Ok, I’m not a Big Steam person, I usually model late modern. But Occassionally i see one or two that catch my eye.
This time, I see Lionel has in HO sclae a 4-6-6-4 Challenger, my question on this one, has anyone tried it and if so, what’s your take on it? I know Lionel is a good large scale company, but not sure on their HO quality, so I seek a review from those that have tried it.
I also see that Rivarossi has redone their 4-8-4 Northern, I know in the past that their engines weren’t that great. But since this is a completely redone engine, along with the cars (which I’m told are far better than the old ones), I seek someones review of the new 4-8-4’s.
As of 19 November, I haven’t received my Lionel Challenger that was placed on back order shortly after they announced that one would be produced; however, the dealer from whom I ordered it received them a couple of days ago and mine should finally be enroute. I’ll post more about my impression of it after a week or so of daily running to get it broken in. If you can believe Lionel’s hype, it should be fantastic because it is cast metal with a DCC decoder and sound system built in. At $550 a pop, it had better be good!
Hmm…$550 a pop, bit steep, But it has some interesting aspects:
Die cast body, not plastic
Built in DCC decoder with sound (and it’s a pretty elaborate sound setup)
Fully detailed Cab with a lighted firebox
Is smoke ready (just needs the generator)
Moving windows
Ok, it better be good, but i think I’ll have to wait for the price to come down a bit.
Rivarossi’s 4-8-4 Northerns, say it’s totally retooled, with a new drive, dcc ready and more prototypical detail. and it’s about $220 average.
But Rivarossi is probably still plastic and underweight. They use traction tires to make up for the lack of weight, which create nothing but problems in the dry Arizona climate because they dry out and come off too soon and you must then take the side rods off to put a new traction tire on. I have six or seven Rivarossi models and will purchase no more.
Hmm…hope not, all the pictures i see are showing standard wheels on the new one, maybe they’ve finally changed. but if they have traction tires, Then it’ll be a no go then.
But then again, I’m asking if anyone has one of the new ones and what they think of it. Hopefully when they “Completely Revised” it that included weight and standard wheels.
You may want to contact Tony about the page link you posted. It is blank. I did a view source and here’s what I got:
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