Has anyone bought HO stock form IHC? How does it differ from stock from manufacturers such as Broadway and Lionel? I know the price is widely different but are they any good?
Thanks
Ian
For the money,they are very good.Don’t expect to compare them to BLI,LL P2K,or Bachman spectrum.I like to use them when I want to super detail a engine for my road.
I just finished thier 2-6-0,turning it into a nyc F12.I installed a Lenz BEMF decoder into it and I’m suprised and happy at how good it runs.I just started doing the same with a IHC Primier 4-6-2 Pacific.Right out of the box it ran good.I’m in the process of removing most of the moulded on details and replacing them with cal-scale parts.If I mess up,it’s only a $59 engine
Decent. I owned the 4-8-2 Mountain for three years +. Weight 16.9 oz, good traction. Visit www.ihc-hobby.com and click on line catalog, click HO and the engine roster pops up.
I have bought a few miscellaneous things from them. Pretty good to deal with. If something is back ordered and you want them to ship it when it comes in, they will, and charge no additional shipping and handling. The steam engine mechanisms are pretty good, making them excellent candidates for you to do more detailing on as noted above.
As the others indicate, they offer good value for the dollar. I can’t recommend their deisels, as they are not real smooth, but their steam engines have gained a reputation for smooth, quiet and reliable operation.
Someone posted a thread on Mehano engines in the last couple months, IHC locos are the same. This is the thread:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25547 Dan
Their steam engines run very smoothly and can easily have DCC decoders hard wired into them if you run DCC. The biggest drawback to IHC engines are their lack of detail. I can always spot an IHC engine because they use silvered wire for the handrails, and all other detail is cast on.
I think they are a lot of bang for the buck. When you pay less then $80.00, why would you compare it to a $250.00 + loco? That’s dumb!!! How does a Ford compare to a Rolls so why make the comparison.
I’ve got an IHC 2-6-0 and for the price I paid it does the job. I’ve also got a Spectrum 4-8-2 and it’s good for the money. Neither of thse compare very well to some of my brass but why should they, they aren’t in the same league.
Bob
The Mountain is one of my best pullers! Doesn’t have the detail of some others but It’s still a very good engine.
What about IHC’s passenger cars? I see they are about $7.98 each.
That’s because the current IHC line of passenger cars is a prototype match for pretty much NOTHING. The OLDER ones, while often released in fantasy road names, had at least ONE actual prototype. A good example is the current PRR cars. The letterboard is too high, the windows too low, the window arrangement matches no known prototype on any US railroad. The first two are VERY obvious if the car is in a train with some of the older correct ones, or with some other brand of correct car. And that’s not just the PRR ones that are messed up. I really don;t understand, as the prvious releases were fine. They may have sold Santa Fe cars painted for eery railroad, but at least the car was an accurate Santa Fe prototype.
At train shows around here there is a guy who brings in CASES of them, selling for I think $14.98 for a 3-car set. And he usually leaves with just as many as he came with.
–Randy
IHC’s are ok. They’re good models to superdetail. The thing is they offer models in all road names, roads that never had that piece of equiptment. For example, they offer 4-6-4s in UP and PRR, GG1s in SP and ATSF, 2-6-0s in Conrail. It’s almost funny.
I bought one of their USRA Heavy 4-8-2’s some years back, and it’s a nice runner. Smooth and powerful. The detail isn’t up to brass or current plastic (BLI, Proto, etc), but hey, that’s why Precision Scale and Cal-Scale are in the super-detailing business with their castings, right? Mine came painted and lettered for Great Northern (which is odd, since the detailing is for a C&O prototype, with the front-hung flying pumps), but–oh, well–. But it’s just as smooth and powerful as Bachmann’s Spectrum model–if not as beautifully detailed. Sometimes I double-head them. As to the passenger cars–I have some of the older IHC, and for the life of me, can’t figure out what or who the prototype is. Sometimes I run them as a ‘what-if’ train, just to watch my friends blink.
Tom
I have some of the old AHM Passenger stuff which is basically the same as the IHC. I am considering extra weight, interiors, metal wheels, long shank couplers etc etc etc
The Mountain has a good reputation for the money. But having experienced the BLI engines I probably will not get one. And as Noted above IHC is good for the value as a starting point for superdetailing.
I have been eyeing thier log cars for a long time. Are they heavy enough? and do they take #5 couplers from Kaydee?
IHC has offerings that are good for Model Railroading but not as “Expensive” or “Detailed” as some of the higher level products out there.
Cheap but not too popular. I hear they need a few upgrades, weight, couplers/ J Bee pads and probably much better wheel sets.
You get what you pay for.
I have a couple of IHC passenger cars.
They’re ok, especially for the money.
I did have to add weight & couplers to make them stay on the tracks & roll.
If Walthers didn’t keep coming out with coaches & sales on other passenger equipment, I would have bought more.
I’m avoiding the freight cars as they look even worse in real than they do in pcitures.
Gordon
GG1 in SP??? IHC must be confused! That’s like a Big Boy painted in a Santa Fe scheme in Warbonnet colors! [%-)]
The fluted side cars, I think the coach, diner, RPO, combine, and baggage car, are based on Southern prototypes. I think the others are Santa Fe cars, I think.
Alvie.
The IHC stuff has pretty good bang for the buck, especially for a habitual kitbasher like me. Since I lean towards the LV, they have a lot of stuff that I can appreciate. Their steamers are nice, but I really have to work over their diesels–not that I mind. I’ve sliced and diced numerous passenger and freight cars.
Rich
I’ve never bought any of their locomotives but any steamers i’ve seen on ;ayouts seem to be top notch runners. I have built bashed and otherwse mangled their building kits and I have always been happy with the results,like everyone else is saying excellent bamg for the buck. Rob
I have two sets of their passenger cars. PRR and NYC. Definately light. I added interiors to all of them and this drastically improved weight issues. I then switched the plastic wheels to IHC’s metal wheels and then run great for me. Their metal truck sets were to much $ for my needs. Finished by changing the couplers to McHenry knuckles. Yes, they are cheap and I put some money into them, but I enjoyed the work.
Have a couple of diesels and steamers from them too, and they have all performed well for me. DCC conversions were easy.
The engines do lack on fine detail and at times are not prototypical, but to me its not a big deal.