I have been gone from the hobby for awhile. All the the loco’s I had where not top of the line, as I replace them, I would like to purchase a fair middle of the road , but nice in detail and mech. there is just so many manufactors to choose from as I am in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma it is three hours to the closest hobby store, so I will probaly order over the internet. I need to know a good solid company to restart my empire, mostly steam but I really like the bull nose diesels twins. So if you have had good luck with a manufactor I would like to know which ones. I plan the layout to be in the middle to late 1800 But I’m going to sneek in 1950’s Thankyou for your help. Lippy
Welcome back to the hobby!
Before we can help, what scale are you in?
Ok, I just looked back at your other posts and see that you’re in HO scale.
For late 1800s steam, one of the few manufacturers to choose from is MDC/Roundhouse. I would suggest getting the DCC ready versions rather than the ones with DCC and sound installed. Roundhouse used average to poor quality MRC sound systems, which haven’t been well reviewed around here, and are often thrown out and replaced with better sound decoders.
As for the bulldog-nosed diesels (4-axled ones are called F-Units, and 6-axle ones are called E-Units), there are some very nice ones available from Athearn Genesis, Stewart, Proto 2000, Intermountain, Broadway Limited, and many others. All the ones I mentioned are well reviewed. The Genesis models are some of the most accurate ever made, and the Stewarts are considered to be the best runners of all. I have a Genesis F3A diesel, and not only does it look fantastic, but it’s also a very smooth and quiet runner.
Lippy, I am guessing you are still DC? My self, I have had great luck with Protos 1000 (good runners but lack small detail parts) and there 2000’s that have a lot of detail. Far as F units, there 1000 series are a great bang for the buck. Depending where you buy them they will run $60.00 to $100.00 for a pair of Powered A B units.
If you want small detail parts, there 2000’s run around $100 to $125 each, $200 to $225 if you want sound.
Cuda Ken
Hi!
Welcome back!!!
I’ve had extremely good luck with Stewart (now Bowser) F unit locos. They are extremely good runners, easy to convert to DCC, and a fair amount of detail. I have added extras to them (diaghprams, KDs, etc.) as well. Watch Ebay and sooner or later what you want will come up - as most of these are out of production.
For steamers, I prefer Broadway Limited (BLI), but they are pricey (worth it though). Bachmann Spectrum are probably one of the best buys for the money, however.
Actually, most all the mfgs out there in mid price range or above offer some excellent stuff. Where I have noticed complaints (on this forum) are for some locos with DCC added to them.
May I suggest you check out Toy Train Heaven, M.B. Klein (Model Train Stuff), Caboose Hobbies, on the internet to see what is available in your road choice. If you have questions of a specific loco, just post it here and you will get a lot of good advice.
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
my layout will be ho scale , Sorry I thought I added that
also check out the Intermountian F’s. They are great looking and run as good as they look.
Before you buy anything, do yourself a favor and check out sound engines. They aren’t for everyone, but those of us who do like them end up converting most of our fleet, because the non-sound engines just lack so much.
Yes, sound engines cost more. But, you might be surprised to discover that a sound-equipped engine is actually less expensive than a non-sound engine plus an add-on sound system. Besides that, there’s no installation effort (or installation fee) and the sound-on-board units generally sound better than a comparable after-market installation.
This is particularly true of steam, in my opinion. Steam engines just have so much more going on in the audio realm. The whistles and bells have more character, too.
Mobilman44
When you say dcc added to them do you mean by the manufactor or bought seperatly
Thankyou
MisterBeasley
I have o scale in which I just purchased a steam engine which has sound, it is the first time I have heard the sound on any train, It’s great I couldn’t believe the depth of sound that came from this small of a speaker the train is lionel, Alton limited 462 pacific loco great looking loco. I just hope I can achieve the same sounds from ho
Thankyou for your time
Lippy, he means you buy the decoder and add it your self. In most cases the hard part is getting the shell off. Now, that is a none sound decoder. Adding a sound decoder can be a lot harder.
Another thing that you have to take into consideration is the radius of your curves. What will be the minimum radius that you are planning? 4 axle diesels are pretty forgiving but 6 axle diesels and many Steamers do not like anything under 22 inch. Some 6 axle diesels will run on 18 inch but they often look out of place and the trackwork has to be perfect.
It is possible to get clear and good quality sound out of HO, but the limited speaker size can never quite capture the “depth” as well as a larger speaker can. I haven’t heard many sound systems myself, but I can tell you that if you’re used to the sound of an O scale Lionel, you will absolutely want to avoid the cheaper sound in HO at all costs (like MRC. I heard an MRC equipped Athearn Big Boy once, and it sounded like a toy to me). Tsunami seems to get the best reviews around here for quality sound.
Welcome back to the fold, a few things come to mind first and foremost Dc or DCC thats gong to be a BIG factor. Don’t want to get the DC crowd all up and arms but being as your starting out fresh I would suggest make the jump into DCC I really don’t think you’ll regret it at all for many reasons but we’ll just stick to locomotives for now. With dcc you will have much more control over individual locomotives and control of their functions, speeds,and braking just to name a few, plus you will be able to run multiple trains on the same track not different blocks as with dc and at different speeds if you so desire. Your local freight pulls into a passing siding waiting for the fast mail train to clear the semaphore before you can pull back out on to the main line and deliver your freight . and all that can be done right from your hand throttle without flipping one single toggle switch pretty neat stuff if you ask me. Being as your planning on modeling the era if the mid to late 1800’s your loco selections is going to be kinda limited to smaller wheel arraignments I would say 2-8-0 consolidations maybe 2-6-0 or 4-6-0’s would be the norm. To be honest it all depends on how much or a rivet counter you want to be. In my o/p if you have a nice looking K4 4-6-2 Pacific or a 2-10-0 Decapod pulling a moderate sized train through some nice looking scenery and your happy with it then who cares if your not exactly on the money date wise.
As mention but in my eyes not so critical in the same respect as the other poster let the layout dictate the locomotives not the locomotives dictate the size of the curves on the layout. I would have to guess that very few modelers build a layout around a specific type of locomotive but then again you never know.Once you’ve determined the size of your layout space and next the type of railroad you want to build IE: freight hauling, coal hauling passenger trains, mountain or logging railroad, then your track plan
then you’ll have more of a direction to be