Unearthing a Lionel treasure
TMY SON, DANIEL, recently came to visit with his fiancé, Leila Kalmbach, and they brought me a miniature locomotive Leila’s father, Bill, had found in a shed he was remodeling. Bill suspected the engine of unknown origin had been hidden in the wall of the shed for at least 50 years. Knowing I collect O gauge trains, they brought it to me to see what I could discover.
I knew right away Bill had unearthed a postwar Lionel O gauge diesel. My next task was to see if I could bring it back to life. After taking the engine apart and cleaning off the shell, I found a no. 2028 Pennsylvania RR brown GP7 road diesel under the dirt. The original gold graphics on the shell were barely visible.
I cleaned, rewired, oiled, and greased the Geep. Then I put it on my home layout and, you guessed it! – the engine ran on the first try. Even the headlight worked!
When my future in-laws came for Thanksgiving just a few months ago, I presented the engine to Mr. Kalmbach and ran it on my layout. Bill and his family were thrilled, and they’re planning to put the Lionel engine on their mantle.
The kicker to the story is that Bill is the son of Al Kalmbach, the founder of Kalmbach Media Co., which publishes Classic Toy Trains among other magazines. Bill, who has resided in Texas since the 1960s, has never pursued model trains the way his father did. – Mike McLintock, Keller, Texas