|
|
 Posted - August 02 2008 : 11:27:02 AM
|
There's precious little information on the web about the history of Rivarossi, and the only one that seemed to have any info at all was completely in Italian. It's called Rivarossi Memory, and it's finally been translated. It includes an interesting interview with the founder, Alessandro Rossi.
/tyco/forum/uploaded/NickelPlate759/Alessandro%20Rivarossi.jpg
http://www.rivarossi-memory.it/ENGLISH_VERSION/index_Eng.htm
The Tyco Depot
Edited by - NickelPlate759 on September 07 2008 3:57:41 PM
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 12:00:13 PM
|
Wow, thanks for the link. I've always liked Rivarossi locos, we called them "Poor Man's Brass"
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 12:54:59 PM
|
They look great on your layout Shaygetz, even with the pizza cutters. I have the Y6b too. I grew up on these locos, so they hold a special place in my memory, more so than Tyco. Their die work was definitely the best for the time. Their gearing was also very well machined.
Most of the site is still in Italian, but you can use Google to do some really bad translations. [:)] Here's a page showing the closed factory.
http://www.rivarossi-memory.it/Riva_Stabilimento.htm
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 1:03:55 PM
|
| hi NickelPlate759,there is an ebayer in italy an ex employee,who when it shut,got hold of thousands and i do mean thousands of the red boxes,for most items produced,and all labels,been selling since closure and still going strong,makes you wonder how many spares etc are kicking around in italy ken
|
Country:  United Kingdom ~
Posts: 8294 ~
Member Since: September 28 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 20 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 2:00:17 PM
|
| Thanks, Nelson. Rivarossi has been in my modeling memories since 1968 when my dad bought a 4-4-0 Genoa for running around the Christmas tree. Like you, they have much closer hobby ties to me than Tyco.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 4:46:08 PM
|
Hey SG & NP:
Which do you think are the best of the bunch in the RRosi Steamer line? Y6B? How's the Cab forward? Are they all show or stong units mechanically?
Thanks,
Gareth
|
Country:  Canada ~
Posts: 4200 ~
Member Since: January 08 2006 ~
Last Visit: November 09 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 5:02:15 PM
|
quote:Hey SG & NP:
Which do you think are the best of the bunch in the RRosi Steamer line? Y6B? How's the Cab forward? Are they all show or stong units mechanically?
Thanks,
Gareth
Originally posted by romcat - August 02 2008 : 4:46:08 PM
|
The Cab Forward was the weakest in my fleet but, after I added weight, it could handle 25 cars up a 1.75% grade. The others were pretty strong right out of the gate. If they could only pull their own weight I'd still enjoy them, they are engineering marvels designed to take 18" radius curves. Nobody designs for the little guy like Rossi did nowadays.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 5:16:55 PM
|
hi guy,has anyone tried the hornby rivarossis ken
http://www.hornby-usa.com/index.php?CURRENT_PAGE_ID=131
|
|
Country: United Kingdom ~
Posts: 8294 ~
Member Since: September 28 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 20 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 02 2008 : 5:39:20 PM
|
hi gareth what you think of this rivarossi,and its motorised ken
Edited by - catfordken on August 02 2008 5:40:15 PM
|
|
Country: United Kingdom ~
Posts: 8294 ~
Member Since: September 28 2006 ~
Last Visit: October 20 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
 Posted - August 02 2008 : 5:50:30 PM
|
Hey Ken:
I think that staring at that could cause long term mental health issues!
[:D] [:D] [:D]
-Gareth
Edited by - romcat on August 02 2008 5:50:56 PM
|
|
Country: Canada ~
Posts: 4200 ~
Member Since: January 08 2006 ~
Last Visit: November 09 2021
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - August 03 2008 : 02:06:01 AM
|
Gareth,
The Allegheny is Rivarossi's crown jewel, and Hornby has improved a few things. They added sound, tho a friend on another forum was disappointed with the sounds Hornby chose. That's a high-end loco, but I've never heard any serious complaints about it.
The Red Box locos from the 90's that Ken mentioned were revised with RP25 blackened wheels and can motors in the boilers, and run very well. I have the revised Big Boy, and it runs beautifully and can pull stumps. The only red box to avoid is the Heavy Pacific - there's a gear mounted on a plastic pin in the gearbox that always shears off and leaves you with a nice static model. NWSL supposedly has a fix for it.
I've heard reports that in the last few years of operation they eliminated electrical pickup on the lead and trailing trucks on their Big Boys and Challengers, making them poor performers. My Big Boy is from '92, the first run of the revised model.
The older versions don't run as smoothly, since they have 3-pole motors, but they're all very solid mechanically. Some of them from the sixties had ball bearing motors that were very smooth. OTOH, the square motors with bronze bearings could be extremely noisy (that's the same motor that was in the Tyco/RR Alco). I just saw an 0-4-0 Dockside MIB on eBay go for $71! For that matter, I can't believe what the old Big Boys are going for.
Ken, it makes me wonder just how many loco that little factory in Como churned out over the years, period. It must be astronomical. I know two former AHM/IHC employees who have the largest parts collection in the world. The stuff they talk about would make a lot of guys cry. They say they have Rivarossi stuff no one knows was ever produced.
They told me a funny story about the Rivarossi Bible they had at AHM that converted the thousands of RR part numbers into AHM numbers. It ended up soaked by a leak in their roof, so my friend set it out to dry overnight. When he came in the next day, he asked someone where it was, and the doofus said he threw it out because it was wet. It was the only one in existence. [:o] [Oops!]
Saygetz, it sounds like those older RR's are just suffering from hardened traction tires. They should pull like heck with some decent replacements. I replace them anyway, because most RR tires were uneven and made their locos look tipsy.
The Tyco Depot
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3927 ~
Member Since: June 20 2007 ~
Last Visit: November 19 2015
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
