Trying to Fix The Worst Locomotive Ever Made - LifeLike Tea Kettle

Two or so years ago E.B. Trains sent in this 1971 tea kettle from life-like which wouldn't run anymore. This locomotive type of locomotive is known for having reliability issues, possibly the worst.
These are usually related to the gear box. this engine had its main gear slip at some point which ended up removing the threads. I had to get pretty creative finding spare parts as I don't know where you could find replacements.

[@danielreilly7830]

I can tell you from experience that these critters originally came with a HUGE chunk of lead over the front drivers, easily twice as large as what you replaced it with, if not triple the size. Very resourceful repair job! Seeing this thing do a wheelie was hillarious

[@SMTMainline]

The added weight must have put more a lot more strain on the drive.

[@hugomourao6905]

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[@TrainBandit]

Mine is made of cast iron and is made by a different company

[@Benthetrainkid]

You might be referring to the Aristo-Craft version ​@@TrainBandit

[@yambo59]

Excellent use of spare parts, finding that gear and some weight were key to the whole thing - this is why I never throw away stuff that might have a chance of being repurposed on repairs like this. Probably runs better than new.

[@SMTMainline]

Absolutely. Something has to be really far gone before it is truly useless

[@tommurphy4307]

you and every other model railroader out there.....

[@josephmontanaro2350]

As someone into model railroading and airsoft I can't tell you how many random things I've fixed simply with bits of parts salvaged from other broken stuff or spares given to me over the years by people who didn't need them

[@hartleymartin]

The stripping of that gear is probably due to some child attempting to play with the loco as a push-along toy. I have seen it happen with all sorts of HO and OO scale models - it seems to happen a lot with Thomas locos!

[@SMTMainline]

I think it’s more likely it was just under engineered. All of these seem to have this issue

[@tommurphy4307]

well it was obviously damaged by the brass worm on the motor- i suppose a person pushing the thing along could force some damage at that joint/point.

[@JasperJanssen]

The damage pattern suggests it was damaged by the worm gear running while the gear was locked up. The kid pushing would have damaged all the teeth, not just one section.

[@SMTMainline]

@@JasperJanssen I tend to agree. Also countless identical locomotives have the same issue so it's clear this was a design flaw.

[@drewsey5733]

I had one where the drive gears physically split. I replaced them and I have one that works pretty well. It’s not perfect but it moves. I don’t run it very much anyways but last I checked it ran

[@_ford_crown_victoria_p]

Truly a "meet the engineer" moment.

[@railsofontario3029]

That solution is so smart I’ve always wanted a functional teakettle and since I have a Lifelike junk engine as well! Also if that brass worm gear on the motor strips out I’m pretty sure there are other brass replacements that work or a plastic one. Fantastic work SMT!

[@SMTMainline]

A brass replacement would be excellent. It’s what they should have put to begin with.

[@martine3214]

You really want a nylon or plastic gear. Two brass gears without good tolerance will just ruin each other. Plastic has a better slip coefficient.

[@antonbruce1241]

Harrison...you are an absolute genius! And there's no such thing as luck when one has your talent.

[@anthonyj.adventures9736]

This is where i get my info when i attempt a repair. I still cant get my tyco chatanooga loco to run. It ran, now just the headlamp comes on.

[@agressive_cementbag]

i actually watched him to fix up my RF-16

[@SMTMainline]

I appreciate that but without finding that gear it never would have worked.

[@SMTMainline]

@@anthonyj.adventures9736 Don’t be discouraged, those things are a nightmare to work on.

[@antonbruce1241]

@@SMTMainline Yea, but a LOT of we mere mortals would not have such a loaded box of spare parts!!! For THAT - you are a genius!

[@johnpoindexter3090]

Enjoyed watching you refurbish this little locomotive. Reminded me that I have one. I pulled it out, added a bit of lubricant and had it running around the track in no time...🙂

[@chrisstone2509]

I have this exact engine - same B&O #25 livery and all - that I got probably about 25 years ago when I was a kid. It always ran quite well for me and never gave me any issues, even with all the crashes and heavy usage it got - including a back-to-back pulling contest with a diesel. I haven't run it, or any of my other packed-away HO stuff, for several years, but I always remember it fondly. Imagine my surprise then to see this video reporting it as one of the worst locomotives made, an notoriously unreliable and quite easily broken! I'm shocked to hear how bad they tended to be, but very happy to see you managed to repair this one. I'll have to dig my HO track out of storage and hope my old transformer still works so I can give my B&O #25 some more running. I don't know how I managed to get apparently the one singular build of this engine that worked very well, but I'm sure glad I did. I would have been heartbroken as a child if my only steam engine ended up tearing itself apart. You're quite right about the weight, by the way. It's supposed to have a quite massive and heavy chunk of metal that fills up most of the front of the saddle tanks. It's a heavy little engine with that in there.

[@atjoe1972]

Nice restoration 👍 Great to see a 50 year old locomotive get a second chance 🚂

[@timothyrose4052]

In my 60+ years, I have never seen an HO loco pull a wheelie down the track. Well done!

[@SMTMainline]

It's a one of a kind to do that lol

[@DRRP]

Great repair loved the wheelies :)

[@davidjohnson497]

Ok I know I posted a comment on another of your videos saying that it was my favorite I've seen so far, but please note, I hadn't seen this one! Now this is my favorite! Thanks for sharing! Keep going! I was almost falling from my chair when the loco was "popping wheelies"! Great fun! And you fixed it well.

[@SMTMainline]

It was fun to repair. I'm glad the gear solution worked nicely.

[@firefly0282]

Man i just love your vids. Youve re kindled my love of toy trains. Ive been into the super detailed models and british and german trains. Ive lost focus on how fun the old tycos life likes bachmans were..They were my child hood. Thanks for your videos.. I always watch your vids. I love seeing you tackle repair on models ive never even thought could be repaired. I thought they were disposeable trains. But now i wanba fix em all lol. Thanks to you.. ... cheers

[@frankshimkets5000]

Great job‼️👍👍 Had to laugh when I saw that loco perform some wheelies! 😆

[@firefly0282]

Finding that that locomotives gear would fit is ingenious!. Who would have ever thought. These vids cheer me up on a gloomy day.. thanks!

[@tommurphy4307]

harrsion knew

[@scpvrr]

Love the wheelie! Great job on restoring it.

[@chasesrailwaylinesrr6447]

The tea kettle locomotive like the one you have here was actually advertised In their building a tourist railroad layout As far as looks it's a nice looking steam engine a very classic one

[@Hammerhead9045]

Another great smt video! Thanks for pushing out the great content! Your channel is the reason why I got back into the hobby during the pandemic and why I started going back to train shows! Keep up the good work

[@neumoi3324]

You seem to have a plan ready in your mind the moment you open any loco. I would mess up some more than the state it came in and wouldn’t be able to put it back together, leave alone have it running as you did. Loved it. Great job.

[@SMTMainline]

I always have a rough idea of what the problem could be going into it which helps but there’s no real way of knowing until it’s actually opened which creates all kinds of challenges.

[@williamhunter4183]

So great to see a pretty little old loco running again! Nice job!

[@SoRTs6233]

You certainly don't believe in making things easy for yourself! But, it's so good to see your success! That steam loco doing a wheely was something else! Go B&O, Go!

[@SMTMainline]

Thank you very much!

[@edsel6818]

Oh how cute, that's baby Thomas, 😍 sure hope it can be able to come back to full operation.😁👍

[@crowdcor225]

Very impressive to see an old locomotive brought back to life and the tweaks you made to it to get it to run better. Excellent vid and please keep them coming!

[@joallawestervelt6918]

Way to go Harrison!. Once again the Harrison Touch comes through. Great looking steam locomotive. Awesome to see her running the rails and pulling some cars. Great job. I had confidence you would get her fixed. 💕😊

[@SMTMainline]

Thank you so much. I’m really happy that I found that gear otherwise I don’t think it would have worked again.

[@joallawestervelt6918]

@@SMTMainline I am happy too that you found it. She was meant to run. 😊

[@tommurphy4307]

always pays to save parts

[@BroWCarey]

Another resurrection from the Miracle Worker! Can you say "Serenity?" Great work, Harrison.

[@johnellick7362]

Another awesome fix. Love your repair videos. So informative to any model train owner.

[@sirrliv]

That was the first model locomotive I ever had, a gift from my parents when I was only 6 years old along with a pair of Bachmann coaches. I kept mine going for almost 20 years with basically zero maintenance. And that was in the hands of a child too; I wasn't stupid enough to short out the track or anything, but the old girl took her share of tumbles, even reaching the point where the smokebox door came off. But she kept running. Finally, her time did come, but only after many, many years of loyal service. So to hear such a model called "The Worst Locomotive Ever Made", especially from a channel I'd never heard of before... Boy, this ain't the best first impression, and you've got a lot to prove.

[@SMTMainline]

I’ve been working on starter set quality locomotives like this for over 10 years and can say with confidence that these are not reliable. That doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoyable, don’t get me wrong but 20 years of usage isn’t that long. My father’s locomotives are over 40 and still going strong with their original gears. I’m not trying to insult, just trying to tell the truth.

[@johnjohnston9661]

I really admire your perseverance, getting this little tea-kettle running again! I wish Life Like (or whoever has the body molds, etc.,) might offer one with an up-to-date drive system.

[@SMTMainline]

With 3D printing it might be possible to make parts for it.

[@bawdydog176]

Enjoyed the video, the wheely was hilarious! If you tin the wire ends with solder, you won't have to apply heat as long on whatever you're soldering to. A nice shiny join is the goal. Gray and rough is a cold join that will cause problems sooner or later. Good luck and have fun!

[@Plunger_Cameraman42]

Your the best at fixing and getting old locomotives to life! And I can't wait for you to upload again!

[@user-gk7hk5pb4m]

You should absolutely think about getting a cheap 3D printer to print gears like the the ones you need! Would be a slightly less satisfying and durable solution, but would be an easy fix for issues like this.

[@SMTMainline]

I don’t know if 3D printers are accurate enough to make gears yet. At least the budget ones

[@Scraghunter]

@@SMTMainline A resin printer can do accurate gears. I've got some in an old Bachmann GS4 that didn't split like the plastic!

[@bugman72]

@@Scraghunter I was going to recommend getting a resin 3D printer and using some of the "ABS Like" resin. Another option would be to mold the gear with a silicone mold and then do an epoxy resin pour. Sure it won't be the last time that gear will be needed.

[@jonduke4472]

@@SMTMainline check your library system or if you have a maker space . I think an fdm printer would be able to print good gears. A resin sla one has incredible precision but higher maintenance requirements. Strength would be a concern but I think it would be good enough either way As a bonus most CAD packages have gear macros. Hope it works for you.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

yeah that's what i've been trying to comment.... but youtube doesn't like me.

[@qshrek]

I had one, the main gear split. My dad went to the store in Baltimore where he got it and after some colorful language got me a new one. Ran it about 5 years ago, worked fine!

[@lurkerrekrul]

BUY a gear? You're supposed to have a 3D printer, so that you can MAKE your own gears. That's what all the really cool KZbinrs do. ;) When you were re-assembling it, I was thinking to myself "It's going to be pretty back-heavy with the motor sitting so far off the wheels." Tyco - Back in the late 70s/early 80s, I took my Tyco, Spirit of '75 diesel locomotive over to a family friend's house. I forget why exactly. He had a good sized layout in the basement that he was building, with some curves on a slight grade. We decided to test my loco to see what it could handle. I forget the exact number, but at one point, it was pulling about 30 assorted freight cars. He was pretty impressed, especially with it pulling them uphill. :)

[@tonny4175]

OMG I could take one of these apart but could never put it back together again haha You are a master

[@kaikuklik9748]

Harrison, you are a true locomotive-whisperer 😉 Getting this crappy thing back to life... Good job 👍🏻

[@PetesPrettyGoodTrains]

2:05 Had one of these as a kid, somehow don't quite remember it having such a freakishly large motor 😲

[@Tinytraveler]

This popped up on my feed randomly. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Great work!

[@qwincyq6412]

Nothing like having a good spare parts bin! With it you can McIver anything. Damaged and worn out plastic gears are the bane of model railways.

[@4everdc302]

The SMT junkyard crawl chapter of the Manual. Another good save🚂🇨🇦🙋

[@willamcombs1106]

I about died from laughter when it popped wheelies.😂😂😂 I'm 70 years old and a lifelong model railroader and in all my years I've never seen a wheel popping locomotive. Maybe you should set up two tracks side by side and have the first ever locomotive drag race.😂 You might start a new You Tube trend.

[@germantanker131johnny2]

You're like an elder god that fixes old models.

[@davetaylor9057]

Very nice job Harrison, usually a worn out plastic gear is a death sentence for an old loco! BTW, North West Short Line didn't disappear. They were sold and moved to Montana. They have a new and much better website.

[@tommurphy4307]

..and their parts are still expensive....

[@SMTMainline]

Have you ordered from them before, I've heard mixed things.

[@davetaylor9057]

@@SMTMainline I haven't ordered from the new NWSL but did order from them previously. I got re-gear kits for the Proto 1000 RDC. The only catch was that they were produced in batches so I had to wait a while until NWSL had enough orders to run a batch of the kits. I'm not sure if the policy is the same under the new owner. The prices have gone up a lot in the last couple of years but if it means restoring a brass model to operation NWSL is the only game in town.

[@theorangedino]

I actually have one of these things, I don't have the rails for it so it sat on my shelf for 5-7 years. when a guy at a train show sold it to me he said it didn't work, fast forward BOOM I somehow fixed it. the gears are in perfect condition. the problem was dirty contacts, now it runs perfectly. but now i have a video i can watch in case i need to fix it again. Thank!

[@SMTMainline]

It was probably sitting for many years and seized up.

[@PirateChiefPC1]

I laughed so hard when the Engine pooped a wheelie! That was priceless! Another Great job! Well done!

[@robertnungester5699]

Congratulations Harrison. You now own the only working teakettle in the world!

[@claytonkillenbeck1102]

Perfect timing for this video! I just bought one these recently and this will go a long way toward helping me get it running again. Thanks!

[@markkay6646]

I don't know why you tube recommended this video but I'd like to thank it,don't mind admitting I enjoyed every bit

[@SMTMainline]

Thank you so kindly!

[@firefly0282]

Lmao you are the first that has ever made a model train pop a wheely. I love it. Never saw that before.

[@tommurphy4307]

life-like had an N scale version of one that would pop wheelies if you played with the directional switch.

[@AspenFrostt]

i was watching this just out of curiosity and just to hear a neat story or watch a neat process and seeing that old santa fe train blew me back in time. i swear i used to have that exact train set and i had so many memories of it just running around my bedroom floor after christmas and it was so neat. as a kid i would watch it for hours

[@suzie2769]

Even tho these Locomotives are considered "problematic" i still love these little things. They just have a certain charm to them!

[@richardsweeney197]

We had a French Veterans group, the 40 & 8 (40 hommes and 8 Chevalier) (sp?) And they have a parade car which looks like a steam engine, when she was new it used to pop wheelies. What a flash back. Great work!!

[@jerrycasper4012]

I'll have to remember the diesel gear transplant, I've worked on a few TK's myself, that is a useful nugget of knowledge for sure. Great video.

[@F40M07]

What a coincidence!!! I just found one of these a few weeks ago at a train show!! I got mine for $15 USD in a Bicentennial scheme.

[@tommurphy4307]

wow they saw you coming....sorry i've never seen one sell for that much.

[@carlbentley80]

I must admit I didn't think this was a great locomotive until it popped a wheelie, now I love it. haha

[@theuglycamel8122]

Great video, and great to see someone else's parts bin! I've got a very similar steamy with the truck gear stripped (that's a single truck gear, and it was EXPOSED through the gear cover). It never was any good at hauling but sparks and wheelies were A+. Glad I found your videos and look forward to binging your channel now. Keep on keepin on Man!

[@alanwbelcher]

Darn! I miss the wheelie machine! Good job bringing this engine back from the junk box.

[@emdB67]

I've worked on a lot of those Teakettles too. And back in the late 1980s I had one with the weight missing, as well as the headlight, smokestack and smokebox door. But it ran well. Using bits from my spare parts, I added the smokebox door and a headlight, with a smokestack made from a pen. But no weight. I soon discovered that it could "pop a wheelie" and after cutting the coupler box off, I found I could run as normal, but control the wheelies with the throttle, even getting it to go back on 4 wheels with a quick reduction of speed. The slots in the rear of the body match the rail gauge and even allowed the loco to do a wheelie around curves. The only thing that made it derail was wheelies over switches. I still have it today, and it still runs. But it spends most of its time now on a non-working display of track that I made as a joke. complete with jump ramp and loop-the-loop (no, not the old Tyco Turbo Train). Anyway, here's a photo of it taken in 2005. www.hobbiesplus.com.au/x%20067.jpg

[@GaryDavis-ir6fh]

you are a very capable locomotive doctor!

[@Hernik_der_Herzhaft]

Fun Video... Spare parts box for the win! Well done!

[@Mark-xv5lb]

congrats on sorting that out; I nearly bust a gut laughing when it was doing a wheelie

[@SMTMainline]

Yeah, what an awesome feature haha

[@powerpop23]

We had the exact same one since 1987. It was allways a favorite because it ran the fastest of all our locomotives and I thought it was very reliable. It was retired some time in 1995 though - we still have it but I haven't tested any of the trains since years.

[@ScottRods]

I recently got back into model railways after a 30 year break, lol. Just picked up a box of stuff at a swap meet and this little loco was in it. Runs great, but the headlight isn't working....yet. I'm from Scotland, and I have a couple of sets of the Intercity 125 you did a video on. I'll comment on that video soon. Great videos by the way.

[@captandysir8670]

Looks like a Christmas special. Thanks!

[@williammcgeehan3424]

I have an old Northwest Short Line Catalog that I got from them before they out of business a few years ago. It references with part numbers and it features every gear that NWSL ever made for any particular application including ever single replacement gear for any brass model ever made. In addition it features hundreds of scale width ( .064" ) & ( .088 ) replacement wheels and every fastener you could ever need. It's as thick as an old yellow pages phone 📞 book. My contribution to that book was when I needed them to make a special brass replacement gear made for an Alco Models Lima diesel switcher. Too bad they aren't in business anymore.

[@SMTMainline]

I wish they were still around, that would be ridiculously handy.

[@peterkneissl3358]

They are I think one of their employees bought them out

[@tommurphy4307]

i deal with them- they are still in business as an employee-owned company. the cost of a replacement gear is prohibitive regarding this particular locomotive.

[@tommurphy4307]

nwsl caters to brass motor men- their gears help save costly brass power units all the time.

[@williammcgeehan3424]

@@tommurphy4307 Is Derrick Poole the one who bought them ?? He was doing their custom work about 12 years ago. I know they were pushing the Stanton Drive as opposed to gear replacement. Stanton Drive is a self contained motor within a single locomotive truck. All you have to do is add your choice of sideframes.

[@RaeSuz]

That train popping a wheelie had us - LOL

[@stephenrickjr.7519]

Congratulations on getting it running. Thanks for the video 😁👍!

[@Istoeumapemba]

I'm watching and learning new things with your videos. Excellent job!

[@chicagolandrailroader]

Such a goofy thing. It does have some kind of charm to it. I like how your layout looks. Can't wait to see where you take it.

[@randallellison6421]

Very cool little locomotive Harrison! That UP boxcar is very nice, too, got a similar type of car except its a weathered Frisco model! Nice work as always!

[@MattKonsol]

It is nice Randall I agree man. I never owned any athearn genesis stuff in my collection maybe I will like a used Union Pacific sd70m. The only athearn collections I have is ready to roll and the blue boxes.

[@HeadlightsAreTooBright]

😂 we had this locomotive as kids and I always remember it needing to get fixed

[@andyu69]

Funniest thing I've seen for a while. I'm tempted to turn my Tea Kettle into a Drag Loco. Needs some small trailing - lift wheels, to keep it in line.

[@phildavis4878]

I recognize that motor quite well they use them in RC cars that thing might have too much power and that's why it keeps stripping gears a lot of these training people also make pots for RC cars and I'm telling you that's an awesome motor

[@markwilliams2620]

There are bags of gears that sell under RC CAR or ROBOT GEARS on certain auction sites. You'll find lots of 50, 100, 200 nylon gears for $10-$20 that have a variety of substitute gears. Another KZbin ho modeler turned me into that. Yeah! NIce work! The thrill of victory! Edit:. Added ROBOT GEARS as this seems to yield the most results.

[@MiamiMillionaire]

a 3-D printer that works with UV resin would be ideal to re build these gears ( but if you are patient and skillful you can also make them out of brass, which I have already done for another project of mein )

[@staufferfamily9629]

Great job! You should do train drag races and see what is your fastest engine.

[@SMTMainline]

This one would be good for show haha

[@tommurphy4307]

it WAS pulling some impressive wheelies

[@lotsatrains]

Awesome job that sure was a challenge but I think it’s a really cool nice working loco to add to the collection 👌

[@franksabatine9075]

You are definitely the train reserection magician 🎩

[@twistedaxles9126]

17:15 The restoration was so good that the engine started doing power wheelies

[@falzar3381]

Had quite a laugh when you had it to a wheelie!!! Congrats on another successful repair job.

[@ShukakuTheCrazy1]

I got one of these in the mail today. Little dude works.

[@LoveShaysloco]

but that's the main reason why maintenance is key to keep your stuff going strong. all i know at work I'm going to have so much fun watching our equipment freeze into a solid block of steel. one thing I learned from your channel watching you fix the engines is keep it clean keep it lubed is 90% of the problem and at work they don't do either

[@jacobmaurin7549]

The locomotive popping wheelies got me! 🤣 POWER!

[@DarthSantaFe]

I got one with the old open frame motor and more durable gears in great shape, but it ran so rough that I took out the whole motor and gear system and made a Hobbytown style mechanism for it. It was a lot of work, but it can really crawl now!

[@SMTMainline]

I saw your video on that, seems like exactly how they should have been built in the first place.

[@kevinrichards3288]

Awesome how those old steam switcher engines had a place for the coal near the cab instead of having a tender railcar hooked up right next to the engine.

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

I had a Life-Like B&O "Little Joe" dockside engine circa 1979. I really don't remember running it much.

[@myvideosetc.8271]

That HO scale drag race strip sounds like a good idea.

[@rjhergert6590]

I had one when I was a kid, mine was hooked up to 1 long lighted coach , or 3 regular stock box cars, not stressed with a long train.

[@YMS09D]

This was wonderful, you can tell that little engine is excited to be running again, just look at its wheelies! Great job!

[@Hell_Raisers]

Thank God you have that model I used this video to repair mine that was my grandpa's originally

[@jermca]

Great restoration! I've got one of these disassembled with the same problem. It was one of my first locomotives from way back. Kind of like the American version of Smokey Joe.

[@beefyiceman94]

Cool locomotive man, great job! Also nice wheelies haha!

[@mnfrench7603]

I’ve had one of these since the 70’s. It ran like a champ fresh out of the box. Still have it, just need track and space to run it. No idea if it still runs. You can find these on eBay for $10-$20 still in the box.

[@Darwinpasta]

This reminds me of my childhood, trying to keep my N scale trains alive. Good work! That little thing's got pretty good pulling power for its size.

[@music100vid]

I laughed out loud when then loco did a wheelie! Nice work on restoring it to operating condition.

[@kaedenthecsxamtrakandthoma8318]

0:09 the life like tea kettles are cute aren’t they

[@976dusty]

Now that is funny Glad for the life back in the engine

[@Zackseals8]

it still amazes me that you can take they worn out trains and get them running again

[@betamaxblocker]

Glad you got it running again! It is a cute little model. You may dismiss the HO-scale dragstrip now, but maybe that could be a future project LOL

[@TomPrickVixen]

The old Gützold (ex east-german model co.) locos had this problem where their old diesels that were made in the late 60's till early 80's, developed a gear problem about the end of the 90's if u still had them (they were good locos so why wouldn't u kept them). The problem was (is) that the plastic of the gear that's on the driveing (metal) axle started shrinking (maybe do to a lubricant type), and cracked, putting more stress on the still intact gears, cracking those too eventually, leading to the loco to loose all torque, and only move on "solo". So u either needed to hunt down some "old new-stock" wheels (was actually possible till early 2000's), or take the wheels to the "fabricator" guy at the model exchange. He always had a few re-geared set of wheels, but he only sold it to you if u had your old wheels with u, to trade in (makes sense). I still have 2 of those old locos: The Bo' Bo' has 3D-printed gears on the driveing axles, and on my Co' Co' diesel, I brought a new set of wheels that were made for a new(er) model, but the wheel and gear size was identical.

[@magnuswettermark8293]

Nice job Harrison..as always👍😁