Torn about which engine to get?

[KEVINK22]

Hey All,

 I have been looking into getting a new steam engine for sometime now; but have come across alittle fork in the road....... which is which one to go with. Originally i was looking into getting the Williams by Bachmann J Class 4-8-4 PRR steam engine; but my local hobby shop has a MTH 4-6-2 Railking PRR Torpedo. I already have a MTH engine and i think that they are great smokers plus the fact that it has the chuff effect is a nice feature. The Williams on the other hand is alittle more reasonable in the price dept., and although has only whistle and bell are great puller and really reliable. As for the smoke output i have seen and heard different aspects of it. Any thoughts or comments to help me out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all!!!

[rtraincollector]

Get them both then you won't have to worry.

[Seayakbill]

Get them both then you won't have to worry.

 

LOL, that would be a good solution.

For me I like the extras that you get with a MTH locomotive compared to a Williams loco. I do have a number of Williams locos and they are super strong pullers and pretty much bullet proof.

[balidas]

I'd go with the Williams.

[Train-O]

KEVIN22,

I have two diesel engines. made by a popular company, which has all of the bells and whistles.
Since, I had a problem with one, which has been repaired, I very rarely use both of these engines with all of the latest features, for fear of damage.
In my opinion, as the repair and/or replacement costs are too high, for these cuties, I would be skeptical to purchase another, unless the longevity, quality and reliability are improved.

I have two Bachmann/Williams diesels, with True Blast II, bell and whistle, sound features and as far, as I'm concerned that is more than enough and hopefully these will last.
I concur with Bill T., in regards to the Bachmmann/Williams  engines, they are similar to the greatness of Lionel's Post War engines!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck in you choices,

Merry Christmas,

Ralph

[sir james I]

I like sounds, but unless it had the new PS3 board,(no battery) I would go with the Williams or if price is a buying point, one of Lionel's lower priced engines with sound.

[8ntruck]

RT sure was a lot of help, wasn't he.   Buy them both, then explain to your wife that you had to 'cause RT said so...........

Another possible combination would be the Williams, but start looking for a Lionel tender with Trainsounds.  That will get you generic steam engine chuff sound, bell, whistle, and some tower talk.

You could transplant the Lionel guts into the Williams tender, or maybe luck out and swap tender shells.

You would probably want to disable the Trueblast II though with this combination, though.

Good luck & send pictures of what you get.

[KEVINK22]

Thanks to all who contributed their thoughts. I think i am going to go with the Williams, and maybe down the line add an Electric Railroad sound board if i really need the chuffing. I hear it is pretty close to ones that already have that sound feature. And i also agree about the repair cost it can get alittle out of control. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to you all!!!

[richhotrain]

8ntruck

RT sure was a lot of help, wasn't he.   Buy them both, then explain to your wife that you had to 'cause RT said so...........

Actually, RT's suggestion was helpful and makes sense.  I have made similar suggestions on the "other forum" when a member is torn between two locos.  Get them both !

Rich

[Seayakbill]

The one thing I don't like about Williams is their TruBlast horn. Who wants to blow what I assume is a RR crossing warning every time you hit the horn. I want to use the horn for what it was intended for, to warn about the train movement by different blasts.

[Train-O]

I failed to mention the other reasons I hesitate to buy one of these fragile beauty's, with all of the bells and whistles, is:
1-The high selling price, for Heaven's sake, we are in a depression and, yes I know things cost more now-a-days, but give me a break, they are only toys, expensive toys at that!

2-Another reason, to hesitate to buy is, if the item is not in stock, then one has to place an order,  or there has to be enough buyer interest to cause a large enough order for the item to be produced and of course, there is the wait, almost a year!

These, are reasons people don't buy, or buy as much, anymore and cause hobby shops to close! 

Ralph

[sir james I]

Ralph you are right, placing a preorder is risky because you don't know when the item will reach the store. If you need it now buy something that's available now. Yes the Williams horn is lame but it does work and keeps the overall cost of the engine down.

[rtraincollector]

I honestly meant it as a joke as to me coming here to ask which engine to buy when its a decision that you have to make isn't logic but in the other hand if your coming to ask the pluses and minuses of two different engines so you can get an idea of how they really would work for you and what you might expect in getting one or the other which I honestly feel he really meant. To me I really can't say a thing good or bad about mth engines as I have never owned one with proto 1,2, or 3 in it.

My biggest gripe about Williams is the same as mentioned above is the horn/whistle. other than that I like them. I have a trainmaster which I got in that didn't have any sound nor looked like it ever did so I'm guessing its real early Williams I put tmcc in it and trainsounds yes railsounds would of been better but at the time thats what my budget could do. I like it and it does what I want I recently had it up for sale on ebay but have since decided I'm just going to keep it.

The main reason I don't have MTH is that I have TMCC and don't want to pay for another operating system. I feel Lionel and MTH hurt themselves by not having a compatible operating system. That they really should work on a system which will run both systems together as I feel it would promote more sales for both of them. One that can do all the bells and whistles of each manufacture with out having to buy other items to tie them into each other. okay enough for my rant lol . Any way I'm sure both engines are great and as you said your going with Williams and maybe later add tmcc and sound. well I can tell you its not hard at all to do I've done a few upgrades to different engines and its been easy.

[Train-O]

sir james I,

I do like you say, I'll buy something I like and is in stock.

Sometimes there's that beloved advertisement proclaiming a beautiful, all bells and whistles item, that makes me want to have it!
BUT certain things, which cause me snap out of my dream, are the cost of the item, the time it takes for the item to arrive and if, there are enough prospective buyers, to make it worth while, to pre-order the item!

Enough GRIPE,

I SAYS, WHAT I SAYS!

Ralph

[Anonymous]

You guys kill me.

1 - You do realize that R&D cost money?
2 - You do realize the manufacturers can only use the casting dies so many times before the detail is lost and the die is worthless?
3 - PreOrders help the manufacturers determine what we are interested in - personally I think it is stupid, they should be soliciting our input BEFORE they announce what MAY be available after PreOrder sales.
4 - Just because you can't afford something, doesn't mean there aren't people out there that can.

I understand your frustration that the big guys aren't selling their products at a loss so you can enjoy them, or that they won't offer all of their product with just some wires and motors, so you can afford them, but they have a business to run and it is their business to decide how to run it.

The sounds you get from the ERR boards is NOT the same as what you would get from the newer boards from MTH or Lionel. Infact the ERR boards come with Railsounds 2.0 I think, they are not the new Legacy sounds and the tower com is nearly inaudible with RS2.0.

I have a few engines that have the old TMCC electronics in them and they are nice, but not nearly as nice as the Legacy engines I own. I have a TMCC upgrade from the now defunct TAS company in OH, in one of my dockside switchers and it is nice, gives very slow operations for a switcher, and I have the cruise commander upgrade from ERR in a conventional Lionel Jr Mikado - makes it easier to run on the upper level of the layout. I just ordered a ERR complete TMCC upgrade for a MTH C&O Yellowbelly Hudson that I own because Lionel has not announced that they will be releasing a Legacy version any time soon and I want this engine on the layout.

Just some food for thought.

[Train-O]

Brent,

Merry Christmas,

Ralph