I was browsing through the latest model railroader magazine and come across an ad for ihc and i’m wondering if anybody haas had any experience with their locos.Only interested in the premier range and mainly steam.Thanks[:)]
I have several IHC Premier steam locos and I think that they are a good value. You can usually get a pretty good discount on IHC.
Agree 100% have 4 steamers and a GG1 all smooth and excellent running. Getting ready to DCC them.
Depending on how many rivits you like to count, the steamers lack extensive detail. I have several steamers and they have all performed very well. Rather impressive for the price. Good low end speeds and smooth movement. DCC conversion is not all that tough but then any steamer takes a little patience to convert.
In there Hudson I converted it to sound and it was simple since the tender has speaker holes and a mounting bracket for the speaker.
You will probably enjoy an IHC loco, and can always go to town on adding details if you have the inclination. My White Pass Mike works very well with a Tsunami in it. The flanges are a bit large, and the valve gear and rods are not very realistic, but to get it there would add another $50-$80 to the price of the loco, it seems.
For the price, they are quite good.
I first got a 2-8-0 which was not a big engine. They were used on a lot of smaller roads and light rail branches. I didn’t expect it to pull 50 cars over 3% grades, but it did pretty good. I converted it to DCC and it ran fine. At a trainshow later I got a good deal on a 2-8-4 Mountain ($50.00), which was a heavy big engine that as the name implies were used on steep grades and heavy tonnage. The engine ran smooth, but would only pull a couple more cars than the 2-8-0. I got it up to 15 metal wheeled, easy rolling cars by adding weight everywhere under the boiler. It was still a good deal price wise to fill my roundhouse stalls.
I have several IHC steamers, all are quite nice. Only problem with IHC, is they advertise a lot of stuff they do not have in stock, and it can take up to TWO YEARS to get an order filled.
Last year, I came from work to find an order I placed over two years ago, finally arrived after several backorder notices.
So, you pay your money and take your chances.
hi guyes How do they run through code 83 switches ?
ray
Perfect on Atlass and Walthers.
Same here (I use Atlas code 83). They are easy to convert to DCC too.
I have two IHC steamers. Neither of them run through Atlas 83 switches properly.
The Loco and Tender flanges are way too deep for code 83!
If you are OK with the engines bump de bumping through the 83 switches then yes they do run through them.
Charlie,
None of my IHC’s “bump”. I’ve heard of this problem before of course. [?] Are your locos more than 4-5 years old?
I bought an IHC 462 Pacific at a train show ($55.00) last year and just ran it for the first time last week. Best running Loco on the RR! Of course that’s not saying a whole lot being my others are from an ebay lot and most didn’t even run until I pulled them apart and cleaned and worked on. (A tyco switcher, runs pretty well, missing parts, a couple bachmans, one pretty fast, poor slow starting speeds, noisey until, I took apart again for more adjustments,alittle quieter now (F7), another bacmman SD-35 (my daughter me a set $60.00), a Life Like F7 about the same as the Backman F7, fast & noisey until worked on, quieter now, (This was a $20.00 train set bought at Grocery store while on vacation in Florida so I wasn’t expecting much).
Any way, it’s easy to see why I Think the IHC is a good deal for the money, Very Quiet, good slow starts, Smooth running at any speed, and no trouble navigating Atlas code 100 snap switches.
I would buy another one at that price.
John
jwmurrayjr,
They may be more than 4 years old. But I just bought them NEW from IHC in July 2005.
So to me they are not old. I did see a date inside the boxes of Nov 2003. It was the deal where you buy the Hudson 4-6-4 and Shifter 0-8-0 together. I forget the exact price. Sounded good at the time.
But believe me the flanges do bottom out on every Atlas 83 switch I have.
I also have a Bachmann steamer that does NOT bottom out.
Charlie,
I believe it![:(!] I’ve heard this quite a few times and probably would not have bought IHC if I had heard about this problem before getting the locos (from TrainWorld). I’ve got (or had) 2-6-0s, pacifics, mikados and a 4-8-2 and they all run fine. And my Spectrums run well too. Also I bought mine before 2003. I don’t have an 0-8-0 or a Hudson but you would think an out fit like IHC would probably use the same drivers on many models. (I noticed that my “pacific” and “mikado” had the same (exactly) boiler/cab shell.[:0][V]
Sounds like a “try-before-you-buy” situation with IHC. I’ll keep that in mind in the future.
Thanks,
IHC is advertising their latest steamer as have RP25 wheels. If this is true then they should work OK. As I have only 83 code throughout my layout I do not operate my IHC locos. They do work OK on code 100.
When I went to their web site the price is much higher then their advertised price in MR.
Charlie,
I just ordered the 2-10-2 from IHC (assume this is the one you’re talking about) because it has RP-25 flanges and I have code 83 track. The price ($129) in MR is for the loco only. The $179 price on their website is the loco and your choice of 8 passenger cars.
My understanding is that their passenger cars will need some help - weight and better wheelsets - but I think it’s still a good deal. Even my LHS recommended going directly to IHC for this deal. Now if only the loco runs on my track…
I bought the 2-10-2 and got the heavyweight passenger car set with it. Everything runs just fine on Peco and Atlas code 83 HO scale track.
I put a SoundTraxx Tsunami sound decoder into the tender. The passenger cars required some re-working. First, I put InterMountain 36 inch wheelsets on them. I opened up the cars and put lead shot into the cavities in the bottoms and poured white glue over it. I installed the IHC interiors and added figures. I used the Jay-Bee coupler mounting pads and changed to body-mounted Kadee #148 whisker couplers. Finally, I turned the cars upside down and added two or three strips of solid solder between the center sill ribs, held in place with clear silicon sealant to add even more weight.
Right out of the box, the IHC passenger cars are too lightweight, have truck mounted couplers, and 30-inch plastic wheelsets.