What Kind of luck have people had with IHC Steam Locomotives? What kind of Dead on Arrival, or breakdown within an early period of purchase. Quality of decoration, paint job, how acurate on the detail are the engines? Easy to upgrade to DCC?
I am thinking about getting 2-3 as a backup engine to run every now and then but more so use as place holder on the layout.
thanks
Ryan
I only have experience with their 2-10-2 Command XXV, Premier series (I think that covers all the names). It’s a nice runner in DCC and has RP25 wheel flanges but is generic, not based on any real prototype. There have been many posts on this forum about them.
It seems to be a new direction for IHC. Probably a good engine to detail, if that’s where your interest lies and you can live with some of the inherent inaccuracies.
I have several IHC engines and have never had one go bad or not run. Although none of them were DCC ready until their newest 2-10-2, I have been able to install decoders into all of them with no problems.
Most of their earlier steam engines were made by Rivarossi. Today’s products are stamped “Made in Slovenia” or “Mehano” on the bottom. All except the 2-10-2 were light weight and had minimal detail.
The only one that is DCC ready that I have encounted is the newest in their line, the 2-10-2, which has a decoder socket inside the tender. There was more than ample room for a SoundTraxx Tsunami is this engine and it was a simple plug-in installation. It is also much heavier than their other models.
I just installed a Tsunami DCC / Sound decoder in my 2-10-2 and I also changed the headlight to a 3mm Golden White LED. Now she not only runs nicely, but she sounds great and the new LED headlight is bright!!!
10 years ago I purchased a Premier 2-6-0.It’s detail and running ability suit me,my sole complaint is the dummy coupler on the front.IHC might have used molding dies from the 1970’s Pemo Company on some of their steam locomotives. It will only haul 6 cars on my layout,a Varney 0-4-0 will do 10 cars. Joe
I’ll add that they run well, but are not going to be your finest locos. Reliable, kinda homely as steam engines go, and they won’t compare favourably with any real-loco photos you hold up beside them.
For example, their valve gears are rickety and…well, cheap. There is little detail on the boiler; don’t expect a steam turgo-generator forward of the cab on their Mikado, for instance.
Their paint is pretty good. The locos seem to be well balanced. They sit well on the drivers, but their overall weight leaves them wanting in the traction department.
For the purpose you intend, you should get service out of them. I had one given to me as a gift, and it performs relatively decently. I added a Tsunami, and must say it is quite credible if you are willing to avoid direct comparisons with a Trix or BLI counterpart.
[#ditto] To what Selector has said. I have a 2-8-0 that I bought used last year, just got a chance to try it out on our Christmas Village display, 75 feet of track, and a 3% grade. It has performed well right out of the box. But, compared to BLI and P2K, it is level 2.
IHC isn’t top of the line, but a darn good value. The detail looks reasonably well. I have a 4-6-2 and 2-6-0, the 2-6-0 has much better detail, but doesn’t run quite as good(because it has no flywheel and the Pacific does). I ordered my Pacific from IHC for a sale price of $80 and it was well worth it considering I bought it in May '06 and it’s still going stong. I bought my Mogul secondhand for $40 w/ shipping!! Talk about a good deal- IHC wants (I think) $60 for a Mogul. My biggest gripe is they have dummy front couplers, but with a bit of work you could change that. Also, an IHC won’t quite pull the wallpaper off the walls, but they still pull reasonably well. My 2-6-0 pulls about 10-11 free rolling cars @ track speed before it begins to slip on the tough spots (I have a 0% grade, but there are a few unlevel spots) The 4-6-2 can pull about 13-15 cars w/o slipping @ speed.
I have a pair of Hudsons. Decent paint job, fair on details, ran fine out of the box and for a reasonable price. They each have no problem pulling 21-23 free rolling weighted cars on the main line. The line is is mostly level with a section of 1% grade rising to 1" elevation on 33 and 36 inch curves.
They pull over 30 cars on the level but wheelspin occurs once the entire train enters the grade.
They also run smoothly on the 1% downgrade with no hunting.
On the downside; the tender pickups are not the best but are fixable with a spring around the truck mounting screw. Detailing is somewhat generic.
All in all very nice mid-level engines. Worth the price for me.
Semper ubi sub ubi
Karl
I recently bought an IHC Reno (4-4-0) at a train show, and when I got it home discovered that the plastic axle gear was eccentric, causing the gears to over-mesh once per wheel revolution. The locomotive surged as a result. Fortunately I was able to go back the second day, and the seller (who had a huge parts supply) gave me a complete frame with drivers – problem solved. [:D] Now it runs beautifully. I don’t know how often that sort of QC issue crops up with them. I’ve never had gearing problems with Rivarossi, aside from the ratios being too high.
The detail on the Reno is better than most IHC’s because they’ve worked from the original Rivarossi tooling, and have improved the appearance by correcting Rossi’s huge flanges. Of course the whole loco is still more OO sized, but that’s a whole other can of worms…
Nelson
Would love to hear more about your new 2–10-2. Thinking of picking up the Southern Pacific with oil tender. The LOOKS are OUTSTANDING from the photos I have seen. Hope the innards are as good
Well…What did you want to hear?
The Tsunami installation was pretty easy because the engine already comes DCC ready. All I did was purchase the largest speaker that I could fit into the tender. I mounted it so that it is firing down thru the rear set of wheels on the tender. There is plenty of room in the tender for a 1 inch oval speaker and the Tsunami decoder.
I then went out and purchased some 3mm Golden white LED’s. I got a 10 pack of them from Miniatronics for $14.95. They come with the correct resister so it’s pretty fool proof. I pulled the front of the steam engine off to expose the head light. After playing with it for a few minutes, I was able to push out the clear piece of plastic that is the head light lens. I cut this in half (length wise) and put it back in the black piece of plastic that holds the light lens in place. Doing this gave me the room needed to insert the LED from behind and glue it in place. I then cut out the old 12V light buld and soldered in the new LED and resister. There is planty of room inside the body to stuff any extra wiring. Replace the front of the steamer on the shell and tested it. Works great and lasts a long time…
If you have specific questions, just ask…
Michael
Thanks for the info!!