Have you ever taken an old, worn-out, or broken model train and restored it to running condition?
What was the model, and what kind of shape was it in when you got it?
What repairs, upgrades, or repainting did you have to do?
How did it feel to see it running on your layout again?
I’ve done that a couple of times. My favorite was an old HO scale GP9 I found at a swap meet for a few bucks. It was filthy, the paint was chipped, and one of the handrails was missing. The motor wouldn’t even turn over.
I stripped it down, cleaned the gears, replaced the motor brushes, and rewired it. While I was at it, I touched up the paint and added some light weathering to make it look like it had seen years of service.
The first time I saw it crawl smoothly around the layout, I couldn’t stop grinning. There’s just something special about bringing a “lost cause” back to life.
