I’m needing a switcher for my UP WWII-era layout and I’m considering getting a Stewart Hobbies VO-1000, but I have a few questions about it. How well does it run? How well detailed is it? Is it DCC ready?
Thank in advance.
Hello EL PARRo
[:D]As a Stewart Hobbies locomotive owner, in my opinion they’re top of the line! Very quiet, smooth runners that are nicely detailed, though if you have a prototype picture you can install more goodies from Detail Associates and Details West. Current draw is low, so DCC conversion wouldn’t be a headache.
I think all of Stewart’s newer locomotives are DCC ready, but I’m not 100% sure, so just click “Stewart Hobbies” on your search engine. Once there, you can look up the details of the locomotive you want for your fleet.
[:p][8)][dinner]Stewart Hobbies locomotive performances are what help “spoil” me and got me to start noticing the shortcomings of my Athearns!
[sigh](Though I will still continue to buy Athearns and “fine tune” them. For the money they’re still good locomotives.)
All Stewart locomotives are top notch.
The VO1000 is DCC ready, with an NMRA 8 pin connector.
See: http://www.stewarthobbies.com/
The click on Parts on the left,
Scroll down to the VO1000
Click on Exploded Parts Drawing
Scroll down, item 25 is the dummy plug.
I have two, decorated for the Western Maryland. Both are smooth, quiet runners, but interestingly, one has a SLIGHTLY lower minimum (although the other is an excellent swticher too) and they do not run at exactly the same speed at any given voltage (I’m a DC holdover). Tooling is crisp and accurate. As another poster commented, adding a few details is easy and turns these into top-quality models.
ITs inaccurate to say that all Stewart diesels are top-drawer. In their early days they relied on Athearn mechanisms.
Stewart has been using their own drives since they released the FTs in the mid 90’s and they were designed to run with the other top manufacturers. The Baldwin switchers are some of the finest plastic models available in detail, paint/print quality, and performance and they are DCC ready with an 8 pin NMRA connection.