Resurrecting One Of The Nicest Looking F-Unit Sets Ever! Varney's 1958 HO scale A.C.L. F3's A-B-B-A

Ron, I just wanted to say thank you again for the incredible job you did restoring my late grandfathers Lionel train set. I can’t believe how incredible it looks in person. Thank you again for everything that you did.

Classic Ron, first he raised the price of Tyco, then Mehano, Mantua, AHM, and IHC, now I expect Varney to go up in price on the ‘Bay. LoL. He’s the Gordon Gekko of Classic Model Trains, he can influence the market with a video. Again, thanks for hanging out and entertaining me.

Absolutely gorgeous livery on those. Came into possession of a Revell ACL SW7 set from that era about 2 years ago when my in-laws were cleaning my mother in law's house after she passed. Cars dismantled and locomotive missing but figured aside from the locomotive I needed to wait til some sacrificial Revell stock showed at the hobby shop second hand bin and track down a Revell ACL SW7. Through some hunting and searching I got it back together again and posted pics on Facebook with attention to my two eldest brothers in laws on the assumption it was their boyhood trainset. You could well imagine my surprise when they replied back it wasn't theirs it was my father in law's brief foray into model railroading.

Really enjoy watching your videos. The technical terms just make my day! Keep them coming!

Ron, I love these history lessons being that I am an Aussie and know nothing of this over here. This is yet another reason why I love your channel so much. What no classic model this episode?.... It is nice seeing these old sets being refurbished and brought back to life.

This is cool as I model both the Florida East Coast line and the Atlantic Coast Line on my layout.

Wow thanks for the preview that a video is coming and notification! So you mentioned slot car guys give tips . One of mine from the 70’s was after we cleaned the commutator/ armature. We used a ball point pen ( medium or fatter) and burnished the edges ( gap between plates) we rubbed the ball point pen through there. Makes the brushes rub nicer as motor ran. We did it for speed back then. But I always do that procedure when working on Lionel motors. Great Video! Thanks Ron !

I never used a torch on brushes, but I have used carburetor cleaner if they were extra gunky. Good job on the old Varney. They take some patience. I was working on making pulleys and using a belt instead of using gears on those motors to make them a little quieter.

Thank you for the info on HO seeker. Cool man.

Nice job restoring that varney f3 set!

That looks spectacular! I’m not really much into HO but I find myself learning more about it and the history of it. I can certainly understand how it took over as more or less one of the standard scales. Those Varneys were crazy expensive originally, definitely top of the line for the day!

Hey, Ron hot for sure out here on the right coast !! Nice job on the Varneys, you put some work into those units. I have a couple of Varney die cast F units - looking forward to restoring them in the future. Now I have a good reference. Love the channel- great stuff 33% here all the way. Glad that Snickers Bar was handy, you almost had a meltdown - LOL.

Thank you for sharing.👍

Nice show Ron, loved the snickers bar bit lol. The plastruct cement is great stuff. Nice looking train set…

I enjoyed the Varney history lesson. I have several diecast Varney F-units, and your research might help me figure out when they were born. LOVED the brass-plastic tirade. And the Snickers cure. That ACL ABBA set sure is nice to look at.

Great job Ron fantastic work and I’m so glad you took a bite of that snickers bar. Lol

Ron you could add a big flywheel on that long shaft sticking past the gear on the powered unit, that would improve performance and add more weight to the unit

Great job Ron! That is a nice looking train too!

Hey Ron as always keep em coming I enjoy all your videos

Ron, you should get the drill press accessory for your Dremel tool and install a foot switch. I've been doing a lot of coupler upgrades and the drill press gives you some nice straight holes for the 2-56 taps. It also comes in handy for polishing and cutting. The Dremel is stationary so you can maneuver the parts using both hands and the foot switch will power the Dremel on and off. This setup has definitely cut down on swearing for me.