Greetings Everyone!!!
I am very new to the forum as well as the hobby, I have several Atlas as well as Proto loco’s but I have seen a few Stewart models around, Are they good runners and which do they compare too. Any help would be greatly appreciated.[:)]
Welcome to the hobby. I have 3 of the Stewart F units and they are well made smooth running locomotives. They are not quite as detailed as the latest Atlas locos, but IMO are good value models.
Thank You Simon, I will keep a closer eye one these units.
Many Thanks
I have 2 DS 4-4-1000 they are the best running locomotive I have.
Someone recently gave me an old Stewart switcher. It was dry and dusty. I lube’d it up and it runs smooth and quiet. Runs really nice! I don’t know what year it was manufactured.
Greg
thank you CSPMO and YardGoat, I will go ahead with the purchase.
Many Thanks
I have a 4 unit Stewart FT that was originally all powered and a sweet runner. 2 years ago when we had a club layout I was pulling 65 cars on 24"radii and up to 2% grades. We later had to demo the layout which was in the basement of a private home. When I went to DCC I made one back to a dummy B that is full of sound. Still a sweet runner but I have not had the opportunity to run long trains!
I’m interested in Stewart F units myself. Do they run as good as the newer Atlas Geeps?
I have 3 Stewart F units, and 2 DS 4-4-1000’s. They are good solid runners and a good value…
Stewart F-units are the second best running F-units (behind Athearn Genesis) I’ve found. The ones I have are all Kato powered, so enough said eh?
The only problem I’ve ever had with any Stewart unit: When I got my VO-660, the wheels on the front truck were slightly out of gauge, I simply pressed them back to where they should be and that was it. I’d probably chalk that one up to some rough transit to the hobby shop or something and it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed in a few seconds.
Cheers!
~METRO
The earliest (circa 1990) Stewart diesels used Athearn motors and drives, for the last ten years they’ve used Kato. (Kato also makes their own line of diesels.) Most people feel Kato is either the very best or, at least, one of the very best makers as far as smooth, quiet running engines. I have several F units and they are wonderful running engines. As was said the bodies are good but not perfect, but you can get Highliner shells (if you can find them) and fit them to the Stewart/Kato chassis.
This is NOT entirely correct. Stewarts’ Athearn era was very short, and they switch to Kato in early '90s. Before 2000, they switch to thier own drivetrain with a Buehler motor. Stewart’s own chassis is on par with Kato. They are equal to the best.
Yeah i know now they make their own drive train, before that it was Kato ones, and before that it was Athearn’s drive. i have two U25B’s with the athearn drives and they are nice engines. The shells are nice, but probaly not as well detailed as new stuff today. Overall i love these engines, and would buy more stewarts.
~matt
Very good models.The F units with the Kato drive are the best.After you detail the U25B and C628-630 units they are excellent.Those little Baldwin switchers are also nice.The only trouble I had out of Stewarts were the older C628 drive shafts which stewart replaced free of charge and an RS12 that the truck would not stay together.I could have sent it back for repair but decided to scrap it instead.Wish I still had it.Dan
Wonderful locomotives! [tup] I have a Baldwin VO-660 switcher and a FT A-B diesel and they run great. As already mentioned, the shells aren’t quite as nicely detailed as other brands but they are still good. My VO-660 has the Canon motor and it’s both VERY quiet and strong. I highly recommend them.
BTW, I picked up the Stewart FT A-B at M.B. Klein for $90 - over 1/2 off MSRP. Purchase and installed the Lenz Gold decoder from Litchfield Station and it absolutely crawls.
Tom
I have 2 ABBA sets of Stewart F units, 4 FT’s and 4 F3’s. They run better than swiss watches. The sure do pull, too. Just keep them off those flimsy, lightweight bridges, though.
Brad
Stewart sounds like the cadillac of F units. That’s good because my primary power will be F units. The only thing is that the B units aren’t powered so I’ll have to buy a powered chassie and put my B unit shell on it.
This question comes at an opportune time for me. I’m in the market to buy a F7-AB set.
How do the Stewart F7-AB’s compare with the Athearn Genesis F7-AB’s with regards to running noise, smoothness, sound, dcc, detail?
Thanks,
Trevor
The switchers were built by Ajin of Korea. Stewart is now owned by Bowser and they are making improvements. You may see changes in the drives. Some of the upgraded models look very good!