Same here. I have two 2-8-0’s and a 4-6-2 from IHC and they run smooth as butter at all speeds. Everyone I know with an IHC diesel, however, says that they would be better used as a doorstop than as a locomotive.
Ray out.
I have about twenty steamers , had trouble with one. Sent it in they fixed it for the cost of postage. Not really prototype but at that price who cares.In my experience they are smooth good running engines, you can always add detail parts if it bothers you. The diesels are the worst of the lot however, there are many better choices out there.
Tom
My only IHC steamer is a 2-6-0 Mogul and runs well, if a little fast. It is chipped with a MRC soundchip and sounds good too.
Jon
I have 2 IHC Premiers, one SD-35, and one 4-6-2 Pacific. Neither one is noisy, but the 4-6-2 has electrical pick up problems, and will stall with out warning. I have had no problems with the diesel, in fact, converting the horn hooks to Kadee was not a problem. The diesel also has dual flywheels and a can motor. It pulls 30 cars by itself with out slipping. I cannot MU it, though because it’s much speedier than my Athearns, but is will creep along nice and slow as well. I have heard good and bad about IHC. With the 50/50 results I have had, I will not buy another IHC unless there is a great return policy.
I would get a newer Athearn blue box before I would buy an IHC.They make a few in Chessie colors if that is what you want.IHC diesels are a childs toy.If its for a kid to play with,fine.If you want to use it as a reliable model diesel buy an Athearn.They will take a licking and keep on ticking,Dan
If IHC is the old Pemco,it is JUNK[:(!]! I have a Pemco GG1. The motor screams and howels,and it derails running through switches.The gears are plastic.Save your money and buy something better!
I thought that as much as I agree with everything said above, I’d add just a bit of technical reason why everone answers as they do.
I bought one of their Alco C-415 Diesel locos just for the shell, fully knowing they were not good runners, but this gave me the opportunity to see why they run so poorly. Autopsy reveals:
They are geared way too high, and have a mediocre 3 pole motor, no flywheels, and pick up power on 1/2 of their wheels at best. They are driven by one truck, not both. They have plastic construction even for the structural components, no metal frame. Each of these is a cost saving compromise, which also compromises how well they perform. But all added together (or more accurately, multiplied) makes for pretty much a no go engine. Add this to the poor detailing of the visable parts of the loco, Whattaya got?
I bought a “Mogul” steam engine, and while it is admittedly rather budget too, it runs very smoothly and quietly, and has better electrical pick up. It’s detail is rather simple but at least fairly accurate for the prototype I’m going to use it for. I like it.
Everything else I’ve seen in person and heard from others regarding their steamers is positive too. But their diesels leave everything to be desired. Dan
(Information) Ho Ho.
I think
You are looking for justification to buy a CHEAP egine. Let me help.
BUY IT !
I’ve got an IHC 4-6-2 Premier Pacfic… My only complaints about it is that it doesn’t pull many cars at a time (I got up to 15 and it started to slip - compared to some Athearns I had that pulled 15 no problem)… But the one that drives me nuts is the starting/stopping of the loco - the low speed doesn’t seem to exist. If I slow the thing down, at least with my DC power pack, it seems that if you’re coming down from a speed of 5…then 4…then 3… then 2… then 0. There’s a whole speed range missing. And then the rolling stock all slam into eachother and inevitably one of them uncouples. Same thing starting up, really jerky.
I have a IHC GG1 and it runs ok, but I have a IHC Pacific and it stops when it wants to. I will not buy any more IHC loco.
Boy…I’d be interested in a quick lesson on wiring up DCC to a 2-6-0 IHC Mogul. I picked one up for $20.00, and it’s a great puller, but I’d really like to put a basic decoder in it to control direction and speed only. Lights are not wired on this unit, so I’m not worried about those.
How about it 56chevytimes2…Comments on your experience installing the decoder?
I have an IHC heavy Mountain that runs quite nicely, thank you. It came lettered and painted for Great Northern, and even though it’s nowhere NEAR what a Great Northern Mountain looked like (It’s actually a model of a C&O prototype), it’s a nice, smooth runner and a very dependable puller. I often double-head it with my Spectrum C&O Heavy Mountain, and except for the paint job, it’s hard to tell one from the other. My grand-nephew has an IHC SP Mogul on his layout, it’s a cute lil’ thang, and he likes it quite well. So there are no IHC complaints from this end of the threads.
Tom [^]
John T:
I installed an MRC sound decoder in an IHC Mogul last week. You’ll be installing the decoder in the tender, and running three pairs of wires from the engine to the tender (power pick-up, motor, and head light). Keep in mind that these units were not built with DCC conversion in mind, so wire cutting and soldering is required. Feel free to email me with any questions or post them here.