Rivirossi O scale locomotive kits

I have both of these and I kitbashed the 0-8-0 into a 2-8-0, converted it to three rail, and put in a larger can motor.  Great detail on these kits - especially considering when they were made.

You did a nice job on yours.

John

You did a terrific job on the 0-8-0.

Great looking locomotives, I never realized they were into O-scale at all.

There were release as DC 2 rail O. I have the HO version. I was looking at buying one but to convert it to 3 rail, AC, and command would be a tough thing to do...

Yep, I suspect that making it three rail would be complex, at least from other attempts I've seen.  Too bad, they do look great.

I still have the 0-8-0 model I built. Never powered it though. I believe they also offered a General type model as well.

I have the 0-8-0 sitting in its box in my office as I type this. Never had the chance to get around to building it...

A long time ago I bought this RTR version for $50.00 and a friend of mine somehow took a old Weaver hopper and put a Kline truck under it with a pickup roller and got it to run around a loop of three rail track with a HO power pack.

They offered 2 American class 4-4-0 engines - Genoa and Reno.

There are two 0-8-0 kits and a 0-8-0 motorizing kit on eBay now. Plug Rivirossi kits into their search engine.

I just did that, no hits.  However Rivirossi kit yields three hits.

I guess you didn't see my post above.  I did it and it wasn't too difficult.  I mounted a pick up roller under the booster truck (that took a little cutting & trimming), and replaced the rear truck with one that had a roller.  I fit the electronics into the tender.  The biggest problem was the original motor.  It was basically an HO motor and was too small to pull much without getting hot.  I replaced that with a can motor from a Lionel baby Hudson and it worked much better. 

At one time Locomotive Workshop offered a complete metal chassis with motor for the kit, but those haven't been available for many years.

John

I tried to build the  0 8 0 years ago. I was in the Army stationed in Germany at the time. My kit was missing a part of the running gear and I never finished it. I plan to use the running gear and boiler for a junk scene in the area of the roundhouse on the layout. If I recall, the kit only cost $12. I think I ordered it from Standard Hobbies who use to advertise in Model Railroader.

Richard

As much as I might also be interested in at least the 4-4-0 engines (that 0-8-0 has limited appeal; limited prototype = kit bashing use only), the near overwhelming rejection of plastic vs diecast (or brass) for engines as exemplified by such discussions on this very forum tends to indicate to me this would appeal at best to a very limited market.  But, I'd like to be proven wrong,

this would appeal at best to a very limited market.  But, I'd like to be proven wrong

Yea....I know I am among the few that would like to see them back. But as a plastic modeler too......I don't have the plastic phobia that runs in 3-rail train hobbyist.

Bruce

Back in the late 70s there was a dept store in New England called "Two Guys." I went in there one fall day and they had a display of 0-8-0 kits on sale for $6.00 each (normal retail in those days was around $25. Such a deal! I bought two of them and had fun building them. I should have bought 50 of them considering the price they are bringing on ebay.

Since that time I have picked up a couple of Casy Jones and two 4-4-0 Genoas. The Genoas are really nice scale sized locomotives. One is still an unbuilt kit; the other is built up and destined to be a flat car load someday.

They were fun kits to built; I don't what they'd be like as operating engines; too light, I'd think, but they're great for yard/roundhouse display. And the price was right back in the '70s!

Fred Dole