Whats your favorite Manufacture of Model Trains
Atlas MASTERS beat the others for both level of detail and running abiltiy !!!
Sorry, the title is not self explanatory. I assume we’re talking locos? If we’re talking all over models including buildings, would really make a differnce. How about passenger cars? Freight cars?
Locos - Atlas (no Master series with their lousy decoders).
Where’s Rivarossi?
If we’re talkin’ locos then-ATLAS!
Atlas is what I like to run, but I also like Athearn Blue Box.
From the choices you’ve given, I picked Micro Trains. They’ve got the largest selection of different freight cars in the hobby, and they “made” N scale what it is today. This coming from a mostly HO scale modeler!
My REAL favorite manufacturers are Accurail, Atlas, BLI and Bowser.
I couldn’t pick between Spectrum and P2K. I chose spectrum because they made my favorite engine (good ole 9700)
Atlas makes the best freight cars, too!
BTW, Atlas Masters have come with or without decoders (lately, sound decoders in the Gold series and a DCC plug in the Silver series) for some time now, starting with the first run of the U30Cs.
The Master label is their state-of-the-art detail/features locos, the Classic label re-runs with usually older tooling.
I’ve had three engines, soon to be four as soon as my E-bay shipment gets here, and the first was Walthers, and the last three have been Athearn blue box. Walthers just wasn’t as good, and I’ve been very pleased with the Athearn ones.
Noah
Wheres Broadway Limited?
By the way, I voted for Life Like P2K but I like P1K to, the C-liner is my favorite. Many makers are so boring, mostly Geeps and F´s. Life Like is not afraid to make od locos, like the mentioned C-liner but also FM Erie builts, BL-2, DL-109, Budd RDC and even a NY subway car.
I like the Atlas line of locomotives.Then the P2K and then the Athearns…My four Kato GP35s are nice but,I still prefer Atlas over Kato…I also like my older Atlas/Kato units even though the detail is not like todays excellent Atlas locomotives.
Even though I use a Bachman Spectrum Steamer as my primary motive power I chose Atlas because of the operating quality and the wide range of locos offered.
Jay
The last two Broadway Limited models I have bought, their ATSF 4-8-4 Northern and a 2-8-2 Mikado, seem to have improved sound systems when compared to their New York Central Hudson. The Lionel HO-scale 2-6-6-2 Challenger is also an excellent running and sounding locomotive.
You must be an N-scale modeler, putting Con-Cor on your list. Their HO scale products are the worst running locomotives on the market, and I will never consider purchasing another.
Tyco has been out of business for several years, so why is it listed?
I say Athearn because of my 50 locomotives, only 3 are not Athearn. I detail the chassis. and rework the wireing/lighting. I am quite happy with most all of them. The exception to that is one lemmon. I have had it for about 15 years. For some reason it does not run
very good in reverse. So that one is standing still all the time cause i like the detail of the unit.
I have Athearn Genesis F-units, and a BLI Mikado coming soon, my top manufacturers in locomotives would be:
- Broadway Limited
- Athearn Genesis
- Atlas
- Proto 2000
In freight cars, the best in my opinion are:
- Intermountain
- Accurail
- Atlas
- Proto 2000
- Red Caboose
I went with Kato. I also like Atlas for locos, but find Kato to be more reliable. For cars I
would say micro trains or Atlas.
Athearn are my favourites but I’m becoming quite enamored with Proto’s offerings.
Gordon
**PROTO 2000!!!**Why Whats not to like about the locos and cars. Most of my fleet is P2K. I do have some really good Katos. Wonder if i could make a really good unit by using a Kato Drive and a P2K shell[:-,]
Proto 2000 and 1000 are affordable for the masses, offer great variety, different phase diesels, pay attention to the differences from railroad to railroad and their unique equipment details, and have finely executed detailing and great decorating, and usually accurate, paint schemes. They haven’t been ‘afraid’ to venture beyond the ‘safe subject matter’ (F7s, E8s, RS3s, Geeps, PAs) and have offered some unique low- production (1:1) less popular subjects - CLiners, DL-109s, RDCs, BL2s, E6s, and all kinds of Alcos, etc. And they have offered Demo paint schemes, nice trucks, operating diaphrams, and very well done handrails, grabs, mu cables, accurate dimensions, and thin plastic in-scale castings. Their steam engine line is very limited as of yet, and I think they’ll give Spectrum, Genesis, and even Broadway Ltd. a run for their money if ,and when, they flesh out that end of their product line. Their freight cars are wonderful if you’re modeling the steam/diesel transition era, but a bit of a pain to assemble - kits w/ modeler-applied tiny details have their price, esp if your eyes are old and tired. (Their earlier diesel packaging sucked the big one, and once it was out of the box, it was darn near impossible to put it back in without inflicting damage to the lift rings or other tiny detail bits.) And they run well.
Sure, there is some better equipment out there, but for the value they are impossible to beat, esp if you buy at a heavily discounted price which is easy to do these days. For someone like me who is completely rebuilding their roster having been mostly an armchair modeler the past ten years, this product line is perfect, especially budget-wise. (Not everyone can afford a roster of BLI and Trix equipment, as beautiful as it is.) I kinda consider Proto 1K & 2K the Athearn ‘blue boxes’ of the new millenium, for adjusting for inflation over the years, they really don’t cost anymore than equivalent Athearn did when introduced. I’m sure that will start