The cat woke me up early this morning (which usually p****s me off) which gave me chance to open up a couple more boxes before work...

Inside Box #4 we find a Gilbert American Flyer Talking Station!!

Motor and speaker are in there, but no turntable, record, or needle.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

*Started the inventory.*

6:00AM.. Should really be getting ready for work..
Grabbed one of the bigger boxes, particularly heavy, which gave me high hopes...


YES!! 

The Northern lost a coupler which was in the box.









The gondola does have its couplers, they're just turned inward.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

That stuff looks great, you have a lot of power in those transformers. The coal elevator is something I always wanted. There's a good chance you'll find some dump cars too! Lots of gang cars, you could run a side track with a few of those. You have a milk platform so I bet you're going to find a milk car also. The decision you have to make is leave the stuff rusty or clean it up. I had a milk stand like that it, after painting and wire brushing the platform it came out like new! Sometimes the stand it bent to accommodate the activation track. The loose tankers, I think, have a screw on the bottom to tighten it up. Parts, etc, are easy enough to find but sometimes not so cheap. I would start with what works( and the cool stuff!) and get to the other stuff later. Check out my (my latest lot of stuff thread). I just did that exact fix on the 6460. (it works great now!). Don't forget a good oil, clean and lube before running them! The pictures are just fine. Have fun reminiscing!


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Man, you were posting as I slowly typed. Now you're talking! A fm Trainmaster, santa feel Alco a, b units ( you'll not doubt find the c) , and a gg1? ( not sure as I don't own one). Plus rolling stock to boot. All look to be in great shape! Definitely give those a nice cleaning, oiling, etc. They are nice and worth a little bit of $$$. Hope they run well.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

sjm9911 said:


> Man, you were posting as I slowly typed. Now you're talking! A fm Trainmaster, santa feel Alco a, b units ( you'll not doubt find the c) , and a gg1? ( not sure as I don't own one). Plus rolling stock to boot. All look to be in great shape! Definitely give those a nice cleaning, oiling, etc. They are nice and worth a little bit of $$$. Hope they run well.


Maybe, but they're worth more to me than they could ever sell for.

Yes, the cars still in their own boxes all look fabulous. I had a #41 on an oval of o27 with a siding and a few cars. I mostly only got to watch when Dad's trains came out. Sometimes, I got to blow the horn. NEVER EVER unsupervised.

I've got 3 boxes to go. 2 baseball games and a school meeting tonight, probably won't see inside any box until Friday (sob, weep.)
I expect to find track, switches, and more freight cars. 
It's been 25 years since I've seen any of this stuff, I really don't remember everything he had.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

I didn't intend for you to sell them  Just a friendly reminder to be careful with those!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Red,

For a guy who hasn't touched trains in 25 years, you seem to be pretty knowledgable about what you have. That's good ... you're off to an informed start.

The GG1 is a treasure!

For this postwar stuff, two i.d. website that should help you out in the cataloging / variation department:

http://www.postwarlionel.com/

http://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionelident.htm

Both have detailed menus / submenus on the bottom.

Enjoy the dust/fun!

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That's looking like the mother-lode I was talking about!  Nice, enjoy them.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

tjcruiser said:


> Red,
> 
> For a guy who hasn't touched trains in 25 years, you seem to be pretty knowledgable about what you have. That's good ... you're off to an informed start.
> 
> ...



I didn't say I haven't touched trains in 25 years. I do have some stuff that came from my wife's grandfather. Sadly, he passed away waiting for a grandson with the family name to bequeath them to. His sons only had girls. His widow gave them to me a few years ago. They were stored in a basement crawlspace since 1962, at least that's the newspaper he wrapped them in.

But having my Dad's stuff now is making me 8 years old again!

I know the Tandem-Associates site, and I have a Greenberg repair book (get out the magnifying glass!)


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## callmeIshmael2 (May 28, 2012)

Time now to find somewhere in your home to let those babies stretch out. Lionel from that era is relatively easily maintained and repaired, and the guys from this site really know their stuff. Check out "Looking for information" (the second roster item when opening the O gauge forum), which is a totally wonderful thread posted by T-man that has scads of great website articles and info. about stuff from that era and others...post some pix as you pull it together!


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

Here I sit, four and a half years later. My treasures are STILL in storage, they're just in storage at my house now. My now GROWN children are STILL HERE and I still don't have a train room. Maybe someday.........


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## Guest (Jan 7, 2018)

I bet your Dad is delighted that the trains are now with you and your boys.


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## Volphin (Dec 7, 2015)

Time is the fire in which we burn. There is no deadline sir. Life is a broken road.


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

At least they’re at your house.


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## Matthew B (Oct 30, 2015)

A grown child returning to this household would likely not be very comfortable sleeping under a train display. A grown child that hasn't left the house would happily share it's bedroom with a train display. Or at least be smart enough not to complain about it. The choice between grown children at home or trains; Nah, not even they would be dumb enough to test me with that choice.fftopic1:
I may be joking, but maybe not as that is the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of grown children at home comes up.


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## callmeIshmael2 (May 28, 2012)

Hey RedManBlueState, nice to have you back on the site. I'm still here, too, a Metis model railroader. Have you considered a compact "round the room" wall railroad? You could make a removable bridge section and have a nice long run right around one of your rooms that wouldn't take up much space. Better yet if the door opens to the outside, but you could find some way of not allowing someone to barge in and destroy your bridge section. Doesn't take that much time or carpentry skill and would get some of those wonderful trains on the track and rollin'... Just 18 inches along the walls would give you plenty of room for smooth turns and some snazzy scenery, etc.


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## callmeIshmael2 (May 28, 2012)

To add to my last comments, lots of us are finding kids returning home and taking up space. That can be a good tradeoff for the consideration of bringing them back in the house. Maybe one of them is good with some aspect relating to trains, even designing? Don't give up on that child still in you, wanting to run those trains! It's important and not just a silly kids' fantasy; soul clockwork!


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## Panther (Oct 5, 2015)

Posting photos would help the delay a bit.

Dan


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## Red October (Sep 13, 2015)

I see references to stuff in photos, but don't see any photos.


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## RedManBlueState (Jan 9, 2013)

Red October said:


> I see references to stuff in photos, but don't see any photos.


My ISP stopped giving me free web space 2 years ago, and I haven't posted my pics somewhere else.


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## bluecomet400 (Sep 13, 2015)

Red Man,
Welcome back to the forum. I was in your shoes several years ago. My Dad passed in 2001, left his collection of Prewar Lionel trains to me, and for about 14 years, the trains were in storage. The trains are now out on the walls in our new train room, and layout construction is in progress. 

If at all possible, don't do what I did--don't wait any longer to get those trains out and enjoy them. We up here in New England have plenty of long winter days / nights for toy trains, so even if you can squeeze in a small temporary layout and some display shelves, go for it!

John


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