Project Dorfan engine resurrection

Have you tried Sugru paste on anything yet? People keep telling me how great it is, but it's pricey if you don't have an immediate use for it. I got the ingredients for the homemade kind and haven't tried that yet, either. It does seem like something that should be useful for modeling, since it can be machined and painted after it dries. I'm interested in how it does in zinc-pested parts.

Hi Jeff. I admit I don't know Dorfan that well but didn't most of the Dorfan examples basically crumble and kind of turned to dust? How is the rest of the casting holding up? Any pics?

  Are there any interweb sites with more Dorfan info? Not having seen any of it in real life, I was wondering about the sizes of the various locos and cars as to how they compare with their contemporary Lionel, Flyer or Marx competitors.

I got my first sections done of reattaching the broken parts that were with the body and in this case it was half of the cow catcher at each end. As you can tell from the pictures that I have attached I do have a long road ahead. I will be making some clay forms to then put the JB Weld into and I will also use the JB Weld to fill in where the cast has come apart. This should stop any further issues and I will line the inside with a thin layer of JB Weld for reinforcement. I also got a package today that has an Ives engine that I won along with a spare motor that seems to be a candidate to power this shell depending on what I do. Any ideas who made this motor?

Jeff

I am pretty sure it is a Hoge motor.

 

Steve

 

So can we get a part or two to repair it? It sure seems to be a close fit. the fiber board that holds the brush contacts is broken and the center pickup is missing but everything turns...

great project!

I went through a similar situation with a prewar Flyer and it's cheapest motor that used copper prongs instead of brushes and one of them split apart. I looked high and low for that plate somewhat similar to yours which held these copper brushes to no avail...I ended up replacing the entire drive....The interior of the shell had rusted and I got a product called Rust Reformer at Lowes that acts like a stabilizing primer to prevent further damage to avoid stripping the interior of the shell...for what it's worth..Worked great. I had a broken Marx plate that secures the pickup and epoxied it back together and that worked very well..I let it cure for two days...

I just saw a Hoge streamliner on eBay last night that had that same kind of motor in it.

I have looked at a few of those Dorfan shells on the "bay."  Poor things look a bit like a jigsaw puzzle with all the cracks, bulges and missing pieces!  I admire your tenacity and look forward to following this project to it's completion!  Gotta love rescue puppies!

Reminds me of the old song, Bad, Bad Leroy Brown. After the climactic fight, Leroy "looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone!" 

 

 Kinda like Jeff's Dorfan loco!  

Found the right kind of clay to make molds from the good sections of the shell and copy over to the bad section. Got out the JB Weld and the first section was completed last night with success. Several more sections are being done tonight. I will work on posting up some pictures as soon as I get some decent progress. The Hoge motor went to Steve and I am hoping he can find a suitable refit motor to go in. This one will be a runner only but that is just fine.

That Hoge motor is a tough find, best to save it for a 900 streamliner or a 750 circus train engine.

Jim

For now, the Hoge motor is spare parts. The red fiber board brush holder is broken in a few spots. Know of any place I can get some red fiver board to make a new one?

 

Steve

Here ya can see my 54 dorfan (these castings seem to hold up better)& 248 lionel

First time I have seen a Dorfan engine. Glad to see it being restored.

That is a very long Katz consist too. Nice collection.

I have a motor in similar shape, one of the slanted uprights is broken, but it is in a shelf holder at the moment. You can use some fiberboard from a automotive blower resistor but not sure I have anything in red, but I will look.

Update with pictures on using the clay. I got out my dremel tool to clean up some parts where the JB Weld had oozed when I re-attached the broken parts. Now tonight is making an entire missing corner using the clay. Molding went well and I will know what I have tomorrow.

 

Next question is what color green is the best/closest match to this?

 

Please let me know your thoughts and next is figuring out how to power this beastie.

I am finishing with the major work and now I am going to fine fill as many hairline cracks as I can. I have repair all of the major holes and while not perfect I am very happy with the progress so far. I have to now find some paint. I am thinking a rattle can primer/sealer just to help keep this one together.

 

Now to find running gear.....maybe I will tackle the wheel set.....

 

Please let me know what you think!

looks like you're doing a pretty good job!

Looking good!

 

It's coming along nicely Capt'n.

 

Curious about the size of the little bugger. Can you throw a measuring stick over it, please?

Andy

They are about 6 1/2 inches long. Some of the later ones were lengthened to 7 1/4 inches. Pretty small critters.

 

Steve