(erielack) IHC C628 as EL #3616 and 3617, no longer a what if

[Hhaines_@_aol.com]

NOTE: This message had contained at least one image attachment.
To view or download the image(s), click on or cut and paste the following URL into your web browser and click/select the index or matching subject link.

http://www.railfan.net/lists/mplist.cgi?erielack-photo

el3617~1.jpg (27141 bytes)

IHC C628 EL3617

Dear list:

This review is NOT for nit pickers.  I know EL never had C-628s, and I 
support the manufacturers who really try to get accurate models.  But this 
one, folks, hit a memory.

The new IHC HO-scale C628 locomotive in Erie Lackawanna paint is out for all 
you ALCO and small-fingered EL fans and trainsetters (IHC23270 EL Road # 3617 
and the other is locomotive number is #3616.  Scan attached)

The only C628s I photographed on the EL and NYSW were D&H units on the Bergen 
County line and in Passaic Jct.  I have a beautiful HO Stewart Hobbies D&H 
C628 model to remember that day, and this IHC model scales the same size, so 
no demerits there.  Also both models ran fine out of the box, but I do not 
intend to make this a model-to-model comparison, except for clarification.

The IHC locomotive is more of a train set or young modeler model.  IHC used 
the loco road numbers from EL's SD45s, and one very special (to me) SD-45 
(3617), so I may change it.

What would EL have numbered C628s? They were ALCO's entrance into the high 
speed, high horsepower race with 2,750 HP. Would they have been 2700s or 
2800s?

I got one IHC C628 in EL to honor an old friend.  (The price of one Stewart 
C-628 would equate to a little over four of the IHCs.)  As for the memory, 
when I was a kid, a good railroad friend of mine was a true ALCO nut. You 
name it, EL RS units, C-424s, C425s, NYSW S-1s and RS-1s were the target of 
his photo films. ALCOs due or die. EL just had to get C628s or C630s. He was 
the one who hollered me out on a cold, dreary, damp, New Jersey Saturday 
morning to see the D&H unit.  Lousy photo weather, but the hot chocolate at 
the sandwich shop on Midland Ave, and listening to the crew before they left 
was quite thrilling and memorable. I also recall how emphatic he was that EL 
should buy more ALCOs, including C628s and C415s.  At the time, our reality 
of the world of locomotive manufacturers was very limited, mostly to what we 
liked for looks, noise, or smoke.  For arguments sake (and my loyalty to my 
first BIG Lionel loco), I would favor EMDs in these discussions. 

But that is past and he is long gone. No photos of him or what he shot. He 
would have liked an EL C628 or two.  And maybe one of those bigger ALCOs 
headed to the DL will have a similar paint scheme one of these days. But I 
need not wait, and the IHCs were less expensive that a 1:1 unit or its paint.

The IHC ALCO Century 628 (C628) model shell appears to be the same mold used 
by AHM/Rivarossi and MRC, with its emphatic (too deeply cut) ALCO sand fill 
notches, prominent ALCO cab, and over-zealous (lower openings too long) 
radiator section.  Actually, the radiator section looks like it came off a 
C-424 by looking at photos on page ALCO-256 in the Second Diesel Spotters 
Guide.

The whole shell reminds me of ALCO. The handrails are hard plastic, and scale 
to a few inches thicker than the ones on the Stewart model. The end rails are 
not correct for an EL unit, but again, this is a train set-class locomotive.  
The handrails are more kid-proof, and if the unit is running, I can't see the 
difference.  The trucks all have the roller bearings visible, and brake 
cylinders mounted high, like the photos in the Diesel Spotter's Guide. 

The attached photo did not scan the colors well-it came out too brown.  The 
yellow and maroon of the model match colors on the cover and some interior 
photos of DeYoung's Erie Lackawanna In Color Volume 4, the Early Years.  The 
colors do not match Accupaint colors.  Look at an Atlas Classic EL RS-3 in 
GMY to see an almost exact copy of the yellow and maroon band, with yellow 
lines this blind guy can appreciate.  (Paul or someone, how wide were the 
yellow lines on the locomotives because I think these are too wide?)  

The gray looks too warm to me-not blue enough.  However a photo on page 88 
and another 98 from the above mentioned DeYoung book show the color to be OK 
for former DLW F units painted in the EL GMY.  The cab number is in Gothic, 
and the Erie Lackawanna is a Roman or similar type Sans font.  It looks 
sharp, and as I said, not for nit pickers.

The IHC C628 model comes with horn hook couplers mounted on the trucks 
(Talgo-style). This allows the locomotive to take a train around 18-inch 
radius curves and through a paired Atlas No. 4 crossover without a problem, 
as I tested it. The truck-mounted couplers appear to be easily fitted with 
knuckle-type coupler (I prefer KDs) without too much trouble. The coupler 
could be removed to allow for a frame-mounted knuckle coupler with the rest 
of pilot built up below the coupler.  

IHC powered all twelve wheels of the C628 with a quiet, flywheel equipped can 
motor. (The setup reminds me of an Athearn model I like.)  Electrical pickup 
is from all twelve nickle silver wheels. The unit is about a half an ounce 
lighter than the Stewart unit, and there is space to add more weight.  I do 
not know how many cars it will pull because I ran out of cars at 27, doing a 
fair train-show speed at about 2/3rds throttle. The locomotive will go 
faster.  It seems to run about the same low and mid-throttle speeds as the 
Atlas Classic RS-3 mentioned above.  Slow continuous speed was 1.5 inches per 
minute, which will probably improve after it is broken in.  I will go over 
and test it at a friend's where there is more running room, meters, and about 
200 NMRA-weight cars. 

This will make a great locomotive to introduce young hands to model 
railroading, and in comes painted in a favorite road.  Grandkids can run it 
without worry on my part. I will also run it at our next modular show because 
most of the public just wants to see trains run, and I don't want a lot of 
small details to get lost in all the moving.  

If I think too hard about it, I might paint the roof black (as on later 
C425s), give it a new number in the proper series (whatever the lists "what 
ifs" theorize), and it will get knuckle couplers with metal shanks.  

That's my 1100+ words on it, with a memory to boot.  All in all, not a bad 
locomotive for the price, and well worth the memory.

Howard Haines
ELHS #1447

- --part1_d8.11e4a6dd.297223e0_boundary

------------------------------