I have one IHC Premier 4-8-2. Detail is fair, drive is OK, pulling power is fair. I installed a DCC decoder easily in the tender.
I only paid $40 for it brand new on EBay. After having one, I wouldn’t spend any more than that if I would get another. It does not have RP25 wheels, though it will run on code 83 track. I blackened all the chrome handrails, etc. and weathered it and it looks decent.
Out of the box is kinda “toylike” and very generic.
I have a few IHC models. One is an older Pacific (before the Premier series) and the detail is not really all that great, but for such an old engine, it still runs pretty well. The other two are almost new, both from the Premier series. While the detail isn’t superb, it is decent enough that most people looking on won’t complain about it. None of the three has an authentic prototype. All three are Union Pacific locomotives, two of which UP never had. The third is a 4-6-2 Pacific that is similar to the ones used by UP, but the number (3524) is not prototypical. The body shell of the Pacific is the same as that on their Mountain, even though the drive mechanism is different. Both units use the same number for all roadnames offered, from what I have seen. It does look funny to see a UP Pacific #3524 next to an SP Pacific, also numbered #3524.
All three seem to run pretty well. I am planning to convert them to DCC, even possibly adding sound. I don’t think these engines warrant a Soundtraxx system, however, so I will most likely use the MRC Synchro Steam sound decoder as it can be found for half the price of the Soundtraxx. Again, this would not be prototypical, but for these locomotives, who cares? Basically the intent with these is to keep the kids interested (they don’t care about prototypes at this time anyway) and possibly to get some other bigger kids (grown up ones) interested, too (they wouldn’t know the difference from the prototypes).
In summary, from my experience with IHC steam locomotives, they are not terribly accurate models, but they are affordable and work well. I don’t have any of their diesel models, but from what I have seen, they appear very toylike and the detail is much worse than that on their steam locos. Just my[2c].
I have two IHC Premier steam locos: 4-6-2 B&O Pacific and 2-8-2 Mikado. They are competent runners with good slow speed control - can’t complain. The only problem is that paint can be easily damaged with rubbing alcohol, which I promptly discovered yesterday. Now my Pres. Lincoln dark-green Pacific’s tender has a light spot on the side. What colour should I use to match it ( Floquil GN, Badger etc. ) ? I called IHC, spoke to Rich, he couldn’t tell me much. A replacement tender shell runs for $15 + shipping; Life-Like or Atlas would have sent it to me for free… Oh well…[V]
I have two IHC steamers, a Pacific and a Consolidation, that I detailed and decaled myself. They look pretty good, and are, for the money, the best running steam on the market. WAAAAYYYY better than the Spectrum. I’ve had 2 Spectrum K4’s and they both sucked, compared to the IHC. The IHC’s run smooth, slow and quiet right out of the box. While they are a “generic” design, a little detailing and they’ll work for just about anything but the Pennsy. For that matter, if I can figure out how to put a Belpaire firebox on one of them, I’ll use 'em for that, too, and to heck with the Bowser stuff. [:p]
Ray out.
A lot of info on IHC. Thanks to all… and thanks to AustinDad for the background. I read that several have installed DCC decoders… I have just received a Premier Hudson and a Premier Shifter (0-8-0)… what is the process of setting these machines up for DCC?
I am a basic beginner… no track yet… (Wow, that IS a beginner!) But I want to start with DCC from the very beginning. What pieces will I need to isolate the pick-ups?.. Did you install plugs and then insert the decoders into the plugs? These may seem like really elementary questions to many of you… but answers are hard to come by. I emailed IHC when I submitted my order… with no response whatsoever. The special offer was to select either 3 passenger cars or the Shifter Loco… but they didn’t ask what I wanted… just shipped the Shifter… which, reading some of the preceding comments, probably turned out best for me, anyway. So the Locos were shipped fairly quickly, were received without shipment damage… but no customer service via email… at least so far.
I am also shopping for a set… just to get started… since I don’t have any room to do a permanent layout. Seems to me that buying the IHC steam locos and then going to the expense of converting them to DCC would bring the total cost (and trouble) up to the point where a DCC-ready BLI would be about an equal expense… right? 'Nuff for now… thanks for reading all this… and I would really appreciate any advice you have.
IHC Mikado $88.98
soundtraxx DSD-100LC decoder $80.00
one hour of work free
total cost: $168.98
— OR —
BLI Mikado w/dcc and sound $299.99
or, if you wanted to go without sound, you can get a digitrax decoder for in the IHC for about twenty