First I should state that my hobby budget is limited (I have analog DC) with that said, I have tried a number of differnt brands which I found at clearence sales at modeltrainstuff.com. I have found for reliability, smooth running and easy maintenance, I like the Atlas Trainman line. I have two SP RS32s for several years now and they run great and look great. I also have two D&H GP39s which also run and look great. I love the ease of removing the shell from the GP-39 by simply removing the couplers and it simply lifts right off! I also have some Walther's Mainline locos (RS-2 and EMD SW1s) which look and run great and even a recent Athearn Chessie GP40-2 which also is great. But like I said, I like the Trainman best, I just wish Atlas would expand their offerings a bit.
This is an old thread on a common topic. I have been researching this topic through a test series over the last year. There are over 200 HO engine tests documented on the page linked at the bottom of this post. I have been taking a bunch of data. So far I have had trouble measuring smooth.
For best and most consistent performance, Anything Kato based and Atlas China would be my top two. I haven't covered the entire spectrum, so I can not comment on some.
Larry
www.llxlocomotives.com
So many trains, so little time,