I’m fairly new to model railroading and I was wondering if anyone knows of any good HO scale steam era locomotives that have good working smoke units and are decently priced.I have a bachmann chattanooga train set (my first) and the smoke unit in it deosnt work all that great,it only sends out puffs of smoke every now and then.It smokes fine when I stop the train but I’m looking to get something better that really puts out smoke that is a little on the cheaper side considering I dont have much money and I’m on a tight budget.
You might look at drop in smoke units. There are some on Factory Direct Trains. Click the add to the right of this post.
Smoke units are fun for a little while, but they tend to burn out quickly unless you invest in a really good one. MTH (Mike’s Train House) puts smokers in their HO stuff, but they’re pretty expensive.
You’ll also quickly discover that the smoke solution leaves an oily residue all over your layout, and makes track cleaning a regular chore.
There’s a lot of really good steamers out there that are economical, they just don’t have all the tricks.
Lee
It’s been my experience that smoke units don’t last very long at least the few that i had. I would think money better spent on good reliable running gear or better detailing then stinky oily smoke.
No.
In my opinion, there is exactly one HO unit that has good smoke. It is European. It costs over $500.
All other HO smoke units look exactly like what they are - toys. Too little smoke, not well synchronized.
I had Bachmann GS-4 none DCC and they smoked. Like all others here, I stopped using the smoke. The GS-4’s where good engines for a round $80.00.
Cuda Ken