This was in bad shape! Restoration of a Lionel  

This is the kind of stuff I like to do. All my life it seems the most enjoyment I have is bringing something back from the dead. The only thing I think I would have done differently from what you did is, I probably would have tossed it in the ultra sonic cleaner. Minus the shell. Great job on it!

I love restoring these locomotives! Ive found many beaten and worn locos and brought them back to working condition just like this. Its very rewarding!

Look at that quality,nice job on the restoration.

Great job on bringing it back to life.

Pretty Amazing that you restored the poor abused Lionel Locomotive.

Beautiful restoration. Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁 🚂

Nice repair. New subscriber here.

And nice use of FasTrack

Good job. I've made those contact plate boards on the 3D printer.

I’ve restored several locomotives like this one. I actually had a 2026. Lionel made their locomotives to run for a century or more. Lionel did have some special tools in order to service these locomotives.

Good job. The 2026 is worth restoring, and there is no better personal “victory dance” that comes from restoring a total basket case. Keep up the good work.

I hear you, i just bought a 2026 in worse condition. I didn't notice in the photos when i bought it. After I unboxed it, I went to turn the drivers, I noticed the whole roller assembly was gone. After further inspection, I noticed that the e-unit was also missing from it. Bummed me the blank out!!! 😮😢

That is one Gorre and Daphieted locomotive.

Sweet job you've done there, just don't let Gomez Addams blow up the Bridge on it.

Question: Why didn't you repaint the train?

I thought the 2026 was a 4-6-2. Cheers from eastern TN

Meine Güte, man muss doch nicht jedes kleine Teil zeigen und kommentiere ☹️. Mehr arbeiten, weniger reden!

That poor Prairie! Looks awesome now!

Great job!! I wonder how many 77 year old toys from 2023 will still be repairable and operational in 2100? Jus' sayin'....

Fantastic job on restoring the #2026 locomotive.😊

That`s a nice.

Great job. I just subscribed and I'm catching up on videos from all of my subscriptions. I'm a big fan of PB Blaster. It does a great job on rust and other shmuts on metal. I've never liked taking apart that series of engines, as it is always kind of a hassle, with the way they are put together. Other engines, like the 2055, you can take the shell off and not have to disconnect any of the running gear. Either way, that is a nice job of repairing and getting that old 2026 back on the tracks. They are my favorite Lionel steam engines and I have a few of them. I also buy 6466WX tenders whenever I find them a shows. It is a great style of tender, plenty of weight and goes with almost any Lionel steam locomotive. An excellent video, for sure.

I am currently fixing an athern rubber band f unit

Wonderful job !

Great work, love bringing these locomotives back to life

I have the 2026 Lionel steam locomotive and tender the e unit doesn't work i would like to get it running again

Great job bringing it back to life. I did a 2025 a few years back for a friend that was locked up and just as rusty (if not worse) than yours. After some thought I pulled the shell off, removed the e-unit, all the wiring, and fiberboards (brush holder and collector) then proceeded to throw the motor in a container of mineral spirits. I let it soak for a few hours pulling it out and working the wheels and once I got it freed up (although not completely free) I let it soak a day or two. As I was letting the motor soak I kept working with the e-unit because the plunger was frozen up. I wound up tearing it completely apart (I really loathe working on them) and FINALLY got it freed up and moving. It was one of those labors of love as it was his father’s. The tender was in just as bad of shape but I was able to resurrect it in the same fashion. I pulled the wheels from the engines motor and had to take all the trucks apart as everything was so rusty but I managed to save most everything except I inevitably had to rebuild the e-unit because I damaged the board too much trying to get it apart.

Great work and very interesting video. Always nice to see these junked engines getting back to life. Thanks for sharing. I believe the white residue on the front and wheels could be caused by a release agent for the casting moulds Lionel used. After years go by it becomes that white stuff. A lot of post war cars have this problem on the bogies. Heating it up with a hairdryer would be an easy trick to let it dissapear without scrubbing.

I have my Granddad's 2026. Still runs like new

You really did beautiful work on this one. I had a 1953 2026 back in that year, and loved it. Wish I still had it. Thanks for sharing.

They are great running engines. Some of the best smoke output from any Lionel engines. I have two of them. You got a great deal.

I see you're also a Star Wars fan! 😮 🫡 👍

How did you get the white substance off the front of the engine by the front wheels? I have the same thing on an old engine that I have