Have a set of four AT&SF …green sides, gold lettering… in hard plastic boxes with clear plastic lids I bought new in 1972. The tri-axle bogies have scale brass wheels, the detail & running quality is so superb that even now I still sit & admire them. Made in Italy of course!
Antonio, you wouldn’t know if he has an e-mail would you, as that is my prefered way of doing business over long distances. With prices in the teens, I like that.
Noah
i cant say much about the current ones, but my dad has two from when he was a kid about 35-40 years ago and they still run great.
Hello Noah,
Happy Hobo doesn’t have an e-mail address as far as I know. Very good LHS though, as I’ve been a customer for 24 years. Consider calling or zipping a fax. Best time is early weekday afternoons.
Happy Hobo
4040 W. Waters Ave, #1100
Tampa, Florida 33614
Hope this helps!
When I was at the train show in Seattle, I stopped by the booth for JayBee Hobbies. He has replacement wheelssets. Evidently the Rivarossi wheels were changed periodically during the period of production, so you need to measure the length of the axles and get the appropriate replacement. I think that JayBee has this posted on their webswite.
I don’t think Jay Bee has a website. he however WAS making wheelsets with both NMRA and NEM ales, and knew of the problem . IHC uses 32" wheels on their passenger equipment and $20 trucks - so they don’t care. Now that Rivarossi is out of Biz. you’ll probably see even MORE of their cars advertised. Junk!
The J.B. NEM axles drop right into my IHC Corregated Passenger Cars. Reboxx couldn’t tell me what axles to use, and recommended (based on measured length) the wrong set. I put this down to the office help on the phone - which was totally inadequate - in turn, the fault of the owner.
The Jay Bee 36" wheels are the BEST thing i can say about my IHC cars, They required new body mount pads, couplers, 36" wheels with teflon grease on the ends, and lots of weight, to get them to run correctly - they are so cheaply made.
After all the modifications, they aren’t so cheap.
Hello Don Gibson,
You’ve given some outstanding input on this and other posts, however, I have to differ with you as far as the view that Rivorossis are “junk”. Yes, they are too light and need work but until the arrival of the Walthers passenger cars, they were among the best, most “decent looking” 85ft. streamlined passenger cars in PLASTIC.
I guess my perspective is different as back in the early 80s I had a fleet of Athearn 72ft. streamlined “Shorty” cars in Amtrak and New Haven colors. Very generic and no details.
After seeing Rivorossi (and the AHM smooh side) passenger cars appear in Model Railroader articles, I sold all of my Athearn shorties and switched to the much more realistic looking Rivorossis. Back then, they were priced at $24 per car, which was considered expensive. ConCor 85 ft. cars had the wrong corrugation style, so unless you could afford brass, Rivorossi (and AHMs still on the shelf) were your best options.
For modelers on a budget that don’t want to shell out the money for the Walthers or wi***o quickly build up a passenger car roster, Rivorossis are not a bad deal. With minor effort, they can be made to look very attractive, perform decently and mixed in with the Walther’s cars in a passenger train. Part of the fun of this hobby is the creativity that goes into turning a bland stock item into a work of art!
God Bless and Cheers!
I see a number of comments about Rivarossi and IHC, and even some Walther’s and Athearn info. Does anyone have comments or opinions on Branchline’s passenger car offerings? From what I can see on their website they are very detailed… a bit pricey perhaps, but it looks like you get what you pay for.
Thanks,
John
TAMPA TONY:
I don’t disagree. It’s the Rivarossi Passenger Cars I like to ‘modify’ , and the IHC cheap imitations I referred to as “Junk” - at least I meant to.
I should have said " Now that Rivarossi is out of Biz., you’ll probably see even MORE of IHC’s cars advertised.
Correct me, anytime.
Paul Cutler III of the atlas forum authored a four page review & assembly of the 80’ Branchline Coach Car.
Atlas is down for a few more weeks but I kept a copy of his four page print out.
If you want a copy, send me your US Postal address.
Chuck Walsh
Grand Rapids Mi.
Don Gibson,
Understood and agreed! [C):-)][tup]
Take care and keep posting!
Antonio, thanks for the info, I’ll have to see about contcting them sometime.
Noah
I like them, I have some on my Eastern RR.
I think this forum shows the lack of availability of any kind of passenger cars, only @ 3 manufacturers are mentioned and Rivarossi is now gone, it would seem someone in the U.S. has a great chance to enter this field (not only in passenger cars either) I saw a layout a few years back with only passenger cars and it was very nostalgic to see 10 to 15 heavies and 2 or 3 seperate trains moving on one layout. is the alternative to purchase $ 400 limited run brass passenger cars?
Hi Tatans,
[1] We have to consider though that compared to years back the “quality” of the plastic passenger cars made today is so much better. Even the Model Power “Shorty” streamliners are far better looking then the Athearn streamliner “Shorty’s” which haven’t changed much since the 70s. Inspite of a few problems, Walther’s has “stolen the show” as far as Ready-to-Run, well detailed passenger cars. For the price, they’re hard to beat!
[2] I’m a big passenger train fan myself, however, the majority of HO and N modelers purchase more freight cars than passenger. So unless the demand escalates, it would seem that the number of companies manufacturing passenger cars will remain low.
Try the newer Rivarossi passenger cars, the ones with the body mount couplers. Much more realistic and have working diaphrams, grab irons, etc. They are a bit more expensive, but worth it. Try other online hobby shops for a better price than Walthers.
I like Rivarossi and IHC. Before I get close to spending the $40 a Branchline costs, and they don’t even have streamlined yet, I have a great car. Main things are new wheels, KD’s, and diaphragms. I like 85 footers far better than the shortys.
4884bigboy
Jonathan,
What “new” Rivarossi cars are you speaking of? Do you just mean a later made Rivarossi set (RP25 wheels) or is someone now producing Rivarossi carrs again?
I have both excursion sets and all of the individual cars they made to go with them, and you are right, they look great behind #844 FEF Rivarossi UP and the Genesis UP 4-6-6-4 #3895 Challenger.
Let me know if you know of something new.
Jon
GVDobbler,
I think it was early 2004, but I went to a train show and a friendly vendor showed me “new” Rivorossi passenger cars. He had a box set of Union Pacific cars ( I think). I then looked closely and noticed that they came with interiors. According to the gentleman, the cars are an improvement over the previous line. I haven’t seen any out of the box though.
I have some of the older cars from the late 80s-early 90s. I was going to sell them, but since they actually look decent, I’m currently “sweetening” them up by cutting off the skirts (Post 1960a look), adding P2K wheelsets, adding weight and interiors. I’m going to paint metalize the bodies with Alclad II Stainless Steel.
IMHO, while the Walthers Budd cars are the “ultimate cool” in streamliner cars, the Rivorossi cars should not be overlooked.