What is the quality and reliability of the IHC 4-8-2 Mountains? How hard is it to convert them to DCC?
I had one that ran well, and pulled fairly well. They tend to be a bit fast, but the slow speed is pretty good. They need code 100 track as the flanges are a bit deep. Dont know how easy they would be to convert, I never did mine when I went digital............Mike
I have a question for both of you, TC & Mike: Mine is #M623 on the box. When you received your IHC Mountain locomotives, did it have the twin flying airpumps mounted on the smokebox front? If not, is there 4 holes in the smokebox front? (Click on my "mail" icon and email me if you like) Thanks.
For some unusual reason and unknown to me, out of 6 or 8 steamers, including Rivarossi & Mantua, the IHC is a good performer. I'm not DCC.
I'm a relative newby to modelling, but thought I'd add my 2 cents to the ongoing IHC debate. I have 2 IHC steamers, a 2-8-0 Consolidation and a 2-6-0 Mogul. Both ran smoothly out of the box and I haven't had any trouble with either. The 2-6-0 is a bit light and not much of a puller; the 2-8-0 easily pulls 12 freight cars up a 3% curved grade on my layout. I bought a 4-6-2 Pacific recently and it was terrible - stuttered and stopped on switch frogs. I returned it to the dealer. Later I called IHC and talked to a very knowledgable man named Rich Edwards, who gave me the scoop on the various locos. It turns out the Consolidation, Mogul, Mother Hubbard, and Mountain are the only locos that have electrical pick-ups on both rails on both engine and tender (hence their smooth performance over track gaps). The Pacifics and Mikados have tender pickups, but they're used only to run the tender light - there's no electrical connection between tender and loco. Rich says you can retrofit the Pacifics and Mikados - they'll sell you the parts for about $6 plus shipping (I have part #s if anybody's interested). The Consolidation and Mountain are also the only ones with functional pilot couplers, contrary to what it says on their web site. Re: your original question, I don't have any experience with the Mountain, but based on this info I'd expect it to be one of their better engines. It should run smoothly with the tender pickups, and pull well since it's relatively heavy and has 8 drivers like the Consolidation. Dan
I got an older IHC mountain and its a self model!!! Its a terrible runner and will not pull a flea out of water!!!! Let alone one car on straight, level track!!! I'm very disapointed in that preticular IHC loco!!!! Now don't get me wrong I have the newer IHC 2-8-2 and 4-6-2 and they both run better then my mountain IHC does.. What happened here I believe it to be when I bought the mountain new I bought a lemmon!!!!! Oh well.... Its due on the bench for repower and so on and then IT WILL run with the best of my trains... I will then be insured to run it.... [ 17 August 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]</p>
Dont know what the model # was watash, but yes it did hav the flying air pumps. I think the later model with the regular tender had the 'normal' side mounted pumps though...Mike
Here's where I throw in my 2 cents! If the loco seems too slugish and won't pull a thing (let alone a flea) I'd suggest you do something about the weight in the boiler. I did this to one engine, it was a C & O steam, couldn't make out the manuf. But when I took out some weight it could pull 7 Pennsylvania coaches (now it's totally gutted for parts and trackside scenery). On the other hand it did run good for a period of time, hardly any slipping.
UPBigBoy, Its not the fact that it has too much weight in it! Its the fact that I bought it and the motor was no good! The motor brushes and springs I checked them... To find bad brushes and weak springs, so I replaced them with new ones on a new loco thats never been run by me more then 5 minutes!!!! So I did all that put it back on track and it still was no better then it was with the original motor brushes and springs... If I would take weight out of it, it wouldn't stay on track if so... Its a poorly designed loco thats all... I'm going to put in a new high torque and RPM motor from some after market company probably Sagami and put it back together hopefully with a flywheel and see what happens... It would be a great runner if it had the motor to power it and all. It has no traction bands on the wheels and the horizontal movement from side to side is great being it will run nice on 18 inch radius and I have 22 and 24 inch radius curve on my layout so thats not a problem at all... but... I'm going top put it through the paces and see if I can get it to run with my 2-8-2's and 4-6-2's and even my 2-10-2's and see if it will stand up to them after i'm done repowering it and all.... Then if it is a good runner it will be in regular service...
7600 EM You mention a 2-10-2. Whould that by any chance be the old AHM 2-10-2? I model New Haven and that locomotive is very close to what I need. If this is the same engine you have, can you tell me how it performs? How many cars it pulls? How it tracks through No. 6 switches, what its minimum radius is. Etc... Sincerely Robert Gross
Hey UPBigBoy - Help me a bit with this idea of removing weight. I've always thought you should add weight to keep wheels from slipping. Did I read your post correctly (wouldn't be the first time I've done something backwards, either...).
Ajcassatt, Yes my 2-10-2 is the old Rivarossi sold under AHM. It runs good and is half decent on 18 inch radius curved track but runs mainly on 22 and 24 inch radius track. I however did repower it and all so it was up to speed with the rest of my loco's being the original motor in it was good and it run but is was real slow to my other Rivarossi loco's and I like to run them slow but, it was way slower then the rest and the other loco's would more or less drag it along and it wasn't really "helping" or "double heading" So It made me mad and I put a waaaaay better motor in it so.. Now it keeps up and runs right along with the rest of them that I own! And it will do the work itself now when it didn't before... Anyway on it when it was factory (other then the paint job on it) it run pretty good as a "loner" by itself. But was slow... It would pull around 8 to 10 cars on level track unassisted. Since I repowered it with a new can motor it will pull around 15 to 20 cars unassisted on the same type of track. As a helper is does really good and keeps the slack up on the cars of about 30 to 35 pushing the amout 40 to 45 cars as a helper, on the rear. (I usually have a second 2-10-2 or a 2-8-2 when i'm running it as a rear helper. In a mid train helper is when its at its best with a big articulated on the point maybe 2 on the point, and a 2-10-2 in the middle of the train (only one) and some type of steamer on the rear pushing... This is when its at its best... A word of advise, If you have one or a few I have found something on the wheels thats almost impossible to mend. On them if the center driver is blind (no flange) it will most certainly find every dead spot in your track and stall and slip if you have other power pulling or pushing they will pull it out of that dead spot and then it will run again. If by itself its hopeless.. It will stall and not go forward or reverse!!!! If you plan to buy one make sure you get one that has ALL its wheels flanged and you won't have any trouble.... The flange on the center driver aids in its electrical pick up and insures continuous electrical flow.... Mine are all flanged and I have a friend "6206_S1" Mike K that also has one and it has that blind driver (no flange) and its a real dead spot track finder it lets you know theirs no electric in places in your track work!!!!!! And mine just keeps on going.... I also found on those loco's that Rivarossi has done mid production changes on things and all and you can get a real good running loco and the head light will work one minute and the next it won't..... Thats because of a piece on the motor that they took out of the production and the head light (because of this piece the light shorts out). So it wasn't wired to run like that with the piece and all and they used the wiring that was used with the piece and it drastically changed things. So I had rewired Mike K's 2-10-2 and as far as I know his light works and it also made it brighter... Keep this all in mind and have fun. I had my fare share of trial and error on mine to get it to run like it does today...... [ 23 August 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]</p>
yeah mike???? you have yahoo messenger with your e-mail address??? I have it under yellowstone10@yahoo if you want to chat?
Hey John Don't forget that it when you rewired it, it gave it a kick in the power department!!! Mine is the older Rivarossi/ AHM loco with the old copper mesh brush in the motor, so we have to watch it for heat when I run it for a long time. But it's the pride of my fleet, which is why my displayed name is 6206_S1a, that's the number of my Loco! But also the real ones were awesome on the B&O, especially on Sand Patch as helpers to those EM-1's!!
