I think I owned a revll switcher like this and it had a gear drive. Belt drive might be an older design.
Yes,the belt was the first few production runs.Later the engine had a drive similar to Varney’s SW7.
Just a thought if the motor is salvagable…I found that an assorted pack of hair rubber bands contained the right size replacement for our N-Gauge Atlas turntable…there might be a size to replace the belt in the pack (found them at Wal-Mart for under a dollar).
I have a 1950s-era Varney F3 with one of these described drives; my motor pivots with the rear truck; a gear network drives a shaft which extends all the way to the front truck and bevel gears drive the wheels on both trucks. Being in N Scale for the past 25 years I wasn’t sure it would still run but I set it up on an oval at an acquaintances house and it took off instantly - brass wheels and all. This was the first engine I ever owned and it continues to run great.
Had another thought that may be of assistance: The train hobby shop Trains Unlimited in Lynchburg, Virginia was operated by a fellow named Jim Revell. He sold his ownership in about 1996. Jim Revell collected Revell HO models, and I had given him what remained of my original Revell train set. Perhaps someone at Lynchburg’s Trains Unlimited has a contact for Jim, who likely tended to more than one such ailing switcher in his work.
Bill
THE OLD REVELL I remember had a cluch drive to avoid ‘jackrabit’ starts of that day.
TODAY better motors with flywheels do that. You got your moneys worth.
A neoprene ‘O’ ring, or a $25 remotoring would probably be in order.
[quote user=“JBB”]
Admiitedly replacing the drive with an Athearn would give you a nice running engine. However, part of the thrill of the OLD HO bargin is getting her back running as stock and getting to show her off to your buddies…“Yeah that the old Revell SW7, Made 'em back in the 50’s. check out the old rubber band drive. Don’t run bad and I picked it up for $5” (Implying, of course, that not only do you have an encyclopediactic knowlege of the history of Ho motive power, but you also have the eye for a bargin and instincts of an Arab trader.
With that in mind, let’s see if we can get the old girl up and running. “motor turns over real slow” doesn’t sound promising, but you might get lucky. Remove the motor and hook it up with some tests leads. Still turn over slow? If it runs ok now look for dirty or corroded contacts in the pick ups (after all this time they’re probably dirty anyway, so if they’ll need cleaning .) If motor still runs slowly clean and lubricate bearings. turn the motor by hand, checking for binding. The commutator is probably also dirty. clean gently with a pencil eraser till the copper plates are shiny. (don’t use emery paper). Make sure you clean the dirt and eraser crud out. Check the motor brushes. Are they ok or worn out? iIf worn out, you’re going to have to fit some from another motor or scrap the motor. Have the graphite pieces of the brush become detached from their brass arms? Sometimes these can be fixed by resoldering. Are the brushes oil soaked (they usually are).? Clean them with alcohol or lighter fluid. In extreme cases burn the oil off by baking them in your oven at low heat (under 200 degrees and while the wife is out shopping xmas sales.
Now hook up the motor to test leads again. Hopefully it will run better. Check amperage draw on meter. Should
I don’t think there was any mechanical binding. What you describe is classic behavior for an armature that has a shorted winding. The motor runs slow and draws a high current, then stalls when the shorted winding comes into play. It can usually be kick-started past the dead spot, but ultimately the lower resistance causes the wire to burn through completely. I hope that’s not it, but I’ve seen that happen many times.
Darn… I never see those kinds of deals at garage sales. I hardly see any trains, and when I do it’s inevitably junk that the owner is convinced is a valuable collectible. [D)]
Glad you found my screed of some help. Too bad about the motor, but hang on to the rest of it, cause you never know. You might turn one up that is complete except for the parts you have in your junk box. The Revell line was always kinda neat and different. If I remember right, Al Armitage, the father of styrene modeling, was involved in the design of much of it, esp. the structure line, but also I think much of the rolling stock.
As for the rest of your treasures, I AM in AWE! The Arab traders in your neighborhood had better look out.
Seriously, it’s amazing what you can luck into if you look, and getting this stuff up and running again can become a pretty rewarding hobby in itself.
Happy modeling
JBB
Last I looked, Athearn still sold those drive belts for their engines. I have some around, because I was trying to resurrect a few old belt-drive engines. It wasn’t worth it to me, but that’s a possible source of the belts if they used the same size.
The belts have to be installed in the right direction, incidentally. If one is installed backwards, that would certainly make the engine work very poorly, as the drive wheels would be turning in opposite directions.