Marx tender project

[healey36]

Back in 2022, I picked up this Marx Marlines Jubilee locomotive at Fall York for a just a few bucks. Why? No idea, other than it reminded me of the kid's train that was running around the tree in the final scenes of the Polar Express movie:



It's in pretty nice, barely-run shape, with all of its trim and running gear. It runs nice as well, but no tender. They refer to this as a CP-style loco, Canadian Pacific, and there's a CP-style tender that is frequently found with them. Some of these tenders are four-wheel, some are eight-wheel; the loco was also made as an 0-4-0, a 2-4-0, and a 2-4-2. They occasionally sold them with a Marx NYC wedge-type tender; I have one of those, but it doesn't look particularly great to me. It needs a CP-style tender. Also, I'm not sure when this loco was made; I've seen them listed as 1940-ish, all the way into the postwar period. What was the "Jubilee" they speak of? More research required.

So I found a little four-wheel CP-style tender in Pennsy livery on eBay for four bucks. It looked like a good candidate for a refurb, and a few years back I had bought a decal set for a Canadian Pacific tender. When it arrived, I found it's in rougher shape than I realized:



Getting it apart was easier than I'd thought. The rusted twist-tabs on the underside straightened out easily without breaking. What I discovered was the interior, specifically the frame, is badly corroded.

A number of options on how to proceed. Initially I was thinking I'd just use some fine sandpaper, maybe the wire wheel on the Dremel, to knock some of the scale off of it. Another thought was to run it through the bead-blaster, but I'm worried I might blow a hole in it. Maybe knock the worst of the scale off it, then see how thin the metal might be. Then I can figure out what next.

One of a number of interesting things about this little tender is that is has a "wedge" shape too. The front of the tender, the bit that would be immediately behind the loco, is slightly wider than the back end. One wonders why Marx did this, other than possibly to transition the appearance of the wider locomotive as compared to the small/narrow six-inch cars that came with the sets.

Anyway, this has bubbled up to the top of the project pile. Any suggestions on dealing with the corrosion, or anything else, are welcome.

[sarge]

What was the "Jubilee" they speak of? More research required.

Any suggestions on dealing with the corrosion, or anything else, are welcome.

The Jubilee bit is no doubt this:



The CP did these starting in 1936, a semi-streamlined 4-4-4. It was called the Jubilee class in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of passenger service on Canadian Pacific.

As far as the rust, if it isn't rusted through, take it down with progressively finer sandpaper, the last perhaps 320 grit so as to leave a little tooth for paint.

Alternatively, bring it here, we'll chuck it in the gritter and see what's left after we blast it.

[healey36]

Terrific info, Sarge, and thanks for that pic. I figured it had something to do with the the King (George VI), so I was way off.

"Alternatively, bring it here, we'll chuck it in the gritter and see what's left after we blast it." LOL, I'm going to swing by my brother's place later this afternoon to talk to him about getting a paint sprayer (not for model painting, but for house painting). While there, I'll run this thing through the bead-blaster and see what happens. Hopefully we have blasting medium...it's been awhile.

[healey36]

Well, I decided against the bead-blaster, fearing that I'd blow holes in the badly pitted end of the frame, or worse, destroy the slots for the shell's tabs. Instead, went with some fine-grit sandpaper and a wire-wheel on the Dremel for the worst of the scale. Got it cleaned up for the most part. Since all of the corroded bits are on the interior, this is really an exercise in arresting the corrosion, not necessarily making everything look pristine:



I think I'll hit the pitted areas with a bit of rust-reformer, letting that cure for a few days before moving it to the paint booth. I need to find the decal set I have somewhere...damn, the workbench is a mess.

[healey36]

Experimented a bit with a few different variations of black paint; settled on using Rustoleum Satin Canyon Black. The semi-gloss stuff was a bit too glossy for my taste. Gave this dog a single coat over an initial shot of black primer:



I let it sit out on the picnic table in the hot afternoon sun yesterday; probably will again today. That should harden up the paint sufficiently. There's still a bit of pitting evidenced, but that's on the top of the frame which will be the interior floor (no one should be able to see that).

Next up is reassembly...hope I don't snap the tabs off!

[healey36]

So the tender is back together again, and without snapping off any tabs during reassembly:



The next step is to get the lettering on here. I have a set of repro Marx Canadian Pacific graphics somewhere, but damned if I can now find them, so I ordered another set. These are vinyl stickers, not the preferred water-slide decals. We'll see how it goes. They will need to be cut from the sheet, which can be fiddly.

[healey36]

Well, I'm calling this done, but can't say I'm pleased with the results:



Cutting them from the sheet proved easy enough, and separating them from their backing was not too difficult, but the print quality is awful, and the plastic feels a bit thick. I had to touch up the edges in places where the red print actually rubbed off. I have another set around here somewhere; if I find them I might peel these off and replace them with the older print (presuming it's better than these). I was going to give the whole thing an overspray of clear satin lacquer, but I'm going to hold off until I'm satisfied that this is as good as it'll get.