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This is a current project I am working on. For some history this is one of the earliest O gage cars. Seven inches in length it was manufactured from 1918ish to 1924. The dawn of O gage trains for Lionel.
It;s a little rough. A bonus in a lot I bought from Vermont. I am hoping to cure it from being an eyesore.
The first was to dissemble it. It was very simple. A screw on the roof and for each truck and two tabs holding in the inserts.
Then it is paint strip time. All I need is Easy Off oven cleaner and a freezer bag to hold it. Wait the wipe it off. Stubborn paint requires a second round.
The trucks had some paint on them. After cleaning up, I applied some gun blue to darken them up.
Not bad for something that has been around for 100 years.
With paint drying I got a chance to clean the wheels.
The inserts were painted a rattle can cranberry.
This is an idea for color. The original was a green shell with maroon inserts. A dark looking car, I plan on going with a lighter color shell. Maybe for contrast paint the roof cranberry to match the inserts.
Last push got it done. The shell had some bubbles and later a few scratches.
The roof is small but that is how the frame was assembled. I checked the the later 1933 version. Lionel went with and Ivory insert, red roof and grey shell.
Time to let the paint harden. Now I need a baggage car the 602.
I am keeping the original door, It is brown with black spec to imitate a wood pattern. It came only with one side and I had to manufacture a replacement.
A lot of this is just a repeat of the 601. The stripping went easy. It went two rounds and 6 hours later the parts were done.
Today I primed and started in on the finish coat. The roof finished but the shell will get more attention. With a thin coat on already it may run if any more is added so I am planning on keeping the surfaces flat up and work my way around the shell.
The wheels were wire brushed and then spun on the drill. More to do there and the trucks were given two coats of blue.
