N Scale of course. The old Bachmann and Lifelike are just not cutting it on my suitcase layout. It needs to be DC. I’ll take tips on getting these brands mentioned to run good too.
If they have a tender on them rig them up with pickup from the tender also. Make one truck pickup current from the right side the other from the left.
HOLY MOLY! FORGET junky, garbage, BACHMANN and LIFE-LIKE!
If this sounds grumpy, take it as an opportunity to open up!
Are you one of those people, who never even looked past Amerikanskoye crap locomotives made in China back in the days, when “made in China” meant made to American business people’s cheap specs???
There are a LOT of Arnold, Minitrix, Fleischmann, Brawa, Piko, Kato, Tomix, etc, 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 (practically same length!) that are totally awesome, reliable, and long lasting!
THE classic 0-4-0 is the Fleischmann you can buy used, but there are other models as well, like the Tsugawa. Many 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 are available for small layouts.
Crikey, you need to look past your horizon!
Well, I do have to bring up that it being a Bachmann locomotive is not necessarily meaning that it is “junk”. I have had no problems with my N Scale Bachmann F7 that weren’t caused by the cat.
haroldbenton is right, pickup is likely part of the problem. Of course, no matter what 0-4-0 model is used, pickup problems will always be chasing them. That’s simply a fact of the size.
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On even my O scale steam engines anything shorter than a foot in length I automatically rig it so there’s power coming from the tender feeding to the locomotive.
That’s definitely an effective plan–by the way, do you use three rail or two rail?
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I would mention that some of these 0-4-0s will suffer from the same defect as the original Ohio tender trucks: if the frame supporting the axle bearings is too rigid, one of the drivers may tend to lift or unload on track imperfections. A little ‘play’ for vertical accommodation (the 4x4 term for the action is ‘articulation’) may help all four drivers follow the track better, even without vertical springing.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a suitcase layout built in three-rail… 
Some form of play in the system would definitely help.
I have more than once considered an O Scale suitcase railroad, ridiculous as it sounds. It would just have to be a big suitcase… The closest that I’ve gotten is smuggling a train inside the suitcase–my mom didn’t want me to bring it along…
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3 rail. But it could even be done with 2 rail just run one truck per side. With 3 rail it’s already easier. Center pickup is the hot wire and the wheels are the returns.
Harold, do you have pictures of a 3-rail system in the question’s N scale?
Oh, so we’re doing the same gauge!
Woke_Hoagland, he mentioned earlier that he was using O–though I do recall hearing of a very early three-rail N Scale system. Maybe not.
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N is in the thread topic sentence.
I’m by no means saying there wasn’t a1:120 or 1:160 three-rail system… either with central or ‘third rail’ placement. I’d just like to see pictures of how it was done.
Sure.
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