I'm starting to purchase some ho scale locomotives for my new layout, I'm wondering if someone could give me a run down on some of the best manufactures. I know alot is personal prefrence, however, I'm just looking for a general list. For example reliablity, dcc compatability and operation are some of the qualities I'm concerned with. I have allready purchased an MTH SD70ACe and I'm very pleased with it, also price isn't a large concern. Thank You for any insight.
It actually depends on what you are planning to model. There are different answers for Steam , New Diesel, Old diesel amount of axles etc. Also information about your layout would help, such as radius of your curves, size of layout etc. Since you picked up an MTH loco you are in the right price range for some good stuff. MTH, Atlas, Broadway Limited, Athearn, Proto 2000 are all great manufacturers. I'm sure other will chime in but once again you should give more info of what you are looking for.
Springfield PA
I think bang for the buck for diesels you cannot go wrong with Atlas. I have an Athearn Genesis SD70ACe and it is great runner and the detail is very good and if you search on here most people love there Genesis trains. The RTR Athearns seem to be a bit hit and miss but for the price you cannot go wrong.. I have 2 RTRs and they both were noisy out of the box but after a few hours of running they quiet right down so I suspect it is either speading the lubricate around or the gears seating or a little of both. As for Atlas, there is no difference between the Trainman and Gold/ Silver series in running gear/motors, it is the detail on the body shell and for Gold Series, getting sound built in.
The Paragon 2 locos I have seen look very nice and sound great with lots of cool features. Athearn has a pretty good selection and are reliable, but you may need to install DCC decoders depending on what you buy.
Edit: I have an Precision Craft Models (older cosin of the paragon2s) and it runs well and the sound is good.
Running reliability: Atlas gold/silver, Bowser
Pulling Weight: Bowser, BLI Paragon/Blueline, SOME Walthers P2K diesels
Most Detailed: Walthers P2K, BLI Paragon (especially brass-hybrid and brass)
Best value: Bachmann Spectrum line.
DCC compatibility: They are all good. Bachmann comes with a cheap DCC decoder installed on most of their engines now. A lot of people chose to replace that decoder as it is bare bones.
Atlas Silver/Gold come with DCC decoder installed.
BLI Paragon come with DCC and sound installed (typically)
You will note I didn't include Athearn Genesis. Like Bachmann they sit in the middle of everything listed here. Decent weight. Decent details. Decent reliability (4 axel diesel trucks) Easy to maintain. Decent decoders/motors on Genesis line. (Do not get MRC sound versions...get only soundtrax versions)
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
No-one's yet mentioned probably the two smoothest running makes - Kato and Stewarts with their beautiful Canon motors.
If you haven't firmly decided what to model, the best thing to do is really take a lot of time choosing, steam, diesel, classic era, modern era, Eastern or Western and so forth, and then see what's available that's suitable for a layout based on those decisions.
When I started I just bought what I thought looked nice and ended up with 38 locos for a 16'6" x 1' shelf layout, and USRA 2-10-2's through to ES44AC's.
Ian
Of course you know this thread might generate disagreement and the following is only my experience/opinion.
1.Overall, Kato for us has been the most reliable and best for the money-- for HO diesels.
2. Athearn is very hit and miss. Their recent SD70ACe has problems with trucks, warped handrails and sound. My two SD70Ms had problems with trucks and boards. I have some older Athearn BB units that have been around for years and are still running. I recently added sound to the new turbine and had to redo the headlights as they were very dark. I had to modify the new MP15AC so that the sound was up to par.
3.BTW, I have a new MTH SD70ACe and have found it to be good too.
4. Proto a few years ago had a lot of problems with axle gears breaking on some GP units, we had about 4 of them. Their newer units have received pretty good reviews.
5.I have some BLI and find them to be good runners, but the details not too strong. As a matter of fact, the high levels of detail seems to be causing lower quality in some ways such as warpage and easy breakage for a lot of mfg.
6. Atlas has been very good for us, but recently their Genset has had problems on certain DC power.
7.I've had lots of issues with several Rivarossi steam locos.
8. Tenshodo has been good.
9. Bachmann is another hit or miss company, but recently has been pretty good. I've recently bought a DD40AX and Berkshire steamer and they have been pretty good. Both of these were DCC onboard, but immediately after tear down/inspection we installed Soundtraxx.
Given how much change is going on I would have to say to do a lot of research down to the level of not just the mfg and model, but what options--such as sound. Sound is up to the individual and so really needs to be heard. Therefore, I don't buy a sound loco without first trying them out anymore. It also gives me a chance to see how well they were made--details, weight, durability, etc. Combine a personal inspection with online research for issues not readily apparent and I've got my decision. Due to several quality issues lately, we don't preorder.
Richard
My modeling will be some what neutral, if that makes sense. Basicly I enjoy collecting alot of trains, all different models steam, diesel new and old, electric ect. So, my modeling will be flexable enough to run all my trains. As far as my curves there arn't any smaller then 20", the majority of them are 26-28". I know alot of the MTH locos will operate on 18" curves so i made sure my curves would be larger then 18" at least. I'm eager to purchase some of the larger steam loco's, i just hope my curves will be large enough for good operation, if i could go bigger i would. Just a little limited on space.