Re: (erielack) Erie E8 B UNits

[The Jordans <jjordan_@_blast.net>]

Jon & all concerned-

The Erie and the DL&W and the EL NEVER, EVER had E8B units.

And while we are on the subject, comments have to be made on certain 
manufacturers.  As a hobby dealer, I have just come to learn that the 
following craziness exists:

#1.  The first Rivarossi passenger cars and engines were marketed by 
American Hobby Manufacturers (AHM) in the USA.  These were the cars 
with the really oversized crappy wheels and poorly rolling models.

#2.  AHM went out of business years ago.  We believe "belly-up", Chapter 
11 bankrupcy.

#3.  A new company, International Hobby Corporation (IHC), by the way 
operating out the old AHM distribution center, started handling the 
Rivarossi distribution in the USA. The entire line was revised and the 
"new" cars had interiors and much better wheelsets.

#4.  Apparently IHC had some problem with Rivarossi and lost the 
distributorship of their line.  The line was then distributed by Model 
Expo, Inc. in Florida for the entire USA.

#5. After two years of being the sole distributor for Rivarossi in the 
USA, Model Expo, Inc. had a problem with Rivarossi and stopped doing 
business with them and we hear they sent all their unsold stock back to 
them in Italy.

#6. International Hobby Corporation is now manufacturing a line of 
passenger cars, steam engines and a few diesels that are essentially 
the Rivarossi models.  They claim they have upgraded the entire model 
line and reduced the retail prices by 20 to 40% from the old Rivarossi 
prices for approximately the same models.  The Rivarossi line is, as 
far we can find out, no longer distributed in the USA by anybody.

We have had (in the store) the Rivarossi line of original models, saw 
the poor quality and promptly dropped them from our shelves.

Within the last two years, we have had the newly revised Rivarossi models, 
which by the way are of better quality, but they still didn't quite come 
up to today's high plastic standards. The biggest complaints are that
the models don't reflect the true prototype streamline cars without 
some revisions being applied to them and the colors are off on the 
Erie gray green as well as car names don't appear on the Roomette and 
the tail car doesn't quite "make it" without major revisions.  (See:
http://TrainNut.Railfan.net/ModelingEL/Modeling1.htm
third article down is on how to revise this car.)

Very recently International Hobby Corporation (IHC) has produced it's 
own sets of cars for Erie, Lackawanna & Erie Lackawanna and others.  
We just ordered a few to see what they look like and how they represent 
their prototype counterpart.  We will keep you informed on our opinion.  
The first thing we noticed is that they backordered items they have 
very heavily advertised in the model magazines, leaving us extremely 
suspicious of their availability and how much they really have in 
production.

If you have occasion to talk to either IHC or Model Expo, Inc., both 
companies seem to have a real attitude when you mention Rivarossi 
or try to order the models by using the "old" Rivarossi model numbers.
Our first order was rejected by IHC in total because we put "RIV" in front 
of IHC new model numbers with a almost unintelligible and slightly nasty 
letter from their sales manager that they no longer handle any
Rivarossi.  If they had really looked over the order and noticed we 
used their model numbers and not Rivarossi's. They were so busy 
"hating" Rivarossi, they almost lost an order.  Not a good start.

We will keep you advised as the models come in and we have a chance 
to review them.

- -Joe Jordan
20th Century Hobbies, Inc.







At 09:04 PM 4/30/01 -0700, JonandBevLiles wrote:
>Hi!
>In the May issue of Model Railroader, on page 100, IHC is advertising E8
>'B' units and one of the roads offered is Erie (in two-tone green).  I
>was under the impression that all Erie E8s were 'A' units.  Am I wrong?
>If there are 'B' units, what numbers would they be?
>Also, Stewart Hobbies is offering A616's in two road numbers for Erie.
>Has anyone seen a preproduction unit?  Have they fixed the color problem
>they had with the FT's?
>Thanks in advance for your replies.
>Jon (who can now proudly put ELHS # 3158 after his name!)
>
>
>

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