I purchased an IHC 2-10-2 Santa Fe in at the end of September. I ordered it online from Internet Hobbies for $108. It is there Premier Series. The loco arrived with the front of the boiler dangling (where the headlight is mounted), the rear wheel mount was bent up so the rear wheels did not touch the track. Also there was part of the piping loose and bouncing around in the package. The tender had one broken step at the rear and the opposite side was almost broken off.
I called Internet Hobbies about it and they arranged for me to return it.
I finally received the replacement yesterday, 2-1/2 months later. Upon inspection of the package I noticed that there were parts bouncing around in the tender part of the box. Sure enough, one of the rear steps was broken off. I took it out for further inspection to find the other rear step barely connected so I finished removing it before it fell off and got lost. To add insult to injury the coupler was broken. I replaced the coupler with a Kadee #5.
The test run revealed no apparent problems. However, tonight I decided to break it in so I was running it at variable but slow speeds forward and backward for about 10 minutes when I noticed something dangling from one of the drive wheels. It was one of the rods. The rivet that holds the two rods together was not crimped properly and came apart.
So now I either have to fix it myself or try to have it replaced or repaired.
Not only is this the first IHC loco I have bought it will also be the last. Quality control seems to be non existent at IHC.
It sounds like they have poor quality control for sure, but they are not known for prototype detail or running quality either so it must the low price that sells them.
Sounds like a roundhouse filler or scrap yard project like the early AHM engines. I have been told these are the same people that ran AHM years ago.
It sounds like you have been more the victim of bad shipping & handling than bad product. I have 8 or 10 IHC & AHM (their predecessor) engines & they all have run just fine. I bought all of mine at my LHS so there was never a shipping problem - just one more reason to partonize your LHS instead of the internet “people”![2c]
I recently had a combination lever fall off my 2-8-2 that has perhaps 2 hours running time on it in total. It was the rivet. My repair guy, who also does decoder installations for me, felt that it was beyond his abilty to repair since they are not fine locomotives with fine parts. I asked him to drive a small screw into it and to file off the head 80% so that it would clear the outboard main rod. So far, with some breaking in and lube, it works!
Yes…Shipping and handling sounds like the major problem with broken parts. I’ve had some of that with a few items from on-line and mail-order, but have to admit that it hasn’t happened at my LHS (really not all that local, being 80+ miles away…But still) and I know they would take care of any problem.
Regarding IHC: I run 4 IHC steamers, two Moguls and two Mountains and haven’t had any problems…YET. None of them have many hours on them so maybe there is a break-down on the horizon.
Anyway, I have to say that for the money (as mentioned, not much on detail) the steamers have been good thus far!
I just purchased my first IHC engine, a Reno 4-4-0, and it had an off-center worm gear on the driven axle that caused it to surge. Fortunately the dealer I bought from had spare parts so it was a quick fix, but not a sign of good QC in my book.
I have found IHC to have excellent quality, however their quality standard is different than say P2K was. They build reliable, very nicely running, steam locos that lack a lot of prototypically correct detail, fully sprung drivers, or fine every wheel electrical pick up. This is just my opinion.
They may not be packaged to stand up to the rigors of your shipper(s). I can’t imagine anyone who works on steam models at all not being able to fix a rivet in the running gear. Obviously they have never built a Bowser. They give you a rivet tool and lots of extra rivets for your learning period. PS - you can tighten/rework a rivet in place with small Channel Locks or Vice Grips and a small steel ball, as in ball bearing, pretty easily.
I bought my IHC 2-10-2 in late 2005 and it arrived completly intact and ran great with no problems - still does. Sometimes the quality process evolves (or devolves) over a time period that can change an end product.
I have some first-hand experience with a startup Chinese manufacturer (and I’m assuming this loco is made in China) that refuses to document their quality process for fear that their own employes will steal trade secrets and sell them to the competition or even start up manufacturing on their own. I can’t say this is rampant in China but I don’t think it’s unusual. Until they get this under control they will have quality issues that will show up at the consumers doorstep.
That said, this particular problem does sound like a shipping/handling issue, all the same it showed up at the consumer’s doorstep.
I have never worked on steam locos yet. I’ve only been in this hobby for 10 months. I have a backround in radio control cars. I use to build them from kits and race them. I have build differentials that had some very small ball beraings that would have probably fit into the small indent in the rivit, unfortunately all my R/C sutff was sold about two years ago.
This morning I did work on it and used a small pair of needle nose pliers to crimp the rivet. It seems to have worked out fine. I tested it and it didn’t fall apart so as long as it holds I guess I’m ok.
As for shipping having something to do with the parts that are broken, it could have. However, is it just coincidence that it happened to two of the same locos and has never happened to anything else I have purchased online? I buy probably 99% of my hobby stuff online because the only hobby shop close by does not carry very much train stuff and they are clueless when it comes to model railroading.
Time will tell if the loco holds up. It does run smooth. I just hope it continues to do so.
This sounds more like Internet Hobbies shipping and handling than IHC quality control. Though I only have one IHC steamer (USRA Heavy 4-8-2), I’ve had it for about five years and have no problems with its running or pulling capacities.
Granted, IHC locomotives are not the most detailed in the world, but that’s a problem that can be handled very well by using brass detail castings from PSC or Cal-Scale to get the locomotive to look like what you REALLY want. And I’ve heard too many good things about the new 2-10-2 as a reliable runner to think that IHC Quality Control has slipped.
My opinion would be to pay a little extra and order your next IHC 2-10-2 from someone like Caboose Hobbies in Denver, where they take a great deal of care in packing and shipping. Everything I’ve ever ordered from them comes to me in absolutely pristine condition.