Atlas is King with kato also. I have more athearns than anything but there not consistant same for walthers. Some athearns are smooth and quiet and some I could sware run like an old life like. Joe
Welllllllllll,
Also missing are BEMO and ROCO, which is a major oversight BEMO makes the best HO narrow gauge stuff in plastic injection molded.
Of course ROCO was in large parts responsible for pushing the envelope back in the 70s on both sides of the Pond.
People easily forget or they probably weren’t aware of how things evolved in the first place.
Yep, it’s all “ancient” history.[;)][}:)][:D]
I’ll put Roco up because they just enterd the American locomotive market.
I’ll put Roco up because they just entered the American locomotive market.
ROCO was the OEM for Atlas and ModelPower for many, many years.
If it said “Made in Austria” chances were pretty good that ROCO was the source. Yes there was also some OEM work from Liliput, put it was a small percentage of what ROCO produced for the NA market.
KATO RULES everything else is just toy trains KATO never let my RR down.
Love the Proto 1000/2000 engines. Life Like’s marketing stinks, release a new run of locos every 10 years. Really stupid because if you want something chances are you are going to have a hard time getting it. Athearn blue box gondola a good value at $5. Really rotten at $12.95 rtr. Athearn F7 vs. Proto 1000 F3 at the same price. Winner Proto 1000 runs quieter and more reliable + Window glass. Proto 1000 F3 A-B for $50 both powered, Athearn RTR F7 + $5 glass kit installed and dummy B unit, $59.95. I liked my Athearn kits but for $7 I can put them together myself.
I have a Bachman doodlebug that won’t get out of it’s own way but looks really nice. 2 Atlas units that are rather noisy but look great. A couple of Model Power units I use to haul track cleaners that are great for the dollar. 1 really old Mantua tank engine that runs great.
Proto 2000 E8/9’s are hard to beat!
RMax
Being a teen that only gets $100+ twice a year (birthdays, my younger brother is also a railfan and model railroader) my favorite manufacture is Athearn because you can upgrade them easily and while they don’t run perfect they good enough. I usualy don’t go to our local hobby shop and buy a engine there, unstead I’ll go to a train show and buy a custom painted and more super detailed than Proto 2000 engine for $65!
KATO!!!
Atlas Master locos and Atlas rolling stock are the best on the market!
Used to be Athearn, still probably would be, but the changes they’re making made me realize that as I was buying equipment, P2K outnumbers everthing else in freight cars,
Bachman Spectrum leads in deisels, but I like the P2Ks I have better, I think. The only Spectrums I have are the older 44 and 70 tonners with 2 motors Dan.
Although Athearn has been purchased by Horizon Hobby, I’m leaving them here.
I would say the vast majority of my locomotive fleet is Athearn power. I have a few Kato, Proto2000, Spectrum, MDC, and Walthers also. But, I prefer the value I get from Athearn, and it’s much easier to swap shells & frames when the time arises. I just received some of the new Rio Grande SD50’s from Athearn, and they look GREAT !!!
I only own one Kato unit. An HO SD80MAC in NS black. I’ve only had the opportunity to run it over a very short length of straightaway, but it moves so effortlessly, and seems to have no hesitation.
My other locomotives are all old Athearns, from about 1989 or earlier.
Hello Dougal,
Good post!
For HO locomotives it used to be Athearn but now I’m split between Stewart and Kato.
Detail: Beautiful
Operation: Superbly smooth & quiet running,
Current Draw: Incredibly low. DCC/Sound friendly.
For HO rolling stock: ATHEARN! Great prices and very easy to update & detail. Paint finishes smooth, accurate and realistic. I wi***hey would update some of their 50ft box cars by eliminating the roofwalks. (Then again it’s nothing that putty & airbrushing can’t solve though).
Where’s Rivarossi?
Sorry 4884. I ran out of room (you can only do 15). I know Rivarossi is on your mind since they make Big Boys.
Atlas is the only way to go. I like their products and enjoy seeing such great detail at an affordabel price. They also offer a lot for the Western Maryland Railway, which I model. [tup]
I model in two scales, therefore…
MTH in O and Lifelike in N