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 Posted - February 24 2019 : 8:25:00 PM
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As a lonely Life-Like operator and collector in the UK, can anyone tell me more about this:
https://hoseeker.net/lifelikeinformation/lifelikecatalog1977pg13.jpg This page is from the 1977 catalogue.
The link shows Life-Like Diesel chassis with a frame mounted open motor driving a tower gear arrangement on a single bogie through a shaft.
I have seen that type of motor in Life-Like Diesels, in fact three of my locos have it, although in all these it is mounted on a bogie directly above a layshaft, which it drives through two huge gears. One of these locos is the Bicentenial F series from 1975. another is my British Rail blue F7. These mechanisms are similar in principle to the original Varney set up, (shown below) but with finer tooth gearing
Nearly all of my Life-Like locos have the later plastic cased self-contained motor bogie similar to those fitted to locos made Hornby, Lima and others…..in fact some of the last Life-Like locos that I bought new in 2010 or 2012 had them.
So my question is: was the shaft drive type chassis actually made and sold, or was the replacement for the Varney Type mech the one that lasted until the end?
James
All images and links plundered from the internet with thanks!
Edited by - Highwayman97 on February 24 2019 8:29:08 PM
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Posted - February 24 2019 : 9:16:28 PM
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| Looks like a Varney drive which was used in early LifeLike locos
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Posted - February 25 2019 : 03:19:11 AM
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Thanks The Siding,
Yes the image is indeed a Varney, as I didn't have an image of an early LL mech to hand when I posted, but please take a look at the chassis and motor arrangement in the link - Never seen anything like that in the 'flesh'
James
Edited by - Highwayman97 on February 25 2019 04:09:01 AM
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Posted - February 28 2019 : 7:22:32 PM
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| Rugged looking motor!
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Posted - March 10 2019 : 09:58:04 AM
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Here is an image of the mechanically similar original Tri-ang Motor Bogie from 1955. I gues this was copied from Varney?
https://www.hornby.com/media/tinymce_upload/6cdcb74b64ec60c36f25fa8b79ad7acc.jpg
If you look closely, you will notice the model is runnning on a rolling road. The brass 'discs' are actually gears, revolving
Tri-ang made an F7ish looking diesel at that time and this was the only loco that this bogie appeared in before they switched to combined Layshaft and armature arrangment. This revised type last appeared around 1977.
https://www.hornby.com/media/tinymce_upload/2ba70d3aa4fb80da599838a9a9beb58f.jpg
On my similar Life-Like bogies, (see below) of which I now have three, I am finding that the top gear, on the motor is often cracked or missing. My chum checked the gears and both upper and lower shafts with a Micrometer and found that whilst the gears are identical, the motor shaft is three thosandths of an inch larger than the layshaft....Hmm!
Could that be the reason the gears crack and fall off, also allowing thirty to forty years for the stresses caused to take hold?
James
Edited by - Highwayman97 on March 10 2019 11:46:00 AM
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Posted - April 22 2019 : 11:03:35 PM
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I think Delrin plastic (the material your gears are made from) shrinks over time. Even high end models are prone to having gears crack from time to time. I know for example that the Walthers Proto 2000 line of diesels had a high rate of axle gear cracking just like your old Life-Like. I wonder if Nylon gears would hold up better?
Proudly keeping Tyco Pluggers out of landfills since 2016
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Posted - April 23 2019 : 05:16:53 AM
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Thanks,
Yes I think that you are right. An engineer chum actually fixed it for me, with parts from a scrapper, but what he found was interesting:
The gears on the motor and the layshaft were the same, but the shafts were different sizes. The motor shaft is a few thou bigger than the layshaft. Guess this was common throughout the range. So motor gears will start to crack over time and then the gears fall off!
His sloution was to ease the hole in the spare gear slightly so that it was still an interference fit, but now with reduced stress. Thus both my 1776 and BR Blue F7s can now take to the tracks and roar again and roar they certainly do!
James
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Posted - April 27 2019 : 6:22:38 PM
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quote:As a lonely Life-Like operator and collector in the UK, can anyone tell me more about this:
James
All images and links plundered from the internet with thanks!
Originally posted by Highwayman97Â -Â February 24 2019Â :Â 8:25:00 PM
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That power truck is a EMD switcher truck from a Varney SW7. It was a all diecast SW switcher. The truck was never used on a F7.
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
Edited by - toptrain on April 27 2019 6:23:45 PM
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