Rivarossi Big boys, Challengers

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Greetings all

Were any of the big boys or Challengers made by Rivarossi made without the giant pizza cutter wheel flanges, if so which model numbers

thanks

2

i dont know the numbers but the answer is definatly YES. the models was fitted with pizza cutters untill about 1996 i think when the loco was retooled to bring it up to modern standards. all the later locos were RP25. they also got new motors and far better detail.

Peter

3

My Big Boy part number 5412 does not have the Pizza cutter wheel flanges. I got it about 4 years ago.

4

Please can someone give a more technical deffinition of Pizza-Wheels ie. Diameters of both types for identification purposes?
Thanks,
Regards #4005 - #4013 - #4015

5

I don’t know about the dimensions as I don’t have one of the older models. But my old Hornby locos have flanges greater than 1/8" They will run on Code 100 track, but will clatter down the ties of code 83 track.

6

Just to nitpick, the broad flanges are a modern standard, just not a particularly good one. They are fairly close (no European wheels are exactly up to spec) to what’s listed in NEM. Personally, I think the NEM wheel standard isnt worth the paper it’s printed on, but out industry follows it at least haphazardly, because otherwise their rolling stock could not pass through their own turnouts. The power of history, I’m afraid, which stops our locos from using your track and vice versa.

The only decent NEM standards are NEM362 which details the quick-change coupler box mount (change takes 3 seconds, no tools required) and NEM652 which is the 8-pin DCC connector standard (in itself a copy & paste job from the relevant NMRA standard). I wi***hey could agree on a pan-European coupler standard, myself.

7

Agamemnon, I am curious about the flange height changes in European models. My old Hornby trains from when I was a kid (30 years ago) have huge flanges. On a recent trip back to the UK I purchased a new Hornby loco and it has very fine flanges. Are the newer ones NEM?

8

They certainly are smaller now than they’ve been but it’s still possible to see the difference between European and RP25 wheelsets. In general, American wheels are more prototype-like.

9

Thanks to one of you for posting a part number
I will have to be on the look out for challengers