Care and feeding of brass locos

f2shooter Mar 29, 2015

  1. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    Evening all,

    I posted in another thread a few weeks ago about a recent aquisition, an unpainted brass steam locomotive. It's something I've always wanted and am very pleased with it. The one thing I've always wondered is how to properly care for it, specifically how to keep the brass shiny. This has never been run although that will change but I plan to keep it in brass and not paint it. Polishing comes to mind but I can see where one might go insane before completing that job. It almost seems as though I will either have to paint it or live with it being tarnished. What do other modelers do in this situation? I don't want to paint because there's just something about all that brass and detail. I also have a couple of old cast brass Bowsers and an unkown make brass switcher that will get paint if I ever get it to run. Just wondering what the next step, if any, should be. Thanks for any ideas.

    Rick H.
     
  2. papahnash

    papahnash TrainBoard Member

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  3. Mike C

    Mike C TrainBoard Member

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    I think that most brass has a clear coat covering . Although early brass, I believe , was uncoated. If you have tarnish I would try a hobby sized sand/bead/other type blaster and then a coating of gloss or dull coat .
     
  4. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    I responded and Pm'ed you about your loco, but maybe you did not check back or notice you have notifications/messages.

    "At first glance I thought that brass loco would be some kind of CB&Q loco, but not sure if that would be the right tender. I was just guessing, but now I am tempted to look around a bit at old pictures. Sure is a beast though.
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    Based on your tender, and I am no expert, I would start by looking at SP locos.
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    I just keep looking around and coming back. This surelooks like it though and seems like a rare bird too. Only 50 were produced.
    CHESAPEAKE & OHIO - J-2 4-8-2 By Gem Models #26 of 50 Produced in 1964 - HO Brass Steam Locomotive オリンピア真鍮モデル列車 - チェサピークとオハイオ4-8-2蒸気機関車 - HOゲージ
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/57293605@N07/15726774983/

    You can use the arrows to look at more images, but this side view seems to have the same distinctive piping. https://www.flickr.com/photos/572936...n/photostream/

    It makes sense it's C&O considering where the water pumps are. (think those are water pumps on the front, again not an expert by any means here.)"
     
  5. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    Thank you Geeky for responding. I didn't catch that I had a PM, sorry for missing it. I'll look through the above and see what I think. I am terrible at locomotive ID, something I intend to improve on. Thanks again.

    Rick H.
     
  6. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    That link was exactly what I needed. Just been sitting comparing the loco in hand to the photos, that is certainly the one. Some small differences though, there is no indication on mine that it is a limited production, no XX-XX numbers on the bottom but otherwise it seems an identical locomotive and tender. Many thanks. One thing that stood out to me, on either side of my loco near the front of the boiler are a small hole. In the photos it appears to be a place for a small id tag of some sort. I didn't get anything with mine to fill in this spot but I know where it sat for many years and will see if something can be found. I'm more pleased with this item every time I look at it, mostly just satisfaction in finally having a fine scale brass unit. Always wanted one and don't regret a penny of the cost. There is a Shay of some type, painted brass that I'm going to look into next.

    Rick H.
     
  7. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    According to everything I saw online, you have a unique model regardless of what a connoisseur would say about it's mechanical and or detail specs. You can't get too much more rare than a 50 unit production run.

    I'm sure you can find a brass replacement part for it. There are tons of brass parts out there.
     
  8. GN.2-8-8-0

    GN.2-8-8-0 TrainBoard Member

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    Yep' that ones a keeper it's a Gem Ruby Series C&O J2 4-8-2.
    Brass trains price and data guide give a current price of $1500 for this model,that of course would be in mint condition.
    oh,and those are compound air pumps on the smoke box front lol.
    put it in a display case and enjoy!!

    And it has the correct red velvet covered box don't lose that!!
     
  9. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    This one is never run and I suspect never polished. Don't know if that makes it mint. I don't have a box but the lady I'm getting all this from has a large stash of empty boxes of all sorts. It well could be there and I will check. This just gets better and better, thanks to everyone for this information, it's truly added to the satisfaction of having this.

    Rick H.
     
  10. GN.2-8-8-0

    GN.2-8-8-0 TrainBoard Member

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    Oh' so you do not have the box! Hope you can find it because to a collector that's extremely important.
    if it's tarnished you could have it bead blasted and then a fresh clear coat should be applied.
     
  11. traingeekboy

    traingeekboy TrainBoard Member

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    Well, it is missing pieces so it's not mint. Mint would mean it looks exactly as it did right out of the box. But it's still pretty good if it just sat in a box.

    Now the real question... What did you pay for it?
     
  12. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    I'll see the lady again not this week but probably next and will see if I can find the box. She has a bunch of empties (lots of Athearn empties if anyone needs them) and it wouldn't surprise me to find it. I honestly haven't looked. Ok, since you asked, $250 is what I paid for it. It was her asking price and I did no research on it before accepting. I wanted it, had the cash and it was worth that (at least) to me.

    Rick H.
     
  13. GN.2-8-8-0

    GN.2-8-8-0 TrainBoard Member

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    Wells sounds to me especially if you do find the box you'll be ringing the bell on this one!!
     
  14. f2shooter

    f2shooter TrainBoard Member

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    No luck on the box unfortunately. Still, I have a brass locomotive that I've always wanted. The better news is that she has turned over another bunch of brass for sale. Half a dozen diesels and 8 steam locos from a small Shay through a Big Boy, all brass and painted beautifully. One doesn't run, needs a motor, but the rest are quite nice. They'll be finding their way to auction in one or two cases but I'm going to spend more than I should and keep several. It's a lot of money for a train IMO but looking at prices on some of the newer DCC stuff I'm going to spend less for more of what I really want. They will require some mods to my layout as I need to open up some curves to accomodate a 2-10-0 and some other long wheel sets. It's ok though, I've got to move the whole thing to a newer and bigger room anyway. This kind of quality makes me want to up my game in terms of good detail work and that's a good thing.

    Rick H.
     

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