Well Sheldon after going back and re-reading your post I did see a couple of sentences regarding the P2K Berks. In my case and with the relative small size and flat grades of my layout the exquisite detail of the P2K Berks outweighed the need for pulling power. In my opinion it’s not pulling power but lack of weight that hampers them. I am told the more recent releases of the P2K units have addressed this issue. I haven’t seen the MTH Berks in person but I can’t imagine them being better or more accurately detailed with the exception of the working marker lights. I watched the video on the MTH site and as I suspected the smoke feature is a gimick that they could have left off and lowered the cost a few dollars.
I pull long trains and have grades. Out of the box the Bachmann loco only pulls slighly better than the Proto version. But with about 6 oz added and some Bull Frog Snot, the Bachmann model pulls very well, 40-45 cars on level track. There is plenty of room in the Bachman to add the weight and it is easy to disaassemble.
After closely examining a number of photos of the MTH model, it is only slightly better detailed than than the Bachmann model, neither of which is equal to the Proto model in the detail department. The MTH model has a few detail items not found on the Bachmann model, but, as I have noticed with other MTH locos, some of the detail seems oversized and bulky and/or cast on in a more “toylike” way. The running boards in particular seem very thick, making the white stripe seem too thick. Some people prefer that “more durable” approach, I personally have no problem with “scale and fragile”. But overall the MTH loco does have a satisfactory look.
Because I kitbashed mine into Mikes anyway, it was simple to add some of the missing details and the Bachmann models where easy to work with for this project. I actually mixed parts from two NKP, one PM and two C&O