just won this locomotive on ebay. shipping advice

[bmcgarth13]

Originally Posted by WISCOJIM

Bryan, not to be nitpicky, but in the future it is best to make all such arrangements with the seller prior to bidding. In this case it looks like you've gotten very lucky to find a seller that is willing to do all this extra work for you. Most sellers would just ship it as they originally had planned to, and you would have received a box full of parts.

I definitely agree. I will certainly use more foresight next time when I plan on buying something far away. anyways, I just spoke on the phone with the seller and he is up for the project of disassembling it. He is even going to separate the CRT with the pictures provided and he got a bunch of scrap foam from a shop nearby so that will help with packaging. thanks a lot for the input once again, and lets hope I will be posting pictures of an INTACT set

[cwmoser]

Bryan, I did something similary like you did. I purchased a Tektronix oscilloscope
along with the scope cart. The seller stated that the shipping was going to cost more and I undersood. Good communication and the seller fully disassembled the cart and
marked it with numbers for reassembly. Sounds like you have found a good person too.

Carl

[DaveWM]

Make sure you communicate about removing the CRT plug from the socket, good luck

[Jeffhs]

I had a Zenith MJ-1035 stereo FM radio shipped to me via UPS from Arizona a few years ago. When the set got here to my apartment near Cleveland, it worked, but two controls (volume and tone) were loose and were flopping around under the chassis, eventually sustaining damage that destroyed one control (a two-section volume potentiometer). I understand the radio may have been subjected to very rough handling by UPS, resulting in the problems I mentioned. The radio no longer works due to the damage which was eventually done to the 2-section stereo volume control; I haven't yet found a replacement, since it is a special 2-megohm potentiometer.

I am taking this as a warning never to ship anything via UPS (and to be extremely wary of other carriers such as FedEx, et al.), as the carrier, from what I have read here of others' experiences with them as well as my own, seems to be less than gentle with the packages it delivers. I don't know how UPS has managed to stay in business as long as it has, with this horrible track record. By contrast, however, a Zenith C845 radio was delivered to me via UPS some time before the MJ-1035. The C-845 arrived here unscathed, and still works ecellently, with that great Zenith sound, to this day.

[cwmoser]

Originally Posted by DaveWM

Make sure you communicate about removing the CRT plug from the socket, good luck

That is a good point -- remove the Anode wire from the CRT.
The Anode wire should be on the right side of the CRT almost underneath
the CRT.

Carl

[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

1- Remove connector by holding onto the black base and then remove
the wired connector. You don't want to pull off the connector base.
65 years of age have weakened the glue in these but if they come loose
you can glue them back - as long as you don't break off the wires going into the glass.

2-) there is an ION Magnet. On mine, you can slide it off toward the back.

Carl left out step 1A:

To remove the picture tube socket (The thing on the back of the picture tube with the wires coming out):

The picture tube socket is shaped like a donut (or sometimes a half circle) and it is removed by pulling towards the rear of the TV.

Press in with your thumb through the donut-hole as hard as you are pulling out on the socket itself, to prevent breaking the base off the picture tube and ruining the picture tube.

If you use the term "CRT" be sure to indicate that this means the picture tube.

James.

[Tom Albrecht]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

Tom, was it you who put together some great tips about these TVs?

Carl

Here is a summary thread I did a while back: http://www.radiomuseum.org/forum/gen...on_tips.html#1

Also some info on the various Locomotive models: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/general...locomotiv.html

[Eric H]

How far is the set from you exactly? If it's less than 500 miles I'd consider driving to get it, done that about three times now.

I will confess to having one of these shipped cross country.
I got a good deal (for the time) on eBay and asked the seller beforehand if she thought she could pack it well enough to avoid damage, she assured me that she could and she did!
It was packed like Ft Knox, big and bulky and it cost something like $100 for the shipping but it arrived intact 2000+ miles later.

UPS Stores are hit or miss, I had a seller take a Raytheon 7" to one of them once to have it packed and shipped since I figured it would be safer, well it arrived with barely any packing material at all inside, maybe an inch between the box and the edge of the set.
It got slammed so hard it cracked one of the cross boards on the bottom and put an outward dimple on the channel knob.
Miraculously the CRT survived but I did notice the gun got knocked a little off center and the raster won't completely reach the left side of the screen.

A freight service like Craters and Freighters is the safest way to ship but it's costly.
They box the set very well, strap it to a pallet and ship it by truck, it doesn't get rolled or dropped unless there's a careless Forklift operator somewhere along the way but the odds are against that happening.
I've used them a few times for very special sets, stuff where I would be heartbroken if it arrived damaged!

[decojoe67]

As the years pass I'm realizing that all vintage radios and TV's should be shipped in more than one box. It should be cabinet, chassis, and with larger radios, speakers. The fragile cabinets cannot take the jolting of these heavy components.
The GE "locomotive" is one of the best examples. The chassis is quite heavy for it's thin-walled cabinet. In normal situations it's fine, but not in today's harsh shipping treatment. There's many weak points on that set, especially on top with all the vent slots. The seller of mine had it shipped to him and it suffered a crack at the top that I had to JB Weld.
I hear that because of this, a totally crack-free example is getting rarer and rarer.
Good luck with yours - it's a "must-have" vintage TV

[Einar72]

Not to make you lose sleep, but some of the worst horror stories come from 3rd-party packing jobs. eBayers usually come in second, BTW. I helped a freind win a nice Bush bakelite table set in Holland once, and the guy packed it in a beer 12-pack with a 20-page sunday paper glossy ad all wadded into balls. You never saw so many bakelite crumbs! If you're not watching, you could end up with a single-section box with just foam peanuts. VK's parent site has scads of stuff for you to review:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=87

[cwmoser]

On a hopeful note, I purchased a Telefunken Gavotte radio from Germany a few
years ago. It was double boxed and arrived in perfect condition. Keep your fingers
crossed that they don't run over it with a fork lift:-(

Carl

[bmcgarth13]

the locomotive finally arrived today and absolutely no cracks in the bakelite whatsoever! I am very happy. has all of the original knobs, good cabinet, and it did not suffer any. the chassis also looks to be in good condition. It was packaged in two boxes, and packed very well with a lot of peanuts, foam, bubble wrap, and newspaper (felt like I was digging to china LOL . ) I do not know the state of the picture tube, of course, but then again, I did not know if it was good before hand anyways. the only damaged I noticed was the speaker paper had a tear in it, but that could have been there prior, and it is not so bad. other than that, the seller did a great job, and so did fed-ex with the handling and delivery.
Bryan

[cwmoser]

Good news Bryan.
FYI, here is my restoration thread when I did my GE 805 Locomotive.

Good luck with your restoration. Keep us informed as you progress.

Carl

[DaveWM]

I am glad I was wrong about it not making there in one piece, great news