With award season here, such as car of the year, truck of the year, best movie, etc, maybe we should have Locomotive of the year. So which locomotive have you gotten 2011 has been your favorite? I have been working on expanding my rolling stock so I have only gotten two locos this year and my picks
Athearn Genesis BNSF #9897 SD70MAC w/sound.
This one I got almost new in the box at the LHS from someone selling on consignment for just a little over $100. The seller was going away from BNSF to NS. His loss my gain. My only regret was not picking up the other one that was there.
I recently picked up two (yes, TWO) HO Bowser Executive Line F7A’s for half price. ($120 each) They have outstanding detail added with Tsunami sound installed. Western Maryland road names in the red, black and white paint scheme. Heavy models with very smooth and quiet running drive train. I am tickled pink.
I’ll second that. I picked up all 4 of the CN versions, a GO Transit version and a Huron Central version. All of them are sweet looking and great running loco’s. If we are talikng NEW loco’s then this one wins hands down. [bow]
Atlas Alco HH660. I’m a diesel end cab switcher fanatic, and I never thought one of those would ever be made in plastic. It’s a little light, but it looks good and runs great.
Interesting thread. I purchased a few engines this year but I keep coming back to the Tower 55 ES44AC in the Northern Pacific Livery. This is the 4th of these engines I have bought in the last three years. The previous three were painted in Norfolk Southern and then sold. I sold them mainly because on my DC layout these engines run faster than all my other trains.
I recently bought this unit and after test running the engine it runs the same speed as my Athearn, Atlas, Kato and MTH engines. I love these engines because the detail is second to none and these engines are smoooooooooth runners.
Here she is before she goes into the alcohol. She will then get a coat of paint, decals and some weathering. Future Norfolk Southern ES40DC.
Well, I went kind of bananas this year, thanks to a couple of shows and swap meets. Picked up an old Max Gray SP AC-9 2-8-8-4, a GN 2-6-8-0, a cute little GN 2-8-0, but I’d say that right now my locomotive of the year is a sweet little brass Key M-64 Rio Grande 4-8-4, probably the prettiest steamer that Rio Grande ever had. Had a little ‘glitch’ when I got her, some lube and running in smoothed that out just nicely. So she’s having a lot of fun on my Yuba River Sub handling passenger and expidited freight. She’s a very smooth runner, a little ‘light on her feet’ (so was the prototype, from what I hear), but I like her a lot.
I bought six engines in the last year of which one has already been remotored and that and three others will require painting/repainting and sound decoders. The fifth is painted properly but it will also need a decoder. That leaves the sixth engine as the only real candidate for my personal LOTY. It is an Intermountain FP7 Canadian Pacific in maroon and grey with block lettering. It sounds great, runs great and the price was very good. Actually I was shocked to learn that I had won the auction on eBay. In fact, I had to pay more for an F7B in the wrong livery and without sound in order to give my prized purchase a B unit to run with. Still tickles me every time I look at the CP FP7! OK time to stop bragging![;)]
Sorry if that is not what the OP intended as the subject for discussion, but realistically few if any of us are in a position to buy all the newest releases and compare them.
Well, everyone will have their favorite and will name it.
The probelm as I see it is that the “— of the year” usually is a brand new product or new model, not some old favorite or restored “has been” { I may get in trouble for that I DO NOT mean an F7 is a “has been” it just shouldn’t be “locomotive of the year”.
SO it should be as current to date as can be of what they are producing today.
Now if the title were “FAVORITE locomotive of all time”…THERE you might include any loco. Or “Historic Locomotive of the Year” - even better!
Old or new, it did not matter when I started this list but it had to be a loco you bought this year, not a loco that is new to the market this year. I think most the replies have followed what I was implying
It´s a Kato N scale JNR (Japanese National Railway) class D 51 Mikado, which got me back into the active side of model railroading. Its not only good looking and highly detailed, it also runs like a charm.
My BLI N&W J #606, originally a Stealth Series model. I liked the finish on it a bit more than my Paragon J so I swapped the sound unit, applied a coat of semi-gloss and weathered with some powdered pastels I made. So, it’s my favorite for this year.
I saw some of those Blackstones run at the Chantilly and Timonium Train shows this year. I have to say they are gorgeous and do make me tempted to go to the dark side. I can’t imagine ever truly modeling narrow guage, its just too foreign and cave man like to me who grew up watching hood units in the 70’s and 80’s but the model is amazing!
I, too went a little bit “nuts” this year and bought an N&W Class A by PFM. It is remotored, regeared, front headlight and tender lights installed, custom painted and has a Tsunami sound decoder. Man, one should hear it growl up the grades in West Virginia.[swg]
Atlas GP-40-2W by a country mile. In my mind, this year, nothing even comes close! This model is amazing, tons of detail, smooth, awesome sound, perfect proportions, and all this in a somewhat obscure prototype!
