If you could only have one of...

[thor]

Right now my freight consist is an MTH flat car with two tow trucks and a K-Line gondola with logs on. My passenger stock is two green coaches and a red rounded end one that came with my Disney set. My three locos are all Lionel.

My preference is for steam but I might get a Diesel having heard a Lionel one with all the sound effects but trains being as expensive as they are, I guess I'll never have the wonderful array I see on other peoples pictures.

So, just one of those 'if I won the lottery' idle speculation questions. If you could only have one loco from each of the mass produced manufacturers and if cost WAS an object, in other words the best bang for your buck, which would you buy?

BTW my next purchase will be an MTH Pacific as I have been offered one from a set at a good price! It's blue but I dont know which specific model it is. To be honest being a toy train lover, I chose it for its colour!

[pbjwilson]

Hi thor,
MTH 2-8-0 with PS2. It's a bargain. You get sounds, cruise control, looks and performs great. I have an old one going on 10 years old, with PS1, and its one of my best runners.

[jpelosi2002]

I really like my post war Lionel 2340 GG1. It's very attractive, smooth operation, runs great on small radius track, feels very hefty in my hands and pulls like a bull. You can get very nice ones on Ebay for under $500. I was lucky enough to inherit mine from my grandfather.
Jim

[cnw1995]

The 2340 is a beautiful engine. My favorite would be the WIlliams GG1. Newish, heavy, awesome puller, inexpensive.

[Frank53]

Steam: Lionel Post War 726 Berkshire - probably in the $250 or so range

Diesel: Lionel Post War F-3 A-A - pick a road name - Santa Fe is a smart looking example

Electric: Lionel Post War GG1 or a New Haven 2350

[crip]

MTH Santa Fe F3 with loco sounds and cruise. Smooth running at all speeds Works great on O31 tube track and even better on O36 fastrack once I saw the light. No batteries to worry about. Heck of a bargain at under $100.00

[Anonymous]

Hi Thor,

Kind of hard to find an inexpensive Lionel diesel with full sound. I prefer Lionel steamers, but all my diesels are MTH (Railking).... they are smooth, powerful, and can run slowly. One of them is Locosounds, two of them are Protosounds. Locosound is very generic and electronic sounding. Protosounds can be downright amazing and it's worth having at least one or two of those..... very similar to Railsounds.

But they are not cheap anymore. The most I ever paid was 250, but now, anything with PS2 lists for more than that. The SW can be had for that, and it's very nice. Maybe there are still some others too.

Good Luck,
Santa Fe Kent

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw1995

My favorite would be the WIlliams GG1. Newish, heavy, awesome puller, inexpensive.

I agree. At $150., this was my "best bang for the buck". My $75. Lionel Docksider would come in second, and my $69. RMT "Buddy" third. So, for less than $300., I have 3 engines that I'm very happy with. Joe

[Jumijo]

Thor,

You don't need to own a lot of trains to have fun. All of the suggestions in this thread are excellent. I'd love to get a Williams GG-1. The docksider and the buddies are also very good, inexpensive trains.

The Williams GG-1 is selling now for $139. It runs on O27 track, comes with 2 motors, all metal gearing, a flywheel, and digital horn and bell. The pantographs go up and down (manually), and I'm told it's a very strong, heavy locomotive. It also has no smoke unit to be disappointed with. A very nice toy train.

Looking at ads in CTT, I see lots of locomotives for sale that came from broken up sets. A Lionel Santa Fe FT diesel with Trainsounds can be had for $185 or so.

Jim

[traindaddy1]

Have to go with Frank 53. Lionel New Haven Electric 2350 Strong, smooth and very quiet.

[Frank53]

QUOTE: Originally posted by traindaddy1

Have to go with Frank 53. Lionel New Haven Electric 2350 Strong, smooth and very quiet.

riht on all three counts:

[dwiemer]

Got the Williams GG1, plenty of post war engines, and a few MPC and modern engines (k-line plymouths, Porters, Lionel Docksiders, etc.), but as is usually the case, it is what I don't have. I think if I could only have one, it would either be the original Prewar Blue Comet set, or the congressional set.[:P]. Could you please tell my wife.....Oh, she'll never go for it.
Dennis

[johnandjulie13]

Hello Thor:

While I agree with pbjwilson that the MTH 2-8-0 is a bargain (I have one myself), I think a MTH Imperial series locomotive is the way to go. They are all around $400.00 and have a lot more detail than the regular RailKing line and they can still negotiate O31 curves.

The SP Daylight, PRR S2 Turbine and the Camelback all appear to be terrific values. I have the S2 Turbine and it has been great!

Good luck with your decision. In my opinion, shopping/deciding on which item to buy is always half the fun.

Regards,

JO