This is a hard one as quality has improved exponentially over the past five years.
I’m impressed with the new Rivarossi engines
BLI, easily. Brass-level quality.
I clicked on Bachmann because of their Limited Edition A4 Pacific (“Dwight D Eisenhower”) which beats Branchline, Lima and Hornby “hands down” for detail, smooth performance, power etc.
But I had overlooked my one and only US steam engine – a Bowser GS4 – I should have clicked on Bowser.
Depends upon your tax bracket
I can’t vote for just one. There are several excellent manufacturers.
Bachmann Spectrum, Life Like Proto 2000, Broadway Limited Imports are just a few I recommend.
Dale B.
I agree with locomotive3.
I can’t afford brass, new Rivarossi or even Athearn’s Steam locomotives.
I have several Rivarossi, an AHM 4-4-0 & an IHC 4-6-2.
The Rivarossi & the AHM are nice looking models, considering that they were bought by my dad over 30 years ago.
The IHC isn’t detaled like some would like them to be, but they are within my price range & they are quiet running.
Just my 2 cents
Gordon
I love Rivarossi, but the Trix big boy just catches my eye. I’ve seen one in action and was truly impressed.
And that’s taxable !
I waited ten months before I bot the Allegheny. On sale plus additional 15% off. Haven’t
seen one cheaper.
Have an IHC 4-8-2 light mountain that I double head with the new bachmann spectrum 4-8-2
heavy mountain both of which I’m happy with.
I can’t stretch any more bucks for the New Athearn, Broadway, Lifelife or Trix(OUCH)
I waited ten months before I bot the Allegheny. On sale plus additional 15% off. Haven’t
seen one cheaper.
[/quote]
I waited 20 years after seeing pictures in Ron Ziel’s “The Twilight of Steam” (Still have the book). I even went as far as contacting some N.A. manufactures three years ago and asking them if they had plans for making the “Allegheny”, and was told no. When Rivarossi released it I was hesitant as I had some of their older engines, which caused me grief and nothing but! I love my “Allegheny” and I’m looking forward to an FEF-3 under the tree in a couple of weeks.
Lifelike’s Proto Heritage Series. The detailing is just as high as any Spectrum or BLI steamer, but they run much quieter and smoother than them. No wobble. No whining at higher speeds. Every one a jem, especially that Berk.
i voted Life Like for the Proto 2000 line. nothing can beat these locomotives. they are easy to assemble for the most part and they run and look great.
The two I would nominate are Brawa and Roco. Their attention to detail is outstanding.
I voted for Riv.: I have a preference for little woodburning American Standards.
I have more of theirs than any others. Still have a little AHM Pocher 4-4-0 from late '60s. Have & like Bachman’s Spectrum Consolidation. IHC-Mehano not too bad either. Have an 30+ year brass unit from Japan - still runs like a top.
BLI Middle of the tax chart with very few rivets to count. [:)] In other words, middle-of-the-road prices, well built with good detail.
I can’t choose just one, so I’ll have to say Bachmann and Hornby. Both produce decent models at reasonable prices (in the UK at least). Trix, Fleischmann et al make some very nice models but they’re more than a little expensive!
I didn’t know you modeled steam locomotives, Hawks05.
Of the nicely detailed engines that I own, two are old brass engines, several Lifelike’s Proto Heritage engines as well as some of the Spectrum series and like them very much, but the best performer that I have is the Trix Big Boy. The detail is great, and drives very well. I’ve installed a DCC chip and it easily does a scale 3mph as well as any Diesels I’ve seen run. It has pulled everything that I had on a level plain very smoothly. If you have the layout for it and the budget (I think it is a bit pricey) it would be a nice addition. I’ve been so pleased with the Trix Big Boy that I plan to buy the newly released Trix big Boy as well as the Alco PA-1 and the Mikado next year as soon as the budget will allow.
I’ve seen a Trix BigBoy run at a train show and was unimpressed. [V] It kept stopping abruptly and uncoupling from its cars. No other locomotives stopped in the area of track were the 4-8-8-4 died. Mabey its wheel were dirty, or somthing was wrong with that particular unit. Also, it kept juming in speed with no one controlling it. Cruising…cruising…highballing! That made for a negative experience watching this locomotive preform. [:(]
LL P2K 0-6-0 is about as stunning a plastic engine as I have seen- it rivals brass. The newer Rivarossi engines are impressive- especially the Allegheny. There are lots of plastic engines that are really nice these days. The Athearn 2-8-2 seems almost undetailed compared to the newest generation. - Nevin
The 2 new Rivarossi super locomotives, FEF-3 and H-8, can rival anything else in detailing. But the FEF apparently runs a little off.