Well, not really true! Hornby in the UK have received the approval of the Italian Courts to acquire the assetts of Rivarossi. Hornby have announced that they intend to keep the line alive. In fact Hornby have opened a new website to support their “international” offerings - such as Rivarossi, Lima and Joueff. Check out: http://www.hornby.com/hornbyinternational/index.aspx
At the same time Hornby are saying that the newer product will be improved, using newer couplers, DCC ready and such. If the other products end up as good as Hornby then the other American manufacturers had best watch out!
Have you tried train world? They have great prices on them. I bought a full set of B&O and Lackawanna. to light but a little weight and they are fine.
Take Care
George P.
They’e had several Incarnation’s. Which one are you buying?
AHM original’s with deep European flanges.
IHC import’s with 32" plastic wheels.
IHC Chinese made copies with 32" plastic wheels, and super-thin bodies.
Walthers import’s with metal wheels (scarce).
NEWER Walthers ‘exclusive’ import?
Beware of E Bay
Any of these WITH NEW truck’s and 36" wheels, .KD coupler’s, and weight’s added to make NMRA spec’s, make these very decent car’s, whether prototype had them or not. Note: IHC’s version requires more work and expense to bring up to ‘Spec’.
The 1970s AHM smooth sided streamline cars looked nice out of the box. With weight, new trucks/couplers, and detailing they could be made to look sharp. I remember back in 1977 that they were selling for Nine Dollars at my LHS ! I complained that they were too expensive. Boy, how times have changed, indeed.[:p]
If you are willing to do a little work there are plenty of passenger car prototypes available. I am a big fan of car sides, be it brass or plastic. Union Station Products does just about everything under the sun for streamlined cars, and American Model Builders does quite a few sides as well in plastic. Then if you want some awesome fluting detail, you could go with brass sides from either Brass Car Sides or NKP Car Company. With the core kits, trucks, and detail parts available from Train Station Products you can build one heck of a nice car to prototype. Cal Scale and Eastern Car Works also offers some nice detail parts for pax cars. The sides are available in both HO or N.
These sides can also be used as overlays for Rivarossi and other cars.