This timeline is in the usenet archive I posted a link to in my first post.
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A brief history of Rivarossi: Regards, |
IIRC Lionel had gone to Italy before the war (many of the executives of Lionel were of Italian ancestry) and had some accessories made there and shipped to US, and some of the early people involved in Rivarossi had worked on the Lionel products earlier??
So this is when AHM folded. I got into HO in the mid 80s or so and they were still around.
Great info everyone.
Jim
But what about all those junky diesels made in Yugoslavia?
SW1, GP18, F9A, SD40, Alco 1000, RS-2, FA-2, RS-11, C-628
Some were sold under the AHM brand name, while others were sold as Life-Like or Model Power locos.
Is Mehano the Yugoslavian manufacturer of these diesels?
Yup! They were responsible for all of those coffee grinders with the breakaway handrails. They were often marked ‘Tempo’ in the AHM days, and they manufactured for Tyco, Mantua, Pemco, and American Train & Track as well. The funny thing is that today Mehano makes better steamers than diesels. [%-)]
I had a SD 40 with only 4 wheels in each of the six wheel trucks powered.
But wait theirs more. Only 4 wheels out of 12 had power pickup. [xx(]
I pitched that junk along time ago.
Jim
The locos I’m describing have a flat can type motor, no flywheels, 8 wheel drive, and a one piece frame/handrail set. I had quite a few of these engines when I got back into model railroading in 1982.
I know that the early AHM RS-2 had a separate handrail set and only one powered truck, but the mechanism and frame were revised in the late 1970s and the loco was sold under the Model Power brand name.
I was given an RS2 when I was young, and it ran a few weeks before the motor smoked itself.
AHM came out with some 4 drive axle Mehano diesels around 1978, and I think they started with the GP18. I still remember the review in Model Railroader, and that they were available in the orange Amtrak maintenance scheme. The FA2 was one of the better models from that time, and was a Roco product sold by Model Power. I think the only Roco product AHM ever carried was the Alco Century 424. A friend had one in BN.
AHM also had 4-axle drive 6-axle diesels ([banghead]) like the FP45, as Jim mentioned. I’d discovered Athearn by that time, so I never bothered with any of these.
They have continued to be available through Life-Like, Model Power, and IHC over the years.
This site is a handy reference. AHM HO-Scale Trains Resource
Model Power actually had two different versions of the FA-2:
The first version was made by Roco, and the drive and body shell were not bad at the time, although the position of the radiator shutters suggests that it’s an FA-1.
The second version came out in the 1990s and was made in Yugoslavia. It had a much simpler looking shell and the drive train was similar to the other 8 wheel drive Yugoslavian made diesels.
Did the mention of Woolco bring back memories! I bought a dockside and several passenger cars for $1.00 each after Christmas. Another good store for after Christmas sales was E J Korvettes. I bought a Big Boy for $22.00 there
Most of those El-Cheapo diesels are still available, and I even have a couple. The running quality is actually surprisingly smooth, almost like a Kato, believe it or not.
The C-628, SD40, C-415, and FP45 are still available from IHC, only with better electrical pickup, all wheel drive, and a better motor. The RS-2, DDT, and C-430 are still available from Model Power with few to no upgrades. The GP18 is still made, but only from Mehano, and they’re probably easiest to get if you live in Europe. The SW-1, MDT, F9A, and Alco 1000 are all gone.
Wow, Woolco and Kresges!!!
Yup, I bought my share of ATSF AHM steam locos way back then. Actually, the Pacific ran especially good and pulled a string of Athearn heavyweights for years. I always wanted the big articulated, but I believe Santa Fe only had 10 or so of them that they bought from N&W and then only had them a few years during/after WWII. Actually, I couldn’t afford it anyway.
My problem was never with the locos, for I felt that they were the best steamers around for the money. My problem was getting KDs to fit on them. Some I managed to do so, but others like the Pacific caused me to have a transition car with NMRA on one end and KDs on the other.
All have been sold on Ebay and upgraded to BLIs, but they sure did fill a void in their time.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
What does anyone know about the Rivarossi Southern Pacific 4-4-2 made from 1954 toabout 1959. Also info on the 1957 SP 4-4-2 made for Lionel.
Wow, this might be a record - a thread resurrected after more than 11 years!!
[:O]
I guess it is Stix! Well, lets see what we can do.
You mentioned Lionel, are we talking HO scale? If not, there’s a forum for the “O” gauge.
Lets go with HO scale for the Rivarossi 4-4-2. We have a resident expert on Rivarossi locomotives, HO scale, so lets see if Mel will find this and chime in.
Just a thought to the OP, if you started a new thread asking about the Rivarossi 4-4-2, you’ll get more responses, as this original thread was about IHC vs AHM, so no one with Rivarossi knowledge is going to look in here to see your question.
Mike.
toptrain,
Please start a new thread in regards to your query - Thanks.
Tom