Hobbytown E7 restoration and review!

[@WesternOhioInterurbanHistory]

Rodney will love this

[@sakcad]

I built one of these back in the early 50's. still have today. made a video several years ago and it pulled 110 cars on my layout!

[@gregginter5867]

Looks perfect! Brand new right off of the shelf!

[@rrrailservicehoscalemodelr4734]

I really enjoy you video. Great refurbishing project!

[@steveandulsky566]

What a beauty!!! Great job. Thanks again. It's always a pleasure.

[@williamsantangelo]

Your work is incredible your care and accuracy made me and I'm shure others much better modeler's great restoration!!! Luv the old stuff

[@ecpcharles]

awesome job. Always impressed when you bring an old old model up to modern standards. I cant imagine how much that thing weighs, almost expected it to fall off the rails on those curves!

[@DarthSantaFe]

I haven't weighed it, but it has to be over 2lbs!

[@ecpcharles]

@Tony’s Trains There is more than enough space inside that model for you to fit all the decoders and electronics you need. Unlike todays plastic diesels which NEED to have their internals crammed with weight, these diecast models already have ample weight from the shell, meaning theres a lot more space inside to fit whatever electronics you desire.

[@wabash-fr9yu]

I had a PA1 with the 91 motor. A friend of mine and I added a weight block with a hole bored through the middle for the drive shaft. It weighed 3 pounds and called it our bridge tester. Pulled all other locomotives backward with little effort. Later in its life, the original zink frame collapsed . This was in the very late 50's, but now in my very late 70`s, 25 years in the Navy, and retired, it got away from me and is only a distant memory. But what a memory. Being from Illinois and the Wabash E7 for comparison was a nice touch for me. Thanks for bringing that back for me to see. By the way I did see your PA show.

[@DarthSantaFe]

That's definitely a shame about the frame falling apart, but at least it got to be a powerhouse while it lasted! Hobbytown still makes the full PA-1 kit (I think they switched over to the Lindsay body though), and like always, there's a lot of room inside for adding a ton of weight. If you haven't seen it, I created an A-B-A multi-drive setup with a large motor in the B unit and Athearn bodies, and even though it's not super heavy compared to all metal kits, the sheer number of driven wheels still gives it more pulling power than anything else you can get today.

[@freakazoid5907]

Very well done. Thanks for sharing this video, already looking forward the next installment.

[@robertnielsen2461]

It was very enjoyable watching this video.Hobbytown was at the time a leader in the hobby,which has greatly changed since I first started.I have a couple of Hobby town locos that I assembled from kits,and I only wish that this were still a part of the hobby.No question that the is popular with the changes in the way we live, there is a certain sense of satisfaction when you 'be finished with the kit and watch how well your handiwork glides thru a switch.

[@swamphdaddy]

Love the hobbytown projects. I have many Hobbytown locos and a few kits still to be built. With multidrive imagine what a speaker you could put in a non-motorized unit. Keep up the good work. Thanks, Swamp Daddy

[@DarthSantaFe]

I put together a 3-unit multi-drive PA setup a few years ago, and there is a ton of room inside the front and rear units to add speakers and electronics to the level you might find in O gauge!

[@wackaircaftmechanic2312]

VERY under rated channel. Really cool stuff with painfully less attention than most. I wish you luck and hope to see more content.

[@lackawannarailfan]

Awesome locomotive!

[@Insufferable_Furry_Trash]

I always enjoy watching your work. You inspired me to start putting my own kits together. It's a ton of fun. Your skill level is very very very high when it comes to this stuff. Thanks for another great video!

[@P61guy61]

Excellent, thank you for posting

[@LongIslandCityLayout]

Nice work! Looks very clean and sharp!

[@jamessnyder3896]

Nice job man looks really good I like it

[@gregginter5867]

It looks beautiful!

[@gacj2010]

This guy is so smart .. he know how to do everything..

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

In 1951 a copy of Model Railroader cost $0.35. The engine kit was a hundred times that price. A new issue of Model Railroader is 599 so that locomotive today would be around $600.

[@wavesnbikes]

Awesome. Hope you can get into 90s LifeLike and Bachmann nostalgia as a 90s kid like myself got from ToysRus and KB Toys in Christmas!

[@DarthSantaFe]

I have some of those 90’s train set models, so I’m sure I’ll make a tune-up video eventually! I did make one for a Bachman E60CP with a similar motor: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onm3aHeslKmZidU

[@gregginter5867]

Love Hobby Town’s platform n power source! I buy as many as I can!😂❤

[@JeffreyStrader]

Automotive Spray Carburetor Cleaner works best on the Comms and shaft bearings (removes all of the old grease/oil). Then you can add the new grease/oil.

[@maestromecanico597]

Thank you very much for that walk down memory lane. I do miss tinkering with my HO models. Of course repainting something from PRR to NYC is unforgivable but I'm sure you knew that already.

[@DarthSantaFe]

I thought of making it PRR, but I really wanted to make this one look like the catalog photo which was in NYC. Half the PRR decals were never applied by the original owner, so I guess I only half changed the railroad in a way. :)

[@WVS-KFD]

Fun watching. I wonder how these old models would perform with sophisticated DCC decoders (say, TCS). Plenty of room for sound! I have a set of these that came with the DC90 and one that has the DC91 that looks virtually new. After watching your work, feels like a project coming up.

[@DarthSantaFe]

The brushes are both insulated, so DCC installation would actually be simple for these. The motors can draw a lot of current if stalled or when making a sudden start, so it'll have to be a heavy duty decoder.

[@EdwinsTrains]

What did you use as a mold for casting that weight? I love the repaint too.

[@DarthSantaFe]

Thanks! To cast the weight, I took a good size sheet of aluminum foil, folded it over a few times to make it thick enough to hold a shape, and then folded it into a tray shape of the size I wanted. After cooling, the foil peels right off from the lead.

[@SouthernTennessean]

Noice. Enjoyed watching this while eating breakfast. Cant wait to see the next one. Maybe varney?

[@DarthSantaFe]

Glad I could make breakfast a little more interesting! I have quite a few projects ongoing and coming up, but the next restoration like this will be a Penn Line GG1.

[@russellpenner2523]

Thanks for doing this video! I just acquired one of these, and like yours it was not functional. Pulling it apart to the point where you had the primary truck running - I have it that far but when I go to hook up the other wires how it looks like you have them it doesn’t power on. I have a feeling I may just have the wiring wrong. Was curious if you’d be so kind to remove the shell so I can see how the complete wiring is done on yours as the point towards the end of the video it’s not 100% clear as the ends of the wires aren’t shown. Thanks again as I’d love to get this beast fully working!

[@DarthSantaFe]

The wiring is one truck to one brush and one truck to the other brush. If the motor is working fine, check to make sure the insulated wheels in the front truck are opposite from the ones in the rear truck. I usually put the front insulated wheels on the left rail and rear on the right.

[@williambruceboisjoli8455]

Nice job, I have watch this many times as Im restoring a E 8 Hobbytown What paint did you use ? and how do I find decals. I have 4 passenger cars to go with it, Thanks

[@DarthSantaFe]

I used Scalecoat II paint with Testors airbrush thinner, and the decals came from Microscale. You can get the decals directly from them or from a hobby store or online retailer that carries them. You may want to start with Microset solution for setting the decals, and for more extreme areas, Walthers Solvaset can help since it's much stronger.

[@blairmielnik8228]

Would you vote for 6 powered axles as you did on this one vs only 4 powered axles? All axles driving seems to be best, but possibly not necessary.

[@blairmielnik8228]

Curiously, the prototype E7 only had 4 traction motors.

[@DarthSantaFe]

@@blairmielnik8228 I built an E6 about 10 years ago using the 4-powered-axle chassis and a Cary body. It doesn't have quite as much pulling power, but it runs just as well.

[@angelacrawford3173]

Very nice 👌 👍 👏 😀 ☺ 😊

[@michaelcampin1464]

Ive got a Triang E7 in 00 gauge. It was a ready to run loco from the late 1960s

[@danielcoburn8635]

The pair I have had a shaft that extends between the locomotives to provide power to the second unit from the first.

[@DarthSantaFe]

Sounds like you have the multi-drive chassis! With a large motor driving it, these can outpull just about anything.

[@danielcoburn8635]

@@DarthSantaFe got a few old items to restore myself, just waiting for the time.....

[@kensbackshop6399]

Awesome resto ,,,you come up with some very greeat ideas ,,,love your videos,,..were did you buy that very cool little lathe ,,i want to get one ,,,thanks for sharing this great video,,,Ken

[@DarthSantaFe]

Thanks! I got the lathe from Amazon. It was somewhere between $30 and $40.

[@whatchacookin1096]

Very nice.

[@gregginter5867]

What do you think about graphite as a dry lubricant? Goes bad over time?

[@DarthSantaFe]

Graphite is a good lubricant, but I’m not sure how well it would do for these. I think it’s best for areas that need to stay dry, like belt drives.

[@JohnJohnson-cn9fh]

great work.jpj

[@danielcoburn8635]

I have this same,( undec) pair drawbarred to together I want to redo.

[@cyclonebill6684]

Yes, the wheels CAN be too shiny. The shine makes it look like your train is not used.

[@DarthSantaFe]

I like it to look new. :)

[@Gfysimpletons]

😂😂

[@kb2sbl]

So only 2 axel are powed not 3

[@kb2sbl]

Ok it had a kit to make it all 3 axel's

[@DarthSantaFe]

@@kb2sbl The original kit had 2 out of 6 axles powered with the option to upgrade to 4 axles powered. When they changed the design to the one I have here, the basic model had 4 axles powered and the upgrade had all 6 powered.

[@jimflagg4009]

Nice drives over switches like they were not even there.

[@sdjk909]

You need to get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner. It will make your restorations much easier.

[@DarthSantaFe]

One of those would be nice, but I would need a pretty large one (those can get expensive). Maybe if I start doing more restorations needing that level of cleaning then I'll look into one, but for now, cheap chemicals in a pan work well enough for most of my projects.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I remember them advertising in the mid-70s in Model Railroader that's their bodies would fit right overran athearn Drive. Crap phone for grammar

[@Scrimjer]

You and I sound like we have the same accent

[@DarthSantaFe]

Mine comes from growing up in central IL, so if you’re from a similar area, that would make sense!

[@Scrimjer]

@@DarthSantaFe Michigan 😉

[@DarthSantaFe]

@@Scrimjer And that's where one of my parents is from, so there you go!

[@jasonbrown4239]

I guess it's ho

[@DarthSantaFe]

Yes, Hobbytown trains are only in HO scale.

[@jasonbrown4239]

@@DarthSantaFe don't no much about ho have o gauge and s but know that I'm on my on thinking about a n gauge layout