MTH Feedback

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am looking at a F7 A/B unit from MTH that the C&O Historical Society has for sale in the C&O roadname. I can’t seem to find any feedback/reviews for these loco’s…checking to see if anyone has had experience with MTH -HO as far as quality goes…

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Bart Whitten

2

Quality of the actual model trains or quality of the company itself?

3

Both I guess… but first quality of the model trains…just looking before I leap. I saw their booth at the Springfield show this past weekend and it sure was a busy place but I didn’t see this exact model.

Ultimately…just looking to invest my dollars in sound equipment from good companies that stand behind their products.

I am fairly new to model railroading…have two Atlas GP-7’s, one Proto 2000 GP-7 and a couple of bachmann steamers.

Bart

4

Do you understand the difference between DCC, which is the digital control system used by most of the HO-scale model railroading community, and DCS, which is the proprietary system used by MTH? DCS engines are only partially compatible with DCC systems, and earlier versions of DCS could not run on DCC systems at all.

This is “the issue” with MTH products. They have moved closer to DCC in recent years, but have not fully embraced it. I have no MTH engines, but my understanding is that they are very good quality and nicely detailed, but most come with a DCS decoder installed. They are one of the more expensive models around, too.

5

Hi Mr. B,

I do understand that there is a difference but from their literature they inferred that these loco’s would run on DCC but that certain sound functions would not be accessible. Great question to findout before spending over 300.00. Thanks for the insight.

6

While I can’t speak for the F7s specifically, I can speak for other locomotives that MTH has made:

  • Accuracy - Good…but not as good as BLI, Proto 2000, and Athearn Genesis
  • Runability - Very smooth, comparable to Stewart. To me this is MTH’s strong point. I would love to be able to combine the accuracy of a BLI steamer with the smoothness of an MTH. End result? A great looking and great running steamer.

Tom

7

MTH’s F7s are made using ex BLI/PCM tooling. Detail quality and accuracy is not as good as what you will find on F-units by Walthers Proto, Athearn Genesis and Intermountain. If these are the only locomotives available in this specific paint scheme then you don’t have much choice…