Rescuing A 1945 Varney F3 "A" & Powered "B". Plus First Stages of a Re-Paint. Part 1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- My Last Hauntober Halloween Special for 2022. Step by step showing how I disassembled, cleaned & re-lubed this Classic Varney Diesel Locomotive.
#classicmodeltrains
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Mailing Address: Classic Model Trains
1507 Old Hardin Road
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@classicmodeltrains
My second channel mentioned link below.
@RonsClassicRVs
great rebuild
Thanks Mat :-)
i just love model train rescue videos and am always totally amazed at how you and smt mainline are able to give so many old trains a new lease on life, i love it!!
Glad you enjoyed it
Good show, Ron. Decals are a killer, though. Since the advent of DIY decals for home computers the decal companies have been closing up shop. The major problem, though, is making white decals. Can’t do it because home computers can’t spray white ink and many RR company heralds and numbers use white. Damn.
Me? I happen to prefer F-7’s over other F- series cab units. I’d like some different F-s, but Athearn didn’t make them so I don’t have them except for a pair of FP-7’s from Atlas, IIRC. I wish you luck finding your decals for Burlington. They should make a sharp looking head end for your train when the time ones.
Good morning 13th. I hope to find them decals soon. Didnt know some were kinda rare or out of production. More research next time I guess :-)
Man I try mounting that body onto a new modern chassis probably be badass
This one was pretty bad ass for 1940's stuff. 8 wheel pickup, 8 wheel drive, good brass bushings on everything. Just a bit noisy though :-)
Just curious how did you decal job come out on your Burlington project go?
Hello Robert. The decals have been located. Just waiting on a few other items to show up and part 2 will begin filming.
You are a great repair man engineer. You are the best refurbisher model trains ever seen. Keep up the great work.
MrBill, Those are some VERY kind words, Thank you for sharing them with me. Really Made my day!!
Just wow..Great job on saving these from the trash! Can’t wait to see what they look like painted :)
Thanks :-)
Ron,
I have to tell you. I have been going through a super ruff patch with stresses. I have had a horrible time relaxing.
Your videos have helped sooo darn much. They are fascinating. They help my mind calm. They are relaxing. And they are just wonderful.
Wow, thank you!!
Amazing job all around . Look like they may have been a wabash lash up before but still going to look great in Q color scheme. Once again you made me laugh you are so funny thanks Ron
Thanks Harrison, Wabash.. I will look into that!
Congratulations Ron on the 1700 followers!🎉🎉🎉 You deserve it!
Great video, by the way. The MX 3 seems to produce good effects.
Thanks Regis!
There is silicon flexible tubing/hose you can use that is thinner walled (inner and outer walled) than what you tried to use. Also you can make a solid plastic tube with slots at the end for the ball joint's horns.
If you want to DCC them you must change out those motor of course!
Hello Arrow, Yup thinner wall tubing. I was filming this Saturday night, last minute of course. A lot of people have gave great driveline replacement idea's. I would not DCC these. I'm not a big fan of it.
Great video as always! Funny you mention your interest in film; I was going to school for animation. I learned a lot about animation and the entertainment industry as a whole. Which led me to grow even more interested in my model railroading. Now my art and design combine welding, wood working, and of course model railroading. 😅 great work as always sir!!
Thanks for your nice words! Good luck with your career path and model railroading. sounds like your rounding out your skill set quit nice! I spent 30 years working in the entertainment industry. It's an interesting ride :-)
Just wow factor, Ron ! First away, loved your video. Second up- fantastic job you did here on your 1945 Varney ❗ Third up- I hope that you find or did ...find a set of Microscale Burlington Route decals!
Here's a tidbit of information for you - Varney, was the first manufacturer of styrene plastic model ship and plane kits in the USA/ and possibly in the World ??? ; back in 1945 to 1947. All of that was totally new to the world back then, in plastic, as WW II ended when everything was balsa in kits. Their kits are legendary and if one is spotted on Ebay today, in mint condition, boxing and all - phew-- big prices!
So it is no wonder that they had such high end HO scale locomotives in 1937! --
Frank🚂👏👽👻
Thanks for your kind words Frank. I have not found any decals yet. Probably going to have to go a different direction. Thanks for the great information on Varney plastic models. Did not know they did that also. :-)
First time viewing. I live the way you are restoring these vintage EMD F unit Varney Ho classic diesels. They look brand new & semi quiet . Hope you can get the decals...... 🤔 💡 Suggestion when you flashed the decals on left your right side of screen, if available if you got this far print a copies of them via computer the adhesives ? I am sure there are instructions or tips to apply the Burlington & Quincy logos. I truly enjoyed watching this now i want to get a vintage Varney to work on restoring. On another channel SMT did a repair on a vintage late 1940's Varney EMD F 7 unit. Great units you have in the A & B units. 👍👍✅
Greetings Harold! Welcome to my channel, glad you stopped in for a viewing. Another viewer found some decals at a hobby shop in Pennsylvania. They are currently on their way here. These vintage Varney's are quite impressive. Thanks for your kind words :-)
Hello Ron you make me laugh in your videos you do a great job making your videos I like the train Shelf I think it's cool
Greetings Paul. Thanks for your nice words!
When assembling something with springs , do the assembly inside a large clear plastic bag. There’s a good chance the bag will contain the errant spring.
Yup! Thats a pretty good idea :-)
Still have my Varney cast metal A unit my dad bought new in 1954. Thank YOU LORD for my dad and Gordon Varney
Right on!
Super. 💙 T.E.N.
:-)
Another great video! Good to see an old piece of the hobby be repaired and made usable again! Thank you! Keep the videos coming.
Thanks, will do!
Was going thru the internet found a source called mainline hobbies. They showed the decal sheet you were looking for give them a try. Thanks and keep up the great work . Rob h
Robert, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! I just ordered them. This is AWESOME!! I thought I would have to do a re-paint again and go with a different road name. :-)
Your quite welcome looking forward to see the finished project. Just keep up the good work
1945?! Woah, that train is old as my father was.
My Pop's is a 1945 model also :-)
"what is your major malfunction, Private Pile o parts!?"
Full.
Metal.
Sideframes.
😂
:-)
Here's an interesting side note, A.C. Gilbert company also sub contracted with Varney to "make" their line 'ho' scale train sets. look it up. also, that vintage varney F7A&F7B is a jewel made in U.S.A. with pride that locomotive is a beauty.
Thank you !
You do nice work. Varney products back then were very well made. Have you seen the Varney super motor that has 7 polls? I have repaired several Varney 0-4-0 Dockside switchers, and, in a video, I took apart the motor and took out the magnet and a viewer said that will weaken the magnet and cause a higher amp draw. I was wondering if you know anything about that. There is a way to re-magnetize the magnet but requires a special magnetic coil setup. I just came across your channel and now have watched almost all of your videos.
Thank you very much! I've only seen pictures of the 7 pole. Removing magnets does not "hurt" them. Amp draw comes from the windings on the armature, gauge of wire used, and load on the motor, not the magnets. Ive heard of being able to re-magnetize magnets, but don't know what's involved, might be a urban legend? Thanks for supporting my channel like you do, Hope you get some good info to help you out :-)
Oh, my God. That shelf behing you... I can only classify that as railway porn. How glad I subscribed to this channel...
Welcome aboard Juan :-)
Great Googa Mooga…
That’s as tedious and fiddly as rebuilding a Therma Quad!
Great job!
Cleaning her up!
Hope you can get the decals you want.
Ahhh........good 'ol thermoquads! I shivered when I read that :-). Thanks for your kind words Jeb!
Well, There is 1/2 hour of my life I will never get back. The thumbnail implies that the train is going to be re-finished with a new paint scheme. "CLICK BAIT"
It’s part one of two
Last year I bought an old 1957 tenshodo 8 wheel drive Pennsylvania RR gp7 with the same Pittman motor setup with the center drive shaft that was missing. The retailer I bought it from is out of Florida and they made a new shaft to go between the drives and capture the dog bones with some notches out of some sort of small diameter fiber thin wall pipe of some sort. I can email some pictures of it with a few dimensions if you'd like.
I have a few idea's that line up with what you mention. Thanks for your great idea's and you offering some pic's.
The driveshaft from a Hobbytown drive might work. They use the same style dogbone/slotted collar drive.
Thanks for the info!!
Wow Ron you did a He'll of a job with it. It's great to see something that old given some much needed TLC and it works. Great job
Thanks 👍
I am actually sourcing out a set of those older Varney drives. I have an older Walther's (wood/metal) MP-54 coach kit set that needs some life added to them,lol.
Right on! hope your build project goes well :-)
I replaced all the magnets in my open frame motors (Pittman) with rare earth magnets and it really made a BIG difference in current draw and now they "creep" around the tracks. Cheers from eastern TN
I just had some arrive from micro-mark. Plan on doing a video about magnet upgrades
dont have any varneys yet, i have tyco, bachmann, athearn, and atlas ho engines.always lookin for something different though.
Varney HO was some solid build stuff back in the 40's and early 50's
It's just like real life. Old locomotive gets bought out and brought back to life by a nice shortline :3
Yup!
Amazing Job!!!
Thank you!
The More I watch, the More I like. Suggestion for the Driveline (if you're still interested). Habor Freight has small packages of Heat Shrink tubbing. An assortment of sizes. Even IF you can't find something that will work, you'll still have some Shrink Tube.
Good day to you Lynn. Heat shrink might be a good idea. I got lots of it already. Use it in my day job. Thanks!
the coupling you need is varney 2062. check your hobby shop for plastic or brass shapes which can easily fabricated for that use. simple hand tools can form a tube. suppliers are on line if you want to mail purchase. they also sell a generous sample pack.
Greetings suppy, Thanks for the great idea's. One feller suggested using a Bic pen tube and some fabrication skills :-)
as a kid i never in my wildest dream thought that all these years later i would still have a running marx 1666 steamer, but i not only have a whole fleet of good running, and new looking 1666s! im thrilled to say the least.
great story Gary! Marx made them like tanks back then
NWSL drive shaft kit I believe is still available and wii work to connect the two trucks on your locomotive.
Awesome! Thanks for the heads up John :-)
Great job bringing these back to life, can't wait to see them finished :)
You and me both!
I know Montana and Wisconsin are quite far apart from each other, but Trainfest is back on this year and if toy can't find it at this show... it never existed.
I'll be there and can keep my peepers open, but it isn't for two more weeks.
Great job btw, I love old Varneys. I have 11 Casey Jones's which about a third are parts locos.
Thanks for the info on train fest. Yup MT and WI are close sorta... but still many miles apart. Sounds like some bench time and you could get a bunch of classics rolling again :-)
Excellent videos! I love the old school quality. Just restored a Varney A B set in Santa Fe colors.
Thank you! Old school made em good back then. Glad to hear you brought back some Varney also :-)
Take a razor saw and cut/slot the end of your thick tubing to facilitate the ball rod to slip into each end of the tubing cut/slot you cut with a razor saw.
Sounds like a pretty good idea. I was going to do that with a Bic pen tube, or perhaps something along those lines.
I saw the bicentennial box cars at the Columbia, SC train show two weeks. I recommend that you could also go to train shows I your area.
Train shows up here in Montana are rare, and many miles away (300) but yeah I wanna get to them someday!
Just subscribed. Nice channel. Great work.😁😁😁🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks for subbing! Thanks for your kind words :-)
Just love the h e f t of a diecast locomotive. It has all the w e i g h t it needs for good traction. I love running a whole diecast train cars included. When that goes You switches and crossings they thump just like the real thing.
Couldn't agree more!
Hi I tried Ox Guard and the loco's I treated lost all traction . I had to clean the loco wheels , and it also coated the track and rolling stock wheels as it transferred to the track from the loco wheels . Before I cleaned the track any non treated loco I ran also lost traction from the contaminated track. So I am just going to clean the wheels from now on .
Hello Darren, Thanks for the field test information on Ox Guard! I'm hoping to find the "miracle" juice to fight oxidation. Wheel cleaning haunts me in my sleep :-)
Best video I have found about this subject matter. One question, what do you do with the ends of the bus lines?
Well I'm not sure if you have commented a question on the wrong episode or what. This episode was about re-painting and repairing an old Varney A and B unit. My latest video was about installing buss lines. Since my layout is just a point to point the buss lines just start and end. the ends are under the layout and waiting for future expansion. If you have a loop, I have read do not tie the buss lines back into themselves. Causes problems with the DCC signal. Although I've never experienced it.
Beautiful job Ron. Hope you find the decals soon.
Thanks,I hope so too :-)
Check local pet shop for fish tank tubing - maybe something there?
Great idea!
RON!!!!! ...... Your movie made me wanna get some popcorn!!! 😳
better than some headache pills :-)
Good luck searching the decals Ron....someone is bound to have them.
I am hoping so :-)
love your flat front pick up and your videos thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching William!
Hello so far a really good and nice Job you did. What I don't unterstand is, after all this Work you dit, why don't you change the Wireing? So much right now from me. Greetings to you from Germany Bruno 😊
Hello Bruno from Germany, What should I have changed on the wiring? The only thing that comes to mind is to add a headlight.
@@classicmodeltrains Change of Wires? Easy, if you change them you lower the Risk of an Electrical Issue. But it has been a Idea don't shoot me plaese. Lol. Bruno
Another great video 👏👏👏👏👏. You are The Locomotive Whisperer.
That little scary video is awesome. Su funny 😄.
Quick question. When you work on trains do you use one of those jewelers magnifying glass or just only you own eyes 👀. Those trains are small 😀.
Fantastic video!!! All the best Ron!!!
P.S.
What's the name of your dog?
Thank you once again. I do have one of those headset things with the flip down magnifying lens. The old Eyeballs aint staying in focus like they did 20 years ago :-). 2 dogs, both Shepherds. The Male is Max, and the female is Oogy.
@@classicmodeltrains yeah. Those eyes 👀, old technology 😄😄😄
If I'm gonna go mainly into HO scale (more variety, more products available out there) I think I'll need those drop-down magnifying glasses 👓 . I'm thinking of going mainly on O scale because of the size.
I currently have an HO scale set.
All the best Ron. Looking forward to your next videos!!!
Superb job Ron. This turned out amazing!
Thank you :-)
I have my first loco which is a Varney I got christmas in 1956. I need to do this to my unit
WOW! Still have your first loco? That's awesome Joe!
Another Great Video! Great job on the locomotives..
Thank you very much!
Hobbytown of Boston drive parts order direct will work
Well I did get this drive unit fixed in the part 2 video, but I will keep that in mind for future needs. Thank you :-)
typo correction, i meant to say i not only have one but a whole fleet!
:-)
Talk about your 1940's Erector Set 🤣
:-)
Looking good so far but needs some paint. Amazingly quiet for being that old. Great job!!
Thanks Robert, But it has been painted. Needs decals that are on backorder. and of course some extra detailing :-)
@@classicmodeltrains I saw that. I get a little a head of myself mostly. Just after I made my comment you had mentioned trouble getting decals. Great job on the restored engines by the way. Love the channel too. Especially the intro with the creepy guy and the balloon coming into your driveway. I laughed and laughed. Watched it several times. 👍
That b unit looks like a a hobby Town of Boston drive
The "B" is 100% Varney. it has Varney stamped / or cast all over the pieces parts.
Hi Ron, Another great video.. question pls.. when working on these motors how does one know if the magnet needs re-energising? I have seen it talked about on a few channels and just wondered if you know anything about this... There is a gentleman named Ronald Dodd (on the Ytube) who has made a device to do this but my question is how do we know if a magnet needs this done or not...
if the magnet is week the armature won't spin at low voltage and wont able to creep along. will have very poor performance and not be able to pull. This of course only if the drive has been cleaned and fresh lubed with good continuity to the power on the track. If a person has a re-mag it would never hurt to freshen them up every 5 - 10 years or so.
Thanks a lot Ron.
What is the music you used on the reveal ⁉️
I'm not sure. Its been so long ago. Something I got off of Epidemic sound.
Great work on those Varney units! I have one that probably would be better off going to you! I’m unsure if it works but I’ll have to dig it out and give it a look. These are some solid units. I’ll keep my eyes out for the decals, if I find a link I’ll forward it to you. I usually have good luck looking for some as I find stuff at good places. Youre for sure going to use the Burlington scheme? It’s nice to see it! As well as the early Burlington Chinese red color.
Also wanted to know if you got your box of goodies I sent. Hopefully you like them! Looking forward to seeing them restored here!
Hope you had a wonderful Halloween and got to eat some candy and run trains! Hope to hear from you soon Ron!
Good day to you Marc! Yes I did receive your box of treasures. Thank you very much!! I spent some time looking for you on my FB page (s) or looking for any e-mails from ya and could not find any. I had to wait till you commented on this video to thank you. Loved your included letter. Really made my day, knowing sometimes I can make your day better with these video's and my strange humor :-) I did put up a public thank you with pictures on my FB page "Classic Model Trains" but as your letter mentioned, you don't do FB. I would not do FB also, for the same reasons you stated, but I sorta have to for the TH-cam channel. I am hoping your day is treating you well! Once again THANK YOU :-)
@@classicmodeltrains hi Ron. How rude of me! There may have been a missing page somewhere. That had my email and my Instagram tag on it. Let me find you in messenger and I’ll send you a email address and a phone number and we can communicate with FB messenger as well. I’m happy that they arrived to you nice and safely! Keep an eye out for my message, and hope to get to talk to you more sometime soon also!
Very instructive, thanks Ron.
Thanks for watching
I have a collection of varney locomotives! This video really gets me drooling hard!
The more I worked on this one, the more I really like these cast Varneys. Cheap to buy on the bay, and engineered well. More of them is definitely in my future :-)
@@classicmodeltrains my grandfather briefly worked for Glenn varney before world War II, he was a model railroader as well. Shit. It took me two and a half years to aquire all the parts to finish my first F3 kit factory painted Chicago north western. Now I have now I have aquired a butt load of stuff varney. In its time varney was the model locomotive for the guy with cash. They weren't cheap. I built a switcher completely from parts l bought on ebay, including an original box they came in. They all are ho model railroading history.
Truly cool, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Saludos amigo hermosa colección de locomotoras
Muchísimas gracias
What is ill-eh-NOISE ? 🤔⁉
I'm always getting busted for mispronouncing it. I will do better!! :-)
Nice work on these F units. I have an all powered A-B-B-A set of these that I will be rebuilding sometime in the near future. All of mine have the earlier coil spring belt drive but are, otherwise, identical to yours. The only modification I intend to make is to substitute a rubber O ring for the spring belt which will make the loco very quiet and should make each one pull better. Varneys were built to a high quality which is why they have stood the test or time. Thanks for showcasing these great vintage trains.
Thanks for your kind words. All powered ABBA, That sounds awesome!! good luck o-ringing them. Im hoping they run like a dream for ya :-)
I love seeing these old Varney's being restored. In my collection, I have 2 of the F3a's with metal belt drives that have 3 step pulleys on them along with a F3B dummy. My future plans are to turn them into a NYC Cigar band scheme set.
Right on! Rolling some classics
a little late to the show, but interasting stay well
Hey! At least you made it. Thanks for watching :-)
As usual, another excellent video. Those old Varneys are fun to work on and make nice pullers. Another option you might be able to make a drive shaft out of an old Bic pen, or a plastic tube about that size then cut slits in the end so it fits over the pins. Painting that makes it look amazing. Do you rattle can or are you into airbrushing?
Looks like those engines run well together. If it was a major problem you could put the A shell on the B chassis and then turn the 4 wheel drive chassis into a dummy unit.
Thanks Tim for the Bic pen idea! I think that's a great idea!! So far I'm rattle caning. Benn wanting to get an airbrush and a hood system. I couldn't believe they ran as such close speeds together.
Great job on the locos! Check online for Champ decals for Burlington diesels. I saw some for sale. I have used them a lot and are very good decals. I have some that are over twenty years old, and they still work great. look forward to seeing them finished.
Thanks for the tip!
Was wondering if you were ever gonna reintroduce that very entertaining clip again. And, with a very nice rebuild, too? What more could you want???
Good Morning MC. I Forgot you've already seen the ghost hunt a few years back. Time sure fly's :-)
I am SO excited! I'm going to watch the video now..
Hope you like it!
@@classicmodeltrains Oh I loved it! I actually have a union Pacific f-3 Varney from what I believe is the same year as yours
Zinc pest got the best of my b unit frame so RIP b unit frame.
My B unit shell on the other hand is alive and well so I look to restore the A and B soon and bring life back to the train as a whole.
Can't wait for part 2
I love watching your videos Ron! Great work and down to earth! Thank you ! quickly becoming my favorite channels!
Thank you so much for your kind words :-)
Wonderful video. A very easy source of inexpensive drive-lines/transmissions is silicone micro-tubing. You can buy it cheap on ebay. Works great.
Thanks for the tip!
you want to be careful about removing those magnets from the motor cage because they can loose magnetism
This is an interesting comment you posted. I enjoy different opinions and discussions about "things". I wonder why you mention this? I have seen magnets that are stacked up with each other in a "tube" shape for shipping. why would a magnet loose its "power" by removing it from the motor assembly? They were not built in the cage. Just talking here, not arguing :-)
@@classicmodeltrains the same reason many horseshoe magnets need a field keeper . this is especially true of alnico and ceramic magnets .
I removed the magnet from a Mantua 0-4-0 yard goat motor and when I reinstalled it the motor would barely run ,I ended up using a stack of neo mags to make it run again
Science and stuff en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coercivity
@@classicmodeltrains I'm sure there are differences between magnets and motors. From my own experience, Tri-ang X04 motor magnets definitely loose most of their magnetism as soon as they are taken out of the motor frame. I made my own re-magnetiser using electromagnets to return them to full strength after re-assembly. Without re-magnetisation, the motor will draw much more power, running the risk of overheating the armature, and have much less torque. It is a common practice for anyone dealing with these motors. Love your channel. 😊
also have 2 life likes!
Right on
Awesome job on the F3s
Thanks!
Beware of zinc rot.
Dang Zinc rot. So far so good on all my stuff!
Ron hello gotta love the vintage! What 😂 an excellent pet 1 and your sense of humor! Neat build
Greetings William. Thanks for your support!
This is the kind of videos I like. Very good job, sir. Can't wait for the second part.
Glad you enjoyed it!
love your videos Ron!
Thank you Manny !
nice loco thanks for showing such a detailed tear down and rebuild picked up a varney switcher in a lot that was in pieces got er running again took a little bit
Glad you enjoyed it, and glad you got another classic back on the rails :-)
Great 👍 awesome
Thanks!
That's going to look really nice when you get it all done and looking really good. Keep up the good work my good friend
I'm hoping so. Thanks for your nice words Garrett!
Fantastic video Ron always exciting to watch your videos 👍🏻🚂 TSM
Glad you like them!
Awesome looking locomotives all cleaned up! I have used some decals of that scheme for CB&Q made by CHAMP decals. The usually are older but if you put a coating of Microscale Liquid Decal Film they will work perfectly. Another great video Ron! Again all the best and your short was very cool as well! Happy Halloween!
Good morning EC, thanks once again for your kind words and giving me another source for them decals. I shall do some research to see if Champ has them!
@@classicmodeltrains prob an eBay find Champ is out of business I believe. Good Luck! I will look and see if I still have one complete set.
Nicely described steps on disassemble and reassemble. I understood you can't actually include the significant amount of cussing needed while working on the small parts, so I took the liberty of remembering some of the ear burners my Grampa and my Dad would have used. Yikes! Thank you for the both entertaining and enlightening videos you produce. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your kind words Jack!
Yea.For example..."bother" ..."heck"....."darn it"....oh blow.Those strong over the top blasfeem....EH?
great job , you remind me of dereck over at vice grip garage ,, and that's a good thing , can't wait for part 2
Thanks for the great compliment Shakey!
Nice video!
Glad you enjoyed it
WOW - very nice.
Glad you like it!
Well done Ron all the way around👍👍👍📹 🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲🙋
Thanks 4ever :-)
Another great video Ron! Well done sir!
Thanks again Ray :-)
Your a Stephen King look alike! nice repair and clean!!
Ive been called a lot of things but never looking like S.K. :-). Wish my imagination was as good as his!!