# Lionel 259E Resto



## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

It looks like it's my turn to take a swing at breathing life back into a classic. I found this at an antique mall a few months ago. I'd noticed it in a box of stuff still in their office, and they weren't too willing to sell it without doing their eBay due diligence. Then, I showed them that it wasn't working so they let it go for a very reasonable price.

Overall, the shell is in great shape. No dents or dings, and the paint is still pretty solid. I was considering a repaint, but I think I'm just going to polish up the copper and give it a good cleaning.

Of course I'll also rebuild the motor and eunit. As you'll see in the photos below, the wiring is completely shot. All of it dry rotted and is flaking apart. I'm pretty sure that might be hindering it's operation a bit. 

I'll post more photos as I get through the rebuild and wiring. I can't want to have it running - I did get the matching tinder with it, and it will be a great twin with my gray 259.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Starting to pull it apart . . .


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

I gave everything a good scrubbing with soap and water. Nothing quite beats a good bath to see what you're working with. I did pull off the easiest of the trim, and will polish it all separately.

It's been a while since I've had a train in the dish drainer.


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## Dave Farquhar (Feb 20, 2013)

That's going to clean up very nicely. And it's pretty clear what the major problem with the motor was.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Come on that wiring had a good 1 or 2 seconds left on it. You could hardly tell what the problem was! It actually looks to be in real nice shape. Get it running.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Erk, that shell is in great shape for its age. It'll look beautiful with all that copper trim. Great find. Keep us posted!


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## servoguy (Jul 10, 2010)

What I have done with old wiring is leave the old wire and break off the old insulation. Then use shrink tubing to insulate the old wire. This is particularly useful for the wire going to the pickup rollers as it may not be possible to solder a new wire to the pickup rollers.


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## servoguy (Jul 10, 2010)

You only have to unsolder one end of the wire to get the shrink tubing on the wire.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That looks good, I think I agree with not painting it, I suspect it'll clean up really nice!


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to replace part of the wiring, but the pickup wire is getting the heat shrink treatment. I can't wait for my parts to come in from Jeff - the rear truck assembly was missing, and I'm going to refresh the eunit while I'm at it. Not to mention replacing the brushes.


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

its always nice to see people bringing back the classics. this is one i brought back a while ago.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

That's gorgeous. Great job!


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

I continued the cleanup today. The drive assembly is all cleaned, and the axles, etc. lubed with some light Labelle oil. 



















Then, came the armature cleaning. I used my good friend Goo Gone and a Scotchbrite pad to polish it up. There was decades of junk, and a world of fibers wrapped up on it.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

With the core bits cleaned up, I started the reassembly and rewiring. Each plate, nut, and bolt is getting some love with Goo Gone to get rid of the dirt and grime. Also, each moving point is getting a bit of oil.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Here's the rewiring in progress. Using Servoguy's tip I wrapped the lead from the track rollers in heat shrink rather than pulling the whole thing apart to replace it. 



















And here's a closeup of the detail of the front rewiring. I replaced the lamp base with a new one I had left over from an earlier parts order. I tried to take a shot through my magnifying lens so you can see the detail . . . 










With all of this done - it passed a power test! So, this is now a working drive train. Next up, e-unit restoration, polishing copper, cleaning up rust, and reassembly.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

I figured why stop for the day? So, I pulled the eunit apart. Here are the messy bits:














































And all cleaned up - again with Goo Gone and Scotchbrite:


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Check out all of those pretty, not at all dry rotted wires:


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Of course I'm now having a problem with the eunit. It's sticking with each actuation. I have to tap it to drop the pawl back down. This is the first time I've run into this problem - any suggestions?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Make sure the plunger is clean with no oil of any kind. I typically use a spray contact cleaner that leaves no residue to flush out the plunger.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks for the tip. I'll give that a try. I should have tried that earlier.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Ditto ... ScotchBrite the plunger, along with the "tube" that it rides in. FYI, I've put a tiny drop of motor oil in my plungers, and have had no troubles with that route. I know other say no-no on this, but it works OK for me, and I've rebuilt quite a few e-units.

Excellent ongoing work, Erk ... we're having a wave a 259 restoration here lately, and this project certainly adds to the fun!

TJ


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks! The Scotchbrite and contact cleaner on the plunger did the trick. I polished it, and then polished the tube it rides in. Although the plunger itself was pretty clean, there was a lot of gunk in the tube. 

Now, the drivetrain is all wired up and running. I ran a bunch of test passes - video to come once the video finishes uploading. Here's a photo:


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Here's the test run video. This little motor gets right along:


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

looks good cant wait to see the finished product


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

tjcruiser said:


> Excellent ongoing work, Erk ... we're having a wave a 259 restoration here lately, and this project certainly adds to the fun!
> 
> TJ


We going to flood the market with all of the "New " 259s, I'll be able to pick one up cheap!
Its looking better every day, glad you got it running!


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

It's great to see these old engines coming back to life. My grandfather is pretty excited about it - considering he's older than the engine he likes knowing they're still going. 

Now, if I could just talk him into letting me bring his AF set back to my place for a tune up. He and his brother bought it back in the 50s, splitting the cost between them. I don't think it's seen the light of day in 25 years when I last had it out and running. I know the track should be replaced. I can still remember him breaking out the steel wool to give it a scrubbing . . . on multiple occasions.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

They're very speedy without the heavy boiler shell on them.  Looking great, it's amazing what you ended up with after starting with that crusty old motor.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks. Yup, it moves right around without the shell and trucks. Now, I'm trying to get all of the copper polished so it's bright and shiny again. Once it's done I'll clean up the tender so the set is as shiny as possible.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Erk, are ya' gonna clear coat the copper trim?


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

I might. I'm going to do a test piece and see what I think. I know the clear coat is a great way to keep the polish, but it can kind of remove some depth as well. In my scrap box I have some scrap copper from an old amplifier project that I'm going to polish up and coat to see how it turns out.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Well, the engine is all back together and humming around the track. I ordered new rear trucks from Jeff at The Train Tender since the originals were missing. Those plus a new bulb in the front have this moving right along.

The copper polish was a challenge. I ended up doing a lot of sanding with a 3200 grit pad to work off the corrosion and a good deal of the pitting. Then, I used some metal polish to bring a shine to the bits.

The shell still shows rush, but I decided to not strip off the paint and redo the whole thing. Now, it looks like an engine that's been on the rails for a few years.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Here are the siblings. I've been running the gunmetal gray 259E on my Christmas layout. Now, it can take a break while the black one goes to work.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

. . . and here's a sneak peak of what's next. I picked this up from Flyernut. It does run, but not smoothly. Also the shell is cracked. Watch for the upcoming thread . . .


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Here's video of the 259E on a break-in run. Controlling the train speed with one hand while holding the camera with the other is a bit of a pain.


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Nicely done!


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Great job, another one comes back from the abyss!


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Thanks! I think I'm going to have to add a dedicated pre-war loop to my layout.


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## sneaker3d (Jan 12, 2012)

Hi erkenbrand

I read your restoration 259E look great and I love see your layout movie real neat!! I am done restoration 259E and will post more for two more cars done restoration. Also I try put movie too.


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## erkenbrand (Dec 6, 2010)

Hi sneaker3d - that would be great! I'd love to see your 259E and cars.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Nice looking 259 pair, Erk. The black one has a new lease on life!


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## njrailer93 (Nov 28, 2011)

Great job keep them coming


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