When the original motor still worked, I glued lead weights in it, pulled more cars, and that helped, but the motor got too hot, especially at lower speeds. Right now, the engine is exactly how it was new, but most of the motor is a replacement I bought on Ebay many years ago. I hesitate to make modifications because it has sentimental value, but I was considering putting together a separate modified drive unit that could be swapped in (or back out) without modifying the engine body. I am not planning on modifying the current motor. Another option is to remove the intermediate gear and have a powered freight car to run the train. I very well may end up doing nothing, but it would be great if I could run it on the same loop as my DCS engines. I have grades, so it takes a lot of attention to operate in original configuration, even with just one train on the loop. Too bad it doesn't have the double reduction gears! The only reason it is in decent shape is the restoration I performed many years ago. There was a lot of rust and very little paint! The front pilot wheels are replacements, but all the shiny bits are original. Here is what it looked like after removing the paint. This was part of a set offered in 1934. I still have the caboose, the lithography is pretty bad on one side, but I still use it. The other train car with the engine was an 831 flat car bought as an add on to the set. It was bought at Bragassa toy store in Lynchburg Va. The Bragassa family operated the toy store for a little over 100 years! The building is still there and looks a little better than the attached picture. My Dad told me that they had trains operating in the window area at Christmas.
