Can We Make This 50 Year Old Revell F7 Locomotive Run Again?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 เม.ย. 2022
- I found this locomotive at a train show a few weeks ago and decided to buy since it had a drive system I hadn't ever seen before. As it would turn out, it was a "1956" Revell engine, made in japan. It was a surprisingly simple repair since the electrical issues seemed to come down to a broken wire and dirty wheels. I still completely serviced the drive by cleaning and lubricating the gears.
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Those springs make it look like a 1956 sci-fi experiment. That drawbar is for a coupled B-unit.
Being Japanese that puppy could use a new Kato drive from OVR. How sweet would that be with that bulletproof gearset. Another page for the foreign chapter of the SMT manual.
I love how simple this locomotive is put together. I also love the paint scheme. I think the fact that it has a can motor actually helps the performance and it's basically totally sealed off from anything getting inside. Very cool!
It's a pretty good design for the era in my opinion.
@@SMTMainline exactly I agree with you
a locomotive motor isn't going to run better just because it has a an enclosed housing- its done for dependability, to keep hands and sharp objects out and to hide the fact that it's a cheap 3-pole motor...
@@tommurphy4307 ok? I have rivarossi locomotive with a 3 pole . some of them open motors are 5 pole such as my mantua locomotives never had an issue.
Interesting locomotive SMT! Glad you could fix it!
Very Nice project!! Love that CP scheme!
Of course you can,awesome job on this old loco. 👍
I'm now 72, and received my Revell set when I was about 10. Early on I built a lot of kits (locos & cars), but never saw a Revell like that? I've built many of Varney, Mantua, and Model Die Casting (Roundhouse) locomotive kits, as well as Hobbytown.
F-unit shells swap pretty easy. I once put a Proto 2000 right on an Athearn frame with just a slight opening of the slots in the fuel tank skirt, and I had to take the glazing out of the front porthole.
The Revell models I have come in two generations, the switcher initially has a square enclosed motor with a rubber band drive. Later ones and these F units have plastic frames and a drive similar to Varney or Marx with an open frame motor mounted on top of one truck, driving it via a gear and connected to the other with a driveshaft.
The plastic frame on the F units is somewhat delicate, I got a deal on a set because they dropped it and it broke the frame on the engine, so that could be the reason why this drive is in that shell. That drive probably came with a fairly crude body on it, I see them every so often, made in Japan with no real brand name. The drawbar is also a giveaway, Revell would have a coupler on the rear. You'll notice the truck wheelbase doesnt' really match the body shell either.
The reason for the high speed may be because that was a battery operated train.
I guess since the shells should be the same dimensions, it makes since they can be swapped.
Now I want to see that thing go Max/Ludicrous Speed!
wouldnt stay on the track
Nice train so cool
Nice restoration Harrison, looks like you got a real speedster there! To bad I no longer have my Bachmann UP F9 from the mid 1990s anymore, would've loved to have seen those two in a race! It wasn't built for low speed or pulling power, much like this locomotive, it was built to go FAST!
I wonder what the scale speed is
@@SMTMainline man, I have know idea, but I know that Bachmann F9 could really fly! It was so fast, it jumped the then 18 inch curves I had on my layout and hit me right between the eyes, lol! This Revell locomotive looks every bit as fast as that Bachmann model was so let's just say I wouldn't want to be eye level with that thing as it's going around a curve at full speed!
Nice job!
Running great again, and it'd rival my old Tyco Turbo Train sets in speed I'd wager.
i love how it was made in japan i find Japanese and American built products to last many generations
Kato locomotives are great but those old American Athearn and Atlas locomotives are tanks.
Nice loco ,have not seen any that style before, easy fix 👍
I really like your loco resurrection videos!
The motor looks like the same motor Eldon used in their 1/32 scale slot cars in the 1960s
it probably is, mabuchi....
With my parts bin started around 1963 we can get anything running … it’s fun challenge with some steam though..but we get get ‘em rolling
That's awesome
I wonder if this was a repower or if Revell outsourced production of the chassis later on. Their original chassis in 1956 had a large metal motor with a multi-speed pulley (switch the belt to front or back for high or low speed running) and 4-wheel drive, then they brought out a Varney clone 8-wheel drive chassis a couple years later with a smaller Pittman style motor.
The later chassis was plastic and somewhat fragile. Somebody probably broke theirs and put this in it.
I'm guessing someone just took a random drive and put a Revell shell on it.
That unusual rear coupler appears to be a drawbar type usually seen on steam locos to tender. On the diesel, it most likely means there was a second unit semi-permanently coupled, like an A-B setup with B unit without a driver cab.
Could be. that sounds reasonable.
On some Marklin F units you will encounter a drawbar between some a and b units as well
That is a very interesting looking loco with the drive because of the springs
I think it was meant to help with slow acceleration.
very common in model locomotives- probably more so in the finer scales where optimal drive alignment isn't always possible
Great job.
Nice
1956 would have been the first year of Revell's model train line so 1956 could be both the year and part number.
As noted it is heavily modified most likely to what a previous owner thought was a better drive or to replace a drive that went toes up.
Looks like something happened with the couplers and as has been noted that's a drawbar either to replace said damaged coupler or I did similar with Athearn blue box F A B units to get a closer, more prototype unit spacing. Also those number boards may be able to light from the headlight as some Revell units were offered with a deluxe option that had light up number boards.
The entire drive's been replaced
great video well done smt mainline great channel brother
I watch your video getting running again that locomotive is my age , Stone age locomotive.
Very helpful Thnx
You really worked your magic on this one SMT.
Thanks
Hallo. Great Video. Strange spring Drive, never Seen before. Very simple Drive . No Digital Dekoder INSIDE. No Front Light. Easy to Install a digital Dekoder by sodering in. Drive is simple and works very good. The bar on the Heck of the Lokomotive ist to Put on a Motor less B - unit with Kuppling. Greetings Clemens from Vienna Austria.
Simple design, not much to go wrong.
really? i believe the coil shafts were used by both mehano and roco- in your neck of the woods.
Really enjoying u repair wish could get these train sets here in India at a affordable price.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! 🦃🦃🦃🦃👍❤️📹😃
Cool
Made in Japan, serenity!
Yo ur vids make my day
Great job Harrison.
Thanks.
Wow Ive seen many of those old blue hobby motors from back in the early sixties, but they were usually in slot cors not locomotives - and ive NEVER seen a "spring driveshaft" drive before - but then ive never opened up a Revell Loco either
Great video and keep it up
great video
When you see a date on something, it just references when the mold was designed. Being a plastic shell, this would have been in use for quite awhile. Made in Japan makes me think this was an early KATO mechanism. When you do these repairs you should really check the wheel alignment with a gauge.
Happy easter!
Wow Harrison great find grab all the Revell you can find they were not manufactured long maybe 6or8 yrs your channel is so great!! T U from PJ LI NY! Happy Easter to you and your family!
Thanks
i noted, on this model, that the overhead vent fans were not merely the same plastic color as the body.
When I watch your videos I would love to know the life each of these locos have had prior to getting to you.
I often wonder that myself. How many people have owned it before me? how many scale miles has it run, what year and place was it built? It's tricky to find history on this stuff
the mystery only lowers the price.....
Build when quality was #1, 50's to the 70's the Japanese were hard to beat!
They still are pretty high quality, compared to many others in my opinion
Great! Double check your wiring, I think you reversed the wires. Give that shell a soapy bath and, given the gearing, use it as your crack express engine pulling some nice CPR passenger cars!👍😊
its just starting to look good- don't you dare clean it
with some replacement steps and couplings this will be a great loco,nice one harrison.jpj
Great save of this engine. At 12:20 you reversed the polarity of the motor, so it will run opposite direction. At some point you might want to check the polarity of your engines. There's a correct way to wire them, I believe that when the engine is going forward the negative polarity will be on the left side. I may have that backward, but there is a standard that you can look up. That way when you have 2 or more engines on the same track they'll run in the same direction. The shell looks to have been custom painted, you can see the outline of the decal around "Canadian Pacific". Also, you probably could easily screw a KD coupler where that drawbar is.
A remotor with a Kato can and flywhl would be a good project for this engine
Yup I caught that too, was thinking "hey didn't he swap the wires"
I didn't noice until after lol
Good looking engine. 😁😁😁🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🚚
i take all inspiration from you :)
Thanks
Dang you. Thanks to you I am now the proud owner of 2 mantua 2-8-2 4073s,2 Mantua 0-6-0,1 mantua 0-4-0,and a lonely Marx 0-4-0T which I don't know if anyone of them work yet.....Found them at last weekends trainshow for $65 total. Along with a Pair of those Cheap 4-4-0 American Flyer Casey Jones engines from the modular system. I wish Helix Humpers was still around. I loved repowering these old Mantua/Tyco engines back in they day. They were some fantastic runners with an updated can motor and flywheel.
That's awesome. The mantuas are some of my favorites to work on.
@@SMTMainline yep. Couldn't pass up the prices. $15 each for the 2-8-2s,$10 for the 0-6-0s and 0-4-0 Mantuas and a 5 spot for the Marx. $20 each for the American Flyers.
are you sure? even google doesn't have a picture of a tank unit anywhere...
@@tommurphy4307 marx had them in their allstate sets with a tender. Prototypical wasn't a thing back then. Lol. Side tank engine with a tender. But they were toys back then.
Probably an old Kato chassis and drive that has been modified. F3/7 A and B units are interchangeable from various mfg. I swap out Athearn chassis for P2K, Intermtn, MTH or Genesis
That was awesome. I think the fastest repair I have seen you do. I couldn't see, does it have lights and were they working? Happy Easter 🐣💜🐰💜🐥
It was a pretty easy one for sure. Thanks for your comment
Always enjoy watching your repair videos. Still cannot get used to your ballistic soldering gun but thats ok.
lol
I use a pistol type iron also
Mainly because it was really cheap back in the day I got it from Radio Shack
lol
I got a new one recently which I will try soon
As a 40+ yr Electronics/Computer Technician... that is possibly worse soldering I have ever seen!
@@journey7x Model trains from this era don’t require delicate soldering. Just as long as the connections don’t break it doesn’t make much of a difference.
@@journey7x it got the job done- and he's not scared....
I ❤️ WATCHING YOUR VIDS THEY ARE SO COOL 😎
Thank you for another great video. Also another look at another engine it is fast even if it is made in China. 😀🇨🇦
Hermosa locomotora saludos
I have no experience with model trains, but I have worked with many pieces of electrical equipment with those types of motors. They were durable and reliable, but not designed to be serviced. When they gave trouble they were replaced with a new motor. They were so common that there should be new ones still available.
On another note, you may want to consider resoldering all joints on anything over ten years old. Also a soldering iron more suited to that type of work might make a good investment.
He was sent a pencil style type. Me thinks he just doesn't want to wait for the warm up time.
I suspected that was the case. I've tried to work on similar motors and ended up screwing them up a bit.
You really speed ran this one haha
Yes I think that locomotive is far younger than it being made supposedly in1956. It is likely a part number. I would guess it is no older than the early 1980s, late 1970s just judging from those cheap blue motor. I would change that motor to a nice modern one.
Probably so.
@@SMTMainline
For the record Revell did make an F7 in 1956 so maybe the body is from that year but that motor looks young er than that.
hoseeker.net/revellinformation.html
change the motor? with one-rail-per truck pickup changing out the whole locomotive would make more sense.
Actually this is probably from the 50s as Revell was only buildings as far as Model Railroad items when I got my first train set in 1970.
I meant the shell the frame and motor aren't original and are probably from an early 60s Japanese import.
That coupling system is a drawbar that would've connected to a B unit
3:17 Life-Like also used springs on their N-scale trains back in the day
⭐️👍⭐️
Pretty interesting engine you have and an awesome runner! I’m guessing that motor on it should last a very long time I think? Btw serenity!
It looks like an okay motor. Just as long as the current draw is in check, everything should be fine.
you can bet it was the cheapest motor they could find for it.
👍
The classic CN (olive and yaller loco, olive and black passenger car) and CPR (wine red and grey locomotive and wine red passenger car) paint schemes were so much better than the modern equivalents. Dumb management trying to look "up to date" and forget the "squiggle" herald
❤
Load it up w/75 VC cars...bet it pulls fine!
Wow, it's rocket now ;)
Yeah!
I’m early also great video keep up the good work
Thanks
That looks unusual to see springs instead of drive shafts
Say Penn Line used spring shaft on a single drive truck
It was probably meant for smooth acceleration.
Another great fix. I see you’re still using that behemoth of a soldering iron. I guess if it ain’t broke… but when it does break… Can we fix this soldering iron from the 1970’s? ;)
Funny enough this one needed repairs a few months ago and ironically in doing so needed parts soldered so I ended up having to use a lighter which worked surprisingly well.
@@SMTMainline i have an old weller pistol i like to use on Horribly Oversized stuff
I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion. But, I love that paint scheme on that engine. Also, do you know any good lubricants for a cheap price? I'm trying to find something that can work with both metal and plastic as I only have two HO scale locomotives. But, have some old TOMY toy engines that I'd like to repair and I'd like to know if there are any lubricants that can work with both metal and plastic as I lost a bunch of my old items due to bad lubricant.
It looks like the coupleing system is like varney a and b units
Video idea run all your f a and b units
Maybe, I already did one with the f-units.
Hard to tell from your video but that thing looked to be drawing quite a bit of current on only 30-40% power.
I think It was 1/4 of an amp.
we'll see how much power you draw when youre 65
The motor look like from tamiya's 4wd racing, no wonder it's so fast
my cp locos are 2 marx tin litho steamers, im consiering adding a diesel at some point
Nice work Harrison I really like it's paint scheme are u going to repaint it?
I wanna leave it as is
You really ought to invest in a spool of smaller gauge rosin core solder. I'm not sure what sort of flux you are using, but if it is not made for electronics it will eventually create corrosion problems.
silver solder, but its solid-core
I have a pair of a units they were made by HobbyTown which was an early knockoff to Athearn
Interesting
Hello SMT mainline how are you feeling I never saw a spring driveshafts before that is very interesting
I think they did that to help with slow acceleration.
Those springs are called a slinky. Much bigger ones were sold to kids 👶 from about the 1950's onward.
I had one of those. Nothing better than trying to get one jumping down a staircase.
@@SMTMainline Iconic toys from the 60's and 70's were great. I had the slinky, Gumby and Pokey, made out of vinyl and late 1960's early 1970's Japanese all metal lithographed robots. One with twin machine guns that popped out of twin doors in its chest. One that raised it's arms and screamed like a siren. ( without a doubt the loudest toys EVER. ) ☺
i call them 'coil shafts' and that usually gets the point across
where/what oil do you use for the train gears
The grease is LaBelle 106. The oil is LaBelle 102 or 107.
@@hondachopper6978 Exactly
labelle lubes
i have a question for you. i have 20 locomotives from the 50s threw 70s from my grandpa that dont run anymore since the 80s before i was born. now i have the time to fix them. whats your take on graphite powder lubricant or should get what you use?
Lubriplare or dielectric grease
Haven't tried graphite powder before. Just as long as you're oiling them properly and using grease on metal parts you should be okay.
@@SMTMainline yeah the main reason i asked is cause i love graphite powder on stuff like hinges. so i have it and if it gets wet it would just clump and break up and be like its all good
use a LIQUID conducting lubricant like atlas' conduct-a-lube (bachmann sells it a little cheaper). IF grease- it has to be lightweight. most automotive products are gonna be too heavy. i only use a liquid conducting lubricant and labelle 102 gear oil on my club's locomotives.
Pog
Pp
Pp indeed
It would be nice to find the b unit to complete the pair. Americanflyer PA1 and PB1 in 1950 and 1951 were connected with a fiber drawbar. I have never seen that drive. An interesting video, thanks.
Revell never made a B-unit
It probably wouldn't be hard to find something to fit with it.
its pretty hard to 'complete the pair' when you don't even know what you have
👍🏽😃👍🏽
💯💯💯💯💯
Any reason you did not clean the loco shell why you had it off?
Thanks for the video.
I actually tried off camera but a damp cloth didn't seem to do anything. I didn't want to anything stronger since it might remove the decals.
because he's only seen dirty F-units in real life??
I got a pancake motor amtrak engine from the bachmann 80's era, should there be any problems with it? i have heard bad things about the gears or something?
Sometimes the nylon gears on those old Bachmann drive systems crack because they’re pressure fitted onto metal axels. To fix them you either have to glue them back together, replace them, or try to make a Life Like gear (which is very similar) work.
@@trainsrcool3452 That's pretty much it. You can still run the loco with the cracked gears until they break, they will just make a clicking noise. Spare parts are easy to find for those.
bachmann didn't make pancake motors, but you can still get the white gears from them with no guarantees. if you run an appropo drill through them, you can rework them so they don't fit so tight and will actually last. or you can get the black gear and wheelsets to fix them for more money, more money, more money....
@@SMTMainline sometimes they will slip and you have to glue them- i hate that
@@tommurphy4307 They make plastic and molds you can make at home, I may try doing that at some point and recast the gears.
Make That Engine Run You canDo it Harrison.
I had a Revell New Haven F7 in my first HO train set. That is not the Revell drive mechanism! Mine had the motor mounted to the rear truck with a spur gear, transmitting power to a gear in the lower half of the truck. Then a driveshaft connecting to another one in the front truck, with worm gears powering the axles.
The shell you have is Revell, but I believe the chassis is fabricated from parts of another Mfg.??
Someone must have taken it out of a kit or something.
What did you end up doing with the coupler? Or did you just leave it as-is, to maybe just run on its own?
I ended up giving it away
Revell is an UK and has its own website and it is from 1940`s era
Thanks for sharing
Revell is a german company and they were one of the biggest hobby sluts for many years. but, thanks anyways
I recently bought a rivarossi mallet engine from a hobby store. It runs well but makes a strange noise. Do you have any idea of what the noise could be?
Have you oiled it yet?
I have not. The store I bought it from make sure every engine they sell is in running order and each has a tag that states it's been oiled. But I will try seeing if a little oil makes a difference tomorrow. Thank you.
make sure its not the motor- its still saveable if its running. you can't get those motors but if its HO it should be fairly easy to rewind.
really is an odd locomotive, i’ve never seen any locomotive with springs used that way lol
It's like the old life like n scale spring drives
Life like used springs like that on their n scale locomotives
the older plastic life-like N scale locos used coil shafts with good success- they are good for installations where the driveline is skewed
Hello SMT mainline I Just Wanted to Say I Tested my AHM Loco Spirit of 1776 and It Ran Prefectly Just Need Basic Maintenance
Glad to hear it
@@SMTMainline Thanks
oakley-dokely
Did you fix your wiring? I noticed you soldered it backwards from its original wiring. Could be fun with another unit fighting each other. Also, you can replace the springs if they give you any grief. food grade tubing or putting drive shafts would make improvements if you so desire.
I didn't notice but it as you mentioned all it changes is the direction.
the coil drive shafts work fine- swapping something else in there would be a waste of time
the coupling was for an A or B unit,,,powered or not
That makes sense
Hey what's that grey block you used to clean the wheels?
Its a track cleaner block.
@@carlbentley80 That's it
i use cratex wheels- theyre cheaper
What machine do you you s to power test ol trains with loose wires
A 70's life like controller. You can find old power packs pretty cheap just about everywhere that sells trains.
his layout and his track. the little lurch that thing made during the track test was very telling. next time harrison sees that he'll know what's up
Strange couplers