Hi all,
I need an honest opinion-which is better for quality, durability-the new santa fe elcapitan from the set or the old postwar models? I have the option of either one-elcapitan is about 1/3 the price of a used postwar.
thanks
northernpike
You are comparing apples to oranges. New set is an electronic train set with features the post war set doesn’t have. The Postwar set lacks these details and features but it was built to take a licking and keep on ticking.
Besides that the postwar is more simple and build with the idea to keep on going, the elcapitan set is new and the postwar version is 50 years old… If you can find a postwar f unit as good as new you certainly would have to do some maintenance before you can run it.
Postwar stuff is great, but you can’t expect it to run out of the box anymore. Inspection, maintenance and sometimes rebuilding is needed to get them working in the same flawless way as a new one. However, they have more durability because of the lack of electronics inside.
The new units have electronics inside. That can vary from a simple electronic 3 position reverse unit to a highly complicated control computer. Don’t be afraid of it, it can be as durable as a mechanical one and aftermarket repair or swap possibilities are also available. The problem is not in the electronics, but in the lack of sufficient quality control.
Most of my locomotives have electronics on board, only a few have the old mechanical e-units. Also at my work the whole bunch of machines are electronically or computer operated and work 24/7 day in day out, years on a row. Also on my home layout (2 proto1 units and a bunch of cheap K-line and williams units) I didn’t have any problems with electronics yet.
But electronics can’t be tinkered with, they don’t signal where the problem is and can’t be repaired by someone with a little technical knowledge. Postwars have that option and can always be repaired in some way, somehow. That’s why they have the name to last forever. (my 1953 F3 set is still running like a champ, but gets annual service, something other units don’t get)
I got a set of B&O FT’s with TMCC/RailSounds for Christmas. They’re smooth runners with terrific sounds. I was also surprised at how close in size they are to a Post War F-3. A little shorter, but then so was the prototype. Jon