Awful Life-Like TeaKettle | Salvage or Scrap? | Last Ever Episode!
2024 ж. 22 Мам.
22 149 Рет қаралды
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0:00 Intro
1:37 The Loco
4:28 Restoration
15:55 Second Chance
18:23 Final Final Inspection
Hope this isn't the last time we see a Salvage or Scrap! Your production quality per episode makes it seem like I found a hidden gem among BBC programming. Definitely enjoyed watching as I work on my own layout and repair my own locos!
Thank you so much for your kind words, really appreciate that my friend! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Only it's better than BBC!
Yes, BBC hasn't made Sam a gay black woman, or some such.... @@timbervalleyproductions
@@timbervalleyproductions definitely better than the BBC
The second I saw the Life-Like "Tea-Kettle" tank engine I knew you were going to have a big challenge. If I had control of the Timer I would have given you at least one hour to figure out the inevitable gear issue. I once purchased a huge lot of "New--in-Box" HO scale locomotives on E-Bay and one of these Tea-Kettle “models” was among them. The Tea-Kettle loco's box never had shrink wrapping so I pulled it out its package to test it. Guess what, even this mint New-In-Box Tea-Kettle had cracked gears. These engines are so naff they self destruct in the box before they even turn a wheel on a layout.
Does the company that makes them still exist?
Shame the show is finishing! But hopefully we might see more model train formats in the near future!
Yeah absolutely - I'll keep trying new ideas!! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
What a dramatic conclusion! I am not going to lie - I am sad that this segment is ending. It was my favorite. Great job as usual, Sam! I'm tempted now to try and take up the Salvage or Scrap mantle and do some of my own! I love this show!
Do it
Aww, the last episode but hopefully you will be contemplating on the series. They're great fun watching but we're also delighted seeing new ideas arising of course. Oh well, that hideous jumbled thingy was to be best for the Scrapman anyway, lol. What a complicated muddle in this one really. Cheerio.
There are a lot of You Tube video shows that I enjoy but none that I looked forward to as much as the Salvage or Scrap series. I appreciate the fact that this series was probably much more difficult and time consuming to produce than a typical Sam's Trains video but I think the effort was worth it. I certainly hope you bring the series back, perhaps do just one show bi-annually if you can't spare much time.
Lifelike were basically the cheapest trains you could buy and usually came in starter sets here in the USA. About the best thing you could say for them is they worked, most of the time. They had low detail quality and often the cheapest mechanisms possible. The teakettle is infamous as being probably the worst engine they ever produced. There were two major issues that plagued them, one of which you experienced first hand where the gears liked to split apart. If you got lucky and none of them were split, the brass worm gear had a nasty habit of grinding the teeth off of the large gear. Now their later Proto 2000 series of locomotives are actually quite good
They did have a lot of good products like building kits, signs, figures and scenery material and that former Farney 0-4-0 tender loco, before proto 2000, some of those kits were made by heljan but sold for half the price under the life like name.
@raymondleggs5508 I never had any of their scenery items so I can't vouch for those. My experience is with mostly my dad's old engines. The Bachmann and AHM ones were rock solid and even the one Tyco he had ran well but the two Lifelike diesels were nothing but trouble.
@@Kboyer36 70's bachmann was before the pancake motor and nylon gears so he had the good era of bachmann, and AHM locos were Mehano, Roco, and Rivarossi rebrands, life like's first locos were basically Varney since they bought out varney and then cheaped out in the 70's so you got the beginning of the bad lifelike era! The Docksider and the 0-4-0 tender loco were the only survivng original varney designs they continued to use, they gave the others to athearn and atlas.
@@raymondleggs5508 That makes sense. I know later Bachmann's had a lot of issues. The newest engine he ever bought was in the late 80's I think which was a Pennsylvania R.R. K4 Pacific with their wonderful split chassis design. I know those damn things have a laundry list of issues they can develop and this one literally has them all.
If that engine had somehow ran then it would’ve been the biggest comeback of the season, fantastic final episode
I grew up watching Salvage or Scrap and it drove me to try fixing my own trains. That led me to begin fixing all sorts of things. Toy trains, Model Trains, Game consoles and more. Some of my friends even pay me to fix things. This all came from this little Series, Salvage or Scrap. Im sad to see it go, but greatful that it happened. Thank you Sam, for making all of our lives even better! I do hope salvage or Scrap makes a comeback...
8:04 - Sam: "Oh, this is what desperation looks like." 🙂 I feel you, Sam. And ... why give yourself a time-limit and get stressed? I would watch a long video with you taking all the time that is needed for a proper restoration-repair.
it’s to make it more exciting
@@AcerTheGreenPacer I get that. And it makes him look for ad-hoc solutions that can surprise But still I'd rather see less stress.
@@tubularap fair point
I own one of these Lifelike locos and I was pretty lucky to find one for 28£ mint in running condition. These are, as far as I've heard, one of the most unreliable American steam locos of the 70s. The most common issue is the gears stripping out like here or the motor burns out. Mine still runs nicely. I like the looks, it's a timeless example of 70s and 80s American steam locos with the decoration. As objectively horrible as this thing is, I like it 👌 shame the series ends, but it was fun.
Wow tat's not bad at all - ahh so it's a common issue then? Interesting! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains common is an understatement.
I hope this isn’t the last salvage or scrap episode. This was an amazing series and you did so well with the videos.
😢 the last episode
Fantastic vid Sam, really sad to see it go! Also Bure Valley Models (a fantastic retailer) have some of Hornbys class 50s for £168!
Ahh fantastic thanks for the tip - I'll be sure to check that out! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrainssell this show to TLC
It’s been an honour to follow this series, and indeed your channel, from humble inceptions to the current day, keep up the great work.
I actually own this locomotive (With North American couplers), took it for a run last year out of the box for the first time and I must say from a factory stand point the thing does need improvment, I cleaned up the old grease and oil on it with new stuff and still it could use at least some bearings on each axle.
I will definitely miss Salvage or Scrap - it’s been a fun segment and you’ve put something together with fantastic production values. Well done - and looking forward to seeing whatever new ideas you come up with. Merry Christmas Sam!
I love the series and I am sad to see it come to a end but at the same time I wonder what brilliant ideas you have in store for your next content. I have always thought it would be cool to see you repair some locomotives without the time restrictions. Or maybe even some wagons. I thoroughly enjoy your content Sam and I can wait to see where you go from here.
Please bring this show back! This is one of my favorite things to watch on KZhead! Chant with me, everybody! ONE MORE SEASON!!! ONE MORE SEASON!!! ONE MORE SEASON!!!
hahaha maybe one day!! Think I need a rest now though! ;D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
No worries. Everyone needs a break sometimes! Just keep doing what you do best! And to throw in a bit of British lingo from this American fan of yours: Cheers!@@SamsTrains
That was some great effort you put into that loco, Sam. I really enjoyed your series, and I’ll always keep watching it. Such a shame that this one of your last, but hopefully there’ll be some surprises in your channel. Keep it up!
A fantastic series, I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Hoping for some version of the concept returning in the future!
Love this series it’s sad it’s done
Thanks so much for your support Alex! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Brings back memories, had one of these when I was a lad, knew it wasn't prototypical, but I imagined it was a homebrew built in the railroad's shop from spare parts.
Sad to see this is the last one! You did amazing work on this series over the years, definitely agree with the folks saying the production value is possibly even better than some BBC programming!
This was one of my favorites series you have. I’m going to miss it so much. But, I am extremely excited to see what new ideas and series you come up with.
Well lady's & gentlemen..... it's here, It's finally here the very last episode of Salvage or Scrap. Cheers Jasper & Willow
Yep!! Been doing this for 3 years now!! :O Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I hope that this series ends up coming back like Futurama. Really like these videos, great to watch
This was one of my first steam locos- the second if not the first, in fact. I recall modifying it to have a rear pony truck just to fill in the empty space under the cab, making it an 0-4-2T. Mine ran... reasonably well... I guess. It lasted long enough for me to put a Kadee on the rear, but the lack of a provision for a front coupler proved to be its undoing.
Life Like included this model with their cheap trainsets. You could buy them separately for like $9.99 each on holiday blowout sales. You got what you paid for.
Finally back I love these videos hopefully this is more successful than the last one and farewell salvage or scrap this was an amazing series
Awesome video today Sam I really hope this series returns really enjoyed them
Aw, ending already? Well, it was fun! I know these teakettles very well, even though I don't have one. Those gears are very pesky. 😄
haha yeah - it's been 3 years shockingly! Yeah pesky is definitely the word! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I once had a loco that this one somewhat resembles. It was the G scale, 0-6-0 Gold Rush Special from Lionel, and I wish I had treated it a lot better. Watching this was very bittersweet but also rather cathartic, too. Thanks for giving this loco a second chance!
But but but.... We love salvage or scrap its so much fun to watch you fix an engine in the time it would take for most people just to figure out what needs to be done. I really do hope we get more in the future even if its just an episode every now and again.
Shame the show is ending. It's an interesting way to repair a loco. I will say, Sam, if you do decide to bring Salvage or Scrap back at some point, you need to do one live. That'll really put you under pressure...
Hi from the states. Life-Like is one of the WORST (what we call) "toy train" brands and their products, cheaply made and poor running, were basically disposable items never meant to be fixed when broken.
Hi Sam, that was an amazing episode. The production values on these videos show how much thought and effort goes into this series. It would fit into 'normal' TV no problem, and is better than a lot of stuff on many channels. Great work and really entertaining!
Hi Sam. Please retain the salvage section of this programme, even without the 'scrap' element. It's great to see old defunct locos coming back to life.
The fact that the motor has not packed up does mean there is some hope for it. You could certainly turn it into a Steam Punk loco! Thanks for uploading.
I’ve really enjoyed salvage or scrap, and it’s fast become my favourite series on your channel. Would love for it to come back some day soon
I'm so sad to see this series go! i enjoyed it whilst it lasted but whatever move you think you need to take is probably the right one, thank you very much sam.
An occasional failure keeps this series real. Thanks Sam!
Thank you! Yeah sadly nothing else I could have done with this one :( Thanks for watching - Sam :)
What a brilliant idea Sam but what a nightmare also. I would have given up once you took everything to bits! You have amazing patience and application. Full marks to you.
Pls don't stop this is really fun to watch
Great video sam 👍 It would be sad if this is the last episode. Great work sam 👏 👍
As soon as gears were found to be the problem in this one it was destined to be scrapped, gears on model trains are never interchangeable between each others branded locomotives and even if you have a range of different gears at your disposal to try out more often they won’t work, a decent overall final episode here Sam, shame the loco had to be scrapped but like I say it was destined for it as soon as gears were the problem, onto the series while I don’t mind it coming to an end personally it has been good to watch over the last few years.
haha I know - though with enough time I do believe I'd be able to fix it! Manufacturers do tend to use the same module gears, so if you find one with the right number of teeth you're in business! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Perfect send off Sam! Was a lovely series, and I can barely wait for what you will do next! Thank you for all the entertainment over the years. Here’s to Salvage or Scrap for an excellent run!
Thank you so much - really appreciate your kind words my friend! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Fabulous! What a great session
Can appreciate the effort that goes into producing these and really hope it isn't the last as they are (hopefully not were) interesting and fun to watch. Maybe resurrected for seasonal specials?
That Life-Like is from the mid 1970s! It is definately just a train set quality loco! You can barely call it a model and not a toy (and I doubt that it has a real life prototype). For the record that design dates backk to the early 1960s. And don't judge Life-Like from tgat loco. As I said it is from the mid 1970s when it was a trainset maker. In the 1990s they turned themselves around 180° and became a serious and respected model maker with its proto 1000 and proto 2000 lines! I highly recommend get your hands on one! However, it has to be second hand since Life-Like was bought by Walters on the early 2000s. Some of the LL line still exist, but not the samevfrom when LL was still an independent company.
I have one of those Life-like Teakettlles. The motor runs, but it has missing gears. It looks OK on a siding behind the engine house waiting to be scrapped. I paid $5 or less for it so I didn't expect much.
Dear Sam please don’t stop salvage or scrap I love these little challenges and it’s kind of fun to see which engines you pick for each season
Very well done my friend. Ur the best ever. Keep being awesome my friend
That was a great episode of a great series. I've always enjoyed Salvage or Scrap and all your maintenance videos.
I've bought a model that you have, of Hornby status, in your collection: the 0-6-0 E2 tank engine. From ebay that is. I made an offer of £24 and the seller accepted it. Hope you've written my nightmare request down, so you don't screw up and get it wrong. I'm so looking forward to seeing you trip over the track, and get splattered by Thomas the Tank Engine.
Yeah, I've got one of those and it was my first HO gauge engine. I think they retailed at $9.95 at Toys R Us. Mine still runs but the plastic is starting to deteriorate. Cheers from eastern TN
Very sad that this series is ending. It was surely a very great series to watch. Lots of good work done to broken locos with a few, not quite making it back. I really hope someone will eventually revive this series
Ahh sorry for that - I'll still do restorations in the future hopefully though!! Thanks so much for the kind words, Thanks for watching - Sam :)
So sad. Hopefully this series can come back. At least the scrapman will have a final meal. I look forto the next series you replace this one with in the new year. I most of my childhood trains were life like trains so, I feel your pain.
I was thinking about this loco. This would be the perfect loco to re-engineer. As in use the top part with a brand new bottom part. Some manufacturers have done this, examples include the hornby 73 (ex lima body) and the bachmann 2mt. Chassis I would use would depend on fit. I would either use a hornby 0-4-0 or the hornby pug.
We need more of these! Don’t stop Sam 😢😭😭😭😭😭😭
So even Roco has rubber belt drive. I'm familiar with it on Jouef models. I suggest looking for specific transmission belts, new ones are made in silicone and are less prone to stretching.
Thnks for not giving up and seeing through until the end. Testament to one's character.
Shame to see the series end, it's a way higher quality show than many other you see in this show style on YT. But I get it as I am automatically frustrated seeing models in need of a proper overhaul and restoration be put to limits and restrictions XD
I'm hoping you find the motivation to do another season of salvage or scrap sometime. It really is my favorite format on the channel (Your other stuff is great too of course).
Thank you so so much! I'll definitely do more restorations, just probably not in this format! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I loved this series! It was amazing! And a real roller coaster
Thank you so much- that's lovely to hear! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Never thought I'd see a brit bested by a tea kettle. Great video. Fingers crossed for another season 🤞
Thank you for the videos. I really enjoyed your upgrade videos ( replacing ringfield motors with CD motors ) Have you considered doing more of theses videos.. Just some idess for US engines. The Athearn Blue box line of locomotives. Not the official name ,but what model train guys call them and what there are many time listed as ... It is describing the era of models 1970s to 90s came in a blue box ( what a surprise ) LOL. These are all over Ebay many still new in the box. Go runners with a hard to kill big can motor and flywheels. Not up to today models cosmetically but OK with some added detail in my opinion. Again really enjoy your videos, thanks
Wait so will there not be another season
Awesome video Sam's trains so sorry if this is the last episode of this series
Thanks Brian! Yeah this is ending now, but lots of other videos still on the way! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains you're welcome Sam 😊
I have one of these on the layout, it's a stationary boiler for the workshop of one of the industries.
Aw Sam, the last one! Glad I managed to flick through and find it. A strangely apt ending I think for what was essentially a grotty little thing, but I understand your frustration. And in truth, I think that if you had spent an hour on it and it then worked, then you would at some point have thought to yourself, “Why the f*** did I bother?” Let’s face it, it was an ugly bugger! 🤷 Cheers mate 🍀🥂👍
I really applaud your choice to end the series as you saw fit, as a creative person it's great to recognize when you've accomplished what you set out to do (even if I'm sad to see my favorite alternate universe Discovery Channel program go)
Thank you very much! Yeah I think I've done everything I wanted to with this now, so no point running it into the ground! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Fun fact: This particular model is considered to be one of the least reliable locos ever produced
Sad to see the series end on a low note
Picked up one of these, brand new from my local toy and hobby shop in 1978 at a cost of 30 dollars Australian. Need I say, it never really ran correctly right from the start and in time stopped running altogether. I have tried many times over the years to make it run and it just refuses to work, so now it just sits on the layout. By the way, 30 dollars Australian back in 1978 was a good deal of money to pay for a loco, particularly one that doesn't work.
great video once again sam! real question: what actually happens to a loco if it goes to the scrapman?
I hope there’s more to come sam I love these videos I even buy non runners to do the same myself but not on cam that’s your baby
Writing this comment before watching. Based on my experience with these lemons either he’s gonna have to replace some gears, an axel, or he’s gonna have to replace the motor. Time to find out Edit: so after watching this and we’ll. I wasn’t expecting anything less. needless to say I’ve only seen a few tea kettle locomotives work as they should and the brittle plastic construction of the gears is why. We have one that runs at the museum I work at but since we had the time and supplies to do it we replaced most of the plastic gears with metal ones
Great series sam sad to see it ending, altough I was delighted to see the scrap man getting that thing nice try 😂 👍
Well, this certainly has gone out on a bitter sweet note. At least the Evil Scrapman has been satiated after a long time with those crispy, crunchy, jagged, splintery steam trains. I think Salvaged or Scrapped should become a TV show. Maybe one for Channel 4.
Remember that Life Like (pre-Proto 1000 and 2000) was largely just a toy train company that made toy trains that ran on HO gauge track. If you’re looking for a pre-Proto 2000 life like train, don’t pay more than $30 (£25) for a locomotive and more than $100 for a sealed train set
hey sam, great video! Just had two rather irrelevant questions, firstly do you ever just run your trains without filming? And lastly does sitting down at floor level with the trains ever bother you? I'm planning a layout and i'd prefer to have it at table hight but it seems having them at floor level is my best option for my situation.
Funny story Sam, I actually have one of these teakettle and It's been a relieable performer. Although mine has a can motor, I wonder if they changed the motor at some point. Cheers Jasper & Willow
Ahh very interesting, wonder if yours is a newer version of this then?? Thanks for watching - Sam :)
As many other people say, I also hope there will be another season in the future, once you manage to collect more models to fix (or more potential food for the Scrapman, it depends on the points of view)
Now, that's curious - my Tea Kettle has a can motor (a pretty cheap, nasty one) rather than an open frame motor. Main issue is it runs too fast at any voltage - it either needs a diode bridge to drop the voltage over the motor by 6 volts, or just convert to DCC and play around with the CV for motor speed.
Later production changed to can motors around the early eighties.
Hi Sam, these engines are a little gaudy but can be made to run nice, especially the ones with can motors. Life Like’s Proto 2000 series is really excellent, you might want to check it out for a review. Great video regardless.
Well, nice ending for a very interesting series. Whatever you decide, back online or not, Salvage or Scrap was a great concept. You told us you have other ideas, I'm ready to discover them if you give them a go-ahead. I'm sure you'll get something nice to see, like Salvage or Scrap.
No :( Can't believe it's the last episode ever. Poor scrapman will die of hunger in your closet :/
Such a good series shame it’s over but I bet Sam has some great projects coming up
I have this same model from Life Like, and believe it or not it was the first HO scale model I ever owned! Only difference is mine has a different coupling. It still runs pretty well too!
Life-Like, until they came out with their Proto 1000 and 2000 series, was considered low-end toy train quality for kids. I should know since I had a couple of their diesels when I was a kid which to be fair were much better quality than the Tea-Kettle, which is universally reviled in the American model train community. Life-Like is now owned by Walthers ironically enough but they kept some of the old Life-Like tooling with their Trainline series while their Proto 1000 and 2000 locos were upgraded in Walthers' higher end lines.
I think i had an N-Scale life like engine back in the 2010's... it was an Amtrak F40PH, had a smooth ride.
I loved this episode, you should watch these again and see what you can do better for the next series!
Thank you! That's good advice :D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Happy to help, friend. 😇
If you did another season of salvage or scrap at some point, an idea to keep it fresh might be to bring back some of the request/challenges from season 1. I thought these gave an interesting flare to each episode and helped them to stand out. (I may or may not have said this before, sorry if I did) Best wishes. 🙂
The TeaKettle was originally made by AristoCraft in the 60s and was die-cast. While it had flaws it was better than LifeLike's production.
Last Ever?! no sam! love this series its fab could see it being taken on in other formats or by a Steaming service!
Damn Good Try ! Hoping you will continue the Salvage or Scrap episodes !
Aww, I liked this series. Another excellent episode though!
I'd like to see a repair series where some of these really tough ones are seen through to the end.
Well done for trying. Whether or not you bring back Salvage or Scrap, it would be nice to see more loco repairs and restoration. Maybe without the time pressure.