1896 Bing

John Richards · 1896 Bing

Morning all,
I`m after some advice which may or maynot be followed.

I have an 1896 Bing o-4-0 Loco & Tender with one or two open
Wagons, all in rather Tatty condition, Piston missing, Cab breaking
away and just generally run down!. I do have the Owners Manual as well.

About as useful as a "Hip pocket in my underpants", {you get the picture}.

I would like to restore her to running condition and lift her Makeup
to rather more exceptable apearence, I know most would say
I`ll ruin her resale value by doing this, but to me at the moment
she has no value at all in her condition!.

So, I guess, what I`d like to see, Is what you fellows feel about
this problem I have!.
Be advised, I`m leaning toward "Restoration of her"

Regards,
John Richards.

Sandman

I think you already know what's going to happen.

If it has no value to you the way it is then you must do what it takes to get satisfaction out of it.

IMHO, go for it and turn the frog into a prince.

Steve_S

It would be worth doing some research to find out what she's worth at the moment. It may be that you could buy something more to your liking. But if not, I'd go ahead with the restoration.

tmuir

To me an old original engine that can't run is worth less than a restored old engine that can run.
Restore it and get it running.
If your not worried about the resale value go the whole hog.

Your loco must be friends with my third bing loco that is sitting on my 'restoration shelf' in my workshop.

Though I think mine is in a little worse condition.

Keith S

I vote for restoration. I personally try not to recognise value that is assigned to an object by others who covet it; rather, I try to see its intrinsic value. A rotten, non-functioning machine has little intrinsic value regardless of its age. A nicely restored, functioning machine with mostly original parts is of great intrinsic value. This is of course just my opinion and flies in the face of collectors' mentality. What enjoyment are you getting out of it right now?

Steve_S

Les

At the end of the day it is your loco to do with as you wish, if you feel you will get more enjoyment in restoring and running it then so be it.

johnreid

I guess the question is, how far do you go" How far gone is it?
If it is like the one Tony pictured, go for it, if it is just showing its age, then you might want to think it through. However, if you do no modifications to keep it from ever being returned to an authentic piece, what harm are you doing,
Remember though Lithographed pieces are hard to return to original once modded.
A restoration wont hurt, heavy modification might affect its value and your long term enjoyment.
But, you are not planning on selling it and I guess that 50 years from now they will be rare enough that even one with lots of stuff done to it will be worth something.

dampfmaschinenjoe 1967

Hi, John;
when you see what has been done to my "Beauties" a serious collector might be embarrassed, but I´m not only a toy collector , I want to see them run and they are looking as good as they should. Resoration is best what can happen to an ancient loco. When it is running it makes your heart sing, believe me

cheers Joe

PS For you exclusively the Pix of "Maggie" and "Rosie"

dampfmaschinenjoe 1967

Hi, John;
when you see what has been done to my "Beauties" a serious collector might be embarrassed, but I´m not only a toy collector , I want to see them run and they are looking as good as they should. Resoration is best what can happen to an ancient loco. When it is running it makes your heart sing, believe me

cheers Joe

PS For you exclusively the Pix of "Maggie" and "Rosie"

John Richards · Wow

Dampfmachinejoe,
Those two Ladies are a real piece of Art IMHO, That decides it,
I believe This old Lady deserves a little Make Up! I`ll put a Picture up as soon as I checkout how!.
Thank you,
John

dampfmaschinenjoe 1967

Hi, John,
it´s no problem to upload your Pictures at "Photobucket". From there you can copy the link and put it in your post here and finally we all can see what you´ve got .
Building year 1898 seems to be a very early engine and as most of the forum folk says, restore it to running conditions. Mine are a bit younger. They date from the mid 1920ies, but 80 years on the back and still working shows the quality german toymakers had produced at that time. I am pleased you love my "old ladies" !

cheers Joe

John Richards · The Lady in Question

Bit slow getting here, but as promised,

:

I have a feeling I`ve stuffed up, Sorry
John

MooseMan

Hey, that's not so bad! Mainly looks cosmetic. I'm sure that can be made to run.

TE1DRIVER

That looks so cool like a real engine that has been parked up since the decline of steam commercially, quite poignant really

tmuir

A bit rough but restore-able.
Is it just it needs the rust treated and ,aybe a touch of paint here and there or does it need some new parts too?

dampfmaschinenjoe 1967

Hey John,

that does not look too bad! A bit rough but restorable: I would bring her back to running conditions and otherwis she should be allowed to show her age ! It´s a nice one , really!

cheers Joe

bowman

Just dont paint any of it !! lovely that, Sandy

John Richards · Paint & Parts

Good Morning Gentlemen,
Yes "Tmuir", she needs a Piston replacement, a half hour on the
Lathe, and cosmetics, same as any Lady of age!.

I`d rather not update Boiler and soforth as I feel this would
reduce her to an old machine with little class.

I believe she can be returned to steam with very little work and
a new Safety Valve and Piston!.

The Bodywork is all "Folding Tags" bent thru` slots to hold her
together, and some of them still exist and will be re`used again
rather then soldering her up!.

Thank you all for your interest and kind comments of her!.

Regards,
John.

1896 Bing

Wow

The Lady in Question

Paint & Parts