Hello all! A friend recently gave me one old(er) HO loco, to run her a little and give him a report about running quality. It is Rivarossi GG1, in blue AR livery (centenial?). Sadly, it does not have box, so no manufacturer #'s. Model is Made by Rivarossi, for AHM.
I would appreciate some info on the model, like: - when was she manufactured? - what price would it fetch on the used market? - is this livery genuine? - is the DCC conversion real posibillity, or is it not worthy? Thanks in advance!
It's a fantasy scheme as far as I know. Age, well it's hard to tell teh flange depth in the photos, but there are the oldest AHM locos by Rivarossi that have pizza cutter flanges that definitely won;t work on Code 83 rail, then there are later Rivarossi locos with flanges that, while deeper then NMRA RP25 specs, usually work ok on Code 83.
Edit: I stand corrected, it's a real paint scheme:
The paint scheme dates form 1969, the model is probably early 70's then. DCC is possible (when you get down to it, you can put DCC in anythign, it's the amount of work that varies). I've alwyas found Rivarossi locos to run smoothly although not particularly slow. It's a 3-pole 'pancake' type of motor, you just have to make sure it is completely isolated from the rails to be able to hook up a decoder.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Over the years there were several variations from the standard dark green color of most of the 135 engines. Probably the most famous were the five painted Tuscan red to haul the Congressional and Senator trains with one spare. Prior to that two were painted silver to match the stainless consists but the graphite and oil from the pantographs quickly discolored the silver and the scheme was rejected so fast that pictures are hard to come by. #4800, the original riveted G had a very unique bicentenial scheme applied. This particular paint scheme was done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad and pulled a special train from New York to Harrisburg on its way to Promontory Point for the celebration. The entire train was painted in this paint scheme and included the observation Mountain View formerly of the Broadway Limited. The whole thing looked to me like something Lionel would produce.
ThommoI would appreciate some info on the model, like: - when was she manufactured? - what price would it fetch on the used market? - is this livery genuine? - is the DCC conversion real posibillity, or is it not worthy? Thanks in advance!
It was probably made in the early to mid 70s. According to Tony Cook's HO Trains Resource, AHM sold them through the 70s and up to 1981, and then Rivarossi sold the GG-1 under their own name for a while. The manufacturer number is 5160-F.
I see them go between $30 and $60, depending on the condition and wether there's a box or not.
DCC is easy to add to Rivarossis. All that has to be done is to cut the grounding clip that's on one of the motor brushes, and isolate the light bulb (which is usually just snapped into another clip).
One thing I've found about most Rivarossi diesels (and the GG-1) is that they're very easy to adjust for pretty smooth running. All they really need is to make sure the gears turn freely, that their tires are good, and that the motor can also turn freely.
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One other thing. Both the GG1 and the E8 had a different motor than the steam engines. It is vertically mounted with a worm gear that engages the drive train in the trucks. It is also much more massive. more like a sawed off can motor. I have found them to be smooth starting high torque motors that have excellent control. Yes the G's will run like the proverbial bat out of **** but then most were geared for greater than 100 mph running. Controlling them and operating them slower on DC is easy and setting them up on DCC it should be fairly easy to control the top end speed. Since code 100 is the right size for PRR corridor service the flanges are of no concern to me. I have pulled 98 freight cars with a single Rivarossi G right out of the box walking away at 5 volts DC. That is pretty good for an early 70's vintage engine. I have never had one fail yet and I have 28 total for my clockers, blue ribbon fleet and freight service.
Thanks, guys! Great info!
In addition to the GG1, Rivarossi released their smooth-sided streamlined coach and streamlined observation car in this paint scheme. The cars tend to be harder to come by than the locomotive.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Darth Santa FeDCC is easy to add to Rivarossis. All that has to be done is to cut the grounding clip that's on one of the motor brushes, and isolate the light bulb (which is usually just snapped into another clip). One thing I've found about most Rivarossi diesels (and the GG-1) is that they're very easy to adjust for pretty smooth running. All they really need is to make sure the gears turn freely, that their tires are good, and that the motor can also turn freely.
One can add DCC to pretty much anything, except trees.
Darth, I've wondered about the running characteristics of Rivarossi diesels for a while. Sounds like they were good, so a U25C might be in store.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
The AHM-era diesels will certainly be lacking in detail compared to most newer offererings. And they did plenty of fantasy schemes - FM C-Liner in Reading yellow and green anyone? You find these on eBay, usually for cheap. Snag one of the incorrect ones that no one wants and repaint it.
PackerDarth, I've wondered about the running characteristics of Rivarossi diesels for a while. Sounds like they were good, so a U25C might be in store.
The U25C is good too, but the drive is quite a bit different from any other Rivarossis.http://hoseeker.net/AHMRivarossiassembly/ahmgeu251973pg2.jpgTuning it up is more complicated than the other diesels, but it can still be made into a very good runner. The only issue left in mine (which was a beaten to death junker) is some slop in the truck mounts, which allows it to wobble a lot. Others may not have this problem. With 4-axle drive and 4 traction tires, it's got enough power to pull 10,000 cars up a 45% grade.
ndbprr #4800, the original riveted G had a very unique bicentenial scheme applied. This particular paint scheme was done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad and pulled a special train from New York to Harrisburg on its way to Promontory Point for the celebration. .
#4800, the original riveted G had a very unique bicentenial scheme applied. This particular paint scheme was done to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the transcontinental railroad and pulled a special train from New York to Harrisburg on its way to Promontory Point for the celebration. .
4800 was not used on this train. The golden spike train left New York from Grand Central Terminal pulled by a third rail electric loco to Croton-Harmon, and NKP Berkshire 759 took it from there to Kansas City. On the return trip, the blue GG1 brought the train from Harrisburg to Penn Station. 4800 got it's bicentennial colors seven years later.
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
This American Railroads paint scheme was not for the 1976 bi-centennial of the USA but for the 1969 centennial of the Golden Spike - the first transcontinental railroad in the USA. I think the engine was painted up in 1968-69 to head up the first leg of a special train to Utah for the event.
In their day the AHM/Rivarossi GG1s were regarded as quiet and reliable runners.
Dave Nelson