LIfeLike Proto 1000 and Proto 2000 units are going for some good prices on Ebay and discount dealers. P1K RDC units are in the $20 range while various P2K units arge going from $30 to $90, depending on the model.
The trick with Ebay is not to “pounce” on the first model that you find. For a long while I noticed that certain vendors were selling the Proto 2000 GP9 in SCL for $74 on Ebay with the “Buy it Now”. I was tempted to jump on it, but as suggested by a good friend of mine, I waited patiently and more kept showing up.
I bid on one that had few bidders and got it for $45 dollars from Model Trains Stuff! I was smiling! Neat thing about this is that I got a new, good running, nicely detailed locomotive for a price cheaper than an Athearn Blue Box!
Point is that it is a little easier for modelers on tight budgets to afford decent running diesels. If you own Tyco, Bachmann or Life Like “toy” units that’s o.k. but there’s no need to buy anymore “low grade” units when quality is affordable!
CHEAP LOCO’S weren’t desgned to run well. They were designed for new buyer’s that only expected them to run., and design engineers were supposed to cut corners. You can see the result’s.
At one time the BACHMANN engine’s ran like your Life Like’s. - Some still do.
Both companies are now putting out better product’s: Life Like with ‘HERITAGE’, Bachmann with ‘SPECTRUM’, and I almost forgot: Atharn with GENESIS.
If you decide to stay in the hobby, the selection gets better, and you have nowhere to go , along with your Pleasure, but UP.
Judging by my experience with Lima locos (thankfully now out of production - some of the worst drive systems ever, truck mounted motors and very poor build quality!) there are ways to get reasonable performance out of these:
Clean the wheels and polihe commutator (the part of the motor that the brushes rub against - I polihis with a peco track cleaning block)
Oil the motor bearings, and the worm drive bearings on locos with central motors
Grease the gears
Now give it a good long break-in run. This should get you the best perfomance possible from the loco. If they’re still not up to it, take a look at the Bachmann GP40 (the latest type with full pilots and body mounted couplers) - they’re very cheap but decent runners, the only thing lacking is flywheels and due to the nature of the motor (decent quality can motor) this doesn’t seem to make much difference. Hope this helps!
I agree with the others. Check out Ebay. I got a P2k A-B-B-A from Ebay for $90. Went back on ebay, picked up a sound decoder for $50 and now they are a very impressive consist that looks, pulls, and sounds great and i got it for under $150!
Switch to athrean, bachmann spectrum, or walthers. They make quality trains for under
$50.00 & walthers has some of the most realistic freight on the market . Have fun & try
a train show. I got a rivrossi can motor 4-6-4 for $25.00 & it works well.
The top makers of plastic diesel locomotives are, IMHO (in order!):
Atlas Master (lateliy, divided into Silver or Gold)
Kato
Life-like Proto 2000 (P2K)
Athearn Genesis (some are in the second tier, such as the first SD70Ms)
The next tier is:
Stewart
Atlas Classic
The final tier is:
Life-like P1K
Athearn RTR/ Bluebox (SOME RTRs are a cut above the BB, but it varies)
Walthers Trainline (quality varies)
AVOID: Tyco, Model Power, generic Life-like, Bachmann diesels (some of their steamers are top notch, however!). BLI is too much for too little, IMHO, with poor detail (plus recent Atlas and P2K locos have better sound!)
Note that these “ratings” are based on CURRENT models (made within the last five years)- NOT older ones !!! Don’t try to compare newer offerings with older Atlas/Kato, Stewart/Kato, etc. If you don’t have any black box Atlas Masters, you don’t know Atlas quality !!!
To all- Chris aka error error, has been around for awhile. Many posts all around the forum including The Coffee Club. Has good opinions and has been helpful.
Flip