Suggestions for a good HO yard switcher loco

[scrappy19784]

i know this is a old post but i have to tell ya'll 53 is still kicken and I run her every day under Martech rail servce 615

[wobblinwheel]

P2K Heritage Y3 2882. Best yard worker in the world! Goes thru switches like a SNAKE, and won't lose electrical pick-up. Stop worrying with those little Diesel things, they're for gurls!

[Hamltnblue]

one overlooked Switcher I see almost daily are the Geeps.  CSX an NS use the gp40's 38's and a host of others for road switchers. 

[grizlump9]

"grizlump I assume you have the Kato EMD NW2 phase 1 or 2? Did you have to convert them to DCC from DC? joe"

they are all the phase 1 straight dc.  i am one of those Godless heathens that is not a fan of dcc operation. closest i have come it is a couple of dual mode bli's that i just run now and then to impress visitors but they don't pull worth squat.

grizlump

[richg1998]

 I use the Spectrum 44 ton and Spectrum 70 ton. Not in my road colors yet. Have not messed with the sounds in these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVr3dcb0gdk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDosTzkQiWg

Rich

 

[joe1965]

grizlump I assume you have the Kato EMD NW2 phase 1 or 2? Did you have to convert them to DCC from DC? joe

[richhotrain]

Proto 2k, say no more.

[jwhitten]

joe1965

I'm looking to purchase a good HO yard switcher

 

 

I absolutely *love* my little BLI / Paragon2 NW2 switcher w/ sound I picked-up recently. Out of the box, except for the momentum settings, it operates *exactly* the way I want and sounds fantastic doing it. The only negative I have is that its a little light and so will not haul as many cars as its similar Proto-2000 kin. I have a bunch of those also, alas none with sound, but they will haul a train. Too many cars in fact. And the one of those I use the most is even missing half its weight, which I removed when I installed the DCC decoder.

 

John

[grizlump9]

you will get a lot of input on this but since you mentioned the kato nw-2 i will tell you that i have had 4 of them running for many years and they are with out a doubt the best little yard engines i have seen.  smooth, slow. never stall, and outpull athearn, p2k, bli, stewart, and all the rest.

second choice in my book and it is a very close second would be the early atlas alco s-2.  i have a couple of the early ones made in austria with the blunt trucks and they are jewels.  they perform as well as the kato's i mentioned above but for some reason have a little more whine to them when running.

imo stewart and bli are a bit weak in the knees. (i don't use traction tires or frog snot).  the P2K sw's are well detailed and smooth running but they don't pull like the kato and atlas i mentioned first.

i never had an athearn that ran to suit me right out of the box and by the time i got done fiddling around with them, i would just as well have popped a little more money and gone with the kato's or atlas

grizlump.

[doctorwayne]

The early Atlas S-2 and S-4 were good runners and decent pullers, too, and would be suitable steel mill power.

Here are a couple of other possibilities (as far as I know, all acquired new):

Wayne

[V&A C-628]

 

I'd recommend maybe using EMD SW1000/1500 or an ALCO S-2/S-4. These models are all very good, pull alot and are great to have for any switching duties.

[nbrodar]

 I'd go with an Atlas S unit...but then again, I'm an Alco-holic, and own nothing but Atlas units.   Although, the majority of my units have TCS decoders, my I used NCE's special S unit decoder for ease of conversion.

Nick

[MisterBeasley]

If this is a struggling startup in modern times, I'd second the suggestion of looking for a GP7 or GP9.  These venerable workhorses are still in service on shortlines, and they have the power necessary to push around the heavy loads of steel mills.  Again, I have a pair of them from Proto, and they are solid, reliable engines.

[locoi1sa]

 Some of the larger mills in eastern Ohio ran old Baldwins. The hoggers loved them for the kicking power they had. Barking loud and belching smoke as they pushed and pulled strings of cars.

  The best running switchers I have are the Stewarts. Followed by the P2K Alcos. 

      Pete

[RDG1519]

When I was in highschool I worked summers at USS Fairless Works. We had Baldwin switchers. They were used because they had plenty of weight in comparison to the EMD's, also present on the property. This was in the late 60's.

Stewart's Baldwins are great runners, now even available with factory sound. Don't overlook these as they run slow and are good pullers. I have some with LokSound sound decoders.

 Most of the mills also used ALCO switchers for the same reason.

Hope this helps and good luck! Chris

[Hawksridge]

I highly recommend the Atlas Gold MP15DC. I have one on my layout that is assigned to a yard and industrial area. It is a smooth running locomotive with great sound. This locomotive does the most switching of all my locomotives during an operating session and the operators love it. Most of my locomotives are Atlas and I have had very few issues with them. Good luck on your decision.

Tom  

[YoHo1975]

Unless you are modelling this as a Class1 switched facility (which seems unlikely) I'd argue against the MP unit. Those are far less likely to be in a small mill's hands.

Any small EMD switcher or even a GP9 would make sense.

The NW2 would make sense if its a very old operation. You might also consider a small GE like a 70tonner. The Athearn Blue box could very well be made to work. If you add the decoder, you can set it up to perform better and if you want, you could swap out for a different set of gears for lower top end speed or, if you get really crazy, go with a can motor. Obviously that's more work. i'm just saying. All is possible.

[desertdog]

I have an Atlas MP15DC and an Athearn MP15AC.  Both are excellent runners at very slow speeds.

 

John Timm

[Hamltnblue]

Yes.  Those are Atlas Golds which are DCC and sound.  The sound is QSI which is great stuff.  Atlas loco's have very smooth and quiet drives as well.

[joe1965]

Thanks, Looks great. Are you running DCC?

[Hamltnblue]

I have a pair of Atlas Gold MP15DC's and love them

[JoeinPA]

tstage

JoeinPA

tstage

Joe,

Any particular era or road name you are modeling?  Sounds like you are more interested in a modern switcher vs. an early or 1st general diesel.

Tom

Tom:

The OP didn't specify his era and seemed to be interested in the quality of Atlas switchers so I gave him my opinion of Atlas based on my experience.

Joe

Hey Joe,

I was actually addressing the OP, assuming from his profile name that it was "Joe".  Sorry for the confusion.

Tom

Tom:

I was confused too and was blissfully unaware that the OP poster is also Joe.  I guess it's Friday and we are all anxious to start running trains.

Joe

[joe1965]

Thanks, I heard Protos are good HO locos too. I have an Athearn SW1500 NS unit (blue box) but need something that will run slower and smoother. Sometimes stalls on the turnouts as well. I know about turnouts and DCC being more prone to stalls,etc. but is weight a factor to prevent stalling on turnouts?

[tstage]

JoeinPA

tstage

Joe,

Any particular era or road name you are modeling?  Sounds like you are more interested in a modern switcher vs. an early or 1st general diesel.

Tom

Tom:

The OP didn't specify his era and seemed to be interested in the quality of Atlas switchers so I gave him my opinion of Atlas based on my experience.

Joe

Hey Joe,

I was actually addressing the OP, assuming from his profile name that it was "Joe".  Sorry for the confusion.

Tom

[JoeinPA]

tstage

Joe,

Any particular era or road name you are modeling?  Sounds like you are more interested in a modern switcher vs. an early or 1st general diesel.

Tom

Tom:

The OP didn't specify his era and seemed to be interested in the quality of Atlas switchers so I gave him my opinion of Atlas based on my experience.

Joe

[joe1965]

Located in PA, part of the Pittsburgh Line in present time, but bringing back the once great steel industry, with a fictional mini mill located in Pittsburgh.

[MisterBeasley]

OK, I'll ask:  What era is your layout set in?  And where are you on the prototypical - to - freelanced line?

I have a Proto S1 and a Proto SW8.  The SW8 came with QSI sound.  The S1 came with no decoder.  I installed a simple decoder myself, and then payed someone else to install sound later.  I'm very happy with both of these engines.  They have good low-speed performance.  The S1 is naturally heavy.  The SW8 has a set of traction tires, because they basically took out all the weight to make room for the sound system.  Still, it runs well and pulls well, although it is more prone to stalling on turnouts than other engines.

I would imagine that most "mill engines" are bought second-hand.  So, you're probably going to want one that came out 10-15 years before your layout's time frame.

[joe1965]

Johnboy, Located in PA, part of the Pittsburgh Line in present time, but bringing back the once great steel industry, with a fictional mini mill located in Pittsburgh.

[tstage]

Joe,

Any particular era or road name you are modeling?  Sounds like you are more interested in a modern switcher vs. an early or 1st general diesel.

For the smoothest diesels, Stewart Buehler and Canon drives are 2nd to none.  The choices and eras are limited though.

Tom