Quality of IHC Diesels(Yet more questions.......)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by simon1966

Funny thing. My Athearn BB SD9's (i have 2) are arguably my worst running locomotives. I have a really hard time keeping them on the track. I have replaced the wheels (NW shortime Nickel silver) and all the wheels are in guage. I find that the trucks just don't seem to pivot very well. I guess I have a couple of tight curves, but these are the only locos that I have that consistently derail.

How tight is tight? 18" Curves, there what i got, and what i gotta lice with till i get my new shed built.

Alexander

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I don't have an SD9, but I do have a couple of SD40-2's that are very picky about tight curves and they take 18" radius very well. They will however derail on flex track curves of 17" radius. I'm sure the SD9 will too. It looks like they have the same drive unit as the SD40-2. A note since this was posted. I now have an SD9 and have no problems with it on 18" radius.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeffrey-wimberly

I don't have an SD9, but I do have a couple of SD-2's that are very picky about tight curves and they take 18" radius very well. They will however derail on flex track curves of 17" radius. I'm sure the SD9 will too. It looks like they have the same drive unit as the SD40-2

Do you mean that they don't take 18 1n curves well? you said that they take 18' curves very well??

What is the LRV trolley like? Any good?

[msowsun]

P1K and P2K do not have the same drives. Some of them have very similar trucks, but the motors are very different. The P1K's I have have a fully enclosed can motor, while the P2K's have an Athearn style motor that exposes the brushes and commutator.

[Paul3]

msowsun,
Not all P2K's have open frame motors. Have you looked inside them all? The old P2K's (the BL2's, the FA-2's, the GP18's, etc.) all have "Athearn"-looking motors, but the rest of the P2K line is a bit of scatter shot of drives and motor designs. Look at the S-1's, look at the PA-1's, etc.

Paul A. Cutler III
*****************
Weather Or No Go New Haven
*****************

[msowsun]

I have only looked inside the the ones I have.... GP9's, GP7's, FA2's, FA1's and one E-8. All have the same Athearn style motor.

But my P2K SW-9 has a very different motor and drive. Which others are different?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

QUOTE: Originally posted by alexander13

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeffrey-wimberly

I don't have an SD9, but I do have a couple of SD-2's that are very picky about tight curves and they take 18" radius very well. They will however derail on flex track curves of 17" radius. I'm sure the SD9 will too. It looks like they have the same drive unit as the SD40-2

Do you mean that they don't take 18 1n curves well? you said that they take 18' curves very well??

What is the LRV trolley like? Any good?

I said they take 18" as in 18 inch radius, very well.

[Anonymous]

OK, i just had a misunderstanding

Alexander

[Anonymous]

OK, sorry to drag this back up bus what are the
Alco C415, Alco C628, EMD SD 35 like
Thanks
Alexander

[Darth Santa Fe]

I've got the C-628. It's mostly plastic, but there's a large weight in the fuel tank that makes it heavy enough for good traction. Mine runs as smooth as a Kato engine.[:D] I did a review of it a while ago. There's a link to it a couple pages back (first page?). There's also a link to a step-by-step process on how to slow them down to a realistic speed in the same post.[:D]

I also have a Model Power RS-2 with the same drive system as the C-415, and an AHM FP45 (recently added to the IHC line) with the same drive as the SD35. Both are very smooth and quiet, and I've had no trouble with the drives.[:D]

[WSOR 3801]

The Athearn GP38-2 is a good choice.

The Atlas Trainman GP38-2 would also be a good choice. It is a different style (later production) than the Athearn, may be important if you are trying to replicate a particular engine. Body is very nice, includes cab interior, but does not have much separately applied detail. This is okay -- less to break off, and easy to add to (grab irons, antennas, MU hoses, etc.) It has the same drive as the Master Series GP38-40, but more affordable ($80 MSRP instead of $130 MSRP). The Trainman engine is also DCC-ready. Pull the jumper and add the decoder into the 8-pin harness. Or, get a drop-in decoder from Atlas from the GP38-40.

Most 4-axle engines take 18" radius turns just fine. I would stay away from 6-axle motors with 18" radius. They should go around, but don't look good doing so.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

I've got the C-628. It's mostly plastic, but there's a large weight in the fuel tank that makes it heavy enough for good traction. Mine runs as smooth as a Kato engine.[:D] I did a review of it a while ago. There's a link to it a couple pages back (first page?). There's also a link to a step-by-step process on how to slow them down to a realistic speed in the same post.[:D]

I also have a Model Power RS-2 with the same drive system as the C-415, and an AHM FP45 (recently added to the IHC line) with the same drive as the SD35. Both are very smooth and quiet, and I've had no trouble with the drives.[:D]

Nice! I've got a brthday coming up, so yeah

[bogp40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Darth Santa Fe

QUOTE: Originally posted by alexander13

Hey, i need some sort of agreement here, should i a) buy an IHC diesel, b) Get a new bachmann or c) save up for a Athearn bb?

thankyou
alexander

The Athearn would most likely only be an extra $5, and will outlast the other two, but they're all good. If you want the best quality of the 3, then go for "c".[:D] You could also just buy the one you'd want most from any of them.[:D]

Athearn's newest BB kits have plastic railings that are easier to install than the old wire ones, which should take about 5-10 minutes off the time it takes to build it.

You couldn't kill an Athearn if you tried to. Well maybe with a fall from a 2nd story. Do yourself a favor and buy the Athearn. I had boxes of old/ some newer crap from IHC, Bachman, and Lifelike that I should have just thrown out, but gave it away.
Guarranteed, an Athearn BB bought today will still be working in 20 years. I had some Spectrum GP30s that didn't even make 20 min on the layout before noises or problems sent them back to the LHS.
Bob K.

[Anonymous]

The IHC diesels make great dead line locomotives and can be used to fill the diesel shops or back shops extremely well, since they don't have to run at all.

Sorry, that just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

So on one hand i have DSF saying that IHC isnt bad, and on the other hand 2 saying it is crap?
Who do i beleive
Remembering, i dont care about prototype that much

[Newyorkcentralfan]

Except for the C-415 all of their line is mirrored by other better regarded manufacturers.

Stewart/Bowser C-628
Atlas SD-24 and SD-35
Kato SD40
Athearn FP45

The IHC SD-40 in particular is really really bad model. If you want to model a burned out loco and you can get one cheap or free this is the one to use.

[Darth Santa Fe]

What is it that's so bad about IHC? I know their detail isn't the best, and most have plastic frames, but all of mine run great. It isn't really hard to add detail to the soft plastic. My C-628 now has a detailed front pilot, grab irons, and painted roof and side vents. I think it turned out pretty well.[:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Newyorkcentralfan

Except for the C-415 all of their line is mirrored by other better regarded manufacturers.

Stewart/Bowser C-628
Atlas SD-24 and SD-35
Kato SD40
Athearn FP45

The IHC SD-40 in particular is really really bad model. If you want to model a burned out loco and you can get one cheap or free this is the one to use.

I'm not asking whether there is better stuff out there, i'm asking if they are useable.
What are the prices of these "Other Better regarded Manufacturers?

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by alexander13

I'm not asking whether there is better stuff out there, i'm asking if they are useable.
What are the prices of these "Other Better regarded Manufacturers?

The prices of the better quality engines are about 2-5 times more than the IHC stuff.

Here are the retail prices of IHC compared to other manufacturers:

C-628
Stewart-$140
IHC-$35

SD24
Atlas-$125 (Silver)
IHC-$35

SD35
Atlas-$140
IHC-$66

SD40
Kato-$135
IHC-$30

FP45
Athearn-$50
IHC-$40

So IHC is the manufacturer to choose if you have a low budget (which you said you had earlier). If you go with IHC, they shouldn't fail you any time soon. Mine have never failed me![:D]

[Anonymous]

I'm not going to argue about IHC, but alex, buy an Athearn BB. I give you a 110% guaruntee it'll still be running in 20 years. I'm not sayin the IHC won't, but Athearn HAS been proven to last. IHC has hardly been around 20 years. BB doesn't have the most detail, but is durable. I've got 4 (possibly a few more comin soon) and the oldest is about 20 years old and runs like new. (it's older than me, lol) It's temporarily down because I dropped it and broke a clip on the front truck but I'm gonna get new trucks from Athearn sometime.