Hi - I’m tempted to buy one of those Atlas h16-44 locomotives, ho scale with dual decoder on ebay. A good-looking engine WITH dcc for maybe less than $60 sounds too good to be true, and if it sounds like that, it usually is… Does anyone here have experience with this engine? good, bad? How much does it pull? (on clean tracks!)
many thanks in advance,
Rik
I’d read the seller’s description very carefully – has it been ran on DCC or only DC; how much has it been ran; does it have cosmetic damage; etc. etc. The decoder may be burned out, or it may have other damage. Also check the seller’s feedback and rating. Is $60 a “Buy it Now” price or just the current high bid? The price may go up significantly before the bidding is over. E-Bay is definitely a “Buyer Beware” and “Read All the Fine Print” place to buy.
Overall, Atlas locomotives have a very good reputation, but they do occasionally produce a lemon, just like anyone else.
sorry i forgot to mention: they’re brand new, new in box, NIB, etc. So called grey market or parallel import. With Bachmann engines, I have good experiences with those grey-market products (4-8-2, 2-10-0, 2-8-0 etc all running great - though the 2-10-0 had faulty insulation, the axles shorting but a little tape did the trick)
I just wondered whether these Atlas H16-44’s (HO scale) have any issues as to their mechanical functioning.
Technically, they are not baby trainmasters. A trainmaster is an H16-66, not a H16-44 as said by Bachmann. Sorry about the nitpicking, but look at my username.
I have a pair of similar Atlas locos, and they are wonderful! I haven’t seen the H16-44s, but I’ve seen the trainmasters, and they are awesome!
Matthew
P.S. Edited to include baby in baby trainmasters
I have an Atlas H15-44 – same production run – and it is the best locomotive I own. $60 is an excellent price for the one with the dual decoder. They listed at around $140. I bought mine the day they hit the stores and paid around $120.
Matthew, the REAL correct model number for the F-M Trainmaster is
H-24-66. [:D]
Whoops, missed the “baby” in my post. I mean that the H16-66 is the baby trainmaster and not the H16-44. Thanks, rick.
Matthew
First the good news. Atlas H16-44s are fabulous smooth running great locomotives. I have two and love them.
The bad news: NIB on ebay isnt always true. I bought two NIB locos on ebay which were well use, had user modifications, grime and stain, beat up boxes. They guys are right when they say buyer beware.
I don’t know about this particular Atlas model, but I gotta tell ya, anything Atlas does is top of the line.
i have one in HO(and in N too![:D]), and its one of my best running HO engines.[^] although, ALL my atlas engines run GREAT! i HIGHLY recomend it.[^]
Dothinker,
I have both CNJ versions, the blue one and the green one. They are outstanding performers. I will add sound as soon as I have time.
As others have mentioned, check the sellers satisfaction, look at some of the comments. Personally ,and fortunately, I have not been ripped off on EBAY, but I am careful who I do business with.
Hope this is helpful, Chris
Drat! I thought Atlas had really come out with a Baby Trainmaster and I had missed the announcement.
Too bad…that would be pretty cool.
many thanks to all!