Hey I’m just thinking about some passenger coaches etc, are these any good?
http://www.ihc-hobby.com/cgi-bin/bsc.cgi?sn=15K92I854P2L4560393759H16L4789&id=49511
If so how long are they, and do I need to change wheels/trucks/couplers or are they RTR.
Thanks, Ken.
If you are modeling HO check out the link below. I have been using these sides for a while and they are awesome.
The IHC cars are not “prototypically correct”, but they can be used to make up a decent looking train that looks like an N&W passenger train. And the price is real good. (They have interior kits that are okay too, but boy do those need painting.) This goes for both the heavyweights you have the link to and the smoothside versions. Unfortunately, the paint does not match exactly the paint used on the smoothside Rivarossi and Bachmann N&W cars… it’s a little more bronze looking. On the Riv and Bachmann cars you need to paint the roofs black (please don’t post to say the roofs were brown because they weren’t, and I know all about the “official” N&W drawing, yada, yada, yada). I like the Rivarossi and Bachmann cars better myself. If you are putting together a train to run behind a ‘K’ or an ‘M’ (the Huckleberry and the Creeper only ran to two or three cars), all heavyweights will be fine, but if you are shooting for something to pull behind a ‘J’, the Powhatan Arrow, Pocahontas, and the Cavalier all ran a bunch of smoothside equipment, although some of the front end equipment was heavyweight and they had some diners with “semi” styling. There was a good article on N&W passenger trains in MR a few months ago.
PS - The IHC boattail smoothside observation can be modified to look okay if you remove the roof light and the huge red “thingy” in the end. [:)]
They are very light weight. The wheels and trucks are not very good. But they are cheap, especially when on sale at the IHC web site.
Virginian,
I have a BLI J and a set of Bachman Spectrum lighted cars. The color of the stripe isn’t close to the passenger cars. Are the Bachman cars close to prototype in color?
Virginian, thanks for the info. I am running them behind a J but as long as they run nice I’m not bothered about prototypicalnis, I liked the look of the 3 axle trucks.
Simon, do the trucks and wheels compare to Bachmann silver series?
Thanks, Ken.
Ah well and good…but at the very least, ditch the horn hook couplers and put on Kadees or McHenry #53s. At $3.99 for 2 pair, the McHenry’s go on in about second each and makes the car look (& couple up) a lot better run’in behind that ‘J.’
HTH & Happy Railroading.
Mark
Ah? thanks Mark I didn’t notice the horn hook couplers, I’ll order some Kadees too!!
Ken.
I have a pair of “Budd” coaches.
They are extremely light & until I placed some additional weight right above both trucks, these had problems staying on the track.
The other thing I added was IHC’s metal axles for the stock truck.
These work well, but there are probably better solutions out there.
Gordon
I don’t know as I have no experience with the Bachmann passenger cars. The McHenry drop in replacement couplers are great for the IHC’s. These are the McHenrys with the metal coil spring, so they work well.
I think the IHC cars are pretty much OK. I have some from years ago - when they were Riverossi. I do like them. For current standards, you would have to remove the Horn-Hook, and may want to add interior. Lighting would be a consideration too. I recently got a 4 car package of Bachman Spectrum through a discount house, effectively same price, possibly a few cents cheaper, and they already had the knuckle couplers installed. I have added an Athern RPO and a Walthers (new series) heavyweight sleeper to the consist. Pull it with a Bachman Spectrum (light) Mountain. Looks real good, and gets rave reviews at the club. A Santa Fe purist would strangle me, but I got it for the effect. Didn’t have to install KDs. I’d check around a little more, but nothing wrong with IHC.
randybc2003
There have been several runs of Bachmann cars. The ones that came out back in the '80s, about right after 611 returned to the rails, were not “too” far off and matched the Rivarossi cars in size, shape, dimensions, color, trucks, and came in 4 packs too. (think maybe they were made by Rivarossi?) The red is just a bit too dark. If you have a BLI ‘J’ they look okay together, but the new Spectrum 'J’s stripe is just too bright in my opinion. The IHC heavyweights look to be close to the old Riv and Bachmann cars, color wise, to me, but I have only seen two in person. I do not know about the newer shorter Bachmann cars, but I did see one and the yellow was too vivid, ditto the Con Cor cars. Bev-Bel offered some redone Athearn cars for shorty lovers, and they were too brown in my opinion.
Both Sunset and I think Oriental and/or Key have offered factory painted “Powhattan Arrow” sets which were very close to prototypically correct dimensionally, but they didn’t have windows or window frames, and… you guessed it, they were the wrong color too. Apparently the only people who can duplicate N&W red are NS, Dupont, Sam Putney, and some custom painters. Sigh…
Any cars may need some weight to run well, but make sure you keep it balanced from end to end and side to side (and filling up all the floor boxes with whatever won’t do that), metal wheels wouldn’t hurt a bit either, but on the older Bachmann and Riv cars you need 31 or 32 inch scale wheels, I forget which, because otherwise the brake shoes on the trucks will drag. 33 inch Intermountain and a little round file work gives great results too. If you want to really get close to prototypical dimensions and window layout, the add on car sides referred to above can give real nice looking results too.
I just went and looked at two IHC heavyweight cars I have (they were undec - now VGN), and I added metal wheels, 33" for ride height, and KD 508’s and I think they look okay and I know they run fine.
They are cheap imitation’s of the Rivarossi cars. They are 80 footer’s - which don’t operate well on small layout’s. They are overly light, with 32"(not 36") plastic wheels, and talgo trucks and horn -hook coupler’s. If one want’s to spend the money to bring them up to NMRA spec’s - coupler height, weight, etc. they will operate well enough, but won’t be so cheap. For example IHC’s metal trucks will greatly improve rolling and add needed unsprung weight, and McHenry’s knuckle coupler’s add $25 per car.
Some people are reluctant to put $24 truck’s on a $9 car, however the truck’s are the working part’s - wheras the car is only a piece of painted plastic- so it comes down to investingmoney in ‘running’, or ‘looking’ at it.
randybc2003
IHC car’s are not the same as Rivarossi’s. IHC use to be US Distributor for Rivarossi’s product’s. These are ‘Chinese copies’.
Dealer’s were selling these @ $9 and making a profit, so you can imagine how cheap this car is.
After modifying the trucks, adding metal wheels, KD’s, body mouting pads, and considerable weight, they were finally acceptable… and of course no longer $9.
I hate to say it but Don is right!
I spent another $10 for direct replacement metal axles (for 2 cars) & about another $1 for stick on lead weight to bring it up to spec. That’s Canadian prices as well!
They look great by themselves but when I stick them in with my Walthers cars, they look like what I paid for them.
While I love my all my Walthers & 1 Kato passenger car, I do plan on buying more cars from IHC.
Just my 2 cents!!
Gordon
Man, I wish I’d asked before I ordered them!!! Oh well I’ve emailed them mayby I can change my order.
Thanks for all the advise. I will ask the experts next time.
Ken.
that stinks for those of us with very little choice of passenger cars for our roadname
For us modeling the B&M, we have the choice of the IHC cars, or $60 premium cars
So far, there is only one walthers car available for B&M
NZRMac
If not, perhaps you can get a deal on the metal 6 wheel trucks, and combine the shippig.Don’t settle for less than 25% off. That’s still cheaper than the $40 Walthers car.
Don I ordered from Discount trains online, I like them they are always prompt with their emails. I’ve emailed them to see if I can change to the Bachmann set.
Which I hope looks ok?
Ken.
Six Intermountain wheelsets and two KD couplers are not going to break the bank by a long shot. Even less, and easier, if you go with the McHenrys. You don’t need all metal trucks, the plastic sideframes are fine with the IM wheelsets. I am not sure, but I think the newer Bachmann cars are not 80+ footers, but are shorter, and to me that really doesn’t look right.