Where do you find this garbage? Seriously, this channel has introduced me to more obscure train lines than anyone else. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
@@cobramerciless, Imagine someone made a Thomas Esk Train Show with HO scale locomotives, and some of the locomotives are EMD F3’s, F7’s, and F9’s. Then, upon a sudden, the locomotive known as the Lil’ Raskal shows up. You can Bet that the REAL EMD F units will be like “What the Heck is This?”
up until the late 1950s, Varney was on top of the world. beautiful detail, the (I dare say) ideal suspension and drive mechanisms, budget versions of models, a great parts catalogue, they had everything! Once Gordon Varney left though, everything deteriorated quickly and things like this started appearing. After a while, It all became Tyco. How Sad...
@@raymondleggs5508 I read it as 'It all became junk' because that was Tyco's reputation, especially in the Consolidated Foods era. Having said that, Tyco Powertorque motors, early Life-Like, late Varney, they can all be respectable performers with some care and attention.
@@modelrailpreservation The BEST overall thing I ever did to ALL of my Life-Like and Tyco diesels ,was to re-power them with motorized drive trucks from Northwest Shortline. They do have re-power kits for various diesels, but i got their "Stanton Drives". They work pretty good for being a motor truck with a micro motor in them.I did however have to make a floor part to mount the truck to, since they are "Under the floor" motors, that fit to the floor with a single mounting screw.
This is a rather unique video on something that I didn't realize that it existed. My guess is that Varney hoped this set would be a transition to their other more scale offerings. This would be the classic hope of giving a kid a cheaper trainset with the hope that they would take care of it to get the more expensive trainset in the future along with creating future brand loyalty. Obviously, this was a marketing failure due to other manufacturers offering trainsets with better quality for the relative same price as mentioned in the video.
The horn hook/X-11 coupler was originally designed by someone with the NMRA in the mid-1950s because Kadee and the other various coupler designs were all patented by their manufacturer and not compatible with each other. They wanted an inexpensive coupler that was in the public domain, so any manufacture could use it, and they would all work together. It worked, and for decades, most manufacturers sold their trains with the horn hook couplers, since they were very cheap to make, easy to use, and reasonably reliable, as well as compatible with trains from other manufacturers who also used them. But the NMRA itself distanced itself from the horn hook once the couplers were out there, because they were not realistic in appearance. Still, Varney and other manufacturers that used them referred to them as "NMRA" couplers, much to the NMRA's chagrin. Having them made out of flexible plastic is actually a neat idea. But I could see how with longer trains, or if something caused the train to jerk, the couplers could pull apart.
I absolutely love the old Varney die cast steam locomotives. Managed to secure for myself one of their elusive 2-8-8-4 yellowstones which are incredibly rare, I have a number of other Varney steam locos as well. This set, in contrast, is certainly unique.
@@spencercorby4571 Yeah, SMT is how I got into the old Varney steam locomotives in the first place, especially his Yellowstone. His is a cast aluminum example, mine is a cast brass example. I've got all the major parts and was just missing some smaller detail stuff that is easily obtainable. He did a pretty good job bringing it back to life. The yellowstone was mainly sold from Varney as a kit or just a boiler, meaning you were on your own with building it! So really there's nothing at all wrong with what he did. And at the end of the day I'd certainly rather see it functional again even if without an original Varney chassis.
I can tell that this “Model” was created in an Era when Model trains weren’t something for Hobbyists, but rather were toys for children. Also, it’s weird. Weird that the Lil’ Raskal F3 has only 2 axels. Like, imagine a Train show with HO scale locomotives as characters, and there is a Group of Real EMD F3 locomotive Models, and then here comes the Lil’ Raskal F3 with his Two Axels. Yeah, imagine how the Real EMD F3 Models would feel.
Piko did this type of set better when they did what would become the " Piko junior " at the same time, (first called Batterien Eisenbahn) that this one came out, they even acquired the tooling for the athearn hustler somehow despite being an East German company, in fact they still make the junior line locomotives, except they are mostly sold as the bottom of the hobby range, they bought back the Junior line in 2017 as the "Mytrain"
I imagine it's meant for parents probably overly concerned about the fine details breaking and their kid eating them, or denting tin locomotives, or something like that. Of course for that first concern the kid would have to be *really* young. Or maybe for the Varney faithful to give their kid niblings.
Could the rear wheel jumping the switch be due to the rigid nature of the long chassis? It would explain why the hustler doesn’t have the issue due to the shorter wheelbase.
My dad has had varney since he was about 5 yrs old. And know it's been handed down to me. It's a varney ho Pennsylvania RR it comes with the engine and dummy unit the only thing wrong it the engine is missing the drive line
same here. My dad has the PRR Golden Eagle train set from the early 60s. Came with a Tuscan red A-B-A set. the powered loco crapped out 10 yrs ago but we still run the dummies. I bought him new Walthers mainline PRR A-B-A F7s in 2018.
Thanks for posting this vid. Very interesting . Tin plate HO. Where were these retailed? I've never seen that motor before. It looks like a battery powered style. What's the voltage?
"Who is this for? Well children obviously" No, not children. Parents. It's for parents of little helions who tear through toys like a fat guy through an all you can eat buffet. Specifically my parents. Although that all metal Marx train and its superior fire resistance would have been a better fit, most toys succumbed to the almighty flame.
I think i will never able to buy these of trains becz it price so such my parents throw me out if i say them to buy this 😞 because it takes a lot of money approx salary of one or two months by the i am from india 😢
