Rivarossi Milwaukee Hudsons

[Milwaukee Roader 83]

I Picked up a Rivarossi Milwaukee Road F-7 4-6-4 "Hiawatha" for very cheap because it was a Basket Case that the Original Owner's Kid Dropped! So Parts were Broken etc...
It Runs but the Body Shell needed alot of work...
Well on Closer inspection of the Details of the Locomotive, and Comparing it with pics of a REAL 4-6-4 "Hiawatha", What Rivarossi did was take the basic Shell for the "Dreyfus" Hudson and Put a sort of 'Hiawatha Nose' on it, add sort of close side skirts, slap on Hiawatha Paint and Decals and CALL it a "Hiawatha"...

But it is a Far Cry from what it SHOULD Look Like!
So, once Mine is Completely "Re-Done" it will finally BE a CORRECT 4-6-4 Hiawatha!

I will be Correcting pretty Much Ever aspect of the Locomotive AND tender Because as someone has already mentioned even the Tender is WRONG!

Yea I guess I'm a bit of a "Rivit Counter", but I Like my Models to LOOK Like what they are MEANT to BE! :D

[Milwaukee Roader 83]

Well My family grew up in Milwaukee, and they were Known as "Hudsons"...

Maybe The Road didn't call them Hudsons but That's all my Father ever called the Big 4-6-4 F-7 Streamliners... And he got to ride them from Milwaukee to Chicago Many Times when he was a kid!

He said you've never felt anything SO Incredibly Powerfull as Riding on one of those Trains!

They were my Dad's Favorite Locomotive! :D

 

[Anonymous]

Ron,

Send me your email address and I will send you photos of my Rivarossi Model#5450 MILW 4-6-4 F-7 Streamlined Hudson. The one I have is a later model with the semi-detailed cab. You see them rarely on eBay, and they are pricey for what they are. It is a handsome HO loco, however, and never fails to draw interested HO folks to the layout since you just don't see them often.

Mike Kroeker
[e-mail]

[railman]

Thanks everybody for the help. Although I didn't end up getting the F-7 (for the present, of course) I did find a nice set of passenger cars. One thing at a time, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Occording to my friend Dan Welch who is an avid Milwaukee Road modeler, the Rivorossi F-7 Baltic as far as the boiler is concerned has the correct basic shape, But lacks most of the detail that was there. Also he stated that when he purchased his, it came with a NYC Hudson style tender which is incorrect for this locomotive. He States that the Tender from a Rivorossi Berkshire while still not an exact match is very close to the correct shape. Dan also states that you will need the Tender trucks from a Rivorossi 4-6-2 if you want the correct trucks as well. One has to think since Rivorossi has all the correct parts why they couldn't get them combined in the right fashion, But then again. Its been my understanding that until they were taken over by walthers they did not have a high reputation.

Given the mixing and matching involved, i reccomend you definatly work the second hand market if you want to do the work of making it semi-accurate. Also given the fact that parts from at least three locos are involved. You may come out ahead in the end buying a Brass one.

James

[railman]

sorry if I called something the wrong name...you all know what I meant. Rivarossi. called it a hudson, even if it was a "Baltic., to my memory. We still haven't nailed down a picture, but this is very interesting information.

[orsonroy]

There's a brass Mikwaukee Hudson on Ebay right now. $159 and 12 hours to go for the auction. It'll probably go for no more than $225 (no original box, but a great paint job), so it's a VERY attractive alternative to a POS Rivarossi model (unless you REALLY want the streamlined Milwaukee engine. In that case, I'd suggest adding the Riv boiler to a BLI chassis, which runs lightyears better than any Riv engine could hope for!)

Do a search on Ebay in HO trains, for "4-6-4". The Brass hudson will pop right up.

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CNJ831

railman - There have been two versions of the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha done by Rivarossi over the years. The first was produced back in the 1950's. Intact examples (there was a tendency for the shells to crack) are extremely rare and command a very high price.

Rivarossi also offered a Milwaukee Road class F7 shrouded Hiawatha Hudson in the mid 1990's and it seemed to be at least a fair representation of the engine to a non-Milwaukee-fan like me.

I know that it was illustrated in the 1996 Walthers. Anyone with specific knowledge of Hiawatha's could check there and advise railman.

CNJ831

Actually, the 1950's RIvarossi model was of the 4-4-2's, not the streamlined Baltics.

As someone else said, pedantry rules.

Andre

[AltonFan]

The Milwaukee Road never owned a Hudson. They called their 4-6-4s Baltics.

Pedantry rules!

[Anonymous]

Take a round trip over on www.ebay.com Toys & Hobbies, Model RR trains, HO, Rivarossi.

Then a used one with a posted picture should give you an idea. Just keep on checking ebay listings.

[railman]

that would be the one I'm thinking of...and I don't have a 1996 catalog. Anyone?

[CNJ831]

railman - There have been two versions of the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha done by Rivarossi over the years. The first was produced back in the 1950's. Intact examples (there was a tendency for the shells to crack) are extremely rare and command a very high price.

Rivarossi also offered a Milwaukee Road class F7 shrouded Hiawatha Hudson in the mid 1990's and it seemed to be at least a fair representation of the engine to a non-Milwaukee-fan like me.

I know that it was illustrated in the 1996 Walthers. Anyone with specific knowledge of Hiawatha's could check there and advise railman.

CNJ831

[railman]

I just seem to recall streamlined hudsons...maybe I'm wrong on this.

[Anonymous]

I don't see any Rivarossi Milwaukee Hudsons listed in the Modelexpo 1997 catalog or in Trainworld's 1997 ads.
They do list heavy pacifics.

[railman]

Say forums,

For many years I've wondered what the Milwaukee Road hudsons look like, I've had a long dry spell (forever) on what they look like, and I'm not going to spend money on something I've never seen.
I know that HO models are hard to find, but does anyone have a description/ picture of it? Does it actually look like the real Hiawatha steamer?

Thanks.