I got an email notification from Trainworld that they’re offering 10% discounts on Mehano steamers. The base price on their website is $49.99 regardless of wheel arrangement which, in today’s hobby dollars, sounds very cheap. But I really know nothing about the brand. Are they any good, or would I be doing the equivalent of setting fire to a fifty dollar bill if I bought one?
Thanks for input
Jim
Mehano is the Slovenian company that produced the locomotive models that were sold under the IHC brand. Certainly the IHC models were basic in terms of detail, but ran well for the money. It will be interesting to see if this is just old stock liquidation of if they are starting to import Mehano again?
Jim, (Monon Guy) Mehano is the company that made the 2-10-2 I am trading for and hope to make a Monon engine out of it. You saw pictures in the dinner.
While detail is lacking I have heard they are good runners. There 2-10-2 will take 18 inch turns and will pull 40 cars on a level straight track.
With you not going to the dark side (DCC) I would grab a 2-10-2 if the have one.
Your Monon friend, Cuda Ken
The 2-10-2’s are not included.
The 2-6-0 camelbacks are $69.95 and the 2-8-4’s are $79.99, all others are 49.99 for the 4-4-0’s, the 2-6-0’s, the 2-8-0’s, the 2-8–2’s and the 4-6-2’s.
They are certainly marketing them as Mehano and not IHC old stock. I could not resist and ordered one of the 4-4-0 it will be interesting to see what the box looks like?
Mehano is on the lower end of the quality department. They are basically just train set loco’s that lack a lot of detail and don’t perform anywhere near what SHOULD be expected by the average model railroader. Some guys might like them but me, NO THANKS!!! Poor pullers, poor detail and poor performance equals discount prices. [tdn]
TA462, I think you are being a bit critical here. “Lower end quality” would imply poorly made and unreliable. In my experience (about 7 of the IHC models) they represent an excellent value. For what they are, they are well made, and whilst they don’t stack up in terms of detail and features to locos 4x the price they are considerably better than the average train-set loco. Mine, converted to DCC, run very smoothly with their can-motors and brass flywheels. Over several years of ownership, the mechanisms have not once broken, which is more than can be said for my BLI steamers. For someone on a budget, or perhaps with kids that wants to avoid expensive locos with fragile detail, they fill a niche.
What I am interested to see is if these models are Chinese made. I had read that Mehano had transferred all production from Europe to China. I will be curious to see how they compare to the IHC models that I have that are European.
These may be leftover stock from when IHC was the Mehano importer. Mehano’s web site in Slovenia does not show any of these locomotives as being in current production.
I don’t think I’m being to critical. Mehano never really was a manufacturer that most modellers (we still spell it with two L’s up here in Canada) tend to stay away from. I actually do have 1 Mehano engine I bought years ago, before I knew better. Lets just say it doesn’t derail and leave it at that. [:|]
OK TA!!
There’s nothing wrong with Mehano, I have a few & they’re great to have when you have little fingers around such as Liam who happens to love steam locomotives.
Yes brass are nice & my AHM 4-4-0 of my Dad’s looks better, but for $50, you can’t go wrong.
Same thing with my Athearn BB locomotives
Took Liam to the other side of Toronto last night so he could buy his first BB.
Gord
The 2-10-2 T2-a I’m trading to Cudaken was very definitely made by Mehano. It has Mehano stamped right on it and pulls like a bull elephant. Only the two center drivers are blind (no flanges) and the front and rear drivers have enough lateral play (as well as the siderods) to run on 18" radius all day long. I had it pulling a string of ten Athearn clerestory heavyweight cars weighted to NMRA standards and it didn’t slip.
BTW TA in case we are at crossed purposes here there is a profound difference between the IHC/Mehano steamers and the diesel models, which were very poor indeed.
Until IHC’s Premier series, Mehano did have some quality issues. Poor electrical pickup, poor low speed performance, and squeeling motors were some of the big ones for me. The Premier series steam engines have improved electrical pickup, better speed control, better motors, and more weight. I have two steam engines, a C-628, and a GG-1, and all are smooth, quiet, reliable runners.
I have two Mehano-built IHC locomotives (like Jeffrey’s, they have Mehano stamped on them) in their Command XXV line. A 2-8-2 Mikado and a 4-6-2 Pacific. I got them cheap ($60 each) when IHC went out of business. A lot of the detail is molded on, and I know that bugs some people and their styling is generic, without road-specific details despite the names on the sides, but the only part I didn’t like was the fake plastic look to the coal in the tender. I fixed that with a thin layer of WS lump coal.
But – and this is is a big but for me – they pull like crazy (I’ve had 25 cars behind each on a 1.5% grade) and they’ll handle an 18" curve (not pretty, but they go).
i have two Mehano steamers. One is a 4-8-4 from a 10-year series of ‘President’s Choice’ sets that was sold here in Canada and is now a collector’s item. It really looks clean, and runs fine pulling my 6 or 7 Rapido passenger cars. The other is a 4-6-2 that I haven’t been able to test yet as I’m undergoing a total layout install. i just checked the Trainworld site and with a minimum $24.95 shipping charge to Canada, i think I’ll stick to Ebay (this was under $50 total.)
!(http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l490/bigpianoguy/Hamilton Train Layout Summer 2011/B9plovB2kKGrHqQOKpYEyjCyrEBM6ZBDMgmg_3.jpg)
If a modeler is creative enough, detail can be added to a Mehano steam locomotive. The shell can be removed and all the cast-on details can be filed or carved off and separate piping, handrails, etc. can be added. They would be good project locos for modelers who don’t want to hack up an expensive plastic model or spend a small fortune on a brass loco.
I didn’t even know Mehano made diesels. The IHC steam loco’s are a little better performance wise, probably because Mehano had to step up their quality to satisfy their customer, IHC. I think we are confusing the IHC brand, made by Mehano and the Mehano brand. I’ve got a few IHC loco’s as well, mostly from the President’s Choice sets that are OK.
Could well be. Since I have been back in the hobby, the last decade, the only US prototype locos that I had contact with that were Mehano made were all IHC brand. I have friends in Europe that have purchased Mehano euro prototypes and by all accounts the quality was markedly improved as they tried to compete more in the Roco / Marklin end of the market. I would imagine that any non-US Mehano would be really quite old, until this latest release, if indeed they are not just IHC old stock.
I have the Mehano USRA 4-8-2 (the one that looked like a C&O prototype) decorated for Great Northern. Except for the fact that it doesn’t LOOK anything like a GN Mountain, it’s a very smooth running locomotive and a pretty decent puller. I’ve had it about 10 years, and haven’t had any problems with it at all. The only thing I find weird about is the shape of the fuel bunker on the Vanderbuilt tender–it extends all the way to the bottom of the tank, but I understand that is a left-over from the first runs of the loco, which were tender-driven.
But it’s a good little lokie. No complaints from this end. I wanted to get hold of their 2-10-2, after very postitive comments on it–it was very Generic (looked mostly like an ATSF 2-10-2) but obviously great fodder for kit-bashing.
Tom
I don’t think we’re confusing anything. Most of us have pointed out the we have IHC-branded locomotives which were in fact made by Mehano. Mehano hadn’t directly sold locos in the US for a number of years since they started making them for IHC.
Since the OP is talking about an e-mail he received from Trainworld on-line, my guess would be that this is new Mehano stuff, not the old stuff.