Good running,reliable HO steam locomotives.Need opinions.

[MopacEagleFan]

I wanted to give everyone an update on what I have purchased so far with the results:

BLI Paragon-I have purchased several,Two PRR T1’s,Two PRR J1’s,Two ATSF 3700’s,A NYC J1 and J1e,Two C&0 T1’s with others on order. So far so good,no probelms and as good as runners as my Marklin/Trix and Fleischmann locos.

MTH-Have a N&W J and two SP GS-4’s. No issues although I have friends who have had issues with MTH. I may sample some more offerings. I have a DCS commander to utilize all the PS3 functions.

Athearn Genesis-Have two UP Challengers and they were great buys.Great runners and appear to be from same make as BLI.I have on order several Big Boys.Will be interested to see how well they comnpare with Marklin/Trix at 1/2 the price.

Spectrum-Bought an B&O EM1 and it’s very nice for the money.

Haven’t purchased any Rivarossi/Hornby or Proto 2000 steam yet.

Thanks to all for the good comments.

[don7]

I would advise trying Bachmann Spectrum steam engines. They are moderately priced, well detailed and have the best warranty of all the model railroad manufacturers

However, . something certainly seems to be up with their production levels.

Larger Steam engines made by Bachmann as well as smaller steam engines also made by Bachmann seem to be in relatively short supply.At present there is not much choice as there used to be.

While Bachmann makes far more steamers for the Asian and European market,

it seems the market in North American runs a poor third,

They are only marketing a few steam locomotives right now. I do not know it they will re-release some of their earlier steam locomotives, they had some very nice engines which sold very well. Not sure why they seem so reluctant to produce more for the North American market.

I would not be surprised to see the European and Asian markets concentrated on by Bachmann and like Rivarossi, only a few engines produced for the North American market. Based on the sale prices the return on the North American Market would be far less than the other two markets.

FYI if you are interested in either the Bachmann spectrum 2-6-6-2 or the newer 2-8-8-4 Klien has them on special

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Steam-Locomotives-HO-Scale-s/1461.htm?searching=Y&sort=3&cat=1461&brand=Bachmann&show=30&page=3

[cjcrescent]

Since it seems that price doesn’t really bother you, why don’t you check out the used brass market? It seems that many collectors of brass has gone to the Great Layout in the Sky, there are many more used engines on the market than there used to be.

E-bay generally has over 1000 pieces on it at a time, there are also used brass dealers like Caboose Hobbies in Denver, Here is a link;

http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?scales_name=HO%20Scale&sku=BC~BR

Just by doing a Google search on used brass locomotives, you’ll find many other dealers. So why not go with better made pieces, in many cases detailed better as well, that run just as well as most of the current plastic/diecast locos?

[cjcrescent]

Sorry, my computer is doing strange things. The computer gave me those weird sizes and I couldn’t correct them in the previous post.

Sorry again.

[Motley]

Mopac how about a photo of all those new steam engine you have?

[parts323]

I prefer Broadway Limited over MTH. I have (2) PRR Decapod’s and (2) PRR M1b’s from the Paragon line, and have nothing but good things to say how well they perform after being broken in. I my opinion, Bachmann Spectrum are more of toy trains, while MTH and Broadway Limited are Model Trains.

[BRVRR]

I have two BLI locomotives. A Mike and a Hudson. The Mikado has been on the layout since 2004 and never a problem. The Hudson was a Christmas present in 2005 and has had its wheels run off by the grand children and no problems with it either.

I have an Athearn Challenger and a couple of Bachmann locos with sound. The MRC decoder in the Challenger died without warning, but the Bachmann’s with Quantum (BLI) sound are just fine.

For my money you can’t beat a BLI loco for reliability, low speed operation and sound reproduction. Neither of mine has given me a minutes trouble in the more than 6-years they have been on the layout.

If you want really big steam, Challenger, Big Boys or some of the other Mallet locos you will have to try Athearn, Riverossi or other manufacturers.

Good luck with whatever you decide on. Enjoy the locos and the hobby.

[don7]

Does this have anything to do with why Bachmann discontinued the J? It was my understanding that the excellent N&W J’s produced by MTH and Broadway Limited were the main reason for this.

As to my choices in large steam, I still rely on my Rivarossi Y6b’s. I have two: the old AHM model and the new (last run) model. The new one runs very well but the old one is in need of a tuneup. I love my Broadway Limited A as well as the Broadway and MTH J’s, which really put my old Bachmann J’s to shame. The IHC Mountain is a dependable runner as well, which I am in the process of converting into the N&W K1 class 4-8-2.

lois

Bachmann had their J units on the market for quite a few years, long before BLI and MTH.

The Bachmann J’s progressed from the old Standard line in the trainsets and later to the Spectrum series where they were DCC ready and later with the DCC and Sound production runs.

I am unaware of any problems associated with the later Spectrum J’s and I never heard of a problem specific to them at the Bachmann site (other than the QC problems that Bachmann has with any of their products.

They did seem at times in the past to have more than their share of problems. It seems that if you had a good engine, they would run forever, and if you were unlucky they would not last a lap around your layout, but that seems to have been corrected to a large degree…

I did buy one of their DCC with Sound Aboard versions and it it a sweet runner. I had no complaints with it buy I did buy it on a whim and I packed it away and hopefully one day I will pick up a set of passenger cars for it and run it periodically.