…specifically their steam locos (not sure if they make diesels). How is their quality compared to say Bachmann Spectrum, Atlas or Athearn? Is it matter of lack of detail, or operation? My interest is in smooth running. I have a bunch of old Bachmann Steamies that run like junk. They actually run well on the curves but on the straits and switches they run “jerky”, very infuriating.
But back to the question, how do the IHCs run?
J.P.
Dig back into these forums a few pages, or do a topic search, and you’ll find that this question has been asked several times over the past few months.
IHC steam engines all seem to run smoothly but they are lacking in detail, except for their latest 2-10-2 model. The 2-10-2 is DCC ready, which is the first one they have ever made that way as near as I recall. All IHC steam engines within the past 5 or 6 years are marked on the bottom as made in Slovenia and have can motors. Until the 2-10-2, they all had bright steel wire hand rails, which was their most outstanding recognition feature.
IHC steamers are extremely good running, especially for the money.
I have a 4-6-2 I bought 6 years ago, I haven’t lubed it yet & it still runs as good as the day I bought it.
My wife got me the 2-10-2 for Christmas, took it over to a buddy’s place yesterday & he wants one now. This is the same guy who has Genesis UP Steam
Hope this helps
Gordon
I’ve got one of their deisels (SD 24) Runs and looks better than the old LL and Tyco toy trains but it’s not even close to the new cheaper Bachman deisels. No weight,no low speed, runs too fast, no flywheel, doesn’t pull much.
Yeah, like Loathar says, don’t even think about buying an IHC diesel engine, because they are next to worthless in both detail and running qualities. The last, and only one, I ever saw used a vertical pancake motor mounted directly on the front truck and the rear truck was unpowered. Nineteen Fifties technology.
Generally the steamers are fair to very good as far as running. As has been said they do lack in the detail department, but nothing that can’t be added with a detailing kit. IHC does have diesels but they are well worth avoiding. The Tyco offerings from the late 70’s-early 80’s look and run like Cadillac’s by comparison.
Getting back into the hobby, I found myself gravitating to HO. So I play with both my old N and new HO stuff.
I bought an IHC HO DC 2-8-2 Mikado. It was at a very nice price. I found it to be nicely detailed compared to a real one. The thing that impressed me most was that it is so quiet, you can’t hear it running! Around the xmass tree on a board which normally magnifies engine noise, it didnt make any. It pulls well at least on my small layout. Will pull 8 cars or more on a tight 15" radius easily. I have never tested to see how many it will max at yet. (kinda hard on a small layout).
It does have the steel wire grab bar as mentioned, but I kinda like it. Maybe I’ll paint it, maybe not. My Bachmann HO diesels engines make horrendous noise. I am looking forward to picking up about 2 other IHC’s. I’ve looked at Bachmann HO steams, and my new Bachmann N scales do fine, but I may stick with the IHC. I’m looking at their (0)(2)(4) -6- (4)(2)(0) .I may even pick up a second Mike since it does extremely well on the 15R curves.
Have fun and enjoy!.
Here is a thread on a similar question…
In my experience, IHC steam and diesel engines are very smooth runners.[:D] The steam engines are quiet, smooth, draw very little current and pull a decent amount of cars.[:D] The diesels run nearly as smooth as Katos, but are also very fast. They have all wheel drive, good electrical pickup, and are pretty good pullers.[:D] All of their engines use shell tooling from 20-35 years ago, so don’t expect them to have great detail.
Incase you’re interested, here are a few reviews I’ve done on IHC engines.[:D]
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/549488/ShowPost.aspx 2-6-0
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/795011/ShowPost.aspx 2-8-2
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/547413/ShowPost.aspx C-628
[#ditto]