Managed to get one of these not long ago,and although I spent more than I wanted to get it, I have no regrets!
It’s really an interesting piece of history, and considering it was first made in 1952, this might just be the first motorized plastic model of an American diesel in HO scale! As far as I can find, the Globe F7, Varney plastic models and others came at least a year or two later. If anyone knows of a motorized plastic model older than this one though, let me know!
Thanks for the review Darth. I like these old engines - simple and rugged.
Simon
Nice video Darth. I can’t figure out how you keep track if all the screws you remove and where they go when it’s time for reassembly. The three loco comparison was really interesting. Keep them coming please.
Joe
"The model designation followed the format of C (for Consolidation), F or P (Passenger or Freight), A or B (cab or cabless), two digits for horsepower, and one digit for the number of axles, so that CPA-24-5 was a 5-axle 2,400-hp passenger unit with a cab while CFB-16-4 would be a 4-axle, 1600-hp freight booster. Four-axle units used a B-B wheel arrangement, while a B-A1A wheel arrangement (three-axle rear truck with a
Millions of veterans will testify to the virtues of BRASSO
I think AHM changed the production source of the C-Liner to Mehano in Yugoslavia sometime in the 70s.
Thanks, it’s always interesting working on these old models! The 50’s and 60’s were really a time full of new ideas for making HO scale models, so it seems like there’s always something interesting to find.
BEAUSABRE, the stuff is definitely effective, although I have learned not to squeeze out too much in an unventilated area! For Wikipedia’s entry on the Rivarossi model, they do seem to have some of the info wrong. According to the production records on the Rivarossi history website (rivarossi-memory.it), they produced it from 1952 to 1971.
azrail, from the catalog entires I can find, the Mehano models imported by AHM started in 1963. I think from that point on the Rivarossi models were only sold in Europe, and were discontinued in 1971 when Mehano fully took over the tooling.
Great review Darth and plenty of good info to take into other projects!![bow]
To expand on Beausabre’s notes, the Atlas 5-axle C-Liner made in the late 1960s was in N scale. Based on lettering cast into the frame, it was assembled alternately in Italy and Yugoslavia during this period, from Rivarossi-supplied parts.
Adding to the list, in the early 1970s, Atlas released a four-axle C-Liner in O scale, manufactured by Rivarossi. Unfortunately, it was notoriously underpowered.
One of these days I would love to find and buy one of the HO Pere Marquette-painted models that Rivarossi produced briefly in the late 1950s. It is completely unprototypical (the PM was merged into the C&O four years before the C-Liner was introduced) and rather scarce, but just plain looks neat.