HO -0h, oh

rsv1cox Sun Sep 25, 2022 8:36 am

It's that time of year again, low forties this morning and thoughts turn to indoor activities.

Not Cox trains, but Varney which predates Cox's entry into model trains by a decade or two. Gordon Varney is considered the father of HO gauge and developed his own DC motors, a story in itself.

A couple of weeks ago this Varney V1 (style) appeared on ebay and I sweated out it's 7 day auction period. No other bidders. In the HO world these are very rare and this one, a style that I have never seen before confuses as I can't ID which engine it appeared on. The truck says diesel but it only was used on early Varney F-3 style locomotives and the truck doesn't match so that only leaves diesel switchers and they just don't exist using this motor.

Over the years I have collected what I thought were all the early Varney DC motors. Got to ring up some of my old railfan buds and see if they know anything about it. The open-framed motors are the earliest.

If your mechanically minded and love DC motors, model railroading isn't a bad way to go when cold weather and snow comes calling. Sad

944_Jim Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:22 am

Bob,
Those are flat georgeous! Can you provide any detail regarding how far outboard of the frame/boilers the motors stick out? Without 3D depth, I can only imagine they stick out a bit.

andrew Sun Sep 25, 2022 2:24 pm

rsv1cox wrote:It's that time of year again, low forties this morning and thoughts turn to indoor activities.
....................
If your mechanically minded and love DC motors, model railroading isn't a bad way to go when cold weather and snow comes calling.

I hear ya. My summer time retired job is small engine repair. Winter is everything else. I like just about anything mechanical; I wish I could say my skills match my enjoyment. I have no nice locomotives!! Everything I buy is wore out, tore up or no 'count -- which is why I end up with them. Cheap and a challenge to get them running.

rsv1cox Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:52 pm

Jim, they are contained within the shell. The early motors can be seen from the back of the locomotive, but the later V2's and V3's are shielded completely. Later, Varney and many others went to small open framed motors, and later still to "can" motors.

V-2 motor

Motor was sold as non-running, and it doesn't. I took it apart (easier than putting it back together) and everything looks good. Commutator shows little to no wear and the windings and insulation along with the brushes are good.

It's the same motor as used in their F-3's, it's the trucks than has me confused.

Andrew, me too. I usually buy the worst examples that I can find. My fun is getting them to run again. I relieved Ron Cribbs of most of his.

Just some of my stuff. I have shown many of these here before.

Most bought really cheap. Doesn't cost alot to play around in this hobby.

getback Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:57 am

Wondered when we would get back to the trains / good to see some all mine are at this time put well kind a way here and there , with the garden pretty much done and me tired of looking at it too and canning cooking cleaning ect ect a friend brought me 4 dump trucks full of wood SOSOS i am getting on with some that and refreshing saws ! My plan went to crap when my XX wife decided to bring what she had left and store stuff in the barn building i was going to use for a set up to run some fun ! Maybe i can get old sparky set up in the other room if Leona will help me >

She looks ready LOL

I think mine is the O scale in 27 ?!?

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