Just wanted to post the latest thing I have been doing. I have a few of these Lionel passenger cars and I really like there size for a small layout but I have always hated the cheesy looking painted people in the windows so I decided to risk sacrificing one to see if I could get rid of them. I started with a fine grain foam sanding block 400 grit I believe, and gently sanding remove the figures. Clean them sand the area again with 3600 grit pad and finish with a 12000 grit pad. I picked up the ultra fine pads from a local hobby shop. They are great for plastics. I finish with a coat of Tamiya clear. I also added specific number plates to the cars. I hate it when all the cars have the same number. It turned out very nicely. I am in the process now of doing this to all my Lionel passenger cars.
Huge improvement! That is some really fine grit paper.
Yeah all these years of modeling and I only became aware of that ultra fine sandpaper a couple years ago. I’ve used it to remove lettering from locomotives without damaging the plastic. It’s an offshoot from jewelers IIRC…
looks way better Vic. I always thought those people looked horrible also. As for the sand paper I have never used the blocks but testers made plastic film sheets in ultra fine sand paper used them all the time in getting mirror finishes on model cars.
On to Phase 2, my Lionel Pennsylvania passenger cars, again gently sanding off the letters and numbers, add new, red in this case, also removing the fake passengers from the windows. The letters and windows get a coat of Tamiya clear and then the body gets a spray of Matte Medium. Overall much improved.
way better. Looks like a model not a cartoonish toy
Wow! What a transformation!
These are the pads I have while they were drying after rinsing. I found them at a RC Airplane supply shop that’s not around anymore and have never found these pads again. I’d like to pick up a second set.
Vic try micro mesh not numbered but colour coded.
And there are others on Amazon. I just searched for 12000 grit sand pads Vic 
Vic, the coach looks great. I’m curious why you stayed with the frosted windows? Couldn’t clear plastic be fitted with an interior?
A good question that deserves a good answer. Its because the windows and roof are one SOLID THICK HEAVY CHUNK OF PLASTIC 
These cars have no weights, all the bulk is just the weight of the thick plastic all around. See the picture, the end windows stick out just a bit and they snap the roof onto the end window openings of the body. To take the roof off the body you have to press in the end windows and lift, one at a time, slowly until all four have been released and the roof piece slides up and out. Its a very very clever idea but boy oh boy if you don’t know that before hand you will go completely bonkers trying to figure that out (like I did 
) before I found the parts diagram online. So you are really stuck with the setup unless you want to do some serious surgery. I don’t mind it, these cars work extremely well on my R1 curves.
Hey gang, sorry to zombie a dead thread, but I have to ask.
What is everyone using for wheels for these cars? I found that the axles Lionel used are just a touch shorter than that of a modern steel wheelset, so if swapped out, they bind up from the friction on the end.
Is everyone still running the plastic wheels on these?
I still run the original wheels, mostly because they are hard to find a replacement. The wheels are inbetween the standard large metal wheels and the Bachmann small diameter wheels, and IIRC the axles are longer than the Lionel wheels.
Hi Jason - Good to see you posting again! You still in Western NY?
Heh, apparently I’m not paying enough attention here (working on renovating a 1900-built 4story house).
I moved out of WNY back in 2002. Been living in Pennsy since.
Hey! Thanks for responding. Where in PA? We are looking in the Orby/Rockhill, Three Springs area. I’m to old to start renovating unless I’m just writing the checks!