Some examples of Mehano diesels:
SW1: AHM and Model Power
GP18: AHM and Model Power
F9A: Life-Like and Model Power
SD40: Model Power and IHC
Alco 1000 (supposed to be an S-2): AHM and Model Power
RS-2: AHM and Model Power
RS-11: Life-Like and Model Power
FA-2: Model Power (later version)
C-628: Life-Like, Model Power, and IHC
Hi Jim,
Mehano has two product lines: Prestige and Hobby. The first is supposed to be of a better quality, obviously, though I don’t know how good they really are. In the Prestige line, there are currently only two American steam locos (2-10-2 and 4-6-4, see their catalog).
My own experience is only with two of their diesels which are all in the hobby line. They are pretty basic models with very few details. I can post a photo of those if that is of any help for you. I bought them a couple of years ago; according to the packaging both have been produced in Slovenia, not China.
Cheers,
Harald
P.S.: In fact Mehano has sort of a third product line: The locos in their starter packs are really, really cheap.
I did not receive my loco as yet, but it is pretty clear from the IHC of TX web site that Mehano is now shipping to the US again.
As you may know IHC TX http://www.ihc-hobby.com/ emerged from the demise of the original IHC and initially seemed to be doing nothing more than selling off the old IHC left over stock. However I notice that they are now carrying the Mehano high speed European train-sets, which the old IHC never carried.
Well I got my Mehano 4-4-0 in the mail today from Train World.
What I received is in Mehano packaging with an instruction sheet in both English and Slovenian. The model is marked as “Made in Slovenia” The packaging, while it is Mehano is almost identical to the purple IHC boxes that were being used towards the end of IHC.
Based on the look of the packaging (shelf worn) I would say for sure that this is new, old stock being liquidated from Mehano. If you remember from the IHC days, they used to stamp the date inside the box and this one says 26/8/1996 so this is 15 years old!! The model itself is unquestionably new and comes complete with a horn-hook coupler.
I’ll be having the thing apart and getting a decoder installed over the next few days. Will also be checking the lubrication as it has evidently been sitting on a shelf for a very long time.
Still if you are in the market for an IHC era steamer, you now know what to expect from this Train World sale.
Simon
Please share its operating qualities once you get it up and running.
Jim
Just for kicks I put it on the layout and ran it under the 00 feature of my DCC command station. For those that don’t know this is the address that can be used on a Digitrax DCC system to run a non-DCC equipped loco.
I have to say that this little 4-4-0 runs very smoothly right out of the box. Nice slow speed running, no obvious binding or jerking. I’ll try and get a decoder in it over the weekend when I open it up to look inside.
A few yrs. back, the family/ yours truly visited the Pittsfield, MA History & Transportation Museum. There was small HO layout set up, representing local rail line, as one of the displays. An IHC Mogul [per posted sign] was running on layout pulling a few freight cars. It ran all the time we were there [ 2+ hours ], on some of the worst HO track I’ve ever seen! Maybe someone was keeping an eye on the train but we never saw anyone near it . Like the Energizer Bunny, it kept goin’ & goin’! Was so amazed, went out the following week and bought one of the little critters for meself, in B&M livery. My 2 cents…papasmurf
I got my "royal blue"pacific and I"m happy to say it’s smooth as silk - and quiet to!!! Yes it lacks detail.I only wish my 14 B.L I"s ran as well!!!.
Anyone got a Mehano 4-6-4 from their Prestige series? I´m planning to buy a Santa Fe 4-6-4 from the Mehano Prestige series which has an ESU decoder with sound already installed. It would be very nice if it could pull my all Rivarossi 11 heavyweight car Chief passenger train consist. But I worry about the pulling power since the model is all plastic and has no traction tires. Do you think it could pull those 11 Rivarossi heavyweight cars (all have six wheel trucks)? To be honest those Rivarossi heavyweights are pretty light (Walthers is much heavier!), so I hope it could pull such a consist…
I seriously doubt that any 4-6-4 model could pull 11 heavyweight passenger cars – that would be too much weight for it to pull. You’ll probably just get a lot of wheel slippage.
I have several Mehano models all the way up from a 2-6-0 Mogul to their 2-10-2, and the 2-10-2 is the only one with adequate weight to possibly pull that many cars, but it is a freight engine with small drivers.
I had the Mehano Mogul, it was a good little engine with what I felt adequate detail for its’ price. The best thing was it was a solid performer and ran quietly and smoothly. I even installed DCC in mine. Alas, at some point, I made the decision I would only have locomotives that the Northern Pacific had and the N.P. had very few Moguls. If Mehano had a loco I wanted, I would not hesitate to purchase one!
I’m uncertain why a person would drag up a dead thread to ask about something current? DeLux, you would have been far better off starting anew thread!
Double post! Sometimes this site seems to have some serious Gremlins!
@ cacole: I´ve already seen videos of brass 4-6-4´s pulling up to 13 passenger cars without any problem. And the Rivarossi heavyweights are really light…no comparison to Walthers heavyweights whose weight is probably more than double of the Rivarossi heavyweights. But maybe I can improve traction of the Mehano 4-6-4 by installing weight into the boiler? Or has it already a weight installed? Maybe there is still some space to completely fill the boiler with weight above the drivers. By the way: I saw photos of Santa Fe 2-10-4 Texas types pulling passenger trains, but what about their 2-10-2´s? I can imagine that they were also used occasioanlly in passenger service on the Santa Fe, although their 2-10-2´s had much smaller drivers (63 inch) than their 2-10-4´s (74 inch). Well, I could test the 4-6-4 Hudson and if it can´t pull those 11 Rivarossi cars, I sell it off and buy a Mehano Santa Fe 2-10-2 instead. So do you think a Mehano 2-10-2 can handle 11 Rivarossi plastic heavyweight cars with 6 wheel trucks?
My initial plan was to have a Sunset Models brass Santa Fe 4-8-2 to pull my Chief heavyweight train. And from an owner I know that this model can run through my 20 inch curves. But I´m tired of converting stuff to DCC and install all the features I like. So I would actually prefer the Mehano 4-6-4 because in my eyes it looks really good and has all those nice features that I like already installed (DCC with sound and smoke) and also is said to be a good runner. It would surely look great in front of a 11 car Rivarossi Chief.
@NP262: I just felt my question was so specific that I didn´t feel the necessity to open up a new thread just for the pulling power of a Mehano Prestige Series 4-6-4. By the way: There is an extremly beautiful Sunset Models brass NP A-5 4-8-4 on ebay now. If it could only take 20 inch radius curves I would grab it! But 2 inches prevent me from doing this because I heard 22 inches is the minimum. I thought about how it would
After reading this thread, I decided to go out and buy my own IHC 4-6-2. Got it in the Erie scheme.
From what I’ve been reading on here, it’s relatively smooth running, pulls pretty well, and despite the detail, is an excellent deal. Not for me!
I can live with the lack of details, so long as it looks good from a distance, I’m fine with it. But what I will not compromise on is running quality.
My IHC Pacific runs pretty smoothly, down to a scale 15-20 mph or so. Not bad, since I wanted to pull mixed locals at about 40 mph.
My only problem with this loco is probably the biggest. I couldn’t get it to pull more than 3 or 4 Athearn Blue-Boxes (Mixed hooper and boxcar) up my 2.5 percent grade. I was aiming for a loco that could do 10.
Before you call me crazy for expecting that insane amount of pulling power from any loco, hear me out. I was expecting this amount of power from an IHC pacific because the IHC MOGUL could do all of the above, AND MORE!
I was expecting the same quality from IHC on this 4-6-2 as on their 2-6-0. My IHC 2-6-0 can handle a 10-car consist up a a 2.5 percent grade, can run smoothly at 5 scale mph, and the level of detail buries the IHC pacific, as an added bonus.
I know not all of the IHC 4-6-2’s are like mine, but I guess you can’t win them all. Really a shame since I spent $75 on mine, quite a some for a teenager like me. I’ll be returning it tommorrow.
Thanks for putting up with my rant, just fuming a bit after my let-down.
-S. Connor
EDIT: Both IHC locomotives I am refering to in this post were made for IHC by Mehano.
Last year I purchased a used IHC 4-6-2 pacific $15 and modified it for DCC sound and fell in love with the ease of modifications, smooth pulling power, great slow speed motion, etc.
I recently purchased a used IHC Premier 4-6-2 with DCC Tsunami sound $71 and more greatly impressed, I’m buying as many of this series I can find- just won another Premier 4-6-2 pacific on ebay $48 to upgrade to DCC sound. They pull 8 Rivarossi heavyweight passenger cars (even with lighting pickups dragging) or over 20+ free-wheeling freight cars with ease.
I’m keeping my 3 best runners and favorite road names, and will upgrade, tuneup, lube, and sell the others I run across.
The Bachmann 4-8-2 with Soundtraxx is also a great runner but a little noisy.
My Opinion of IHC Premier - great pulling power, smooth at low and high speeds, quiet, great detailing, easy to maintain and upgrade, and looks fabulous on my layout.
Mehano locomotives are generally considered entry-level models, so they may not have the same level of detail or performance as higher-end brands. However, for $49.99 (especially with a 10% discount), it might be a decent option if you’re looking for a budget-friendly steamer or something to tinker with. Just keep in mind that their motors and running gear might not be as smooth or durable as more premium brands. If you’re okay with potential limitations, it could be a fun addition—but if you’re after high reliability and detail, you might want to look elsewhere.
I used a Mehano 2-8-0 chassis for my On30 2-8-2 tank engine build. It runs decently enough for my operations. One thing to be aware of is that the chassis is plastic, not metal like most other models. So it may not last as long as other brands. Having said that, that did make it easier to kitbash.
Way old thread!!!
I got some IHC (Mehano) moguls years ago. They run fine, but a bit light on their feet. They have decent detail. Dan