I have two older Atlas/Rivarossi 4-6-2's. Both built in the mid to late seventies. I have read that these frames they were built on were junk. And I agree. Both of mine are splinterring apart. Does anyone know an easy fix? It seems that everthing else with these two engines are in good order. I have considered getting some brass barstock and milling new frames. If I ever find the time. So. My question is if it is worth the effort?:tb-err:
ZAMAC The problem was the alloy used to make the frames i have one of the same vintage and have experienced no problems i think it is more of a production date issue.I have seen many threads on how to repair with super glue and light sanding.
I'm lucky to have one with am MINT frame, it runs very well etc. The catch- it's a weak, light runner. It's smooth, yeah, but won't pull jack. I say give the JB weld a shot, but if that fails? Send 'em to the rip track and go get a model power unit for $50. Heck, to be honest I put a Spectrum tender on mine and I run it a lot, but those cookie cutter flanges make it very useles going forward.....
Well my two frames are crumbling as we speak. If I could find someone that makes new frames that would be great or I might just try my skills at milling brass. :tb-biggrin:
Thank you absnut! I had already got my 2-8-2's repaired the way this described it. But I really thought my Pacifics were hopeless.:tb-biggrin:
I have accumulated a passle of these locos over the years, the Pacific, Mikado, 0-8-0, and others, and once obtained, never sold them because of the potential of the faulty metal in the frames (early form of crude zamac). These metal frames warped, decomposed, bent, distorted, bound up wheels, stopped and burnt motors and so on and so on, and no matter how old or young they were, they were like a ticking bomb with no time set. I just had a Pacific I acquired in 1986 just go from a decent runner to a crumbling loco for absolutely no reason. I have been told on various boards that certain lubricants help along the process but nothing or no brand was specifically named. I still have about 6 or 7 of each left, from the eighties, but there is a problem resolved. When ConCor introduced the revised 0-8-0, the Heavy Pacific and Heavy Mikado in the very late eighties and through the nineties, ConCor evidently either took advantage of technical improvements, or if I remember Jim Conway right, he put an enormous pressure on Rivarsossi to improve the reliability and construction of the product before he started to market it under the ConCor/Rivarossi Brand. From the very late eighties, the metal looks more "kato", the locos have traction tires, have better worm gear connections, and most of all replaced their lousy can motor with Mashima can motors. This sort of explained the incredible increase in retail, but the improvements were not elaborated in any ad, so the resale value on these were very low, and often the dusty boxes of CC/R steamers were left on the shelf and sold off as sale items. I always liked the Rivarossi models since I am also a model car builder, and their Pocher line was the absolute elite in the world, and since my old HO days, I developed a deep admiration for Rivarossi engraving and proportion. There in my words they did a great job. If you should find a Rivarossi steamer in the ConCor box, or the bright shiny all red box, and the description and the loco inside are "heavy" versions, you stand a very good chance of securing a rather decent mechanism, that is excepting those sleazy characters who exchanged mechanisms before selling them. Unfortunately no way to tell, until after you paid for it, got it home, and saw it was the old mechanism pieced together with epoxy or other adhesive. This lack of communication and coding probably cost Rivarossi their company, as they are now long out of business, and the tooling is somewhere in no where land, and also cost ConCor quite some money, and good intentioned model railroaders who shelled out major retail bucks the lost on the resale. ConCor just offered these on special, (heavy Mikes with Vandy tenders) which I would perceive as very good, but not to the overall quality the same money would buy for other stuff. For example, if you look hard enough, you can still find a kato Mike on auction sites for under $100. But the ConCor Rivarossi mikes are less likely to decompose than the old light pacifics and mikes of old. It seems the worst offended of the bunch of Rivarossi steamers were the 0-8-0's, as a few years back a vendor named bob11111156 was selling these by the bushel baskets full, which meant if you could piece the working parts from the basket full, you could conceivably come up with maybe 10 or 20 locos for about $100 and 200 hours cannicalizing time. You can see the people who own Rivarossi steamers for the main part are like classic car lovers who love old MG's. There are so many better sports cars out there which look and perform better, but there is some sentimental value in these trains. For that reason and the one I stated above, I am keeping mine. After all they are easier to keep than trying to convince someone that this one is a "good one". (note: just before hitting the "add reply" button, I got out a newer good one versus the older one. To tell them apart, the good ones have traction tires, open frame sides to see the gear connection, an oblong shaped can motor (Rivarossi can motors are circular shaped), and most of all the metal surface is very smooth. The defective ones have grainy metal and rough edges, an indicator of the overall crudity of the composition. Just like an MG, if you own one, you really consider it a special addition to your fleet. Heck I just visited my old neighborhood in Ft Lauderdale, and in my melancholy state, I went home and ran a Rivarossi steamer and some old Atlas passenger cars to dedicate the memory. Sighhhhh, us old guys do get those feelings.......even for trains. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
NSN may have made a retro-frame for the Pacific but they would be pretty hard to find now-a-days. Perhaps the new owner of the NSN molds will make a few for all of us sentimental types. I still have one for an 0-8-0 and a 2-8-2 in my to-do pile.
Seems to me that if I can find a way to mill this out and make it work with a new brass frame, I may have a niche on a certain market.
I have several and never had a problem with a frame. Old Bachmann stuff.......thats a different story. If you are just wanting a challenge and cant stand the thought of parting with those old steamers then go for it! Old Atlas 2-8-2 and 4-6-2 with added Bachmann tender. Also wire handrails added.
