by Jim Kelly
I prefer to conserve tinplate with careful cleaning and repair rather than performing
full restorations and repaints if at all possible. This aspect of the hobby
is most rewarding for me. So when I won a Lionel 408E on EBAY that had serious
modifications made to it including a poor overpaint with an incorrect color,
my first task was to determine if the engine could be returned to its factory
configuration and finish short of complete restoration and repainting.
When I got the engine, the 408E was missing assorted trim, missing its pendulum e-unit, all the cast wheels had deteriorated, it was hard wired to run in one direction only, and worst of all it was spray painted blue, a color never used on this engine by Lionel.
The first thing I did was to carefully examine the engine. Disassembly revealed
that the original color was Mojave, the color of the inside of the cab.The question
then became: could the blue spray paint be removed without destroying the original
paint underneath, and what was the condition of the original finish underneath?
I began by removing all of the remaining trim which would be polished and lacquered
separately. Then I started using paint remover on a small area of the cab exterior
to test the difficulty in removing the overpaint. Luckily, the blue came off
quickly so that a careful timed application of the chemical stripper took off
the overcoat while leaving the Mojave underneath relatively unscathed. I worked
in a careful step by step fashion, area by area on the cab. When I was done,
the blue was gone and the Mojave underneath proved to be in very good condition.
There was some paint loss, but the original finish was intact and responded
nicely to polishing and buffing.
Mechanically I needed to clean and re-wheel the two motors, rehabilitate a pendulum
e-unit that I had in my parts box, fashion a complete replacement wiring harness,
and completely re-wire the 408E. I ordered replacement wheels and assorted replacement
trim from a parts vendor. Work proceeded slowly, week by week, with the usual
interruptions for the holidays and other activities. Finally one day I sent
the re-wired and re-wheeled frame around the layout with a perfectly working
original style e-unit. The end of the project was in sight.
I finished work on the wiring and lighting. I reassembled all of the trim to
the cab. The cab was reassembled to the frame. The reassembled engine was placed
on the track and power was applied. It felt great to see this 70 year old Lionel
408E back in tip top operating condition and as close to original in appearance
as it's been in decades, perhaps even since it was new.
When I got this engine it was close to being a basket case - poorly overpainted,
missing its e-unit, hard-wired to run in one direction only, missing trim, blown
wheels, etc. But now this little engine will be a treasure in some collection
years after I'm gone
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