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 Posted - October 28 2015 : 11:42:01 PM
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I finally got the Christmas locomotive finished. It was a Aristocraft Thomas Rogers
2-6-0 that I received earlier this year in a batch of restore/parts locos. It was in
pretty rough shape, water damaged and all of the stickers/decals were either
damaged or missing.
Before photos:
The body and drivers.
The parts were soaked in Super Clean for 24 hours and then brushed with a medium stiff
tooth brush to get most of the paint and crud off. Then I used a fine wire brush on my
Dremel to finish it up.
Brass fittings.
The brass fittings were soaked in Tarn-X for about 2 hours and then I used the wire
brush to shine them up.
The motor.
The motor was soaked for 24 hours in Super Clean, rinsed off, soaked in rubbing
alcohol for 8 hours(to remove the water from the rinse) and then I used compressed
air to remove any leftover alcohol. The last soak was in lighter fluid to remove any
grease or oil left over and then sun dried for 4 hours. The armature and brushes
had to be replaced with parts from another motor as they were beyond repair.
I used a tender that I had that was chipped bad and the decal was almost
completely gone.
I bought the decals from Microscale and had to use both the HO and N scale to
complete the build. The brass wire on the handrail was replaced.
I used floquil paint. ATSF Green and Red, Reefer White, Engine Black and
Bright Gold. It was given a coating of Micro Satin to protect the paint, brass
and decals.
Note: I had to replace the magnet in the motor as it sucked and was drawing
over 3/4 of an amp. I used 6 smaller Neo magnets(for now, have to get some
larger ones) and the current draw dropped to below 1/2 amp. It turned out to
be a nice running loco. Next project; complete the rolling stock for the train.
After photos:
The engine is named the "Mary E" after my mother who loved Christmas and passed away
Arpil 2014.
Overall, this build took from 50-60 hours of work and, to me, well worth it.
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 12:08:15 AM
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Great Job, George! Very nice work.... 
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 01:41:25 AM
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That thing looks wonderful. It looks like something you'd find at a model railroad shop for a Christmas tree. I like it. 
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 7:01:33 PM
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I sees Santa train names as North Pole & Southern RR 
looking good tho 
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 7:29:39 PM
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Very good work George. Very Christmas'e . Nothin lika a Red and Green Christmas loco to run under the tree, or cruse the layout.
frank
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 10:36:12 PM
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Thanks guys. I've waited a long time to get this project done. I've finally
got all of the passenger cars and am going to strip and repaint them this
weekend. Gonna have the whole construct, providing lady luck doesn't
decide to dump on me.
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 10:51:51 PM
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| I'm impressed. That engine was fortunate to end up in your hands, that's a lot of work that had to be done. Very nice.
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Posted - October 29 2015 : 11:43:17 PM
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| Man, that is one rehab job. Nice paint work and lettering scheme. And cool you got the locomotive running. I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the whole train.
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Posted - October 30 2015 : 1:13:29 PM
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Cool! Looks really nice, and has that perfect christmas vibe
-Peter
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Posted - November 01 2015 : 09:23:14 AM
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I like the rebuild. You did a fantastic job on it. Something to be proud of.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - November 23 2015 : 8:54:49 PM
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Well, the elves have worked their little a**es off and the Baggage car is
finished.
This is the basic body I started with. It's a Roundhouse 50' Baggage
Car. I stripped off the lettering but left the paint on as it provided a
really nice base coat.
Next I painted the body with a nice green and did the trim with a reefer white.
Next came the gold windows.
Then came the decals. Went with a laid back setup to keep it from looking like a
"toy" train.
Finally, assembly.
One down and only four more to do. Have the Combine, Sleeper, Box Car and
flat car left to finish.
P.S. I tried to paint the truck sides, but the plastic Roundhouse used to make them
just WILL NOT hold paint worth a darn.
Edited by - oldtimer52 on November 24 2015 12:47:20 PM
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Posted - November 24 2015 : 07:40:32 AM
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Well George, I put off a response till I could put all you are doing together in the scrambled mind of mine. When looking over all the things you have done and the way you've done them. You have made a Bright and Pleasant to see Christmas Locomotive. The best touch you have applied is the snow flakes on the front of the cylinders. You can't be Christmas'e without them.
* A really great piece to what will be a wonderful Christmas train. The Passenger Baggage car is also looking good.
* Looking for a flat with a Christmas seen on it, or A gondola full of Presents and a bobber caboose with big giant wreaths on it sides and the like.
Thank you Old Timer George !
Frank
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on November 24 2015 08:03:23 AM
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Posted - November 24 2015 : 12:43:49 PM
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Thank you all so very much. What is still on the list is a combine,
sleeper, box car, flat/gondola(with trees) and thinking about a
tanker/caboose with eggnog in it. Just hoping to have enough
time to finish it all.
The photos don't show it very well, but the driver centers also
have snowflakes on them.
Edited by - oldtimer52 on November 24 2015 12:45:24 PM
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Posted - November 24 2015 : 1:15:18 PM
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fun would be to do the opposite
South Pole & Northern Railroad
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Posted - November 24 2015 : 2:54:44 PM
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| Fantastic restoration!
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Posted - November 24 2015 : 4:30:34 PM
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| That baggage car turned out real fine George. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole train . . . running of course in a video . . . while it's snowing . . . enroute from the North Pole . . . somewhere in the Yukon. Ooops. Got a little carried away with myself there. But I am definitely looking forward to seeing it all put together and I agree with Frank . . . those snowflakes are a perfect fit for the cylinder cover.
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Posted - November 25 2015 : 11:25:34 PM
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Well boys and girls, the elves got real busy (with the help of espresso with double sugar
mixed in with the hot chocolate) and finished three more cars.
The combine.
Boxcar.
And the Gondola.
Now, if I can figure out how to get them off of the walls and ceiling, they can get
the sleeper finished.
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Posted - November 26 2015 : 07:30:22 AM
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quote:Well boys and girls, the elves got real busy (with the help of espresso with double sugar
mixed in with the hot chocolate) and finished three more cars.
And the Gondola.
Originally posted by oldtimer52Â -Â November 25 2015Â :Â 11:25:34 PM
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* Are these loads original ?
* From the man himself ?
"Santa Claus".
**** WOW !
* Hey Buss ! Do you think there's one for you and one for me there.
**** WOW !
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on November 26 2015 07:40:22 AM
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Posted - November 27 2015 : 01:53:26 AM
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| Nice array of designs on those cars George. For some reason, I'm drawn to that wooden box car.
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Posted - December 06 2015 : 10:21:34 AM
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Thank you. The boxcar was made using the following:
Paint:
Floquil CN Green for the roof
Rustoleum Flat Black for the roof walk.
Rustoleum flat White for the body.
Floquil Engine Black for grab irons, etc.
Decals: Microscale
90243 Ornate Railroad Letters & Numbers, Gold with Black shadow (Roadname and boxcar number)
87-1120 Snowmen Scenes (Christmas tree)
87-1118 Greetings of the Season (Seasons Greetings)
87-1119 Candy canes, Snowflakes and Holly (obvious)
Model:
Roundhouse Old-time boxcar, undecorated.
Edited by - oldtimer52 on December 06 2015 10:23:39 AM
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Posted - December 11 2015 : 12:38:50 AM
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That Christmas train has turned out very nicely. Do you have any plans to add a stock car and flat car to it?
Feedback-hungry attention w****
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Posted - December 11 2015 : 09:48:45 AM
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I have added a sleeper/coach and one other gondola so far. I may be adding a
flatcar, tank car and a caboose (providing I can find the right ones) to the construct.
Christmas tree gondola.
Sleeper/coach.
I'm looking at a couple of cabooses that I have around, am trying to find a
decent flatcar(truss rod type) and am looking at a couple of designs for the
tank car. I also plan to put a video on here once I find a place to host it.
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Posted - December 11 2015 : 1:17:28 PM
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| The gondola and coach look pretty sharp; came out well.
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Posted - December 22 2015 : 8:05:34 PM
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Got the last car finished. It's a later production Manuta bobber caboose.
Hope to have a video ready in a day or two.
Edited by - oldtimer52 on December 22 2015 8:06:23 PM
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Posted - December 23 2015 : 10:14:44 PM
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| Looking forward to that video George.
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Posted - December 24 2015 : 02:09:24 AM
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Ok. I think I got it uploaded. It's at:
Merry Christmas all.
George
Edited by - oldtimer52 on December 24 2015 02:11:22 AM
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Posted - December 24 2015 : 07:20:10 AM
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For anyone who is interested, here is a part/supply breakdown of the project.
Christmas Train Parts List
Decals: Microscale
"N" Scale
60-1119 Candy cane, Snowflakes and Holly (2 @ 7.50ea)
"HO" Scale
87-1118 Greetings of the Season (1 @ 7.50ea)
87-1119 Candy cane, Snowflakes and Holly (1 @ 7.50ea)
87-1120 Snowmen Scenes (1 @ 7.50 ea)
90243 Ornate Railroad Letters and Numbers, Gold with Black Shadow
((2 @ 7.50 ea)
Cars:
Mantua Old Time Gondolas (2 @ 10.00 ea)
Roundhouse Old Time Boxcar, undecorated (1 @ 10.00 ea)
Roundhouse Old Time 50' Baggage Car (1 @ 20.00 ea)
Roundhouse Old Time 50' Combine Car (1 @ 20.00 ea)
Roundhouse Old Time 50' Sleeper/Coach Car (1 @ 20.00 ea)
Paint:
Rustoleum Flat Spray Paint, White 3.65, Wal-Mart
Rustoleum Flat Spray Paint, Black 3.65, Wal-Mart
Floquil, ATSF Red 5.50, eBay
Floquil, CN Green #12 5.50, eBay
Floquil, Bright Gold 4.50, eBay
Floquil, Engine Black 5.50, eBay
Locomotive:
Aristocraft/New One "Thomas Rodgers" 2-6-0, purchased
in lot of "parts" deal, eBay, 4.00
Time invested approximately 100 hours.
Total cost: $159.90
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Posted - December 24 2015 : 10:46:19 AM
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Boy, that's a fine train you have got there! The video is awesome, it looks great moving under it's own power again. Amazing what some real time and effort can accomplish in this hobby. Wish I had that sort of time and energy to apply to my own projects. Maybe in the new year, when things settle down again, I may get my own projects back under steam again. Too many things this year - selling a 2nd home, marital issues, work-load from 3 jobs. Hard to find the time and energy of late to do anything on my own projects.  Will hope to make progress in 2016, your efforts are definitely appreciated by other would-be modelers like myself!
Jerry in VA, work overload...
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - December 24 2015 : 10:41:44 PM
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Sorry to hear that things aren't doing so well by you. Thank you for the
kind words and I hope that you do get to do some of your projects. I
retired earlier this year and am trying to keep my fiance from kicking
my butt, so I keep pluggin' away.
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