Resurrecting One Of The Nicest Looking F-Unit Sets Ever! Varney's 1958 HO scale A.C.L. F3's A-B-B-A
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- A box of disassembled Varney's Arrived by Donation. Some time was spent figuring out how to get them back together and running the rails once again. How to clean and re-lube them, plus installing Kadee's on 3 different kind of Varney Chassis.
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@classicmodeltrains
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Ron, I just wanted to say thank you again for the incredible job you did restoring my late grandfathers Lionel train set. I can’t believe how incredible it looks in person. Thank you again for everything that you did.
WOW!!!! THANK YOU OWEN and the McCarthy Family. I really enjoyed restoring that and it made it even better when we visited and I learned about what it meant to you and your Dad. It will be around for many generations more I'm sure!!
That vintage set has the coolest packaging I've ever seen. My dad's always talking about your channel and ever since we visited the North Carolina Transportation Museum and saw the Atlantic Coast Line they got there, I've been fascinated with it. I absolutely love the purple and silver color scheme! I really wish it would have stuck around! My dad's always been a train fan and I love miniature models so I'm kinda getting more into trains now.
Awesome story. Pretty cool you and your Dad are Modeling and checking out real trains together!!
Great job Ron fantastic work and I’m so glad you took a bite of that snickers bar. Lol
Hello WOZ! :-)
I suppose you already thought about it. But if you haven't. My advice would be to modify the last "A" unit with minimal amount of weight.
I really enjoyed the tutorial. You are very determined and creative. And it shows in the final product, your genius.
Thankyou for sharing.
I'm holding out for either a dummy chassis or acquiring the parts needed to get that chassis powered again. I dont want to destroy the chassis tho make a dummy
Nice job restoring that varney f3 set!
Thank you Matt
Nice show Ron, loved the snickers bar bit lol. The plastruct cement is great stuff. Nice looking train set…
Thank you John!
I never used a torch on brushes, but I have used carburetor cleaner if they were extra gunky. Good job on the old Varney. They take some patience. I was working on making pulleys and using a belt instead of using gears on those motors to make them a little quieter.
I see Varney had some like that from the factory.
Classic Ron, first he raised the price of Tyco, then Mehano, Mantua, AHM, and IHC, now I expect Varney to go up in price on the ‘Bay. LoL. He’s the Gordon Gekko of Classic Model Trains, he can influence the market with a video. Again, thanks for hanging out and entertaining me.
Hello Scott. I was looking on the eBay for another ACL powered unit and saw a A-B set that went for $60.00. Perhaps your on to something there ;-)
That's a beautiful loco! Fun video!
Thanks
That was definitely worth the time and effort. Great job.
Still one of my favorite loco sets
Dad used to take me to see the "Purple Choo-choos" when we visited family in Savannah, GA. My aunt tells me I was 2 or 3 then!! Now I know they were Seaboard Coast Lines! Thanks Ron!
I wished I could see these in real life
Wow thanks for the preview that a video is coming and notification!
So you mentioned slot car guys give tips . One of mine from the 70’s was after we cleaned the commutator/ armature. We used a ball point pen ( medium or fatter) and burnished the edges ( gap between plates) we rubbed the ball point pen through there. Makes the brushes rub nicer as motor ran. We did it for speed back then. But I always do that procedure when working on Lionel motors.
Great Video! Thanks Ron !
Interesting tip there. Thanks Steven
Thank you for the info on HO seeker. Cool man.
HO seeker is an amazing reference site. I hope Tony can keep it going
If you get those buffers between the engines, they would look kick ass. Back in the 70s, as kids, we would ride the train and jump over the plates between cars. The diaphragms were always cool. Riding on the open air cars resulted in an eye full of cinders if you didn't have goggles.
I wish I could find a nice set of diaphragms
Absolutely gorgeous livery on those. Came into possession of a Revell ACL SW7 set from that era about 2 years ago when my in-laws were cleaning my mother in law's house after she passed. Cars dismantled and locomotive missing but figured aside from the locomotive I needed to wait til some sacrificial Revell stock showed at the hobby shop second hand bin and track down a Revell ACL SW7. Through some hunting and searching I got it back together again and posted pics on Facebook with attention to my two eldest brothers in laws on the assumption it was their boyhood trainset. You could well imagine my surprise when they replied back it wasn't theirs it was my father in law's brief foray into model railroading.
Neat to find family stuff long forgotten about and learn the history of them. Ive been longing for a Revell ACL SW7 since I first laid eyes on one. Such a nice livery!!
Hey, Ron hot for sure out here on the right coast !! Nice job on the Varneys, you put some work into those units. I have a couple of Varney die cast F units - looking forward to restoring them in the future. Now I have a good reference. Love the channel- great stuff 33% here all the way.
Glad that Snickers Bar was handy, you almost had a meltdown - LOL.
Thanks Patrick for your support. Hope this helps you get another Varney on the rails
Ron, I love these history lessons being that I am an Aussie and know nothing of this over here. This is yet another reason why I love your channel so much. What no classic model this episode?.... It is nice seeing these old sets being refurbished and brought back to life.
Hello Tim! Glad your liking the history stuff :-)
I need to be on the hunt for this!!!!!
I agree. They are so colorful to look at
This is cool as I model both the Florida East Coast line and the Atlantic Coast Line on my layout.
Right on! A "local" one for ya ;-)
Loved the video, especially the snickers part. Keep up the good work 👍. I’m a N scaler, but I still like the H O stuff. Always look forward to the next one!
Thank you!
33%er here with ya. Gosh, but ACL sure is pretty! Very classy. It, the Daylight and the Warbonnet schemes are three of the very best liveries of the early diesel era- simply beautiful!
I agree with you :-)
Great job Ron! That is a nice looking train too!
Thanks Bob
sweet my name is there ty ron
You Betcha!!
I enjoyed the Varney history lesson. I have several diecast Varney F-units, and your research might help me figure out when they were born. LOVED the brass-plastic tirade. And the Snickers cure. That ACL ABBA set sure is nice to look at.
Glad you enjoyed my shenanigans Michael :-)
Well done , that was a big job , regards 33% Marc
Thank you Marc!!
Great Job. I enjoy your comments.
Thank you John!
Thank you for sharing.👍
Thanks for watching!
Great video Ron…first time seeing that livery…thanks for posting and 5he history of Varney et al…cheers…
You've never seen a ACL? Well I hope it's memorable. Purple trains kinda stick out a bit you know :-)
@@classicmodeltrains nope, never…learn something new everyday…
@@classicmodeltrains oh yeh…nice move with the Snickers…
It was interesting watching you “manage” to get one functional locomotive “frankinsteined together from so many different era locomotives. The one thing I find amazing about manufacturers is the fact that sometimes things should just left alone. The drive Varney created, for the time was amazing, yet someone had to come along and “improve” it. The Zamac alloy was used a lot for model trains “back in the day” I have a Mantua/Tyco General made from it. I wonder just how many styrene shells Model Power made with the old Varney molds? I hope, maybe sometime in the future you will be able to get the other “A” unit running again.
Them dang bean counters mess it up with saving 1/2 cent a unit if we just......... I hope to get the other A powered as well
Here within the past month, I’ve been upgrading some of my rolling stock from horn hooks to Kdee couplers. So far I really love the progress I’m making 😉
Right on!!
That is a beautiful set!!!
Thanks!
I'm a 33% Subscriber,
great video. I like this paint scheme.
Thank you Jeff for your support of my channel!! This is my favorite paint scheme as well
Ron you could add a big flywheel on that long shaft sticking past the gear on the powered unit, that would improve performance and add more weight to the unit
Sounds like a good idea!
That's a very nice set!
Thanks!
As always Ron, good to see you and drop by. I always learn something, you make the history entertaining and fun. Beautiful family of trains, I love the colors, wow.
Good thing you had your Snickers to bring you back ....lol. I love it.
Always look forward to the notification bell, keep up the great work.
33%er Cheers 🥂
Thank you Robert. Yes them ACL's are very easy on the eye!!
I had an AHM model horse trailer car in the road name I model (Central of Georgia) that had molded on coupler pockets. I couldn't get a Kadee coupler in there so I setup my coupler height tool and saw that I could remove the molded on pockets and add a Kadee coupler draft box. Worked out perfectly. Ah, yes, the old bread tie trick. I've also got a collection of plastic bread ties I use for shims. Great minds think alike. I get my weights from Harbor Freight so I don't pay shipping. Very nice restoration on those Varney's. Great looking A-B-B-A Atlantic Coast Line set. Cheers from eastern TN
Another thing that works good for shims is guitar picks. They are cheap and come in different thicknesses.
My Dad was from Savannah, GA! His favorite railroad was Atlantic Coastline!
Hello Rustylane, Thanks for watching :-)
Ron, you should get the drill press accessory for your Dremel tool and install a foot switch. I've been doing a lot of coupler upgrades and the drill press gives you some nice straight holes for the 2-56 taps. It also comes in handy for polishing and cutting. The Dremel is stationary so you can maneuver the parts using both hands and the foot switch will power the Dremel on and off. This setup has definitely cut down on swearing for me.
Sounds like a good idea but If I dont use up my daily allowance of swear words they fall out accidentally at inappropriate times :-)
Awesome Video and very Nice Work Sir! Love that ACL paint Scheme and these Old Girls cleaned up Nice! Well Done Sir!
Thank you Eric!
That was awesome .... Cheers Ron 🍺
:-)
I wish I caught this when you started. Fun while it lasted, Jersey Bill
Thanks for watching
Do Your Thing Ron!👍👍👍👍.
VROOOOoooommmm.........! :-)
Really nice work again and great job figuring out all those coupler modifications 👍
Thank you
Slot car reference at 17:36 . Sounds similar to what i did as a young teen in the late sixties with the Mabuchi FT36D style motor brushes from my 1/24th scale Revell Shelby Cobra.
The slot car magazines suggested to heat up the brushes to get oil out of them. I used the 60 watt bulb from my desk lamp, sitting the brush on top of the bulb. After that heating i could see oil rising to the top of the carbon brush blocks. Wiped that off . Might be a problem with brushes soldered to brass brush arms like "Pittman" style of motor brushes.
The 36D, 26D and 16D brushes were just solid rectangular brushes sitting in heat sink holders with no soldering. Some vids on RUclips tinkering the 16D for more performance.
I had time to tinker but not spare cash for the latest and greatest new car parts. So i was always trying something cheap to do. Hard to measure going much faster at the commercial track i raced on without timing and my driving skill variation, but the motor still worked and i liked to think went faster. Not sure where the oil came from since my earlier trains taught me not to over oil.
Thank you John for answering that question I had. I like the lightbulb idea. Doesn't seem so violent as using a torch to burn out the oil.
Exceptional job at using a bunch of parts to make a very good looking A-B-B-A.
Thanks Richard, Yes I was hoping for just a A-B. got real lucky on the eBay
You the man! Really good job sir
Thank you Albert
Grew up in the era early 60s, seen Varney boxes at the hobby shop, i got into Blue Box Athearn.
I always enjoy getting the notification bell, I love seeing thus stuff. Southern West Virginia was Tyco country, Hills dept store, carried all kinds of Tyco and slot cars full line and it was cheap.
I spent a lot of time in the hobby stores in the early 80's. I do wish I was around for the late 50's and early 60's though.
Been watching u alot..crc QD electronic cleaner will make ur life a lot easier. Just bath the motor or chassis part with it through red straw tip till it runs clean and it leaves no residue..we use it on slot cars alot.
I hear you. I take the motors all apart so people can see the insides of them. See what makes them tick ;-)
I’m glad you got these going again. Thanks again for what you do.
Hey Frank!! You were right, they're RUclips famous now. Thank you once again for donating this AWSOME stuff to the channel!!
GREAT VID RON!!! Keep it up buddy!!!
Thank you :-)
Nice work Ron! Those old meat grinders always have been noisy. Nothing can be done with!
Hello Ray. Yes I remember visiting with you about these a few years ago now it seems
If I Had to Spend A Day Doin Something It Would Be Model Railroading One Way Or Another.
I agree with you there!
Great video Sir . Those are some cool looking little trains . I named them " The Purple Rain " train set after Prince . Thank you .
Thank you!
Very nice!
Thanks Gary
You're not you when you're hungry, ( at 8:03 ) Snickers Satisfies...
:-)
Really enjoy watching your videos. The technical terms just make my day! Keep them coming!
Thanks John, If I could remember the right terms when I needed to say them I would never have to make up my weird terms I 'm forced to use because of slow brain :-)
That looks spectacular! I’m not really much into HO but I find myself learning more about it and the history of it. I can certainly understand how it took over as more or less one of the standard scales. Those Varneys were crazy expensive originally, definitely top of the line for the day!
Thanks Joshua, I like all the gauges out there. Yup them Varneys were big bucks back then for sure
That's quite a consist and the colour scheme is very eye-catching. I was having flashbacks when the carbon brush came apart. I had the same thing happen and discovered, as you did, that they can be soldered back together as long as there is existing solder on the carbon block. Crisis averted! A definite cost saving. Fun video. 😊👍
Thanks for watching!!
Another fantastic video Ron! Love the Snickers sequence! Take care, Jeff Hanna
Thanks Jeff 👍
You wanna stop the zinc rot overspray them with a flat finish or a gloss finish have to seal the metal from oxygen and the zinc rot will stop. I hope that helps I've learned that 1 over the million or so years I've been modeling.😊
Thanks for the tip!
She's a good looking growler!
Soft on the eye's, hard on the ears
Another informative video Ron...I was wondering myself about soldering the brushes back on. Don't know if you know it but if you turn your kadee coupler gage around the flat side is used to mark the height of the coupler box...this has helped me to get the locations right before I cut or glue on shims on many an install...
Keep up the great videos...
Rich...
Hello Rich, I was not aware of that trick with the height gauge. THANK YOU for sharing that with me!! Will save some time for sure
That's a beautiful ABBA consist. I wonder if you could fit a flywheel on the exposed motor shaft to improve low end performance? Another option is you may be able to fit a blue box Athearn powered chassis underneath. I'm not sure if the Varney shells fit, but I know for a fact that a Mantua/Tyco F-unit body can be mounted on an Athearn F-unit chassis with very little modification.
It is real Purdy to look at. I suppose a Feller could get it on a BB chassis with very little trouble.
Great way to start the weekend …great video!
Thanks Thomas
Hey Ron as always keep em coming I enjoy all your videos
Thanks 👍
Terrific work Ron! As you know, I’m crazy about motors. So your job drove me nuts my friend. Thanks a lot for the video!
Hello Regis. I was surprised to learn they used 5 pole motors in there stuff back in the day. If they would have only used helical cut gears these would have lots of power and be quiet. Thanks for your support once again my Friend!!
Another awesome job they look great love the show
Thank you Ray
Thank You Ron most enjoyable and informative too! What no classic model? Ats OK Varney's classic enough I Say! I have some to, and I luv em
Thanks William
I think you should’ve kept the loop layout, your choice but I think these locos need bigger areas to continuously run
I completely agree
Hi Ron & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks Ron & Friends Randy
Hi Randy! Thank you :-)
Excellent, Ron!!
Thanks David
I was looking forward to a "Guess who this beautiful girl is".
I was running out of time on this vid
We just went through massive flooding here in north west Iowa, south east South Dakota and south west Minnesota.
OH WOW!! Didnt hear about this. Hope you and your neighbors are doing all right
We are okay, Google Rock Valley Iowa flooding and you will see it all
Great vid. Love the livery on that one ✌️
Thanks, yes its a great color scheme for sure
Good job. Love your videos as always.
Thank you!
Hey Ron great video, I enjoyed it very much. One note.....have you considered some 'Bullfrog Snot' on one or two wheels of the power unit. I t helps with tractive effort.
Thank you Howard. I will never use bullfrog snot. always looks bad when applied. I dont believe in "mechanic in a miracle liquid"
Great work. Love it.
:-)
Wonderful video. Love being apart of the 33%ers... lol. Thank you for sharing 😊
Thank you James for your support
Just a thought, if the train is still not able to pull the cars and you need more weight, you can go find some earlier 1940'-1950's dicast shells that add a lot more weight to the loco
Sure a feller could do that but I liked this particular factory color so I added weights to this chassis
@@classicmodeltrains I had the same problem with a Varney Illinois central f unit. I found a custom painted dicast A unit online and bought three more undecorated dicast kits to go with it. With some painting and detailing they look just as well as the newer plastic factory painted version and run a bigger load too.
You know, there’s lots of room inside that shell, you could probably put a smallish flywheel on the end of the motor shaft and it would smooth that loco out in a huge way.
Not a bad idea!
Now, that's making a whole lot of useful out of a bunch of broken. Great work...
Thanks MC. Kinda reminded me of your model collection back in the day. "Now what can I build with all this stuff?" :-)
I have two Atlantic East Coast units. Can't remember who made it but both of them bent themselves almost in half.
Pot metal frames
Thats too bad. Hopefully the frames can get replaced
Another interesting, informative, and entertaining video! Well done. I started to get a bit worried for you a few times there but as usual, you pulled it all off in the end. I too have issues with those truck frames where the screw is pretty much inaccessible. They need to be tightened, but getting to the screwhead with a screwdriver is a PITA. I wonder how they do it (did it) during production. Must have had a specially designed tool for it is all I can think of. Anyway, thanks for the video and appreciate you taking away time from your layout / work room move to do so. How is that project coming along, BTW? Need to post some updates on that as well....inquiring minds want to know. :)
Hello Tim. My projects go slow because there the 3rd thing I have to do. Day job 1st, property maintenance 2nd, trains and train vids 3rd, then work on my RV's. Plus drink a beer. so not as much as I would like to have done is done yet. But making progress
That is awesome
Thank you
You're welcome
Can’t wait for this
First commenter!
@@classicmodeltrains I love all your videos
This is such a beautiful thing you do...its slwsys like Christmas 🎄 for me..
I dont have yhe know how or knack to do this so watching you is joy
Thank you so much!
Never had ho from that era. Lots of athearns. They look amazing but seem to run not so good. But I am happy to see the mueseum will be happy you didn’t turn these shells in restomods but maybe you should do they fit on top of athearn blue box?
I hear the shell will fit a BB with very little modification
@@classicmodeltrains are you nearby in Montana? I am in Saskatchewan
@@N_scale Billings
@@classicmodeltrains regina Saskatchewan
Been to billings many many times
@@classicmodeltrains ruclips.net/user/shorts12S2MtYCh18?si=URUJzSAq_hff4Djo
Hi Ron, great video. Thanks. Watched to the end. Have you ever come across any Australia locos etc?
I never do. I have my eye on a couple that Tyco made for Australia but there pretty rear to find for sale here in the states.
@@classicmodeltrains Thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thank you. They have that certaib "no Bullshite" factor to them
Now I want a snickers bar.
He He!
I own one of those I was planning on selling it but if you want you can have it!
I'm looking for a "A" shell for sure!!
Although those later plastic F units are pretty, the earlier metal, brass geared Varney models are much better pullers. It is easy to find F unit parts on eBay. I would find another powered chassis and run the consist with two powered units. Personally, I don't give a damn about current draw so I have powered chassis under every shell. I have an A-B-A set of plastic shell Varneys (PRR scheme) and all have Globe powered chassis under the shells. I also have an A-B-B-A set of metal F units with belt drives. It's so loud, you can't hear yourself think...but it'll pull every car I own while racking up a nice electric bill!
I really like the way you think!!
I have a ton of that N scale Arnold track if you want it.
A Feller could always use more N gauge track :-)
Hey Ron! Is there any one specific metal wheel and axle replacement you recommend that I can use for my 45 year old Tyco HO car trucks?
Hello Steve, I use Walthers 33" wheel sets 920-2304. Only reason was it's what the LHS had for a fair price. Ive never had any problems with them.
Ron, hopefully you can help. I bought an already-built Athearn blue box GP9 dummy recently, and when it arrived, the entire long hood-end handrail unit (the entire arch and stanchions) above the coupler was bent inwards. It's very thin so I guess it's plastic and its very rigid in the bend and I can't move it back. I would think plastic would just snap and not bend. How would you suggest to proceed with fixing it? Thanks.
Edit: Just looked it it again and the railing is very rigid. Does that mean it's metal? Do I use pliers?
I'm not real familiar with Athearns newer stuff. It could be a type of plastic that if broken needs a special kind of glue to repair it. If its metal a small needle nose pliers should grab it and give it a small bend back into shape.
@@classicmodeltrains Turns out the railings are metal all around. I was able to pull the whole thing back into shape using a finger and holding it there to set for a few seconds, so it worked out.
Send some rain this way, none in 2 weeks and pushing 100° here this weekend. Those nylon liars. 😂
Had our first 100 degree today
Sweet. Forgive me. I meant to say SWEET!
Thank YoU!!!
You should have been a character on trailer park boys
I could never "get into" that show for some reason
Looks like Varney the purple dinosaur
Its a nice color for sure
33% Al Gorithm comment! 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanking you!!
Watched this for the 2nd time....
Thank you again Greg!!
I have a hopper car that's a varney from 1961 it's stamped varney 1961. And has a very annoying plastic spur left over from the mold in the middle center of the car. You know the stick the injector leaves. It's wasnt cut off. Every. It's 2025.
:-)