dabbling in N scale some questions

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

well we have ventured into the N scale cave and have one real question and some experiences to share

first I note as I have acquired some micro scale rolling stock that they come with Plastic wheels < that said they look and roll great but others are using metal wheels (atlas etc. on N scale ) is it necessary to change out these plastic wheels ?

I change all wheels in HO but don’t care for the added Noise and cant help but wonder if really necessary.

I bought (10) loco’s so far (EXXX) pvt party so called NEW to get a feel of this scale coming from G,HO now N

(3) atlas new/old stock one dead on arrival, bad plastic/cracked u joints,super glue fix (note my first tear down ,not as bad as I thought, magnifiers a must )

(1) hobby shop new athearn fp45 w/tsunami (online shipped) , nice but dead on arrival and broken steps , athearn was very helpful, was dead due to dcc board slipping in shipping easy fix , the steps was a nother issue NO parts but with optic magnifier was able to glue back those tiny Lil pieces, I’m still in shock. sounds great

last was (1) intermountian , again dead on arrival , again a loose lite board easy fix ,looks great and runs decent .

oh and not a fare comparison as these were mostly EXXX ,but only my limited experiance’s

well thats it , gained a Lil experience here , and am in process of opening a small store in my area for my 32 year old autistic son to run and n scale is the main product line and Kato well be tops followed by others, if we do this I want everything to run out of the box, customer service/satisfaction is a MUST … thanks Jerry

2

Plastic wheels tend to pick up a lot gunk from the rails (in any scale) the metal wheels will allow your locos to pull a few more cars.

There may be better brands than KATO but I seriously doubt it.Most ATLAS and Athearn are pretty decent runners The newer Bachmann are good runners too.

3

I’ll post what I’ve garnered about N since my inception to the hobby in 2012.

4

People LIE. Most of the things I purchased as new in box from that auction site were probably fairly new or used in box. But I never had one dead on arrival. Original light boards or decoder boards do move around a little and lose contact with the frame. A little solder on the mounting tabs solves that problem. Plastic wheels are OK, no need to rush out and replace them. If you want to replace them do it as your budget allows. I like the noise and it lets me know the train is still moving. I do like the clickety clack of wheels hitting rail joints so I take a small triangle file and make a V grove at joints where I usually stand when i’m running trains to hear that sound. Several times I have bought cars on line as new only to find an Accumate truck/ coupler at one end and a Micro- Trains set at the other end. Don’t give up on N. It’s just as good as HO.

5

A few comments from an old time N scale modeler.

  1. Take the Athearn FP45 back to the hobby shop since it was not working. And test all locos before purchase.

  2. Kato are great runners and pull very well. Atlas and Fox valley Models look great and run very well.

  3. Check all rolling stock for broken steps, etc before purchase.

  4. I use the Atlas metal wheels on all of my rolling stock. Fox Valley and Micro Trains all make metal wheel sets that you can use to replace the plastic wheels on you cars.

Ira

6

thanks guys, I hope I wasn’t “ragging” on the products, just pointing MY first experiences .

The Athearn and ALL were shipped, the issues occurred as a result of such(bad packing ) in my opinion . I have NO supplier/brick n mortar in my area. add the hobby supply I bought the athearn was ready to refund BUT the units are outaproduction so no exchange, so I fixed it cause "its one nice lookin, sounding, running SANTA FE FLEET.and it was on clearnce price wise

AGAIN sorry if I sound like I’m complaining I REALLY am impressed with this scale , my first Katos “I’m sold” my first micro trains VERY “pleasing to the eye”.

and the loose boards is just a inherent to the design (split frame)press fit from my perspective. I love my P2K HO locos but I know/expect gear and grease replacement first thing and I would not hesitate to buy one. Its all a learning curve.

Oh and still not convinced on the need to change out these Lil wheels (plastic) .

Jerr PS spookshow.com was a major HELP as all my issues were discussed on the site , the reveiws and fixs were spot on