Do some of you old codgers know what years Varney produced a DC power pack? That was my first power pack for HO. Mine was used and my Mom bought from one of the Neighbor kids.
Codger eh? Two can play at the name calling game buddy!
I did a random glance at old MR Varney ads – I found an ad for their train sets in the November 1955 issue and a blurb at the bottom to the effect that their car and locomotive kits and parts come first and that “for your confidential information, we only made just so many of these complete, ready to run train sets” makes me suspect this was the first appearance of Varney train sets in MR.
Each of the three sets they advertised came with a “powerpak” (their spelling) “at no extra cost!”
The December 1955 issue ad actually shows a picture of the power pack. There is no evidence it was separately available for sale. Visually it reminds me of a Scintilla of the same era that I picked up somewhere but have since discarded, and indeed the photos even shows that the Model V.54 was “Mfg by Scintilla.”
It looks like a mottled metal finish that you used to see on power tools back in the 1950s, says “VARNEY PowerPak” “Toy Transformer” “Rail and Power Works.”
The reverse switch is on the side at the bottom. There does not appear to be an on/off switch. The knob is small-ish.
The October 1957 issue Varney ad shows five train sets but now the PowerPak is available for sale separately - the No. 2442 for $10.95. It is not pictured, however, the Varney ad in April 1958 shows the 2442 and it is the same PowerPak as was shown in December 1955.
After that the Varney ads stopped talking in their ads about train sets for a few years. New lines of plastic cars replaced the metal kits. By 1961 Varney did not advertise in each and every issue. Their ad in December 1961 shows five train sets and a power pack with the words “HO Power Pack” at the top and the name Varney at the bottom. It looks different than the prior one; also box-like but
No offense meant with the codger comment as I are one too!
I don’t know that my power pack actually was called a “Power Pak”. Of the information you gave me, and thanks for the research Dave, I have not seen the one I had. I’m sure it was a Varney, it had a green case and the paint was sort of clear and looked like ice crystals and the edges of the case were rounded. One of the Scintilla packs you referenced is similar with knob on a U-shaped bracket. I believe mine had a reverse switch on the side.
I got My first HO scale Varney Train set 50/51 era, I was nine yrs. old. Varney started into HO sets after the War about 1946, prior to that they were in O-scale from 1936 and produced some HO kits. They sold the O-scale line after the War. I stopped running my American Flyer trains and was hooked on HO.
A wealth of info on Varney and many other’s on this Forum:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18299
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Here is one:
Based on the Scintilla dual pack we used to have, I’m going to say that’s who made it for Varney. Same knob on the throttle, and same knob on the reverse switch. Same basic case design as well, except Scintilla’s were grey hammertone metal with black lettering, not blue and yellow.
–Randy
Yes this is very similar to mine except mine was green with the U-shaped bracket on the throttle and a knob on top of the long leg of the U. Now that I can see the one Soo Line Fan has shown I believe my forward and reverse switch was exactly like that.
Here’s my Scintilla “Unipack Senior” circa 1956-57. The name finally has relevance. [:P]
The direction switch is on top, with the On/Off on the lower right side, near the front. I use it on my workbench test track, and also in the paint booth when painting steam locomotives’ running gear.
Wayne
Wayne, that is exactly the power pack I had. I thought mine said Varney on it; but, possibly I’m wrong, it was Scintilla and if it was a Varney Power Pak, it most certainly was made for Varney by Scintilla! This is exactly the right color and exactly the same throttle lever. I remember the easy to tell where the tracks wires (DC) went and I never did have any accessories to wire up to the AC side.
Do you recall how long; or, when you got your power pack?
Pretty fascinating to see the old pack again, after all these years! I gave mine to my nephew, along with my trains back in the late 60s I would imagine. When I got back into HO in 1988, he gave me back my Varney “Little Joe” Dockside and three Athearn Standard Passenger cars. I still have my Little Joe and it still operates. I just now sold all my Athearn Passenger cars on Ebay.
I remember having taken the cover off of mine several times. I was even smart enough to make sure I had unplugged it when I did this. Most of the time I took it apart only for curiosity’s sake. But, remember once needing to make a solder joint in there somewhere.
May very well have said Varney. Wayne’s is an older version, I think. Eventually they (Scintilla) went to a knob like the one on the Varney pack shown previously. Hmm, can’t find a good picture of the DualPack we had. But it should appear in Scintilla ads in the late 50’s/early 60’s. I do see they made a ‘special edition’ version in a copper/gold case, I guess one last gasp against MRC.
–Randy
You could remove the case from my Scintilla power pack by using a Phillips screwdriver. I wonder how many electric shocks were caused by kids wondering what the innards looked like?
Dave Nelson
Mine was new when I got it in '56 or '57. I’m not sure what the previous one which it replaced was, but it was some sort of AC device, with a separate rheostat to convert it to DC, the latter which is still kicking around here somewhere.
While the Scintilla was okay in the time of open frame motors, it’s control range with can motors is not much use, as switching it on allows enough power to bypass the throttle knob to get a locomotive moving at more than a crawl. It works well enough in its present role, though.
Wayne
I guess I’m not saying they were the best power packs available, it was just my first!
Would anything this old even be safe to use anymore?
Absolutely not! Only children from the 50s and 60s would be able to understand such a dangerous piece of equipment!
riogrande5761, I have assumed you were kidding, right?
Although my Mom bought mine from a neighbor kid in 1960. 56-57 might be about the right time of manufacture.
Thanks to all who did some history digging to find information for me, much appreciated!
I was not kidding. In all seriousness a lot of electrical equipment made a long time ago may not be safe for various reasons. Just think of Christmas lights made in the 1950’s and 1960’s. I’d imagine your fire department would strongly recommend throwing those out immediately for example and many other electrical products of yor. There were different standards back then - which were much more lax. My wife hammers me all the time for using electrical things that are half that age, and probably rightly so. Transformers made in the 70’s and 80’s often make a funky smell when you use them, a not very good funky smell!
Key thing is the condition of the line cord. As long as it’s not cracked or damaged in any way, you should be OK. They did use selenium rectifiers in those, which, when they fail, release some noxious gasses that you do NOT want to breath. However, the AC output will still be good. The ones you need to watch out for are things from the 30’s and 40’s - the insulation materials used then were far less robust. By the late 50’s, more modern materials were being used on the power cords that generally hold up well, unless abused, or the item was stored for years in extreme temperatures.
While I wouldn’t actively seek out such an old unit, if I had one on hand and the cord was in good condition, I would have no problems using it.
–Randy
A better thought would be why would anyone WANT to use a Power Pack from the 1950s which is completely obsolete! As far as testing the unit out, some common sense should be used.
The manufacturers surely must love your wife’s philosophy on older electrical products. Per her ideas anything older that X amount years must be replaced with new! Hey, it’s good for the economy!
The reason I started this thread was not promoting the use of old power packs for DC operators. It was only curiosity about something I had as a kid.