Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
ndbprr is 100% correct on the prices. Ridiculous, especially when you consider that almost everything is made 'over seas'. It is like the "Nike shoes deal" . They pay some folks in other counties 'pennies' to build an item, then sell it over hear for hundreds of dollars. Nearly every motor is made in China, Taiwan, Japan or Korea. Kato, a very good product, is made entirely in Japan and distributed via US Kato in the US. ndbprr is also 100% correct about using ebay. I purchased my entire SP/SSW 'Black Widow' era collection on ebay (4-5 boxes of locomotives). The collection includes Atlas, Kato, Stewarts, and Athearn (normally I don't buy the Athearns, personal preference). As far as details, ndbprr is not quite 100% correct. I can see them, even when we are running the trains. With the details, they look better (over-all) than without. I'm not talking about miscellaneous little hoses and such. Most of the Proto 2000, Atlas, Stewart and Kato come with nearly all the details most of us will need. Therefor, I would rate ndbprr statements on details about 90% correct, but it does depend on your personal preferences. I never worried much about details earlier in my model train days, but then after I started detailing a few, I became 'hooked'. I now notice the obvious things (MU hoses, snow plows, good paint jobs, directional lighting, etc) On ebay, it is not uncommon to get a $150 locomotive for $50 (sometimes less). Much depends on the road name you model. Some road names are not as popular as others. As far as DCC goes, it is the best thing around for runnig trains, especially if you have more than one operator. It allows you to run your trains much more 'prototypically' than the 'block system'. It does cost, though (about $200-700, depending on the system yo buy). Most of the newer locomotives (and you can find lots of good deals on them on ebay) come 'dcc ready'. This means they have a circuit board with an NMRA dcc plug installed. They readily run on dc (commonly called 'analog')because they have a 'dcc plug' (it is a decoder bypass, basically) installed. When the time comes that you decide to go "dcc", just remove the 'dummy plug' and plug in the decoder. Decoders start out at about $20 ($25 for the plug in type). These locomotives come with directional lighting built on the boards (often), even without the decoder installed. Nearly all the older locomoitves can be converted to dcc by 'hard wiring' in a decoder, if you ever decide to go that route. Most are not very difficult to convert. Athearns are relatively simple. A good thing you might do is find a local model railroad club in your area. If there is one that operates DCC, so much the better. Clubs allow you operate on layouts that are larger and more expensive than most of us have space for or can afford on our own. Often you will get to try out things (expensive items) like dcc, etc with little or no cost to yourself. The information that can be learned through clubs and club members is tremendous. If it a club full of "old guard folks" (I call tem CAVE people -citizens against virtually everything), that are not will to change or look at new stuff, or "their way or the highway', skip that club. Clubs are only a good as the people in them. Most important. Leave all your options open, do lots of research before jumping into something (especially expensive items) and have FUN!
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag

Update Reply

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit post

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community