I own a Proto 2000 E8…I’d like to get an A-B-B-A set of FM Erie Builts. I haven’t ben able to locate them in brass but Modern plastic diesels have gotten very detailed. So tell me about Proto 1000 versus 2000.
Thanks and Happy New Year!
I believe the difference is what quality workship is put into the model, maybe how high and quality the detail is. Bachmann put out their 2-8-4 berk and its only Proto 1000 but they prolly skimped a bit on various details, but the engine is hot rod nice. I’d buy it over an old Rivarrossi anyday.
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I have both. I don’t see a lot of difference.
I have Proto 2000 E8 and E6 and the Proto 1000 Eire Builts. They are not appropriate for my modeling era (1981), but I had to have them in the KCS livery. I have a KCS Southern Belle passenger train which I run just for fun; and an over abundance of passenger motive power including 2 E8; 2 E6 and an ABA set of the Eire Builts. They all run great. The PK2 have more detail than the PK1. I have Digitrax DCC on my layout so I can run them as DC units because I don’t use them for operating sessions. I did put DCC decoders in the Eire Builts which is easy now because several suppliers make DCC decoders which you just change out the Proto Circuit Board. If you want them to run on the layout they are good locomotives and upgrading the detail is an easy fix.
JIM
Proto 1000 was Life Likes lower cost, low detail brand that was aimed at budget model railroaders. I’m only aware of two types of diesels offered in the Proto 2000 line: EMD F3AB units and Alco RS-2. Unless there is something else that I didn’t know of, the choices are limited. I only looked at the Proto 1000 F3’s, but never bought any because the phase is wrong for my RR - Rio Grande. The shells basically look almost as good as Stewart F units but with molded on grab irons etc, and not seperate detail parts. There are very nice for low cost diesels and reportedly have similar mechanisms as the Proto 2000 line, which covers many more choices with factory applied details: GP7’s, GP9’s, SD7’s, SD9’s,SW1200’s, GP20’s, GP30’s, GP38’s GP60’s, SD50’s SD60’s, SD45’s, BL2’s, PA’s, FA’s etc etc.
Most Proto 1000 locos are budget models, so they tend to have molded-on grabs and are not always accurate for every road name. The C-liner, though, has a set of grabs you can add. The Proto 1000 drives, however, are very good, so they may be worth detailing. I’ve scraped the cast on grabs off some F3s and redetailed them for the Frisco.
The Proto 1000 Erie-Builts have molded-on grabs. The details are a little bare, but you can add the details specific to your road (probably the horn).
The trucks are the same as the P2K Alco PA-1 trucks, so they are not quite accurate for an Erie-Built.
Don Strack has some information on the prototype and a review of the P1K model from a UP perspective:
Trainworld has had some excellent deals on Erie-Builts; I bought several for $14.95 just for parts.
Thanks folks, much appreciated.
As far as plastic goes what are the “high-end” high detail product lines I should check out?
The Proto 2000’s are the high detail line from lifelike the 1000’s are a lessor detailed line ,but have the same solid drive trains. Similar to Atlas’s regular line the gold and silver lines ,and their just as good looking but lessor detailed trainman line.There is quite a bit of choice in Proto’s 1000 line as well, F3’s and now F7’s in A and B units. They’ve done RS2-'s and RSC-2’s,they’ve done the C-linners in both the A and B versions as well as the five axle passenger A’s.A and B unit’s in the Erie builts,lifelike released to Canada only the Canadian only prototype RS10’s and 18’s in what are billed as proto 1000’s but they are a detail level on par with the proto 2000 line with full freestanding details.Other high detailed diesel manufacturers to look at would be Kato and Stewart and Athearn Genesis line
I’d like to clarify something from the above post quote. The F3’s are from the Proto 1000 line but the F7’s are from the Proto 2000 line. The difference between the F7s and the F3’s is night and day. The F7’s possibly might be the best and most detailed plastic HO F unit to date, and has alot of RR spedific details on them. The cost of an F7AB set with sound is in the $350 neighborhood, a far cry from the below $60 cost of a Proto 1000 F3AB set!
Here is the upcoming Proto 2000 F7AB set coming from Walthers:
Sorry I needed to clarify as well Lifelike Canada did a proto 1000 realease of F7’s a few years back in the same less detailed format, again was a Canada only release that was sponsered by a couple,of the larger GTA hobby shops these were an extremly low number production run as well,definatly not to be confused with the new P 2000 F7’s which should be the be all and end all of F7’s
Proto 1000 has done F3A and B, C-Liner A and B, Erie-Built A and B, DL109, RS-2 and RSC-2, and RDC-1, -2, -3. I may be forgetting one…
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I believe the Life-Like RS-11 is Proto 1000, but runs great and has excellent details like individual grab irons etc.
Originally Life-Like only made toy-train quality stuff, Proto 2000 was their entry into the quality HO market in the nineties. Proto 1000 came later and was kinda in between, good quality but not quite as good as Proto 2000. Still, some Proto 1000 stuff is pretty nice!
We have also forgotten the New York City subway trains that Lifelike has put out as proto models.They are supposed to be 1000’s but like the Canadain RS10’s and 18’s the C-liners and the RS-11’s perhaps an unofficial proto 1750 designation should be made for them [:D], not quite proto 2000 but not as simple as the proto 1000 models.
Rob
I believe the difference would be 1000. 
I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t resist such an abvious one.
Ron
You beat me to it because I was just about to post that reply [#ditto]
I’m happy with all of mine. I’ve got a pair of GP-9’s that are Proto 2000, and an Alco RSC-2 that’s Proto 1000. They all run fine, but I’ll agree with the general statement that the Proto 1000 units lack the details that are found in the Proto 2000’s. I’ve got 2 sets of the subways, too. The older (red, pre-Walthers) set lacks the end gates found on the newer (green) cars.
Riogrande, the P2K F7s are out. Just not in the new roadnames&numbers. Those come next month if I am correct.
Riogrande, the P2K F7s are out. Just not in the new roadnames&numbers. Those come next month if I am correct.
Incorrect. First of all, there is no one model that is made in both Proto 1000 and Proto 2000. So you really can’t compare. But even so, the drive trains are not the same at all. Take the shells off and have a look. Proto 1000 motors are very different from Proto 2000 motors. The trucks and gears may look similar, but they are different as well.
Here is a list partial list of some of the differences in the drivetrains:
Proto 1000 RDC: Roco clone Alco switcher motor, Kato clone trucks.
Proto 1000 F3: Kato “inspired” but not clone motor, Athearn clone trucks.
Proto 1000 RS-2: Roco clone Alco switcher motor, Athearn clone trucks.
Proto 1000 RS-10,-11,-18: Kato “inspired” but not clone motor, Athearn clone trucks.
Proto 2000 S-1 and S-3: Roco clone Alco switcher motor, Kato clone trucks.
Proto 2000 SW9/1200: Kato “inspired” but not clone motor, Kato clone trucks.
Proto 2000 FA1, FA2, GP7, GP9, GP18: Athearn clone motor and trucks.
Proto 2000 E7,E8: Athearn clone motor w/HUGE flywheels and unique design pivoting trucks.
I am not familiar with the new F7, RSC-2, RS-2, RS-27, U-28, GP20/30/38/60, C-Liner, FM Erie Built, PA, SD45/50/60, E6, or SD7/9 locos. Did I miss any others?
Has anyone had these apart to compare?
Mike Sowsun
Oakville, Ontario
That’s probably the best description of Proto 1000 locomotives yet. I have two C-Liners & they are both really great runners, and HEAVY! The detail is not quite up with Proto 2000, but still very good & definitely much better than the toy level of old life-like locomotives.