Rivarossi...

Though I have no engines from Rivarossi, I do have a number of cars, and If their engines follow on quality, then it should be pretty good quality, and pretty easy to work on, and maintain.

Passenger

i have to agree. I have several of their passenger cars, and they are excellent. I just won 3 in the hopes of winning. The loco too in a separate auctions, but another bid sniper out-sniped me in the last second. So now I have 3 engine-less UP passenger cars. I want to know what I'm bidding on next time I try to win the FEF.

Competition, eh?

Sooo... it would seem i have eBay competition!

Heh... kidding. Actually, I usually go for "Buy it Now" on eBay. It's rare I'll do an auction bid, and even then, it will be because it's a green Southern engine I really REALLY want.

Don't worry

I don't buy southern engines. I won't be too much competition. Hehe.

my want list includes;

the greyhound FEF

a Dreyfuss hudson

 The blue goose

empire state express

an f7

and a BLI T1 duplex

i may be able to afford some once school gets back in, and I begin tutoring again.

ah. I'm getting off topic. Back to the FEF!

ebay tecnnique--low bid

If there's something I want on an ebay auction, I'll sometimes put in a very low bid.  I don't expect to get it, buty if I do, it's CHEAP!  (I got the entire Roundhouse Shay promotional car set for 4-5 dollars each over time, new in the box, with shipping, doing this.)

If someone bids higher, I wait for something else to crop up.

I have bought from ebay

I have bought from ebay sellers but have a maximum price I will pay for an item, I bid no higher ever. Many times I will get the item. I am also out bid many times in some cases I see these items get bid to very high prices and I just chuckle to myself glad that I did not pay $50.00 dollars for a 10.00 item. Some folks get wrapped up in the can't loose it phase and pay way too much. Neat thing after you let them spend their money the items or similar items will show up at better prices, from someone else.

I once watched some H16-44s from Bachmann being bid up to prices in the mid 40s or 50s, for used units. Train world had them advertised at 29.95 or 19.95 new in the box at the same time. I don't remember the details as it was a while ago but I just looked and laughed,

Were off topic

We're getting off topic here. My op was about the FEF. If anyone has anything to share, let me know. Also, if you have one, tell me about it. Or if you want to sell it. Thanks.

Search

Google, Rivarossi FEF-3 4-8-4 review

There is stuff out there about this loco but I will let you find it.

Rich

I have.

I have. There isn't much out there, and I thought that the kind people on this forum could help me out. I can only find "how to fix" stuff. I am looking for something more comprehensive. Does anyone have one?

I have one

I have what I believe is the second run (perhaps third) its in a large red square box #5471.As for quality - certainly detail wise not as high as Genesis (have a FEF1, Challenger and also Big Boy in Genesis), but in terms of runinng quality its very quiet and hasn't given me any grief.

Mine is DCC ready and the decoder goes in under one of the hatchs/domes on the boiler fitted with Digitrax DH165ip (decoder on plug).

Cannot say much esle about it apart from its not a problem child for me...

HTH

Simon

Melbourne Australia

Not a review, but...

I found a video of it in a consist (the Rivarossi FEF-3 4-8-4 in UP livery) It isn't much, but it does show a very smooth runner.

I apologize for the Youtube Video not being embedded... the embedding has been disable by the user.

Off topic...

So... why aren't there more folks trying to be helpful? We have a teenager here that is into model trains (something we lament there isn't enough of) being respectful to folks, and asking for help, and very few are jumping at the chance?

I mean, I don't mean to be a kakfoygle here, but... be a mensch, maybe?

It would seem, this person isn't asking folks to do their homework for them or anything, but rather, asking for some personal experiences with the engine, because they are looking to buy it, and trust the people here to know their stuff, or at least have an opinion on that loco!

Support the next generation of model railroaders, that's what I say...

(and if you read this in a heavy Yiddish accent, it's because In was typing it in a heavy Yiddish accent... don't make me pull out the Jewish Mother Guilt™ here... I'll do it!)

I'm with Warflight

I'm with Warflight, we have a young modeler looking for some info on a specific model, lets help him out. I have no personal experience with Rivorossi but I know plenty do. I wish I had a unit to sell this young man for 60 bucks because I would surely do that. We need young folks in the hobby. After all, the more modelers there are the more products that will become available in the future and the better the prices will be.....We all win.

Thanks for reading

Loving life in Northern Colorado

Dale

It makes a difference

Rivarossi made trains for over 50 years.  On eBay you see all vintages.  Usually the age is a mystery unless there is a factory box.  The original  Rivarossi went bankrupt around 1998.  Most of the assets were purchased by Hornby.  They brought most of the engines in to the digital world.  Hornby has struggled as of late.  They make good products, but have had trouble keeping up with the latest features, sound, decoders etc.  They tend to be less detailed as well.  If the one your looking at falls in the Hornby era, it should be a good runner with a competitive current draw.  The older units the fed to be weak pullers (light) with more current draw than you want with DCC.

Forgot

I forgot to mention,

My layout is usually run on straight D.C. Power. I have two tracks, one can support DCC. The other is only an outer loop, so there's no need for it. I can switch over to DCC at any time.  I'm looking into the FEF as  a passenger engine. It doesn't need to pull much. Just about 4-6 lightweight passenger cars from IHC. My layout doesn't have any grades on it. Also, does anyone know the scale speed at maximum output? I've looked everywhere and I can't find any technical specifications. Thank you all for your kind words and support so far.

I have one of the older ones

I inherited it from a friend so I've no plans on selling. However, it is a decent model. You have to be aware of the pizza cutter flanges, not only needing code 100 but also watch out for frogs on turnouts. When it was running on my friends layout it did well. Not a real slow speed creeper but at speed worked smoothly and quietly. My experience of converting older Rivarossi to DCC is not good. Their older motors were 3 pole and needed lots of current to operate. I never got one to run well on DCC but I have read of others who have. I might have had a bad motor. The detail is pretty good for its time, you have to remember these were pretty much all that was available in plastic in the 70s. That made them affordable and popular. I'd keep an eye out on eBay and trainshows. Patience will get you there eventually. I'd say that your 22" radius would be a minimum for those beasts and even then you may run into trouble. Your trackwork will have to be smooth and even. When buying at trainshows, don't ignore broken units, you can probably do some repairs and get one going. A friend had a Rivarossi Challenger hit the floor once and we were able to get it looking and running well again. 

Hope these words are helpful in some way. Good luck in your search. 

thanks Mr. Greg

I may go for the second run because of the flanges and tracking. My trackwork is fine for my bachmann 4-8-4 Niagara  ($20 at a yard sale), but not the greatest by most MR standards. Doesn't sound too bad otherwise. Anyone have anything else to add about the second or latest runs? Thanks again to everyone. 

Not about the runs, but...

Just an FYI... ALL track can be DCC track... if you believe in yourself!

Seriously though... any track (even the dreaded steel track, which is just... rubbish) will support DCC.

Oh, and think about it this way... what if, some day, you get a wild hair to go and connect your outer loop with a crossover? Now you're looking at wanting to run two or more engines, and well... there you'll have it!

(my layout, which is amall, has a siding where I store extra engines... there are six engines altogether on my layout, and it's just a simple matter of pulling a new engine off of a siding, and changing what engines are pulling what!)

DCC and earlier posts

I see what you mean. I have a method of connecting a DCC controller to either track whenever I want. Anyway, I'll probably try for an FEF on D.C.  because it will come cheaper. I would also like to thank you for your earlier message and kind words along with dale. It's great to know that I can find support here and I really appreciate it. 

Glad to hear someone older than me will actually hear me out. (Kidding, of course)

Anyway, i hope I can find one, if anyone has anything else to add about the FEF it would be greatly appreciated.

No worries!

Dude... you're a teenager... into model railroading, AND you like steam?

That's like me, 40 years ago! (back then, the guys at the hobby shop said steam is on it's way out, and in ten years, nobody will make steam any more. That was 40 years ago, and it seems there is more steam being made today, than even then!)

DCC

Sounds like you have some experience with DCC. If not aware of it, here is a link to the TCS site and a Rivarossi 0-8-0 that might be similar to the loco you will get. This one has the vertical motor.

http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/Rivarossi/0-8-0/0-8-0.htm

I have some Bachmann steamers also. Good locos.

There is also a Bachmann HO forum for more info about their locos and parts.

Rich

Ha!

You're right about that! Ever since I was a young boy of about 3 I loved steam. I finally got a bachmann overland 4-8-4 that I wanted as a 10 year old, $30 on the Bay. (Birthday money, august birthday going into sophomore year, next year I'll be able to get to the hobby shop without having to beg my parents. haha!)The FEF is my next step up. I'll have to check Trainfest this year, maybe they'll have something!

p.s. Saw your photo fun post and just wanted to say that those photographs were absolutely stunning!

FEF

I wish you the best of luck in finding the U.P. FEF, I had to pay around $175.00 for a used Red Box one around 3 years ago, but I  had to have it, because of working for  the  U.P. railroad as an engineer, and I was fortunate enough to get a 100 mile ride on a train pulled by the U.P. 844 a few years ago. My red box model runs pretty well, but I operate it at the modular club layout, which in order to be a portable layout, has less than perfect track work, and small radius curves, so my steam models derail quite often on the club layout. There are other places to find used models now, like the HO scale swap meet website, some diligent Google searches will be needed. The last steam locomotive I saw sold on eBay for $60.00 was an old Roundhouse 2-8-0 Harriman RTR model, and that was a good price for a long out of production model. I seem to have a knack for finding the bargains,  so I will do some digging around on the Internet and see if there's an available FEF close to your price range. Jim 

Thanks again

I can't say this enough but, thanks all of you for your help and support. I wouldn't be opposed to paying close to $100 for one, but it would require some saving up prior to, maybe about 1-2 months. Anyhoo, a fixer-upper wouldn't be a bad idea because of the low price, and I could use some more experience servicing locos. My latest was a model power 4-6-2 that had a stuck motor, and horrid carbon buildup. If these aren't too bad to service I would take a crack at it. What do you guys think?