Rebuilding Old Brass - what are your favorite resources?

[CbrandonB]

Hi all,

I have been given a fairly large collection of older brass (mostly 60s and 70s West Side and Sunset brass, all of it Great Northern) by my father in law. I would really love to rebuild these locos drive train, replace open motors, add LEDs, add DCC, etc. Really make them run well and then I'd also like to paint the locos that are raw at the moment.

What are your favorite resources of information on doing this? I've seen a video for painting them and maybe an ebook on general upkeep and upgrading, but nothing that has stuck out to me as worth purchasing. Well, the video for painting them actually looked pretty good, but I haven't seen but one ebook on rebuilding them and it was... less than professional, we'll say.

I'd also like to say that I am looking to invest in the tools and time to do this on my own purely for the reward of learning how and also to do so on locomotives that have a lot of sentimental value to myself and my father in law.

Any direction you guys can provide would be much appreciated!

Brandon

 

[Y3a]

North West Short Line. gear boxes, re-powering motors and many other goodies.
Precision Scale - Brass detail parts
Cal-scale - Brass detail parts

You will need very good dexterity to do some of the work.
Good steady hands, great eyes or magnifiers, and many tools also help.
Build up a supply of 00-80 and 00-90 brass nuts bolts washers etc. Hob-Bits is a good source.
Do you plan to do soldering of the brass bodies, frames etc?

 

[Espeefan]

First of all you'll need to approach this on a case by case basis as there were multiple runs of various models through the years. Westside had good gearboxes so you should not need to replace any of those unless you have broken parts. Sunset models also had mostly good gearboxes, and decent can motors. Motors may be open frame or can type. Open frame motors will need to be replaced if you are adding DCC. Good on line resources are here:

http://schutzer.net/

http://www.shastasprings.com/

http://brassbackshop.com/Brass_Links.html

The brass collectors list on Yahoo is also pretty good

I'm assuming from the importers these are going to be mostly steam locomotives, though diesels won't be much different. (except for the gear boxes, some real stinkers in those!)

The same basic tools apply as with most model railroading activities. Brass specialists also have a good jewelers drill press (around $180-200.00), and resistance soldering gear ($400-550.00). You can get away with a good quality soldering iron. A variable temp type is best (less than $100.00, some around $50.00). A good airbrush if you are going to paint ($75.00-150.00 depending on brand preference). Some guys have a blasting booth or cabinet, and while the cabinet is not very expensive the compressor with enough oomph to run a blaster can get expensive ($600.00-1000.00 for the pair, depending on the compressor you end up with). I just stripped everything in lacquer thinner for quite a few years before I got the blasting booth. Get yourself some plastic parts boxes to keep things organized. NWSL also makes nice metric taps in the small sizes you'll need. If my tool prices scare you don't worry, I've given upper range prices on most things. I don't buy cheap tools. I believe they are a false economy

Sorry Y3a, but NO 00-80 or 00-90 hardware! Westside and Sunset all have metric hardware. You can get that from NWSL. Your models should each have a small bag of spare screws and such which will get your hardware collection started. Go to the model airplane department and get some silicone fuel tubing. it's great for replacing the rotted neoprene tubing you'll probably find in most of the models unless your dad ran them regularly. If they spent their lives in the closet in their boxes, a good cleaning and lubing will be necessary right off the bat.

There are several other brass aficionados on this forum who I'm sure will chime in, and the guys in the forums and webpages I've listed are also very helpful. Start out with one of the smaller locomotives. If you have an 0-6-0 or a 2-8-0, start there. Less parts to keep track of!

Do plenty of reading and research before diving in. Your frustration down the road will be less intense. (the voice of experience)

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm not hard to find.

 

[dinwitty]

give the engines a test run first, some cleaning and oiling/lubing and see how the first run first. I bought an Akane DM&IR 2-8-8-4, it was found stuck away in a hobby store, and the model was virtually brand new, just aged you might say. The engine runs very well with its open frame motor. If one of your engines has an open frame motor and performs poorly, its more about the magnet strength of the motor. Proto87 has replacement magnets for open frame motors. Greenway Brass has brass parts and sells brass also. Northwest Shortline is a very good resource for motors/gears, and hob knob stuff. Your engines may really not need regearing, but if you do have to get into that, be ready to handle driver quartering, NWSL does have a Quarterer and wheel pullers etc to do all you need to do. For LED's, I've gone to NGage who have super tiny super bright LED's, but beware THEY ARE TINY!!! all this data is google searchable or Walthers poking. There are other LED sources out there I tend to research an individual loco project and see whats the best fit first, if I can use a larger LED first before going for the challenge dealing with the supertiny LED's. When wiring up the suprtiny LED's get yourself some liquid electrical tape or some insulating liquid sealer for the wiring to keep them from touching metal/brass headlight material. Do it right tho, it works and works great. Rule of thumb, take your time, its all about the fun of the hobby.

 

[Charles Smiley]

Maybe some photos of your new treasures so we can drool a little. We might have some members that also have the same locos and they can give you a few specific pointers and some inspiration at the same time.

 

[Espeefan]

Good thought Charles. I've done quite a few GN steam models for a favored customer. Painting that Glacier green scheme can be a pain, though it sure is pretty when it's done! I also own many Westside and Sunset models.

 

[Railrunner130]

I've only rescued one brass locomotive. Based on that and other projects, I'd say there's some good advice here.

What was previously mentioned about dexterity is right on. Things get buried and aren't easy to get at! Apply the good, old KISS principal. Keep it simple. Give them each a good cleaning and inspection on the inside. Follow that up with an oil and lube job. While you're at it, evaluate each for possible upgrades. Some probably are just fine the way they are. Some are probably constructed in a way that will not allow certain upgrades, such as a working headlight. Anyhow, give each a run on the test track and see how they perform.

Also, some of the unpainted locomotives may benefit from NOT being painted. They were intended to be run and displayed bare brass to highlight their workmanship.

 

[CbrandonB]

Thanks for all of the replies, guys. For my brass, I am hoping to add DCC to them and I'd love to add operational details to them, too, as I get the itch for it (marker lights, headlights, etc). My original thought was why not rebuild any of these that need new motors or new gearing while I'm at it and try to learn a bit about these wonderful models? I have put all of my locos into a database (Easy Model Railroad Inventory) to help keep up with them (I think I'm at around 75 locos or so, ranging in age from around 60 years old to 2 or 3 years old and everything in between). Here are some pics:

This isn't all of them, there are still a few more I haven't brought home yet, but this includes most of them. I may start with the 4-6-0 or one of the 0-8-0s, depending. I'm going to do some more research and see what I can find out. I also need to test run these guys and see how well they run (including trying to get a current draw reading on them).

I cannot thank you guys enough for your tips! If I do anything of these, I will document the experience (for better or worse... haha!) and share it on the forum.

Thanks, again.

Brandon

 

[Espeefan]

Nice collection. make sure anything in foam is wrapped in plastic. Foam from the 70's destabilizes over time and can ruin paint jobs, stick to the brass, and generally make a mess. Ask me how I know...

PS: I'd suggest the 0-6-0 for a starting point!

 

[CbrandonB]

Thanks for the tips, Alan! I think I may get that 0-6-0 out tonight and see how it runs.

Brandon