# Help Identifying Locomotive



## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Hi All!

New you help again :smilie_daumenpos:

This little locomotive dropped in my lap today, previous owner has not clue about its history, maker, anything :dunno:

I have determined that the H.T & B stands for HOUSTON TAP AND BRAZORIA RAILWAY and there is a link below to Texas State Historical Association that says that this was a real railroad.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqh13

But as you will see in the pictures, this is an old locomotive with all metal body and shell and lots of details! Wheels are brass on the power pickup side. I just want to find out who, what, where, when and how :smilie_daumenpos:

It runs, barely, I need to get into it to clean it, but not sure how. Anyone have some info that will help me out?


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## alcoman (Nov 4, 2009)

Nice interesting model. Never seen anything like it.

Is there a screw on each side of the power truck? Maybe those and the one in the center of the other truck hold the electrical parts in?


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the reply Alco! There are four screws, one on each side of the trucks that screw into what is the bottom of the walkway/platforms on the top side of loco. That one you see in the center of the rear truck (pic #9) attaches the rear truck to a crossbeam for lack of a better description, that allows the rear truck to turn.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

It's a home brew model, it's been put together from different parts, looks to be a Athearn or Atlas body.
Sadly you probably won't ever get it to run very well as the motor in it is ...well lacking.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the reply NIMT! What years did these manufactures make metal bodies? If it is home made, it looks really well done.


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Sorry off a little, it's a Varney body and aftermarket trucks.
Not sure on the years 50,60's if I remember right.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Great infor NIMT. Its a starting point. I know very little about this era of locomotives. Can it be re-motored well enough to add a decoder and run some?


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Isolating the motor is only half the battle, with the metal side frame trucks are very problematic to get to work with DCC, they tend to short the system out way too much to be any good.
Honestly you would better off leaving this one as a shelf Queen.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Very true sir! I give it a good cleaning and thats what she will become :smilie_daumenpos:


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## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

Yep!!! Old Varney it is. Don't know the time frame on it either. I got this with a box of stuff I had picked up. One of the trucks/gear box has the dreaded zinc pest. You can see it in the last pic on the front truck. It's bad enough it locked up the axles. I thought about putting the shell on something else. But I think it's just gonna end up on the shelf.


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thats realy cool Danny, thanks for sharing the pics Not sure I under stand zinc pest :dunno:


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## dannyrandomstate (Jan 1, 2012)

It's basically impurities in the metal that is being cast. Over time it will react with the environment it is in and cause the metal to crack and deform. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest


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## THE TYCO MAN (Aug 23, 2011)

I myself have a Varney. What I did was retro-fit it to an Athearn S12/SW7 chassis. Not much work, mainly just filing and removing coupler boxes and new screw holes for mounting body. That piece should be cleaned up and left stock DC.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Looks like an NW2....?


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

dannyrandomstate said:


> It's basically impurities in the metal that is being cast. Over time it will react with the environment it is in and cause the metal to crack and deform.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest


Ah. That would be the cracks and/or separation of the metal, between the gears and the wheels correct?


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the reply Tyco, Im leaning more and more that way. After a good cleaning


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Old_Hobo said:


> Looks like an NW2....?


Thanks for the Reply Hobo! After looking at prototypical pics, I think you have
nailed IT!!!! :appl:


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

Old Varney and if you're good, you can modify one of the Athearn switcher chassis to fit under it. Then you have the best of both worlds - metal shell and reliable drivetrain. And since it's now Athearn powered, you can certainly convert it to DCC operation.

I have a few I converted to Athearn power but I have not converted to DCC (won't either, too many locos).


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the reply Brian! These modifications that you mention, are they difficult to do?


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

No not really. Going off memory you may just have to shave the outside of the Athearn SW underframe down a touch to slide in under the Varney shell. You *might* have to cut off the Varney fuel/air tank and epoxy it to the Athearn underframe but I'll need to check to confirm as its been quite a while. A few others are done with Hobbytown conversions - also DCC friendly if you repower with can motors. 

For the screw holes, I've used the plastic 2-56 screws, run them in, and shaved them flush with the walkways. The screws are/were included with Kadee #5 couplers.


It's pretty much the same conversion for the Varney F2-3 cast shells. I have an A-B-B-A set painted in ATSF silver & red with Athearn F-7 chassis underneath them. That modification only requires removing the Athearn "nub" so the underframe can slip right in.


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

Here's the first with the air tanks glued to the Athearn underframe:





























And the second with the air tanks left on the Varney shell:


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## briangcc (Oct 11, 2012)

And these are the F2-3 conversions:






























Sorry for the crappy photos, they were taken with my cell in a hurry. This was while my son was sleeping, he'd make mincemeat out of them if he were awake!


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## I Am Fasha (Apr 2, 2013)

Thanks for the info and photos sir! I see what you mean. We have a train show coming up at the end of the month, I think I will look around for a powered frame to play with :smilie_daumenpos:


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