I am somewhat disappointed that so far there have been very little in the way of small steam locos with factory sound being offered. I am speaking of the HO market. I’m sure the N guys have their own complaints. P2K offers an 0-8-0 which is primarily a switcher and MDC came out with a 4-4-0 but I’m not impressed with its appearance and I believe it is not DCC equipped. Bachmann’s 2-8-0 is a real nice engine and I have two, one with factory sound. I’d like to see something produced in either a 4-6-0 or 2-6-2 wheel arrangement but so far, I’ve seen nothing. The manufacturers give us lots of choices in big steam. It seems that everyone has come out with a Big Boy and there are plenty of other choices in Northerns, Berkshires, Mountains, and assorted articulateds. This seems strange to me since I’m guessing most modelers have small to medium sized layouts in which the smaller engines would be more at home than the giants. I’m somewhat surprised that so far they have ignored this end of the market when it comes to the new technologies.
Bachmann has released both their modern 4-4-0 and their 4-6-0 with DCC& Sound…
My BLI Hudson will handle 18-inch curves with no problem, and even negotiates Atlas snap-switches. The fire sale on these is over, but I got mine from Trainworld for $130, factory-equipped with DCC and sound.
I was unaware of that. Is this a recent development?
I was hoping for something from P2K or BLI, but it’s nice to know there is something available. I have been very happy with my Spectrum Consolidations but I have had problems with some of their larger engines, specifically with the pilot wheels staying on the track. I had this problem with the old Bachmann line from back in the 1980s and stayed away from Bachmann until they came out with their Spectrum line.
Don’t be too quick to judge the engines when they derail. My trackwork was pretty bulletproof when I was living in the early diesel era. But, when I set the Wayback Machine for steam, I found problems that needed attention. First, my P2K 0-6-0 located a small kink at a track joint, and later the Hudson managed to find a dip on a curve and climb up over it.
Use a diesel to check your track to see if it’s OK. Then use a steamer to check your track to see if it’s good.
I have a fairly large steam fleet, mostly BLI and Spectrum with with one each from Trix and Genesis. If I was having problems throughout the fleet, I would suspect the track work, but the problem is primarily with my Niagra and less frequently with the 2-10-2. This is a repeat I had with the old Bachmann line from way back. The pilot wheels seem to be attached fairly loosely and this makes them prone to jumping the track. I haven’t figured out a solution yet. With an old pre-Spectrum Consolidation I had, I simple removed the pilot wheels and made it an 0-8-0.