Anyone here know of a good place to find information on old AHM O scale 2 rail stuff they sold way back up to the late 70’s?
Trying to find out more about some of this stuff. I recently recieved an 1970’s old issue of RMC and it had alot of adverts for this stuff that I had all but forgotten about but use to lust after as a kid. Now my curiosity is picked.
BTW was any of this stuff any good operationally? they sold them for years yet I dont recall seeing alot for sale at shows.
Yeah I remember them… they kind of just disapeared into the wood work. Your right though, have not seen any of them at train shows, seems to be a compatibility issue with O gauge, so I never purchase them.
Buried in the Tyco collectors website is an AHM collecting website. I’ve attatched a link. It’s focus is HO but you will find O scale information included with the same products made in HO.
http://tycotrain.tripod.com/ahmhoscaletrainscollectorsresource/index.html
AHM O scale comes up frequently on ebay. I’ve been eyeing IHB switcher kits myself.
Thanks guys
I have been on that site before researching the AHM Hon30 line, I find the O stuff sparesly mentioned though. The only pic offered is of an O scale C-liner. I was hoping somewhere there was a site like that one linked that included info on the AHM O scale lineup for issues like catalog, reliability, and repair, I can check Ebay for prices, but Ebay gives no info about reliability, collectability, and things like that. [;)]
Anyone else, feel free to chim in
AHM offered the Rivarossi O scale line, from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s. I have a German catalouge of Rivarossi, copywrited 1986, that shhows the “extent” of the line. It wasn’t much.
They made a kit and built up IHB 0-8-0, ICRR 4-6-0, a European 0-6-0 diesel “critter” a “GE” 4 wheel switcher (which appears to be more of a G-narrow 1/24th item) and the F-M C-liner.
Motors were a problem, as they used (by O scale standards) very small HO scale sized 3 pole motors, and they do not pull very well. That, by the way, is an understatement! The C-Liner uses a horizontal 3 pole truck mounted motor that drives the rear truck only. It is very prone to overheating. I have seen these converted to Weaver horizontal drives, and I saw one at a Timonium show that had an All-Nation drive under it. IRRC, All-Nation offered replacement drive kits for these units, but the drive cost more than the locomotive.
The cars that AHM offered were (In this I’m only referring to the American prototypes,there were European prototypes too, German, French, and Italian rolling stock were offered by Rivarossi and Lima) a flatcar with a crate on it, a “coal” filled gondola, a plug door reefer, a 40’ boxcar and a bobber caboose. The cars are a bit on the low-appearing side, compared to contemporary Atlas offerings, and current Weaver or Atlas O.
By today’s standards, the cars and locomotives are a bit crude, but by considering the state that O scale was in during the 1970s, they were a welcome addition to the rosters of many beginners in O scale. Including myself.
As far as collectability, they are not really worth much, more of a curoiusoty that anything, values, expect to pay $5-$10 for the cars, $35-$100 (too high IMO) for the diesels, and more than $100 for a good IHB 0-8-0 that is powered. Again, IMO all over priced.
Also, be advised that all the AHM-Rivarossi O scale was DC, 2 rail as sold. If it’s got a center rail pickup
Big Thanks, thats what I was hoping to find out, I’ll search that Rivarossi connection! I missed that somehow.
My magazine, 1977, has the items you mentioned plus two different 4-wheel diesels advertised. I’m considering these for collectables as a book end to my small but growing AHM HOn30 collection (also lousy motored). Maybe a small switching layout if I can find some spare room.
If I have any Q’s I’ll be in touch!
I have and built the IHB 0-8-0 plastic kit, never bothered to buy the kit that made it a two rail scale running model. But the kit is very well detailed even to todays standard. all in plastic of course. I remember there were two or three kits for sale this way. The kit and the parts to power the engine were sold seperate. The small line of cars had a plastic coupler that would mate with Lionel but not very well and the wheels were also plastic to run on two rail DC track.
Another offering was the Reno/Genoa 4-4-0, also both in kit and built-up form. This engine is still popular today among folks trying to do the 19th century in 2-rail.
Atlas offered at the same time a line based IIRC on POLA offerings. The molds of the cars were reworked to produce the first Trainman offerings by Atlas O. The engines included an 0-C-0 Plymouth and an F unit.
BTW, if you look at the older Standard O flatcar from Lionel and the AHM flatcar, you’ll find that they came from the same molds. I have one of each in front of me as I type, and the differences are limited to the underbody attachment, the trucks/couplers, and the decoration.
I have two AHM C-Liners which I converted to 3 rail operation.By the time I was done I used only the shells, as was mentioned above, they were very poor pullers.I made frames and put modern Lionel trucks and electronic reverse board in one of the units.The other is a dummy.They now will pull fifteen of the short Lionel passenger cars easily.
Ed
As an aside, I should note that I just picked up a Brand-New-Still-In-The-Shrink-Wrap AHM O scale set off eBay for next to nothing ($25). It inclues the little Plymouth engine, a flatcar with the wood load, a gondola with the coal load, a bobber caboose, a circle of track, and a transformer (HO).
I actually have no idea whatsoever what I’m going to do with it. I do have a small, 2-rail O switching layout on part of two of our RR club modules (HO, but my wife uses her On30 on it), but I have an engine and enough stock for the four little spurs.
AHM had a bit of a fire sale at the end of their O scale days. I picked up a dozen freight cars for $2 a piece. The motorizing kit for the 0-8-0 I bought from AHM for $80, the 0-8-0 kit was bought at a train show for $10. I also have the FM diesel. I got out of O scale before I used any of these, but I still have them in case I decide to get back in. Other than old ads in MR and RMC I don’t know of any information on the line.
Enjoy
Paul
I had forgotten about the 4-4-0s, and I even had a couple of them!
Pola also was in O scale, (they still may be) with a few American offerings, as was Lima. I have one Lima German (DB) first class passenger car, I decided to keep it, since it is of the same type that my better half and I explored germany in during the 1980s. Quite nice, but a bit on the light side, compared to my Walther’s passenger cars.
Paul, $80 for that motorizing kit is a steal, I have seen them for as high as $150 for a complete one! I have been tinkering with a couple of the C liners, with thoughts of putting Weaver chain drives under them, and making a pair of “excursion” or “dinner train” engines out of them.
It’s hard to justify an oddball on the roster of Chessie EMDs in the 1970s/1980s except for a dinner train…
Darn shame that they never got around to producing the matching passenger cars displayed on the side of the boxes.
They did. In Europe. Occasionally they show up on auction sites, but they are very hard to get in the states. I saw a heavyweight coach in Germany, but being the last day of a deployment, I was broke…
(German bier. Go Figure!)