Rivarossis appeal price and detail wise. Their newest models have been getting good reviews and have RP-25 drivers.
Genesis is the only other brand (Athearn) that I think would be in my price range.
Does anyone know if Bachman Spectrum is planning on coming out with articulateds besides their 2-6-6-2?
I’d like a good hauler as one of my considerations. I’ve been reading a lot of negatives about Proto 2000 locos lacking pulling power…
Northerns and Alleghenies are also under consideration eventually…although I’m likely modeling the Pacific N.W. so the Allegheny would be a stretch…
What do owners of large articulateds recommend and why do you like them? I’ve got my 130’ turn table and round house kits coming so it’s time to think about locos. I’m looking at $350 tops, list with sound decoder.
Recommendations for best price dealers would also be most welcome.
I have a Rivarossi BB that I bought in '92 when the retooled versions were released, and I have no complaints. I’ve considered one of the newer highly detailed versions, but I think it scratched my itch. It runs beautifully, and pulls very well. I’m guessing that their Challenger is of the same quality. I don’t think their Cab Forward was ever revised.
The Athearn Big Boy looks great, but of course the MRC decoders are the achilles heel, so replacing it should be factored into the price.
I would suggest a BLI BLueline BB from Factory direct. With sound and a decoder your looking at a price of less then 350 and it’s all metal. I got some of the PCM versions and I love them, strong pullers, excellent detail and runs great.
I have got a Broadway limited blueline big boy and it is very nice indeed. It runs very well and has great sounds. I have a Lionel HO challenger that is also a great runner but can be pricy. I know of a online dealer who has one under $400 but its the oil burn version and not the coal. The lionel HO is nice but the sounds are not as good as the Broadway but the engine first came out in 2002 i think. The blueline series is coming out with a cab forward but slated for later on maybe even next year. The cab forwards have a tendancy to be very picky on radius of turns. The challenger and big boys have the worst issues with the tender on radius also. Though I still own them and if you can run one you can run anything. The broadway bigboy is a good choice on price and you can get the drivers without traction tires on factory direct trains website. Also check the Broadway limited website outlet store, there is a PCM big boy there last time I checked. Oh and no I do not work for them I am just an avid customer and watch for deals.
The Riverossi Cab Forward was also revised with a new drive system and some of the details were improved as well. The Challenger and Northern were revised are the new versions of all are a great improvement over the older models.
To divert to the prototype stuff for a while, I’d advise you to go for the Challengers and avoid the Big Boys and cab-forwards. Both of those were rather specialized locos built for one purpose on one railroad, and the Big Boys in particularly small numbers. The Challenger was successfully used by several railroads, and might well have become a standard like the 4-8-4 if steam had stuck around a little longer. One of these RRs was the SP & S, and another the NP, so they could conceivably be at home in the Pacific NW.
Don’t forget that you should probably have more standard freighters like Mikados or Consolidations than Challengers, except at the very end of steam when a lot of the older stuff might have been scrapped first. Take a look at the WM roster for an example:
This roster is a little unusual in the heavy reliance on 2-8-0s and Decapods, although that wasn’t at all unheard of for eastern mountain roads who wanted good tractive effort. It does show that heavy reliance on older standard power that never really ended until the diseasels took over. It’s a little sad, in a way. There may hardly have been a case for dieselization in the 1940s if every railroad had kept upgrading their rosters.
If you want pulling power, the Bowser Challenger is in your price range, but I myself haven’t built one. It would probably be best to do one of their simpler kits before tackling the 4-6-6-4.
I have both the Rivarossi Allegheny and Athearn Challenger. Both are excellent pullers and do well on tigthter turns (22" radius and lower) Both were fitted with Soundtraxx Tsunami’s as the Challenger fitted MRC wasn’t as good a quality with regards to sound as the Tsunami. The Challenger is the Pride of my roster, including the 4 brass engines I have. I really have an affinity for it and sometimes wonder if i should have a second one?
Thanks guys for my late response to your responses! The site down time over the weekend thing…
I have a “Red Box” Rivarossi Cab Forward in storage that I purchased in '89, '90 or 91 (can’t remember…)
and would like to know if they had drivers that universally run on code 83 HO. I test ran it on two layouts.
Ran fine on one but had some issues at places on the other before it had to go back to storage. I didn’t have a chance to measure the drivers/flanges. I think they’re an intermediate size between the pizza cutters and the RP25s. Does anyone know? Eventually I’ll get hold of a digital caliper…
Autobus, thanks for the prototype reminders. I’m aware of the use of Challengers with the NP and UP in the Pacific N.W. so it’s a definite choice. I was wondering if the Bachman Spectrum 2-6-6-2 would be close enough to the model the NP used in the N.W.? I’m not rivet counting but if it’s reasonably close that’ll be fine.
I unfortunately/fortunately (?) HAVE to own and run a cab forward. It’s always been my favorite locomotive since my youth and I was thrilled to accidentally discover and climb aboard the sole remaining example at the Sacramento Railroad Museum.
I definitely plan on owning and running at least one Spectrum Consolidation as a combined switching/mainline loco.
I’m just trying to decide which one I want to buy lst with currently limited funds. I’d like to buy the largest locomotive I’m likely to first so that at least I HAVE one if I should go broke. I did mean to
include the Challenger in my initial title/request so that’s a likely candidate. The Micro Marks Spectrum 1-6-6-2 deal with Tsunami sound is calling loudly to me though…
I like some of the BLIs but I keep hearing of mechanical issues that give me pause…
I wish all of the brands had Bachman Spectrum’s excellent ongoing warantee. It would make choices
easier.
Anyway still collecting info., recommendations, and…money. I’m also t
[quote user=“Capt. Grimek”]
Thanks guys for my late response to your responses! The site down time over the weekend thing…
I have a “Red Box” Rivarossi Cab Forward in storage that I purchased in '89, '90 or 91 (can’t remember…)
and would like to know if they had drivers that universally run on code 83 HO. I test ran it on two layouts.
Ran fine on one but had some issues at places on the other before it had to go back to storage. I didn’t have a chance to measure the drivers/flanges. I think they’re an intermediate size between the pizza cutters and the RP25s. Does anyone know? Eventually I’ll get hold of a digital caliper…
Autobus, thanks for the prototype reminders. I’m aware of the use of Challengers with the NP and UP in the Pacific N.W. so it’s a definite choice. I was wondering if the Bachman Spectrum 2-6-6-2 would be close enough to the model the NP used in the N.W.? I’m not rivet counting but if it’s reasonably close that’ll be fine.
I unfortunately/fortunately (?) HAVE to own and run a cab forward. It’s always been my favorite locomotive since my youth and I was thrilled to accidentally discover and climb aboard the sole remaining example at the Sacramento Railroad Museum.
I definitely plan on owning and running at least one Spectrum Consolidation as a combined switching/mainline loco.
I’m just trying to decide which one I want to buy lst with currently limited funds. I’d like to buy the largest locomotive I’m likely to first so that at least I HAVE one if I should go broke. I did mean to
include the Challenger in my initial title/request so that’s a likely candidate. The Micro Marks Spectrum 1-6-6-2 deal with Tsunami sound is calling loudly to me though…
I like some of the BLIs but I keep hearing of mechanical issues that give me pause…
I wish all of the brands had Bachman Spectrum’s excellent ongoing warantee. It would ma
i have a rivarossis 2-8-8-2, it has go pulling power but its kinda old (i dont know how old) but the light dont work that great but its old and used, but still runs great[:)]
Looking at the prototype (again!) the SP used ACs everywhere in California from the Los Angeles basin to (and probably over) the Oregon border - unlike the Big Boy, which was a one place/one route wonder. The cab-to-the-rear version ran in New Mexico, then Northern Cal-Oregon.
IIRC, the NP 2-6-6-2 had the square-topped Belpaire boiler, unlike the Chessie H-8 which had a wagon top.
Challengers got into the act everywhere EXCEPT SP - D&H, Clinchfield, the Grande…
The Alleghany was another one-region wonder, coal roads in West Virginia (except N&W, which preferred their own Class A.)
Even the NYC and Pennsy had Mallets. Of course, theirs were hump switchers…
I have all the locos you mentioned except the Challenger is Lionel. I had a Genesis BB and now have a BLI BB. I also have a BLi Cab-Forward. Best value I would say BLi Big Boy or Athearn Genesis Challenger. I set my Lionel Challenger next to an Athearn and the Athearn IMHO was a better loco, but a Lionel is still a Lionel. I would say that the better sound is in BLI, but the Genesis decoders are not that bad in the Challenger or Big Boy. If you are going to double-head, stay away from the Blueline Big Boy unless you don’t mind old-style consisting…too much to go into right now. If you want something special, go with the Cab-Forward, but it isn’t well balanced(weight sitting evenly between front and rear trucks) which causes it to not pull as well as others and it could have really benefitted with traction tires. It still pulls ok, just not as well as expected from a 4-8-8-2.
A loco not mentioned but worthy of consideration is the N&W Class A 2-6-6-4. The whistle is extremely unique and it could probably pull a brick out the wall so to speak. A prototype is still around and it is a pretty good looking,running and sounding loco from BLI.
I do remember that Rivarossi went through an intermediate flange size on their locos, and that the Cab Forward lagged behind with larger flanges long after the Big Boy and Challenger were retooled. You probably have that intermediate version. If the wheels aren’t blackened, then they’re larger than RP25. Mr. SP said the Cab Forwards were finally revised, and he should know. The later versions have powerful, smooth running drives, but the detail is spartan compared to the BLI.
3T:
I sometimes wonder what would have happened had the PRR gotten into the Challenger, which was showing signs of becoming a standard like the 4-8-4 when diesels hit. It would of course have looked awesomely grand – picture, if you will, a Challenger with the full PRR treatment, looking like a Q2 – but it might also have fought off the diesels for longer. Had a few large RRs including the very largest continued with steam for a few years more…the word for it is “tantalizing”, I think. Maybe we’d have had modern steam right up into the sixties or longer, and maybe by that point, we’d have gone right from steam to electrics. Maybe I need to invent that flux capacitor.
An NYC Challenger resembling the Niagara would be a pretty amazing sight, too…
BLI made the AC 4/5 and I believe and that Intermountain and RR did the later mentioned in plastic and not considering the manufactures that did the AC-12 in brass. Akane made one in brass, but either way any newer run of a Cab-Forward in DCC/Sound will cost over 350. You can find an older run from RR for less.
Cab-Forwards looks great on any layout and they will draw lots of attention. They are pricey even on Ebay which I have seen some lately go for 460-520 and they were “track tested”.
Challenger would be my favorite, but presently the only HO Challenger that I have found which is prototypical is brass. NP had a single stack. Athearn has a beautiful model if you go N scale.
Let me know if you find an NP Challenger because I am always looking.