Yeah, the old original Rivarossi "can" motors definitely had some shortcomings, the commutator being the primary one. It just couldn't take any heat. I have some information on my site to deal with repairing them, if not too far gone. Doug
Well there is so much truth to your statement! When I pulled the motor, it looked like it was from WW2...
By the time they had the Berk, the problems were pretty much ironed out, however. Your motor must have experienced some "extremes." Doug
What is funny I just aquired another Berk and chassis is different! The one I just aquired has plastic side rods! It missing part of the valve gear ecentric rod and such... Kinda blown away by the chassis variation!
As I mentioned in one of my other posts, the Berk was originally imported by MRC and manufactured by Rowa. It had the plastic drive gear. The motor should be different, too. More of a true can motor. The originals were extremely quiet runners (I still have mine I bought in about 1970) and the only sound you can hear is the sound of the wheels on the rails. Doug