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IHC HO scale freelanced 2-10-2 steam locomotive
Good review. I have several IHC locomotives & have no trouble with them. I have Kadee couples on the front of the locomotives & work flawlessly. Also when I get them, they are checked to operate correctly, then there are disassembled & checked over for correct amout of lubrication & checked for any binding. Then there are run on track/layout at varing speeds for an hour-foreward & reverse. I have never been disappointed with their products. Excellent buy for the money.
great!
I have several of the IHC Steam Locomotives and I am very pleased with their performance, The 2-10-2 is no exception and although some rivet counters will find faults, I am satisfied with the detail and overall look of this locomotive. No other manufacturer, that I am aware of, puts out a Union Pacific 2-10-2 so good on you IHC.
Great review! I have 2 of these locomotives, and although they don’t seem to follow any specific prototype, they are available in a bunch of road names and run flawlessly. They are a thankful addition to the hobby which has become much too expensive in recent years. I have many IHC locomotives and they have all run great, the 2-10-2 is the nicest they have produced yet. Super value for the money.
Our county-wide HO layout has several IHC locomotives, and they are among the most reliable running ones we have. Our locos are subjected to constant running during the county fair, and the IHC’s have held up very well. We recently purchased an IHC 2-10-2 to get a Great Northern consist, installed DCC and sound, and it runs and sounds great. Very good value for the money!!
I have a friend that purchased an IHC 2-10-2 recently, and stated that it was the best IHC model he’s owned to date. He has several, and while they ran decently, they weren’t comparable to his higher end equipment. The 2-10-2 runs much smoother than his earlier IHC acquisitions. While it is not an accurate representation of any particular prototype, this is not really an issue for him. Most people viewing his layout are not going to notice the differences between the prototype and this model. He is very happy with this locomotive, and as a bonus, it is DCC ready, which is a first for an IHC locomotive, as far as either of us knows. He suggested I consider this model if I were looking for a 2-10-2. I consider that suggestion to be a good endorsement for this product.
A friend has one of these units and is very pleased with it
I bought the Santa Fe 3803 version about 15 months ago. The Mehano construction is excellent and produces a smooth running and long lasting model. The only thing I found was that the springs on the front, driver axle were too light and allowed the driver set to climb the rails on 22" radius curves. Swapping springs with the second set solved that problem and didn’t seem to have any negative effects on performance. DCC sound installation (Tsunami) was easy and gave excellent results in both performance and sound quality. While not detail specific to the Santa Fe, the model looks just fine helping my AT&SF passenger power over the hump at the local club or pulling an impressively long drag. Roger Eyrich Flagstaff, Az.
nice looking loco and a good price as to buy from a hobby shop here theycharge u 400.00 plus in aust money
I also have a number of IHC engines and can say that while they are not detailed to the extent of the expensive brand I can count on them to perform with little or no problems. I’m just know begining to upgrade them to DCC. I wish there was more information as to how to do a better DCC install on the various steam models. I just did their GG1 and WOW.
I have about 12 IHC locomotives, all steam except for two diesels. ALL of them run great! I have never had a problem with any of them! In my opinion, they are a great value for the money invested. I am contemplating the 2-10-2 purchase, becase it’s a GREAT LOOKING locomotive for the money!
I have 2 IHC locos,2-10-2 and 2-8-2,great runners and nicely detailed,great equipment,keep it up IHC
I would like some one to make a comparison of the I.H.C. engine and Rivarossi steam engines. Several years ago,I purchased a Riv. 2-8-2 in Great Northern colors. The first one I received had a broken gear box. I sent it back and got a second with a broken gear box. The third engine ran for about two months before the gear box broke in it. I can not get it repaired and it sits in my junk box . I like the looks of the I.H.C. engine but am afraid that it might have the same gear box problems. What can anybody tell me about who builds them or how the locomotives are made? Are they copys of Rivarossi engines? I have four other Rivarossi big steam and am afraid to run them for fear the gear will go in them and I will have some very expensive shalf models. I can be contacted at waynestrains@aol.com I would appreicate any one that can answer my questions.
I appreciate the review and the comments from the users is very helpful. I think it would make a nice addition to my layout Thanks
I was a little surprised that the review didn’t mention that the tender on the sample is pretty goofy. It’s not an accurate vanderbilt tender, at least not like any ever used on a US engine. If you look at the pic of the GN sample engine, you’ll see a horizontal line running under the GN herald, then sloping up at about a 45 degree angle. Everything below that line shouldn’t be there!! If I remember correctly, IHC engines originally had that so that a motor could go in the tender instead of in the engine itself.
My first 2-10-2 had an egg shaped drive wheel, managed to find it during the warranty period (very short warranty) Sent in for repair or replacement. They lost my engine, sent me the wrong unit, delayed and after many expensive phone calls (no 800 #) and 6 months, I got a new unit. It runs fine, looks good, but it was like pulling teeth to get satisfaction.
IHC’s 2-10-2 gets a fair rating at best. This is my first IHC locomotive. I purchased it from an online dealer that I have dealt with many times in the past with no problems with the shipment. The first unit arrived with the trailing trucks bent upward due to being packaged improperly. They didn’t touch the track. The headlight / front of boiler was detached and bouncing around in the box as well as part of the piping. The tender had one broken rear step and the other step was bent badly. I sent it back for a replacement. After two and a half months I received the second unit. The tender again had broken rear steps on both sides and the coupler was only half there. Three minutes into the test run one of the rods on the drive wheels came apart. A rivet that holds it together popped out. Luckily I was able to find it and replace it properly. Overall it runs fair. At faster speeds it seems ok but at slower speeds it runs as though the running gear is binding. I expect that will work itself out the more it is used. I was disappointed in the packaging because of the broken items found on both units but would give them one more try.
I bought this engine on recomendation of my local hobby shop. As I do not have my track set up yet, I will probably run out of time on my warranty before I get to test it. As this is my first endevor into the DCC world, I am still tring to figure out which decoder to run in this unit. Being a novice I would love to hear from anybody that has installed one in this engine with good results that can give me some info. I can be contacted at repeters11@comcast.net. Thanks in advance. Pete
This engine is like my other Mehano products ,a good buy ,it is run with a loksound dcc-decoder and after the running in period of about 4 hours it performs smooth and fine ,i will ad some more details and weathering …i can recomend it !Value for your money.