I got an email notification from Trainworld that they're offering 10% discounts on Mehano steamers. The base price on their website is $49.99 regardless of wheel arrangement which, in today's hobby dollars, sounds very cheap. But I really know nothing about the brand. Are they any good, or would I be doing the equivalent of setting fire to a fifty dollar bill if I bought one?
Thanks for input
Jim
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
Mehano is the Slovenian company that produced the locomotive models that were sold under the IHC brand. Certainly the IHC models were basic in terms of detail, but ran well for the money. It will be interesting to see if this is just old stock liquidation of if they are starting to import Mehano again?
Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum
Jim, (Monon Guy) Mehano is the company that made the 2-10-2 I am trading for and hope to make a Monon engine out of it. You saw pictures in the dinner.
While detail is lacking I have heard they are good runners. There 2-10-2 will take 18 inch turns and will pull 40 cars on a level straight track.
With you not going to the dark side (DCC) I would grab a 2-10-2 if the have one.
Your Monon friend, Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
The 2-10-2's are not included.
The 2-6-0 camelbacks are $69.95 and the 2-8-4's are $79.99, all others are 49.99 for the 4-4-0's, the 2-6-0's, the 2-8-0's, the 2-8--2's and the 4-6-2's.
They are certainly marketing them as Mehano and not IHC old stock. I could not resist and ordered one of the 4-4-0 it will be interesting to see what the box looks like?
TA462, I think you are being a bit critical here. "Lower end quality" would imply poorly made and unreliable. In my experience (about 7 of the IHC models) they represent an excellent value. For what they are, they are well made, and whilst they don't stack up in terms of detail and features to locos 4x the price they are considerably better than the average train-set loco. Mine, converted to DCC, run very smoothly with their can-motors and brass flywheels. Over several years of ownership, the mechanisms have not once broken, which is more than can be said for my BLI steamers. For someone on a budget, or perhaps with kids that wants to avoid expensive locos with fragile detail, they fill a niche.
What I am interested to see is if these models are Chinese made. I had read that Mehano had transferred all production from Europe to China. I will be curious to see how they compare to the IHC models that I have that are European.
These may be leftover stock from when IHC was the Mehano importer. Mehano's web site in Slovenia does not show any of these locomotives as being in current production.
OK TA!!
There's nothing wrong with Mehano, I have a few & they're great to have when you have little fingers around such as Liam who happens to love steam locomotives.
Yes brass are nice & my AHM 4-4-0 of my Dad's looks better, but for $50, you can't go wrong.
Same thing with my Athearn BB locomotives
Took Liam to the other side of Toronto last night so he could buy his first BB.
Gord
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
The 2-10-2 T2-a I'm trading to Cudaken was very definitely made by Mehano. It has Mehano stamped right on it and pulls like a bull elephant. Only the two center drivers are blind (no flanges) and the front and rear drivers have enough lateral play (as well as the siderods) to run on 18" radius all day long. I had it pulling a string of ten Athearn clerestory heavyweight cars weighted to NMRA standards and it didn't slip.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
BTW TA in case we are at crossed purposes here there is a profound difference between the IHC/Mehano steamers and the diesel models, which were very poor indeed.
Until IHC's Premier series, Mehano did have some quality issues. Poor electrical pickup, poor low speed performance, and squeeling motors were some of the big ones for me. The Premier series steam engines have improved electrical pickup, better speed control, better motors, and more weight. I have two steam engines, a C-628, and a GG-1, and all are smooth, quiet, reliable runners.
_________________________________________________________________
I have two Mehano-built IHC locomotives (like Jeffrey's, they have Mehano stamped on them) in their Command XXV line. A 2-8-2 Mikado and a 4-6-2 Pacific. I got them cheap ($60 each) when IHC went out of business. A lot of the detail is molded on, and I know that bugs some people and their styling is generic, without road-specific details despite the names on the sides, but the only part I didn't like was the fake plastic look to the coal in the tender. I fixed that with a thin layer of WS lump coal.
But -- and this is is a big but for me -- they pull like crazy (I've had 25 cars behind each on a 1.5% grade) and they'll handle an 18" curve (not pretty, but they go).
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
i have two Mehano steamers. One is a 4-8-4 from a 10-year series of 'President's Choice' sets that was sold here in Canada and is now a collector's item. It really looks clean, and runs fine pulling my 6 or 7 Rapido passenger cars. The other is a 4-6-2 that I haven't been able to test yet as I'm undergoing a total layout install. i just checked the Trainworld site and with a minimum $24.95 shipping charge to Canada, i think I'll stick to Ebay (this was under $50 total.)
If a modeler is creative enough, detail can be added to a Mehano steam locomotive. The shell can be removed and all the cast-on details can be filed or carved off and separate piping, handrails, etc. can be added. They would be good project locos for modelers who don't want to hack up an expensive plastic model or spend a small fortune on a brass loco.
TA462 I think we are confusing the IHC brand, made by Mehano and the Mehano brand. I've got a few IHC loco's as well, mostly from the President's Choice sets that are OK.
I think we are confusing the IHC brand, made by Mehano and the Mehano brand. I've got a few IHC loco's as well, mostly from the President's Choice sets that are OK.
Could well be. Since I have been back in the hobby, the last decade, the only US prototype locos that I had contact with that were Mehano made were all IHC brand. I have friends in Europe that have purchased Mehano euro prototypes and by all accounts the quality was markedly improved as they tried to compete more in the Roco / Marklin end of the market. I would imagine that any non-US Mehano would be really quite old, until this latest release, if indeed they are not just IHC old stock.
I have the Mehano USRA 4-8-2 (the one that looked like a C&O prototype) decorated for Great Northern. Except for the fact that it doesn't LOOK anything like a GN Mountain, it's a very smooth running locomotive and a pretty decent puller. I've had it about 10 years, and haven't had any problems with it at all. The only thing I find weird about is the shape of the fuel bunker on the Vanderbuilt tender--it extends all the way to the bottom of the tank, but I understand that is a left-over from the first runs of the loco, which were tender-driven.
But it's a good little lokie. No complaints from this end. I wanted to get hold of their 2-10-2, after very postitive comments on it--it was very Generic (looked mostly like an ATSF 2-10-2) but obviously great fodder for kit-bashing.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
I don't think we're confusing anything. Most of us have pointed out the we have IHC-branded locomotives which were in fact made by Mehano. Mehano hadn't directly sold locos in the US for a number of years since they started making them for IHC.
Since the OP is talking about an e-mail he received from Trainworld on-line, my guess would be that this is new Mehano stuff, not the old stuff.
TA462 I didn't even know Mehano made diesels.
Some examples of Mehano diesels:
SW1: AHM and Model Power
GP18: AHM and Model Power
F9A: Life-Like and Model Power
SD40: Model Power and IHC
Alco 1000 (supposed to be an S-2): AHM and Model Power
RS-2: AHM and Model Power
RS-11: Life-Like and Model Power
FA-2: Model Power (later version)
C-628: Life-Like, Model Power, and IHC
Hi Jim,
Mehano has two product lines: Prestige and Hobby. The first is supposed to be of a better quality, obviously, though I don't know how good they really are. In the Prestige line, there are currently only two American steam locos (2-10-2 and 4-6-4, see their catalog).
My own experience is only with two of their diesels which are all in the hobby line. They are pretty basic models with very few details. I can post a photo of those if that is of any help for you. I bought them a couple of years ago; according to the packaging both have been produced in Slovenia, not China.
Cheers,Harald
P.S.: In fact Mehano has sort of a third product line: The locos in their starter packs are really, really cheap.
I did not receive my loco as yet, but it is pretty clear from the IHC of TX web site that Mehano is now shipping to the US again.
As you may know IHC TX http://www.ihc-hobby.com/ emerged from the demise of the original IHC and initially seemed to be doing nothing more than selling off the old IHC left over stock. However I notice that they are now carrying the Mehano high speed European train-sets, which the old IHC never carried.
Well I got my Mehano 4-4-0 in the mail today from Train World.
What I received is in Mehano packaging with an instruction sheet in both English and Slovenian. The model is marked as "Made in Slovenia" The packaging, while it is Mehano is almost identical to the purple IHC boxes that were being used towards the end of IHC.
Based on the look of the packaging (shelf worn) I would say for sure that this is new, old stock being liquidated from Mehano. If you remember from the IHC days, they used to stamp the date inside the box and this one says 26/8/1996 so this is 15 years old!! The model itself is unquestionably new and comes complete with a horn-hook coupler.
I'll be having the thing apart and getting a decoder installed over the next few days. Will also be checking the lubrication as it has evidently been sitting on a shelf for a very long time.
Still if you are in the market for an IHC era steamer, you now know what to expect from this Train World sale.
Simon
Please share its operating qualities once you get it up and running.
Just for kicks I put it on the layout and ran it under the 00 feature of my DCC command station. For those that don't know this is the address that can be used on a Digitrax DCC system to run a non-DCC equipped loco.
I have to say that this little 4-4-0 runs very smoothly right out of the box. Nice slow speed running, no obvious binding or jerking. I'll try and get a decoder in it over the weekend when I open it up to look inside.
A few yrs. back, the family/ yours truly visited the Pittsfield, MA History & Transportation Museum. There was small HO layout set up, representing local rail line, as one of the displays. An IHC Mogul [per posted sign] was running on layout pulling a few freight cars. It ran all the time we were there [ 2+ hours ], on some of the worst HO track I've ever seen! Maybe someone was keeping an eye on the train but we never saw anyone near it . Like the Energizer Bunny, it kept goin' & goin'! Was so amazed, went out the following week and bought one of the little critters for meself, in B&M livery. My 2 cents.....papasmurf
I got my "royal blue"pacific and I"m happy to say it's smooth as silk - and quiet to!!! Yes it lacks detail.I only wish my 14 B.L I"s ran as well!!!!.
Anyone got a Mehano 4-6-4 from their Prestige series? I´m planning to buy a Santa Fe 4-6-4 from the Mehano Prestige series which has an ESU decoder with sound already installed. It would be very nice if it could pull my all Rivarossi 11 heavyweight car Chief passenger train consist. But I worry about the pulling power since the model is all plastic and has no traction tires. Do you think it could pull those 11 Rivarossi heavyweight cars (all have six wheel trucks)? To be honest those Rivarossi heavyweights are pretty light (Walthers is much heavier!), so I hope it could pull such a consist...
I seriously doubt that any 4-6-4 model could pull 11 heavyweight passenger cars -- that would be too much weight for it to pull. You'll probably just get a lot of wheel slippage.
I have several Mehano models all the way up from a 2-6-0 Mogul to their 2-10-2, and the 2-10-2 is the only one with adequate weight to possibly pull that many cars, but it is a freight engine with small drivers.
I had the Mehano Mogul, it was a good little engine with what I felt adequate detail for its' price. The best thing was it was a solid performer and ran quietly and smoothly. I even installed DCC in mine. Alas, at some point, I made the decision I would only have locomotives that the Northern Pacific had and the N.P. had very few Moguls. If Mehano had a loco I wanted, I would not hesitate to purchase one!
I'm uncertain why a person would drag up a dead thread to ask about something current? DeLux, you would have been far better off starting anew thread!
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
@ cacole: I´ve already seen videos of brass 4-6-4´s pulling up to 13 passenger cars without any problem. And the Rivarossi heavyweights are really light...no comparison to Walthers heavyweights whose weight is probably more than double of the Rivarossi heavyweights. But maybe I can improve traction of the Mehano 4-6-4 by installing weight into the boiler? Or has it already a weight installed? Maybe there is still some space to completely fill the boiler with weight above the drivers. By the way: I saw photos of Santa Fe 2-10-4 Texas types pulling passenger trains, but what about their 2-10-2´s? I can imagine that they were also used occasioanlly in passenger service on the Santa Fe, although their 2-10-2´s had much smaller drivers (63 inch) than their 2-10-4´s (74 inch). Well, I could test the 4-6-4 Hudson and if it can´t pull those 11 Rivarossi cars, I sell it off and buy a Mehano Santa Fe 2-10-2 instead. So do you think a Mehano 2-10-2 can handle 11 Rivarossi plastic heavyweight cars with 6 wheel trucks?
My initial plan was to have a Sunset Models brass Santa Fe 4-8-2 to pull my Chief heavyweight train. And from an owner I know that this model can run through my 20 inch curves. But I´m tired of converting stuff to DCC and install all the features I like. So I would actually prefer the Mehano 4-6-4 because in my eyes it looks really good and has all those nice features that I like already installed (DCC with sound and smoke) and also is said to be a good runner. It would surely look great in front of a 11 car Rivarossi Chief.
@NP262: I just felt my question was so specific that I didn´t feel the necessity to open up a new thread just for the pulling power of a Mehano Prestige Series 4-6-4. By the way: There is an extremly beautiful Sunset Models brass NP A-5 4-8-4 on ebay now. If it could only take 20 inch radius curves I would grab it! But 2 inches prevent me from doing this because I heard 22 inches is the minimum. I thought about how it would be to replace the 2 inner drivers with blind replacement drivers by Greenway Products, but I skipped this idea because that still will be no guarantee if it could handle 20 inch curves then. But it´s such a nice model! If I would have it I would immediately start putting together a 12 car heavyweight NCL!