Someone started a discussion on most favorite locomotive, but I thought it would be interesting to read about least favorite locomotives.
Mine was a Yugoslavian made N scale Model
Power Chessie Alco Fa. I think this thing had over sized traction tires for lousy electrical pickup, started at 90+ mph, very little body weight even though it would have been easy and rather cheap to add more, it had only the front trucks with electrical pickup, sounded like a coffe grinder ran it ran which was seldom, the headlight sometimes worked, its a wonder N scale survived hese monsters. It sure wobbled nicely and could never get past a turnout with out stopping or jerking, Mehanho Yugoslavin made loco’s are the ANTI-KATO’S.
I couldn’t agree with you more James, I too probably have a few of those Mehanho built locos somewhere in a box. They were the worst…Back then Bachmann was about the best…for the money…I still have a couple from them that still run. Alot has changed for the better in the past 24 years I have been in Nscale.
My biggest disappointment has been with the old
(Pre-Walthers)HO Rivarossi Steam Engines. The poor electrical pick-ups in the 4-8-4 Northern,the 4-6-6-4 Challenger and the 2-8-8-2 Mallet. I have been burnt by these steamers but that’s history.
The new Allegheny has staggered pick-ups,both side all the way back into the tender but it’s out of my income bracket.
Well, Im probably not old enough to have been lucky enough to have a Yugo model. HOwever, I recently purchased a Bachmann SPectrum Dash 8, and boy does it suck. Starts running at about 60, and runs slower than a snail in tar at that. First and last Bachmann Ill ever buy, thought I got a deal. Oh well, might be pricier, but Ill stick with Kato and Atlas.
Well my vote would be anything from CONCOR,Lucky for me my kids got ahold of them!!!Also MATT at least your SPECTRUM DASH 8 ran it took a complete over haul to get mine to budge.And yes those YUGOS were something else.
Mine has got to be an HO scale IHC 0-4-0. I can never seem to keep the tender on the track or from jumping the track altogether from running too fast even when I barely have the transformer on!
I have a couple real stinkers from the old days. The worst is an N-scale Lima FP45. While the shell looks pretty nice, the mech was junk. As someone else put it: “It couldn’t pull a fist full of smoke.”
I have some old Bachmann’s that are pretty pitiful, but at least they still run.
Thank you Kato for leading N-scale out of the dark ages!!
I could not agree more about the bachmann spectrum locos. i made the mistake of buying 3 of the 8-40CW’s. the first one ran for a week or 2 before it started having problems. I disassembled it and fiddled with it a while and got it running for another week, hen it died forever. I removed the motor and gears and it does make a nice rolling dummy loco. i still have the other 2 in the boxes, never been run. i also have one of their 40 tonners and a centennial, both of them i have never run so i cant tell if they are as bad as the others.
My biggest diaappointment came from Atlas in the form of 2 Alco RS11s.The frist RS11 the motor burnt out in 6 months under normal club operations.Both went through motor brushes like they was going out of style.I did manage to fix the problem.There is a happy collector with 2 custom painted N&W Atlas RS11s in his collection.
I’ve had a number of really bad locomotives, both in the running and in the looks department. My worst runner was a Bachmann Spectrum NYC 4-8-4. The rear driver would always work loose and hose the valve gear.
My worst looker is a Marx HO Santa Fe GP-7. This engine is lettered “Santa Fe” but is yellow and gray - Union Pacific colors! I’ve got a caboose to macth. The proportions of the hood are funny. The long hood is too narrow and the short hood is too wide. Sort of a hammerhead look. But it’s a good runner.
Walthers train line sux.Bachmann spectrum sux.AHM sux.Tyco sux.Some athearn aint worth a stink and that is true.ATLAS ROCO helped me stay in the hobby.If it wasnt for them I dont know where I would be.Thank you ATLAS…
How about the best loco? In my opinion Lifelike has the best for the money range, especially their SD7&9 in N Scale. At some hobby shops or train shows one can buy these locos for $25 and they can’t be beat at that price. Twelve-wheel pickup, eight-wheel drive with two flywheels. I wire two units together with the one-amp wires and tiny plugs, with a piece of styrene in place of the couplers, and it results in 24-wheel pickup and 16-wheel drive that almost never stalls and will creep along with 14-18 cars like a real train. I have my cars weighed heavy so they ride right.
Earl, Tug Fork R.R.
How about the best loco? In my opinion Lifelike has the best for the money range, especially their SD7&9 in N Scale. At some hobby shops or train shows one can buy these locos for $25 and they can’t be beat at that price. Twelve-wheel pickup, eight-wheel drive with two flywheels. I wire two units together with the one-amp wires and tiny plugs, with a piece of styrene in place of the couplers, and it results in 24-wheel pickup and 16-wheel drive that almost never stalls and will creep along with 14-18 cars like a real train. I have my cars weighed heavy so they ride right.
Earl, Tug Fork R.R.
I think that’s funny about your terrible Rivarossis!..My father gave me a Rivarossi Hudson he purchased in 1967 that has been through all kinds of abuse but now runs on my layout and other than some standard lubrication has NEVER failed me in performance…maybe I have an exception!
My vote is the Bachman N scale Dash-8, what a let down. I’ve been looking for a Kato Dash 9, but settled for a Bachman Dash8, OUCH! You get what you pay for! I’ll say they look pretty good and run ok if they are running solo, but if you add 4-5 cars or more, they slip like a rock on ice and can’t take a turn with more than 6 cars without getting stuck, (this is on FLAT TRACK!). I did recently find an undecorated Kato Dash 9 which runs excellent! Pulls good medium sized trains, no slips! Kato SD90 is a real good unit too, pulls like a raging bull, a lot of cars! like they say, you get what you pay for.
I dunno if’n anyone remembers the Lionel GP30. The puppy had a power truck with what was called a ring gap motor. The puppy took off like a rocket, but I purchased it because it was the first really good lookin’ GP30 produced. The shell now resides on an Athearn mechanism.
The worst loco I have is the IHC 4-4-0 old time steam loco, I should have sent it back but the shipping would have been more than its value, I posted a question about adding flywheels to it thinking that may help, The best locos I own are a 2-8-2 Mantua and a 0-4-0 Lima both still run great for 30 year old’s
I agree. I have all of the HO streamliner Rivarossi’s and the older ones actually run better than some of my newer engines. Now if I could just keep the cars coupled I would have it made.