Q: Model Expo, Inc. and N Arnold Pass. Cars?
Ron Stewart
Over the weekend, I received a catalog from a company named Model Expo,
Inc., located in Tobyhanna, PA. This catalog included (p. 74-5) a listing
"Rivarossi/Arnold" products (Alco S-2, GG1, and passenger cars) -- all N
scale. A couple of quick questions:
(1) Has anybody out there on the newsgroup dealt with this company in the
recent past? Are the reputable? I would like to here about positive or
negative experiences?
(2) Is anyone familiar with the passenger cars made by Rivarossi/Arnold
that are listed in this ad? They list 1920's heavyweights, 1930's smooth-
sides, and 1940 corrugateds. I am particularly interested in the heavy-
weights. Are they decent looking? Details? How do they run? The price
seems to be OK to me if they are decent models (list price shown is $80,
"sale" price of $45 for three car sets).
Any help will be greatly appreciated...
--
Ron Stewart
Software Engineer, Computer Simulation & Analysis, Idaho Falls, ID
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Member -- HTML Writers Guild | What is written without
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Alan Winston
Ron Stewart wrote:
> ...
> (2) Is anyone familiar with the passenger cars made by Rivarossi/Arnold
> that are listed in this ad? They list 1920's heavyweights, 1930's smooth-
> sides, and 1940 corrugateds. I am particularly interested in the heavy-
> weights. Are they decent looking? Details? How do they run? The price
> seems to be OK to me if they are decent models (list price shown is $80,
> "sale" price of $45 for three car sets).
Arnold was one of the original suppliers of N scale, with a good
reputation, though their US prototype offerings tended not to be among
their best. Rivarossi is an Italian model company of long standing and
variable fortunes. Rivarossi bought Arnold about a year ago and has
apparently combined production of both lines at the Arnold factory in
Germany.
The heavyweights and smoothsides are the Rivarossi models that have been
available for many years from many sources. They are quite acceptable
models, and the few I've seen from the new production arrangement seem
to have good paint and lettering. They are easily worth $12-16 per car.
Unfortunately, the cars are only available in mixed sets of three, and
for many of us the three cars chosen for the sets include only two that
we want. They are not, and never will be, worth $80 a set, and I will be
amazed if they ever actually sell at that fantasy price. If they
represented any significant market segment, many state attorney general
offices would be very interested in this pricing scheme.
The corrugateds are, I believe, the old Arnold shortened cars. See a
thread elsewhere in this newsgroup about Athearn HO passenger cars and
shortened models. One of the variety of reasons for many of us choosing
N over the bigger scales is being able to avoid things like shortened
cars.
Alan Winston
awin...@scn.org
Tilman Sporkert
Alan Winston <awin...@scn.org> writes:
> Arnold was one of the original suppliers of N scale, with a good
Arnold was *the* original supplier of N scale. They invented it. At that
time, the line was called "Rapido". Over time, they changed to "Arnold Rapiod",
and then dropped the Rapido alltogether. I used to have a book from them that
explained that they called it "N" because the track width is 9mm. The number
9 starts with the letter n in many languages - neun (German), nine (English),
neuf (French)...
> The corrugateds are, I believe, the old Arnold shortened cars. See a
> thread elsewhere in this newsgroup about Athearn HO passenger cars and
> shortened models. One of the variety of reasons for many of us choosing
> N over the bigger scales is being able to avoid things like shortened
> cars.
Arnold Rapido initially produced all standard-length 4-axle passenger cars
in shortened versions only. They produced them for a long time, later adding
models of other passenger cars in standard size, but keeping the short ones.
Minitrix also started out with shortened passenger cars. By the time
Fleischmann introduced their N line ("piccolo"), the trend was clear, and they
started with standard length passenger cars right away.
--
Tilman Sporkert Active Software, Inc. til...@activesw.com
Anything stated above is just my opinion, not an offical statement of
Active Softare, Inc.
Ken Armstrong, MD
I have no experience with Model Expo so cannot comment. Would be
interested in your responses. I have not heard anything bad.
I do have two of the Arnold Amtrak "shorty" passenger cars. They are not
prototypical size but are wll made and look good. They run beautifully
and will stay on the track under almost any conditions. I find them
great for shows and on track with narrow radii.
Alan Winston
Tilman Sporkert wrote:
>
> Alan Winston <awin...@scn.org> writes:
>
> > Arnold was one of the original suppliers of N scale, with a good
>
> Arnold was *the* original supplier of N scale. They invented it.
I think "named it" reflects the case better than "invented it." There
were also OOO suppliers such as Lone Star, but I don't remember if any
of them were 1:160. I believe 1:152 and 1:148 were also used. Of course
the 1:160 had more to do with the track gauge than the scale of the
models, which was loose at best. Arnold has long been the oldest
SURVIVING vendor in this size range, so of course they have rewritten
history to their advantage.
The original work in those sizes was done by individual scratchbuilders
in the late Fifties, not by manufacturers in the Sixties, so it is the
former that deserve the credit for inventing, not the latter. I'm not
inclined to put the credit elsewhere just because I've forgotten those
names.
Alan Winston