Lionel's #2055 and #2065 "Baby" Hudsons - History and Restoration

All about Lionel baby, Hudson's that is, on this episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks. Hello again, this is Mike with another episode of Toy Train Tips and Tricks, and this is a Lionel number 1561WS set from 1956 that I received as a gift from a relative, in very bad shape. Unfortunately, this set was stored for years in a warm, moist place, and it was covered by rust and muck. Regular viewers will already have seen how I saved the number 3424 operating brakeman car and returned it to operating condition, but what about the locomotive? Is this 2065 salvageable? The roots of the number 2065 actually go back to the number 2055 steamer, like this one, introduced in 1953. Lionel was looking for a model to replace the 675, 2025, and 2035 series of 264 steamers based on the Pennsylvania K4 class. While these were handsome models and great runners, they were also complicated and somewhat expensive models to assemble, as you can see in the previous video of my restoration of a number 2035. These models had been in the catalog in one form or another since 1947, and Lionel wanted not only to refresh the lineup, but it was looking for a model that was easier and cheaper to manufacture to replace the number 2035 in the middle of the 027 product line. And rather than making another model of a New York Central or Pennsylvania steam locomotive, as Lionel had been doing with new steamer models since the late 1930s, this time they looked to Santa Fe for inspiration and loosely based their new model on the Santa Fe number 3460 class 464 Hudson steamers. More importantly for Lionel's production process, this new steamer featured a new one-piece boiler casting, complete with steam chests, and a drive chassis with the side rods completely separate from the boiler casting. Now the boiler and the drive chassis could be assembled quickly and easily with only four screws, greatly reducing the time and labor required to produce the locomotive. And unlike the number 675 and its progeny, the number 2055 featured a prototypically accurate 464 wheel arrangement for the locomotive. With magnetraction, smoke, a die-cast boiler, a whistling tender, and Lionel's dependable six-wheel steamer drive, the model was a popular way for budget-minded operators to add a real 464 Hudson locomotive to their rosters. Between 1953 and 1955, the 2055 led three 027 freight sets and one 027 passenger set, and it was also available for separate sale. Plus the number 685 model, which was identical in every way except for the number, led a single 0 gauge set in 1953 only. This particular 2055 holds the distinction of being my first post-war Lionel locomotive, a Christmas gift when I was about 12 or so. My mother never understood why I was so impressed by a box full of dirty old used trains when I'd receive so many shiny new things for Christmas. I hope to have this old model back on the rails soon after I complete a rewiring project that I've been working on for a long time, but back to our story. Beginning in 1954, Lionel's designer created a new model with a simple change to a single part. The front of the smoke box of the number 2055 was changed to include an external alesco style feedwater heater, giving the front of the locomotive a very distinctive look. Also, the classification lights were moved from the top of the smoke box to the front, removing a frequently broken part from the casting and simultaneously allowing for the illumination of these lights by the headlight bulb. This new model was the number 2065 Hudson. The sharp-looking Stieber headed seven freight and two passenger sets between 1954 and 1956 and was also available for separate sale. Meanwhile, the lookalike number 665 led one 0 gauge set each in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, and even made an encore appearance leading an 0 gauge freight set in 1966. Besides being filthy, my number 2065 was in pretty good shape cosmetically. While some pieces in the set had rusted away almost completely, there were only a few spots of minor surface rust on the trucks and wheels of the locomotive. I was concerned, however, that the wheels were seized tight and would not turn. Hoping for the best, I disassembled the model. I'd like to pause just a moment and ask that if you're enjoying this video, please like it, subscribe, and leave a comment about your encounters with the number 2055 and number 2065. Also, please consider supporting the channel financially with a membership. Members have access to exclusive video content, photos, messages, shoutouts, and priority responses to comments. So, if you can't get enough toy train tips and tricks, consider joining, and thank you for your continuing support. Now, back to the video. As noted above, removing the boiler from the drive on these models is simple. There are four screws that secure the boiler to the drive. There are no side rods to disassemble. I set the shell aside for a light bath with mild dish detergent, water, and a toothbrush, and then I moved on to the drivetrain. I thought I might find something caught in the gears, perhaps an old piece of ballast or something similar, but the gears seemed to be clear. Then I checked the brushes and the motor, and I found the problem. The armature shaft was fused to the brush plate from lack of lubrication. Even after removing the brush plate nuts, I had to pry the brush plate off the armature shaft with a screwdriver. When I finally got the brush plate off, the armature turned freely, and the gears seemed to be in good shape. I cleaned the armature plates with a pencil eraser and some CRC 226 cleaner, and I cleaned the brushes that were dirty but not really worn at all. Reassembling the motor, I lubricated everything well, especially the armature shaft. I used Lebel No. 108 oil on the shaft and some plastic-safe lithium-based grease on the gears. I powered it up, and it ran great, including the smoke unit. The light bulb was burned out, so I replaced it with a similar bulb from my parts box. Then I reassembled the model and let it run. These classic Lionel models are remarkable in how they can take years of abuse and then run like new with only a little maintenance and cleanup. After a few days and many laps around the layout, I re-lubricated everything as it seemed to be stiffening up just a little bit. With the locomotive running well, I decided to tackle the cosmetic issues. There were numerous paint chips on the boiler caused by poor storage. Heat and humidity are the most frequent causes of paint failure on these models. And my model was apparently stored on its side with a smoke pill in the stack, so as the pill absorbed humidity, it partially dissolved and leaked out to the boiler and took quite a large bit of paint off with it. My preferred method for touching up Lionel steamers has been using black paint markers. Several viewers commented that their preference is to use black shoe polish, so I decided to give that method a try. I decided to go ahead and clean up my 2055 at the same time. Right away, I could see that the shoe polish was doing a great job of restoring the luster of the black paint on the model, but it was doing absolutely nothing to cover up the bare metal spots where the paint had flaked off. So it was back to touching up the rough spots with a paint marker. This model will likely end up as a total repaint someday, but my marker method will have it looking quite a bit better. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good here. With the paint freshly applied, the sheen difference between the original finish and the paint marker is obvious. This will diminish a bit after the paint dries thoroughly. After the paint dries overnight, I will go back to the shoe polish and treat both locomotive shells to even out the sheen. And there we have it, a cosmetically restored number 2055 and a number 2065 revived from the rust bucket to the railroad. As for the rest of the set, the number 6257 caboose was still in its box, which protected it a great deal from the moisture, and it is in excellent condition. I rebuilt and restored the number 3424 operating brakeman car in episode number 231. The number 6430 piggyback car, the 6562-25 red New York Central gondola, and the 6262 wheel car all cleaned up nicely, but their trucks and couplers were completely destroyed by rust. As soon as I can acquire enough replacements, they will be running again. The 6026W tender may have suffered the most damage of them all. In addition to completely rusted away trucks and couplers, part of the motor armature was rusted to the motor frame. With quite a bit of work, the armature is now free, but I'm still cleaning up as much rust as possible from it before I even try to reassemble it and power it up. I'm hoping for the best. I hope this video has inspired you to perhaps dive in and try to save some of these basket case sets. In tough economic times, these less-than-optimum trains can be acquired for very little, or in my case, nothing, and most of the time a few dollars in parts and a little elbow grease is all it takes to get these classic trains running again. So get out your junk box and tools and keep those trains running, and we'll catch you next time with more toy train tips and tricks.