First of all, does anyone have any experience with IHC (International Hobby Corp) locos or rolling stock? I have no reliable hobby shops near me and can’t “touch” one, so I have to purchase things on-line.
Next, does anyone know who makes a Santa Fe Bicentenniel SD45 such as in the June Model RR showing the Priest’s layout? I had seen some earlier pictures claiming it was Athearn, but Athearn says no.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks!!
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IHC are lower middle models, in the range of Bachmann’s or Life Like’s standard line, not Spectrum or Proto. The steam locomotives are generally reliable, but not of high fidelity (some no fidelity) to the prototype.
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It is a custom decorated and detailed unit.
IHC steam engines are generally solid performers. They’re not as detailed as many other plastic steam out there, and they might not be the most prototypically correct, but overall, they’re a good way to get pretty reliable steam on a budget. I have no experience with their diesels, but the consensus is that they’re junk.
IHC rolling stock is OK. You can get as good or better for the same money for all their freight cars, which aren’t the best looking on the market. Their streamlined passenger cars are OK, as are their heavyweights, but other manufacturers make similar items of higher quality, sometimes for comperable prices.
The Bicentenial engine was indeed an Athearn engine. But iut was an Athearn that was superdetailed and custom painted, not an off-the-rack Athearn unit. Microscale makes the decals for this engine.
The one exception I would say to everything above is that they make an excellent GG1 with two motors so all wheels are driven.
Thanks for the advice. I am new to model rr’ing, even though I have been around for quite a while. Hopefully, someday, I will be able to offer assistance to fellow modelers.
Tim
enduringexp, welcome to the model railroad hobby and the forum. Tim, you commented about helping others someday. Well, I suggest you are helping others each time you post a question, as the answers given you are read by many and each of us that read these posts pick up a little information on each post thats posted. I can’t speak for others, but I know I do, and Iv’e been modeling for over half a century and still learning. So, to you Tim, and others new to the hobby, keep asking questions and giving your ideas, and thanks, Ken
I got and HATED the IHC streamliners.
Very poor detail, dayglow colored (bright red and blue) interiors (bought separately!), bad. loose trucks held on by a PLUG, bad couplers (try McHenry’s), much too light weight, etc.
Never ran well, and never looked good.
I GAVE UP, GAVE them away and bought Walthers Budds. MUCH BETTER QUALITY !!!
The person I gave them to also gave up on them and had them for sale last I heard.
I recommend the Walthers cars.
The IHC cars may be cheaper, but you get what you pay for !!!
I own several IHC steamers. I’d call them old reliables. they run extremely well for what you pay for them but lack detail and intricacy. I’d put them above old Rivarossi, Bachmann (non-spectrum) and Model Power. They are a very good beginners loco as they can handle alot of abuse and if you find your interest isn’t there after six months you havn’t wasted big bucks.
As for their rolling stock, well what I’ve seen and collected they are under weight and their trucks/wheels are definately bottom end. These can be remedied but it will cost you.
I have some of the passenger cars and the trucks are the worst thing about them. The bodies to me are along the line of older Rivarossi cars and a fraction of the price. The cars are very lite weight and need to be beefed up. To add in about their sturctures. They are old manufactures models like Tyco. I like them a lot . Never had one of their locos.
RMax
I have 1 steam locomotive & I’m satisfied with it.
The passenger cars I bought, while I like the bodies on them, the rolling capabilities are a bit on the pathetic side. But for what I paid for them, I’m not really complaining.
Gordon
Have you been to their site? www.ihc-hobby.com
I had success with the 4-8-2 Mountain. I always look for sufficient weight, 16 ounces or more should=better traction.
I have a few IHC locos. Mostly steamers. The 2-8-4 NKP Berkshire painted in the “American Railroads” scheme took the dreaded leap off the layout one fine summer Saturday at the club at Chanute AFB where I was station from 1976-1980. (Yes we had our own model railroad club at the base recreation center) I was testing it to see how many cars it could pull. Long story short: It took the dive off a curve and onto the cement floor. Broke the pilot steps off and the dummy coupler (I was going to change that anyway), the class light on the firemans side and the main driver broke off the axle. Internally when I took it apart the motor had split it’s casing where it goes down into the frame and connect to the drivers. This is the up and down motor mounting that went tstraight through the floor of the cab. [:(]
Glue is a wonderful thing. I managed to glue the plastic parts back on and replace the coupler with a long shanked KD. If I remember right I also shaved down the frame and glued a styrene mounting pad. The motor was replaced. Still being a novice, I attemped to re-glue the wheel onto the axle WITHOUT the benifit of a NWSL Quarterer by just using my eye. Well, this obviously didn’t work. When I put it on the track, it ran. But it was doing the watusi dance ! [V] Off came the driver after about 10 revolutions. When I took it apart again, I made sure I didn’t misplace the bolts holding the rods to the driver. Stuck in a new driver set and bolted everything up. Put it on the track…and it didn’t run. Why? Because one side of the drivers is insulated. You can tell this by the thin gray line between the metal drive tire and the center. That’s right. I put it in backwards. I took it all apart again and turned the driver around. Put it back together and placed it on the track. It Ran Great!!![:D]
Moral of the story… Don’t try and reglue driver wheels without a quarterer, and watch to see which side the insulated wheel goes on.
Other than taking it ap
IHC’s are good value for the dollar. However (you just knew there had to be a “but” in there somewhere), if you ever change your layout over to code 70 rail, you’ll regret buying IHC as the flanges will bump merrily over the ties. Now some will say you can reduce the flange width, but this job is for the noble of heart.
I concur with the comments about the Steamers. They really are quite good value for money. The rolling stock is poor and has been relegated to pracice peices for weathering and painting projects. The passenger cars are very light and don’t run all that well. They are great for my kids to use.