Does anyone know if anyone still makes and sells an N Scale dockside locomotive? I know Bachmann used to make one but I think they are out of production. Any heads-up will be greatly appreciated.
Please Gang, don’t try to steer me towards that priceless “Civil War Masterpiece” that showed up on ebay the other day. 
FritzvB
Small steam in N is tough to come by. It’s darn near impossible to find something that works decently. I have a Bachmann 0-4-0 that, only after much tuning, works halfway decently. I’ve modified it into an inspection loco. It;s not done yet, but here it is…
The problem is, switchers don’t have much weight, so they don’t pull well, which isn’t a huge problem for a switcher. The big problem is that they don’t have much electrical pickup and so they stall easily.
I think LifeLike used to make a 0-6-0, and I’ve already mentioned the Bachmann 0-4-0. Atlas used to make an 0-8-0, but that was many years ago. Minitrix used to make an 0-6-0 (I’ve got one) that was very much a PRR looking thing. It looked like a heavyweight switcher and had a metal body, so it pulled pretty good. All of these loco’s are older and so they have larger flanges on the wheels and that might be a problem on some of the finer codes of track. Also, none of these are currently in production.
MDC/Athearn makes a great 2-8-0 (I’ve got two) that might be modified into a good switcher. It’s a 19th century loco (1890’s), but it runs like a champ and is a real stump puller. It might be worth a look. Atlas also makes their 19th century 2-6-0 (1870’s) that might work, but it’ll need some work to look right. These are both readily available.
That’s about all I know of.
LifeLike has an 0-6-0 that’s probably close to what you are looking for. I’m not sure if they are still making it, but you might find it at shows and some internet dealers may have some. Here’s an example:
Be aware that short wheelbase locos like this will be tougher to get to run consistently over switches with plastic frogs. I know some of the troubles, as I have one of these.
Regards
Ed
Bachmann used to make & sell the 0-4-0 dockside. They appear to be out of production. It’s possible they still may be available from the “bachmann babes”. They are vendors that appear at many east coast train shows. You can tell because they have a large display of Bachmann product. I don’t know if Bachmann or Walthers can provide a list of possible LHS to track down.
THe LL 0-6-0 is sold in their Little Joe trainset. You may find them on sale for less than $30.00. Your best bet may be to find the Bachmann 6 wheel little switcher. Bachmann upgraded the motor & other bits of the standard line. You can tell if the model comes in a clear plastic box, more like Atlas, MTL or other mfr’s. I’m not sure what motor Bachmann may use for the Nscale trolleys or PCC cars.
Kato sells 2 tiny critter motors.