Will a Rivarossi locomotive, manufactured for use in Italy, run in the U.S. or is there a difference in the electrical current?
If the current at the walls is not 60 cycle and 113 volts, then the locomotive will probably not run…for long…in N. America. You’d need a step-down transformer and something to fix the cycle, or to rectify it to DC if the motor is DC.
Hi,
The locomotive itself should be just fine on 12 volts DC. A friend of mine sent me some imported locomotives from Brazil and Italy and they run very well on the DC 12 volts variable.
However, it MAY be a Three-Rail AC locomotive which Rivarossi, Fleischmann, Roco and Märklín have made* and are popular in Europe. Check to be sure it is not three-rail AC.
https://www.reynaulds.com/rivarossi.aspx
*perhaps others
Cheers, Ed
I have many Rivarossi locomotives and they all came with instructions in Italian as well as English so I would assume that the standard is the same as in the US.
I’d Give it a shot and see if it runs, I doubt if you would do it any damage even if its not compatable.
Mel
Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
As long as it’s 2-rail DC, it’ll be fine. I don’t remember Rivarossi making anything for 3-rail AC even for Europe.
I provided a link in my reply above:
https://www.reynaulds.com/catalog/dept_227.aspx
Here is the Rivarossi extention of that link. I could be wrong.
Happy Modeling,
Ed
They will work. They run on the same DC votage in Europe and America. The AC to the wall outlet is different. Use an American transformer. European Transformers will not work in America (It is not likely you will have one anyway) They can’t even be pluged in to an American outlet
There is one point to observe. Standard equipment is built to NEM not NMRA standard.
Wheels according to NEM can have a flange depth between 0.025’’ and 0.05’’ instead of the NMRA’s 0.025’'.
Wheel back to back measures differ 0.004’’ but that shouldn’t be a problem.
Some European manufacturers offer American prototype equipment with RP25 wheels. But you should look carefully.
Regards, Volker
European power packs do work in America(after changing the plug). But you get half the voltage out. My Fleischmann puts out 7 DC volts max (instead of 14), but otherwise works - just the trains don’t run as fast.
Paul