Brass & Diecast / VARNEY based ? / 0-4-0 Switcher with Tender. needs TLC.. PFR

Pricing & History

Sold for
Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
Sold Date
Source eBay

Philmont Fund-raiser Several items have been donated to our Scout Troop and are being sold to raise funds to support our transportation costs of sending a group of Scouts to Philmont Scout Ranch in July 2013. Think road trip for 3 1/2 days each way..... This item is one of those donated. The net proceeds from the winning bid will go to the Troop for our fund-raising efforts. The ebay and paypal seller's fees will be subtracted from the winning bid, before funds are passed on to the Troop. Once I hear from the winning bidder that the item has arrived safely and they are satisfied, the net amount from the winning bid will be turned over to the Troop. Please look for more of my listings that have PFR or Philmont Fund-raiser in the title, for more of these donated items. The item offered in this auction is a vintage HO Scale 0-4-0 switcher locomotive. It is painted black and lettered for the Baltimore and Ohio. A knowledgeable modeler friend and I have spent time going thru his reference material and have not been able to ID the engine's maker. The good web site for HO Seeker, has instruction sheet diagrams and pictures that lead me to think that this is based on a Varney 0-4-0 Docksider mechanism from the 1940's. Someone else has suggested it is a early brass import from LMB or Gem. The superstructure on both the locomotive and tender are thin sheet metal, which is not magnetic. The locomotive frame appears to be diecast and has no provision for attaching a drawbar. The cylinders appear to be a casting and look like the Varney part in pictures. The tender body sits on a solid frame that appears to be brass. I do not know if this is a one-off engine or not. The engine alone weighs just over 7 ounces... The tender alone weighs just under 5 ounces. There are operating knuckle couplers mounted at both ends. They are an interesting design, with a lever wire arm that extends out to the side to operate the coupler. The right side running board is loose on the boiler. There are areas of paint that have flaked off the front and back of the tender frame. Most of this shows in the pictures. The handrail posts on the tender are loose from the upper handrail. The engine is very dusty and dirty. The back of the motor seems to be what locates the back of the cab and boiler. I have put 12 vdc power to the frame and motor lead wire. I got a hum and tiny movement, but nothing more. I am not comfortable trying to get the boiler off to access the pittman style motor. Certainly the motor is dirty and the lube is all stiff from being stored over 3 decades. There is an electrical lead from the locomotive that would go to the tender frame. The winning bidder will need to service the mechanism and figure out a drawbar, at the minimum. The tender rides on 4 wheel rigid archbar cast trucks. Three of the tender frame steps are bent. The fourth is missing. There is no tender drawbar, though there is a mounting point on the tender frame for one. The engine is part of a collection that was stored decades ago (possibly since about 1975) and has been donated by a member of the estate. There is no box. I am not comfortable with digging deeper into the mechanism to investigate further on something that is not mine. I suspect that it is from the 1940's or 1950's. The engine will be sold in as - is condition, it is not operational in it's present state. Please look carefully at the photos and bid accordingly. The engine has not been track tested. The piece of track is not included. Not for the faint of heart......If you are looking for an engine to take out of the package and run, this is not it. If you are looking for an engine to work on, clean, lube and give a little TLC to... resulting in a probably very nicely running vintage engine.. this is for you. If there are questions, please ask and I will try to answer. Potential International bidders please contact me for shipping information, before bidding. For shi... read more

Items in the Price Guide are obtained exclusively from licensors and partners solely for our members’ research needs.

Flag item for content or copyright

If this item contains incorrect or inappropriate information please contact us here to flag it for review.

If you are the originator/copyright holder of this photo/item and would prefer it be excluded from our community, contact us here for removal.