Hi all.
I would like to add a Hudson or two to my roster.
I have been seeing the Rivarossi 4-6-4’s
in trainworlds ads in MR for quite a while.
They were running from $59 to recently $79
I’m wondering about the quality of them though.
Does anyone else have them or anything of similar model by
Rivarossi?
Are they any good, or should I run the other way?
Any and all opinions are appreciated.
Thanks.
Eric
This doesn’t answer your question but TW also has the BLI Hudson w/qsi sound for 129.00. I paid well over 200 for mine several years ago.
Terry
Go with the BLI…pulls better than the Rivarossis and have much much much much more detail to them…not to mention the sounds that work with DC or DCC
David
The old Riv makes a great dust collector and will sit in the backshop without moving or causing any problems. After a time, you will not even know it is there on your layout.
If you want a Hudson to run, get the BLI engine.
I purchased several of the early Big Boys, Challengers, Hudsons and Berkshires then you could get them for $25 dollars and none have ever been used to this day. A total waste of money unless you use them as fill in locomotives for Roundhouse or yard.
The later runs do have proper sized flanges and are better for sure, but not for running on club layouts, at least in my experience.
I have to agree with the above. While I know it is a quite a bit more than you were looking at, being almost 50 dollars more… It is so worth it. Great runners, superb detail and the sound makes a crowd favorite. It is well worth it.
Personally I believe the BLI Hudson/Trainworld deal, is probaly the best deal in the model train world at the moment.
Rivarossi engines were state of the art…in 1968. Even with the “upgrades” in the late 1990s, they were lagging behind the best technology of the day, that of the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. Their last gasps, the UP FEF and C&O Allegeney couldn’t remove the pall of the line’s overall shoddy reputation.
There’s a reason you don’t see Rivarossi engines in home layout articles in MR any more: Compared to BLI, Spectrum, Life Like Heritage, and even Athearn and IHC, they suck.
For $79, you’ll get an engine with tooling as old as you, with a VERY badly engineered power pickup system, and an engine that’s much too light. Spring the extra $40 at Trainworld for the BLI Hudson, or haunt Ebay; there are BLI Hudsons on the auction site regularly for around $100 plus shipping.
I used to own a large fleet of Rivarossi Berkshires, when they were the only way to get a NKP Berkshire, aside from brass. After about $150 for the base engine and $100 in extra detail parts and a better motor, I had converted two of them to “barely acceptable” level. As soon as Life Like came out with their NKP Berkshires, I fire saled my 10 at $50 a pop and used the proceeds for six LL engines, and have never looked back.
Thanks for the replies.
I guess I will save a bit longer and get the BLI.
I saw it in TW’s ad,but I didn’t realize it
was a BLI loco.(probably because I figured it was too inexpensive)
Thanks for the education people,you saved me
$79 + shipping and alot of aggravation!
Eric
A couple of things to think about before purchasing a Rivarossi product:
Rivarossi and affiliated Italian companies such as Lima declared bankruptcy a couple of years ago, so repair parts will soon no longer be available.
Rivarossi and the others have been purchased by Hornby of England and manufacturing has shifted from Europe to China.
It is doubtful that any repair parts for the new Rivarossi will be compatible with the older European manufactured Rivarossi products.