I Bought Defective Trains from the Factory?! New NYC Subway Set... 

These were originally a Trainland/Trainworld exclusive, commissioned LifeLike to produce these for Trainworld. So many of us NYC Transit employees worked there the owner had access to historical info from us. Also Mike from MTH got some info from us for his run. They were big sellers however licensing fees is what makes trains expensive. These were an experiment since the MTH run was very successful in O scale 3 rail in the NYC area.I have 2 sets each (since NYC subways run 8 car trains) in the silver & red. Mine are nastaliger for me since I repaieed them when I was younger. These were IRT division cars, which are shorter. BMT/IND division were longer, quick reference IRT - 3 doorways, BMT/IND - 4 doorways. Silver - Blue stripe was the "One MTA look" when the MTA took over ownership of the NVC Transit Authority. Transit had to drop Authority from the name, MTA said there was only 1 authority. The red scheme was the "anti graffiti" scheme, later. I think the original color scheme was a brown paint. Subway cars get very dirty running thru the tunnels. Steel dust was everywhere!

I remembered riding on those cars when I grew up in the Bronx. That silver with blue was the original paint scheme. Eventually they painted some white and of course the red, which they nickname them Redbirds. The paint was for anti graffitti. They are still a few today painted in yellow and used in track maintenance. Most of them was scraped and where used as artificial reef of the coast of Virginia. Thank you for sharing this video. Have a good day SMT.

Yeah the bearings in the worm gears locking up is very common on proto/life-like stuff. It's usually the lubrication that was use.

I love the new double track feature that allows two trains to operate. You just need to separate both lines and add another power pack so you can run one passenger Eastbound and the other Westbound. I want those passenger cars now too! 😀

This is a very common issue with Life Like/Proto 2k units that haven't been run, along with the axle gears cracking thanks to the plastic used reacting with grease/oil over time. Had many engines locked up out of the box with a seized worm, just takes a clean out + oiling of the worm gear and fresh grease in trucks to get them running again. Nice video!

Harrison's next project (now the Hershey's factory is finished): Complete replica of an NYC subway station!

The two sets look great running together.

Nice set of NYC subways you picked up! This video might be of interest to Walthers since they purchased Life-Like a while back and they are going to release a new batch of subway cars in the future!

Nice job getting these running again. I particularly like the brown set, sort of looks pennsy-esque! Rgds, Joachim

By pure coincidence, I was rewatching "The French Connection" last night, which features several early 70s New York subway scenes that are critical to the (violent) storyline.

Glad to see it was an easy fix, SMT. They must have been in the box and never opened for all those years, and it's great to see them both running at the same time.

This comment is on behalf of my 6-year-old, who has been pestering me all morning to ask if you can “come to my house” and fix the HO CSX engine we found in his grandparents’ basement. (It’s in pretty rough shape.) I told him I don’t think you do house calls. 😅 We will watch some of your videos and try our best. Thanks for all the fun videos.

These model are fantastic! I think that they look even cooler when they are run together! Great Video👍

I have had the same problem with older Kato and life like locomotives. It’s definitely an easy fix but can be frustrating at first. Would be cool to see them get their own elevated or underground track like the streetcar did! Lol

Very common mistake people make us trying to keep running these when don’t want to run. The issue is the grease become hard and freeze the gears up. When you keep trying to run them you actually crack the gears. Best thing with this brand is to pull the trucks apart and clean out the old grease first before running them

Love those redbirds! Sharp looking together.

It’s a model of IRT lines, the numbered ones. IRT has a very different clearance from BMT and IND lines. Those lines are still run with liveries consisting of cars with three doors instead of the longer ones from IND and BMT, whose liveries mostly have four doors on each side. Even though these models look good, they aren’t really up to true measurements.

Hey those are cool! I had no doubt that you would get them running. Kinda neat that the one is a little noisy, typical subway...welcome to New York!

Well, it sucks that each train had the same issue, but it did make great content. It showed everyone the inner workings of the subway car and how to fix the issue. Great work!

Well done at getting those two going. Never had that happen to me, but I did experience some anxiety when I tried my Ffestiniog Railway engine that I bought in Wales for the first time.

Those are really cool. Glad you got them working. Really awesome.

I think the silver one has a wire rubbing against the flywheel or driveshaft. Great work getting them running again!

What interesting pieces of equipment!

The fat that the lubricant was seized is common for walthers trainline as well as my SD70m was siezed until i gave it some tlc. when i seen these run i was thinking cue the screeching wheels, and have the announcements mind the closing doors ,and welcome to NYC mta subway system lol. I find it funny how you hear so much about that soldering iron yet that type actually being its vintage and my late grandparents had them are actually really reliable . Theirs had lights on it to shine on the area your soldering. I love the way you can hear the wheels clicking along and the cars rocking back and forth it makes it more realistic to the track work. nice job

Enjoyed your video.....I never gave subway cars a thought. I really like the idea!! You have handsome looking stock there!!

Great troubleshooting job on those and glad to see them running so nicely now 👍

Those subway cars are very cool,glad you got them running. Always love watching your videos!😊

Nice additions to your collection, congrats!

You are lucky to have the subway cars sets. I would have loved to have purchased a couple of ho sets like this when I was in HO scale model railroading. I thought of scratch building a semi realistic subway car set out of a thorn subway cars and a diesel power unit but I did not have the skill so I never did it. I love the subway car sets I got from MTH in age and I can live with the third-rail because it's subway cars. Check out the Betty boop cartoon too much noise, she lives right by 3rd avenue in New York and the artwork of the third avenue elevated train his exquisite as well as accurate.

The Redbirds ran down Jamaica avenue in Queens New York where I lived. I wanted to be a motorman and I would wait for 3 trains to go by after school and my friends would let me in the cab so I could practice for my motor minutes test. The fastest you go around a 45-degree turn is 10 miles an hour and r17 subway car weighs 59000 lb. I still remember this stuff fifty years later. I would have had a nice career and I would have bought my mom's house with my dad's Lionel layout in the basement that stretch from one end of the house to the other end but my b**** of a mother made him tear it down so I would not have any contact with my father.

A word of warning. Those chassis are prone to cracks and breaking so be aware of the brittle white metal. I have 3 sets of those P1K and have had issues with the frames warping and breaking. I have several of the MTH R17/R22 with sound and are far superior to the LL P1K. They were good as a commercially available model without having to buy brass or custom made models of NYC subway cars.

Fantastic repairs. Both sets look great. Well done.

Some history on these cars: the MTA Redbird scheme was the very late GOH scheme that lasted on the R17 through R36 (not including R32) until the R33's final retirement in 2003. The silver scheme is the Corporate MTA scheme from the 70's and 80's until they were rebuilt into GOH and recieved the redbird paint scheme. The R17's in particular were replaced by the R62 and R62/A series cars. They ran on all 7 numbered lines.

Cool Subway! It's a nice Underground Train!

The red one really seems allot more silent with it's motor than the silver one. Glad you got them both working. now you just need to add a area where they go below the layout so you have a bit of the underground with it, and then it come back up to the top. would seem kinda cool.

The Grand Central-Times Square cars run a shuttle service between those two points under 42nd Street. I've ridden that service I don't know how many times. "The 42nd Street Shuttle[ is a New York City Subway shuttle train service that operates in Manhattan. The shuttle is sometimes referred to as the Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle, since these are the only two stations it serves. The shuttle runs at all times except late nights, with trains running on two tracks underneath 42nd Street between Times Square and Grand Central; for many decades, three tracks had been in service until a major renovation was begun in 2019 reducing it to two tracks. With two stations, it is the shortest regular service in the system by number of stops, running about 2,402 feet (732 m) in 90 seconds as of 2005.The shuttle is used by over 100,000 passengers every day, and by up to 10,200 passengers per hour during rush hours" Pelham is pronounced "Pellum". "6 trains operate local at all times between Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx and Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall in Lower Manhattan. During weekdays in the peak direction, Pelham Express trains replace 6 local trains north of Parkchester, and run express between that station and Third Avenue-138th Street. During this time, 6 Pelham Local trains short turn at Parkchester (except for peak-direction Express trains that return in the opposite direction as 6 Local trains). Weekdays from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., select Manhattan-bound trains run local from Parkchester to Hunts Point Avenue while select Parkchester-bound 6 trains run express in that section."

Great fix…you are so level-headed…bravo!🎉😂😅😊

I've seen this same issue before on new engine, I always check the oil before running to break in the engines, great video...

This video was so enjoyable! I live in NYC so it means even more! The Redbird trains, the most sort after, were run in the 1970’s and 1980’s painted red to try to combat graffiti which was so common, while the silver cars were easy to show the graffiti. And it’s pronounced Pel-ham bay park Anyway keep the vids coming!

I used to ride the 4 train from Grand Central to Jerome Avenue with these sets where graffiti was around back in 1984. Glad you restored them & fixed it like it was good as new.

Harrison great work as always. Sorry that happened to you. But you are truly a defective train detective.

Defective from the factory is misleading, Harrison. The people you bought them from most likely never ran these locomotives, or even took them out of the box. Just typical bearing issue from sitting around in some basement or attic with temperature and humidity changes. Good to see you got them running, but that was a no brainier for you. 😁 Now you need to get operations completed under the layout with that true NYC subway aroma. 🤣 Thanks for sharing. 👍🐾👍

Good to see you got them both running

I can’t believe both locomotives had the same problem. Great video

Great video, they look good on your layout.

Very cool! Glad you could fix them rather easily!

Nice addition to your layout!

The NUMBER 6 train runs as a local MTA train from the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station in NYC up to Pelham Bay Park in the Da Bronx! The silver SHUTTLE cars represent the shuttle that runs from Times Square to Grand Central Station in NYC. BTW, don't forget to put some scale people walking on top of the number 6 cars for extra NYC realism.

fantastic looking running them both together

Nice seeing these run together on two different tracks. They sound real good too.

I came as soon as I saw “Defective”

Never get tired of watching these

I really admire your bravery in soldering that fine joints with that crowbar of a soldering pistol and that ultra thick solder. I would smolder everything to ashes with that tool (what I already do without problems with my fine 30-watts-soldering-iron)...

Great video! I just opened, the predecessor lifelike proto 1000 sets after about 18 years, since purchase. I have two more sets to open to modify over to DCC. (I've added Bi-color LEDs so the lights change to red , with direction). I've been very lucky but yes; one of the sets, the motor unit sonds louder, due to probably that worm gear issue. The Walters versions have been running totally smoother, since recently opened. Thanks again for sharing.

Have also. I run em on my Christmas village layout. I also grew up riding the real ones. ❤❤🤘🤘👍👍

Is that the 6 train? Then it’s the Taking of Pelham 123 train.

The subway cars look good on your layout. Great job fixing the worm gear issue. Enjoy your new train.

Just at work watching this instead of working life is good

You should fit couplers onto that Tenshodo electric loco in the last video and have it pull these subway cars. :)

You got them running that's good. I have the ALCO RSC 2 They are still running I have 3 of them. I also left you a comment on your live,

It's Pell Ham bay park. (first syllable rhymes with Hell). The IRT cars were usually about 50 feet long, while the IND / BMT lines were 60-75 feet long. The IND / BMT usually ran 10 car trains (60' cars R1-R10 etc-) or 8 75 foot cars (R44r46). IRT trains could be as long as 11 cars, depending on the line (Lexington Ave express ran the longest trains). You might couple all 8 cars onto a single train to be near prototypical in length. I'd be tempted to repaint the silver ones in the blue word's fair scheme, though they aren't the same exact car model used on the #7 Flushing lline. Now you have to build a model EL structure!

I'm sure glad I didn't have that problem! I have two sets of these and they did run for a while and then froze up! I opened them up and put oil inside the trucks and frame, now they run a lot better! Good luck!

I grew up in Brooklyn and lived on west 1st between Ave.W and Ave.V i went to P.S.95 and most of our school trips consisted of a ride on the elevated/subway cars from brooklyn to Manhattan. 1 time we accidentally boarded the wrong train and went from Manhattan to the Coney Island yard. We had to run a few blocks to the nearest elevated station to get back to the ave.U/MacDonald ave station to get back to the school lol. My favortive class trip other then Sesame place was to the RR museam in the city.

they both look like cool models

I bought the same two sets many years ago. The second set was nicknamed, “Redbirds.” One didn’t run out of the box Haven’t repaired it yet, but I know it’s just the usual P1K/P2K peanut butter grease and will be fine once I clean and re-lube everything.

the care are shorter and narrower on these as they are IRT cars which had to run in tighter clearances than the rest of the system. BMT and IND lines had 60 ft cars with 4 doors per side. Bigger, newer tunnels. Nice, Now you need to put a motorman in the cab and a kid with his nose on the glass in the front. (me)

I’ve had some major issues with Walthers and ESU decoders. I hope they figured it out.

As an N Gauger, living in Brooklyn my whole life, I'm jealous...if I remember correct, there's a green set also...🤔

You're so intuitive as well as knowledgeable . They looked cool running together. What about reversing the wires on one of the mainlines and running trains meeting each other in opposite directions as long as you're using just one power pack. Great stuff.

In my opinion, if you want to buy more subway trains, buy them from MTH. All of the subway trains that I bought from them have worked flawlessly and look more realistic.

Cool video Harrison interesting that they are malfunctioning they are generally well running

Wow, what are the odds. Nice work on figuring out the problem. From Texas

Lifelike used a synthetic oil on their models and overtime it would congeal and that's is what you got there. I have some older Proto 2000 that I have to go through and replace the oil on it

Now you can build a shelf layout hanging off the bottom side of the table. Around the perimeter of the combined tables if you wanted to, and how cool would that be? I wish they made subway set for G scale I'd be all over it, Cheers 👍

Hi Harrison, The EL in Pelham is pronounced like bell. The H is silent. Take it as sound advice from a former NYC resident. 😊 Keep up the excellent work!

Honestly, you should see some of the sharp curves the IRT has to navigate, especially in the Bronx. One on Westchester Avenue and the other on West Farms Square, both on the IRT 2 line. Great job on fixing these classics. Yes, I'm old enough to have ridden on the real things. LOL

we need to see more shots of trains running on some other tracks rather than just that one loop on the outside😁 (maybe even some switching?!?)

Hello there from the UK 🇬🇧 Liking the videos and I must say if a locos not working I like how you don't edit the parts out. 👍 Iv also subscribed will be looking forward to future videos😊😊😊

Nice purchase, and as usual, fantastic troubleshooting and repair, plus upgrade to the wiring!. If you DCC them, you can have them run in opposite directions. Looking forward to seeing more of these. I’ve always wanted a set.

Hey Harrison, good job. Those are nice looking subway cars. I'm glad you were able to get them running. Here's a thought...even though you bought them from different sellers, they are both from the same manufacturer. Maybe the corrosion happened at the factory or the warehouse considering they were probably stored together before distribution. 🤷‍♂️

what a mysterious case ! two different sets with the common problem !😯

IRT (Interbourough Rapid Transit) cars are smaller than the BMT (Brooklyn Manhattan Transit) cars because of tunnel clearances and tighter IRT curves. IRT and BMT were two private companies that operated subway lines in New York City. In. the late 1930s, they were joined by the wholly city owned IND (INDependent) subway line. Built to BMT standards, the IND was at least partly designed to "encourage" a City takeover of IRT and BMT by a Mayor who was hostile to the private companies. Today, there are two subway fleets, the IRT (Division A) and BMT (Division B), whose larger cars operate on the old BMT and IND lines. The New York City Subway is one of the most interesting railway systems on Earth.

I like these for my layout. Now i will get them with confidence that now I know how to fix them if this happens! See there is 1 person! lol

Lucky the locked bearings was easy to fix. Great job!

nice job Harrison i have had the same problem with athearn locomotives 🤕

Nicely Done👍

SMT - Now you can consider painting the yellow safety line on your passenger station platforms!

Now you need to build subway tunnels under the layout.

Great video, lucky it happened to someone like you who knows how to fix it. Someone like me would be out of luck and pocket. Thank you

Quite cool. Are you going to run some tarck under your set up for the subway itself? Or you could just have it drop people off at the sandwich shop which would be funny

I love your content ❤

I think it has something to do with the build process and the fact the they are shipped from factories over sea might have impact on the issue

Hi the R17 is the number 6 line of the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) line and the first stop on the line is Pelham Bay Park (sounds like pel-ham or for us native Bronxites pel-hm). The last stop on the number 6 line is Brooklyn Bridge. The silver cars represent the Shuttle between Grand Central Station (Lexington Ave and 42nd St) and Time's Square Station (7th Ave and 42nd St), only two stops on the Shuttle.

Good job on the fix. Subways always looked weird at scale, and I think I realize why it's because in real life you rarely see the wheels as station platforms are at the height of the doors.

Love your videos SMT mainline

Hey smt I've been watching your channel for 3 years now i watch your repair videos to help me fix my HO scale gp 40 I only have 2 ho scale trains and a oval loop layout and I have some other model trains I just finished my powertrains layout

It just occurred to me - you need to add third rail !

Harrison, I have more than a few P2Ks in the engine house. I’ve known about the cracked gear problem mentioned in the comments already, but not this seized mechanism/dry lubricant issue. Neither has happened to me yet, but yikes! Now there will be overhead wire _and_ third rail on your railroad, won’t there?

The silver one sounds like a race car when it passes by

Still in better shape than the actual nyc subway right now.😅