I have been nursing this old Rivarossi for some time now and the motor finally gave out. I have searched eBay and several other Can Motor suppliers. There doesn’t seem to be anything with these dimensions that will fit the motor housing. Has anyone had luck with finding a replacement? The motor has a worm gear on one end and a fly wheel on the other. Not sure if the picture will appear.
Your posts are probably still delayed in moderation, hence your need to post twice.
The forum search engine is poor. A google search of Site: cs.trains.com rivarossi motor Yields this
Hi,
it would be helpful if you gave us the motor dimensions beside picture. But, if I may guess (looking at your picture), it is an Igarashi motor, 30(35)x23,5x18 mm with 2mm shafts. The link I posted is very probably from our member that is unfortunately not with us anymore (Motorman), but shows very nicely your motor and how it looks inside. It is in fact very durable, high quality motor - five poles, skew wound, enough power for any HO locomotive.
This motor is hardly to find if at all, but there are many replacement options. For example:
- iron core “drop in” replacement: AliExpress (8 USD) eBay (37 USD) - same motor, but very different price!
- coreless 1725 motor: AliExpress (dual shaft) (single shaft) - appoximately 19-20 USD. Excellent motor, almost silent and very powerful.
Option 1 is easier to use if you do not have some experience, option 2 is better but requires some work prior motor installation (use of shaft tubing 1,5 / 2,0 mm because this motor has 1,5 mm shaft, while your has 2,0 mm shaft) and preparation of motor seat, because this motor has different shape than the original one.
Regards,
Hrvoje
I looked at the motor on AliExpress and the dimensions are perfect. Intersting that in the description they mention that it’s used for Model Railway Trains. I placed an order and will see how it works. The flywheel needs to come off my existing motor and I’m hoping I can reuse my worm gear. This is exciting. Really appreciate everyones input.
Yes,
dimensions are very close but be aware that worm must mesh perfectly with worm gear - so it is crucial that distance between the two is perfect. I mean, if new motor is slightly smaller (thinner) than original (e.g. 0,3 - 0,5 mm), then maybe some brass or similar shimming sheet will be needed to achieve perfect mesh (if not, you will hear excessive noise). You must achieve silent running of the two as much as possible.
If new motor is “taller” than original one, then only new (slightly bigger) worm (I assume module 0,5, there is a lot of such worms on the market) can help. Or “adaptation” of motor seat, which can be tricky.
I would be very cautious with the old flywheel. If you decide to put it on new motor, check how motor works after you have installed it on motor shaft. Motor in ideal situation should not generate more noise (and vibration) then without the flywheel. If there is more noise/vibration, not only that that is disturbing, but it can in time destroy/damage motor bearing. In that case, you can buy new flywheel from NWSL, which was linked above by Dave. Then follow NWSL instructions how to install it (I bought one from them, flywheel comes with nice “use instructions”). In general, when you press flywheel on the motor, support the other end on motor shaft, not motor housing, or you can destroy/damage the motor. During pressing procedure, from time to time rotate flywheel in vise to achieve even fitting of the flywheel as much as possible. Work slowly and check how flywheel slides on the motor shaft.
Btw motor on AliExpress reminds me on Mashima motor. I hope it is close to it not just by looks, but also by running characteristics.
Do not forget to report here how everything went and good luck!
Hrvoje
P.S.
I found “Flywhel installation suggestions” by NWSL I have:
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Hrvoje,
You have been most helpful. Thank you so much.
While I’m waiting for my new motor to arrive I thought I would try to upload a photo. We’ll see if this works.
I can see the photo. Removing the worm gear might be a challenge given the snug fit.
Have you thought of contacting Hornby (who bought Rivarossi a while back) directly? They seem to sell spare parts:
https://uk.rivarossi.com/catalogue/trains-sets/spares
It’s practically impossible to see the parts from that site, but it might be worth a try asking them.
Good luck!
Simon
I sent a few notes to Hornby but they are not responding. I’ve gotten more info from this forum than anywhere else I’ve tried.
The fly wheel and worm gear came off easily.
Thanks Simon
Now you just need to wait for replacement motor, great that all went well with flywheel and worm.
Hrvoje
P.S.
After I wrote the above text, I went on Google and typed “motore Igarashi”, because some 6, maybe 7 years ago I remember that this motor was available from one Italian seller on eBay (for 6-7 Euro). Look what I found:
https://www.ricambiagomodel.it/ita/igarashi
I do not know if motor shown is still available, but if your replacement motor will not work from any reason, you can try to order one Igarashi motor thru the above link. It seems this is a web shop for spare parts from different manufacturers.
Excellent! Then changing the motor is definitely the best option if there are known issues with the original ones.
Simon
I received the tracking info for my replacement motor. Delivery is scheduled for May 15th!!! Argh!!
I checked out the motor you suggested in your link. They don’t provide any details about the motor. Not sure if it would work or not. I’ll stick with the one I ordered and give an update in May!!
Well shipments from China usually take longer, but sometimes they surprised me, some shipments from EU took very long (two weeks), while package from China came faster.
This motor is very probably as yours, you can always ask first, they should know the answer - they sell replacement parts.
I have such one motor and it has the same dimensions as your replacement motor i.e. your original motor. I did not mention that because it is costly to send it from EU to USA (motor itself has a value of 6,5 Euro), so I thought it is better to go this way you did. I bought it once but never used it because in the meantime I had the opportunity to work with coreless motor instead.
When I saw and heard first coreless motor in action (“noise” while motor is running, motor vibrations, and above all - regulation control capability), I was so “hooked” that I gradually replaced almost all iron core motors with coreless ones. The difference between these two motor technologies can be compared as difference between old CRT SD TV with today’s OLED 4K TV. Both give you the same information (moving picture&sound), but experience is completely different.
The new can motor from AliExspress showed up last week. It’s all installed and running great. The motor is very sensitive to electric power as it tends to “Rabbit” start when power is applied. It also measured 2mm longer than the original motor so modifications had to be made to the housing. A few 2mm pieces of styrene were added to extend the housing. Here are some pictures.
Great, very neat install!
Hrvoje
Ebay seller “Banks823” has these for sale every once in a while.
-Kevin
I am amazed at how many guys are installing can motors.
Rich
I ordered and, (just yesterday} recieved the dual shaft motors in the Ebay link below. I was quite pleased when I test ran them! Very quiet and smooth, no cogging, even at very slow speed. They come in multiples of 5. I ordered 2 more sets of 5, and these will be my default replacement motors for anything they fit in.
5Pcs 1/87 HO Scale Model Train Motor 12V 9500rpm Motor Including Flywheel | eBay
They can be had with flywheels too, although they look rather small.
Maybe this will get me out of my RR slump… Dan
In further testing these motors I linked to, , there’s an odd tendency for the positive terminal to be grounded to the motor case. They’ll need to be isolated. Odd for a can motor. Dan
Coming kinda late I know, but Hornby didn’t buy Rivarossi (or more accurately, their assets after they went bankrupt) until 2004. Your engine may have been made many years before that, so the current Hornby folks may not really have much info on the old Rivarossi products.