hello all… been looking at a steam loco nad putting some thought into buying one. Nrrd opinions on the HO scale 2-6-6-6 Allegheny made by Rivarossi/Hornby. Is this a good quality steam loco? has any one got one? it it in hte pagers of the micromark catalogue. The asking price is 313.50 plus shipping. Good Bad or Ugly? need input please …
Thanks to all who reply J.W.
Great Loco with very good detail once weathered it’s hard to tell apart from a brass loco
I’ve seen them sell from $285 to $325 on ebay
Here’s a photo of my friend Art’s H-8
Hi J.W.,
I reviewed the Rivarossi Allegheny in “Model Railroader” when it was first introduced. You can read that review in our February 2002 issue, page 16. (Back issues are available by clicking the “SHOP” button in the menu bar above.) It’s a very good model of the prototype, although the drivers are a little undersize (64" instead of 67", but the discrepancy isn’t obvious), a good runner, and a strong puller.
It does have what a friend of mine calls the “curse of Rivarossi,” meaning it’s an articulated model on which both engines swivel from around their centers, instead of the prototypical arrangement of having the rear engine rigid under the boiler with the front engine hinged from the rear cylinder block. This is done to allow the model to negotiate ridiculously sharp curves, but means you can see daylight where the rear cylinders should be supporting the boiler and the steam pipes to the rear cylinders don’t actually connect to them, both so the cylinders can swivel with the rear engine.
So far, the only mass-produced HO articulated that’s correctly hinged is the new InterMountain SP Cab-Forward. That’s a nice model too, but not much use to Chesapeake & Ohio enthusiasts.
So long,
Andy
You can’t go wrong with this engine. I bought a first run (1633) a few years ago, and love it.
Detail is brass quality and it runs great. Highly reccomended.
I got my Allegheny about a month ago, and it is definately my best steam engine.[:D] It looks like the one at Micro-Mark is the HR2006 model, which I’ve heard comes with less detailed instructions than the R5454 model. Walthers is currently selling the R5454 Alleghenys for $300 each, incase you’re interested, and they’re still in stock (I have one of the new 5454s, and it comes with the better instructions).[:D] http://walthers.com/exec/productinfo/635-5454
I did my own review of the Allegheny after I got it. Here’s a link to it, if you want to read it.
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1181541/ShowPost.aspx#1181541
WOW thanks for all of the responses guys! And A big THanks goes out to Darth for that review! Wow oh yea and the Pics… I believe that This will be mine. Oh yea Darth is the only difference between the 2 micromark and Walthers being the instructions? I mean its only a 13$ difference in price. BUt thats 13$ worth of something else train related! Thanks again to all who replied!
J.W.
That’s one of only differences I’m sure of. The other is the R5454 has the PC board in the engine, so there are only three wires instead of six. I think the HR2006 might not include the “certificate of authenticity, suitable for framing” either, but that’s one thing I’m not sure about.
With that extra $13, I bet you could get a caboose for your Allegheny![:D]
…and the Mantua/Model Power 2-6-6-2 !! [:D]
I have the BLI 2-10-4 Texan and the Walthers Berkshire with sound and just had to have one of the last run of the Allegheny and it is by far my favorite engine. I installed the Tsunami sound decoder and the hardest part was soldering the wires to the 8-pin plug. The socket and light board are in the tender on the HR2006 and I installed a medium oval speaker under the coal load and drilled small holes from the top and you can’t see them. The coal load looks like lump coal and the holes are not that noticable.
The instructions are almost non-existant with just a parts list included. The chains on the tender where the hardest part to do,which by the way you will want to do all your decoder work before you install them.
The sound is great and the engine is one of the smoothest engines I own. I can’t bring myself to weather the engine it just looks too nice! We make compromises every day in model railroading and I can live with the compromises made in this model. JMHO!
Hope this helps! Jim