For me it was anything Bachmann in HO, and Lifelike running a close second. I grew to be really fussy in the later days and tend to buy multiples of diesels that are good performers.
Bob
Bad News: The first engine I received as a Christmas gift, probably 1978 or so, was a Bachmann U-36B painted in the red and chrome (yikes!!) Santa Fe warbonnet scheme. It ran around my 18" radius loop of track OK by itself, but when I coupled up my Santa Fe stock car behind it, the "horn" of its horn-hood coupler kept catching on the rear pilot detail of the locomotive and derailing the car.
Good News: I returned it to the store, and with a minor outlay of my own cash, I traded up to a blue/yellow Santa Fe Athearn GP-35 - my first "real" model train!
Tom
The old (40 years ago ) Tyco 4-6-0. wouldn't even run by itself......Mike
Several Life-like train set Locos come to mind and the 44T Bachmann non spectrum.
Joe Staten Island West
I HAD A TYCO C-630 AS MY FIRST HO ENGINE BACK IN 1969, IT HAD ONLY 6 WHEEL DRIVE AND A USELESS PICK UP SYSTEM. AS COMPARED TO THE ENGINES OF TODAY IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN A PUSH TOY.
Owned my engines in the hobby and almost all could be fixed but I own a Mantua articulated that, although runs, dose not run great, even my mechanic friend could not get it perfect!
The worst pair of lokies I've ever owned are Rivarossi's Casey Jones 4-6-0's. Bought both of them on evilBay because they looked nice and looked like a promising conversion to DCC. Well if I would have done some research I would have quickly known the exact opposite was true. Upon further investigation I noticed that the drive train was horribly designed, the main gear on the rear most driver and nine times out of ten would force the main driver bolt out of it's hole. Lightweight thread locker was then employed to prevent that issue, but then the drivers cracked... all of them. Both engines. Bad enough to where they ovaled the holes, rendering them useless. I still have the boilers saved for a idea to put them on the Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-0 63" drivered chassis.
Tyler
In N scale a Bachmann Spectrum heavy USRA 4-8-2. It sounds like its 2 seconds from breaking down, a constant loud creaky grinding sound. The break shows are rubbing against the drivers, I had to chop and alter thte underframe to fix it. The 2 of 4 drivers arent quartered proper. stock pulling power is about 10 freight cars on flat surface. (After Bullfrog snottung 2 axles I got it up to 30)
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EXPERIMENTATION TO BRING INNOVATION
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Model Power RS-2. Knuckle couplers mashing rail ties and to low to connect, a real damper if you bought on for switching. When I had to scrap some of my fleet, the RS-2 was in the front of the line, and has since been the last unit retired, for now. Even my first, a MP C424-425 didn't run as bad, and it was older than me!
Crap happens. When it does, stop, take a deep breath, and call the wreck train.
Beach Bill Sadly, I'd have to list the Bachmann HO 2-truck Climax. Beautifully proportioned and detailed, this little locomotive was a near-perfect fit for my little back-woods logging and mining line. I had one that ran about two months before the gears split. I bought two that wouldn't evern run out of the box due to that split gear problem. It is hard to get much worse than a locomotive that won't run new out of the box and there is no recall or re-issue of the locomotive with metal (or otherwise operable) gears. Bill
Sadly, I'd have to list the Bachmann HO 2-truck Climax. Beautifully proportioned and detailed, this little locomotive was a near-perfect fit for my little back-woods logging and mining line. I had one that ran about two months before the gears split. I bought two that wouldn't evern run out of the box due to that split gear problem. It is hard to get much worse than a locomotive that won't run new out of the box and there is no recall or re-issue of the locomotive with metal (or otherwise operable) gears.
Bill
Check with NWSL near the end of the year, they are coming out with Climax gear replacements for the HO version.
The Bachman N scale TGV. Worst pos I've ever had. It spent more time at B'mann repair shop than on my layout. I don't remember it ever completing a full circuit. It ran like a garbage can and split the drive gears after a few feet. Once I even got a replacement gear in the mail from B'mann that was already broken before I even took it out of the plastic. Total waste of money.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
The Worst Locomotives i`ve ever owned:
Two Like life GP38-2 (pre P2K era) : When a was younger I purchased two of them at the begining were excellent pullers but the locomotives became oldies, also became a nightmare for me, then i sold them.
One Tyco GG1!!! this one was a gift from my father!! the engines gots slip on rails!!with a 5 cars!!!, I have this one as a good memory of my father!!!
One Tyco ALCO C430 this engine was a rebuilt engine with one lionel truck ( dummy truck) one Mantua truck ( powered truck) and Tyco body, also it was a gift from my father, this engine also was a nightmare for me too. and as the GG1 I have this engine as a good memory!!
Saludos
Esteban Tonatiuh
The winner on my layout hands down was the Athearn GP-30 when they were first introduced in about 1963. I got a Burlington one for my birthday, and eagerly took it downstairs to the layout to try it out. What a disappointment! The motor was so weak that it could barely move its own weight, let alone any cars. The body was badly proportioned as well. I thought that I had maybe gotten a lemon until I made a kid in my freshman homeroom said that he had TWO of them and they ran just as poorly. I didn't feel so bad then.
Second place goes to the AHM USRA heavy pacific of the early 1970's with the tiny 3-pole motor. After about 4 laps of the mainline pulling 6 rivarossi plastic passenger cars, the whole motor went up in smoke. That was the last time I ever bought an AHM engine.
Same goes for the Train Miniature ALCO FA-1's when they first came out. They were made by an outfit over in Japan and had very small morors. A couple of trips around the layout and you could fry an egg on those babies. They got turned into dummies - one of which I still have!
A "dishonorable mention" goes to a Ken Kidder brass HO Porter Mogul that I bought at a NMRA show in about 1974. This was a tiny mogul with proportions suitable to HOn3 (and I think that it was offered in narrow gauge). Jerky and stalling gear system that just doesn't respond to tinkering, lubrication, encouragement, or swearing. I even sent it off to a reputable brass repair shop that has done some other nice work for me. They put in a new motor, but weren't able to correct the gears. One sometimes has to reverse the motor for a bit to get the gear "clog" free. Although a neatly proportioned locomotive, it sits on the display shelf.
My worst locomotive was (is) a Proto 1000 Alco RS 11. Never could get the locomotive to run well. It would either leap out on the rails as if it were a top fuel funny car minus the wheelies before it stalled and came to a dead stop or Mr. hands had to push it down the rails as the train made its journey across the layout. I now have it buried deep in a junk pile drawer. I sure wish I could get it running because it is a great looking locomotive....chuck
Mine was probably my N scale 2-8-2 Mikado from Kato. Ran well for a while, but then something happened with the valve gear.
I built a Varney SW-7 kit way back about 1965. Motor rode on one truck, with gearing to drive a shaft in that truck. The shaft had worm gears to drive the wheels. A universal carried power to the second truck. The shafts and worm gears, as I recall, were cast as one piece of nylon and not a very precise casting. The motor could hardly overcome the friction of the drive. At the tender age of 12 or 13 I couldn't get it to run more than a couple of feet, and I doubt I could get it to run now.
George V.
Hmmm, it would be a tie between a N scale Bachmann 4-4-0 American and a Bachmann switcher, both left to me by my dad. Having been stored in basements, and closets for nearly twenty years most likely didn't help matters, but I took them both apart - cleaned and lubricated them to make sure I could get rid of any rust bunnies inside, reassembled them and test ran them. The 4-4-0 ran for a little while, sounding like a coffee grinder the entire time before going from 'It's alive! It's alive' to "It's on FIRE, it's setting my */@! on fire!". Can't find the source of the friction or anything to generate that level of heat in it either. The switcher runs, sounding like a coffee grinder, until it throws a drive gear and stops cold. Sometimes, it throws the gear so spectacularly that it dislodges the wheelset and throws the switcher from the track. No amount of tinkering has made either one run any better - and both are candidates for the 'Bachmann Stomp'
FlyingCrow I was surprised to see that no one, unless I missed the post, mentioned Hallmark brass. By far the worst built, worst running junk foisted off on the model railroad community. Every engine took about 100 hours of reconstruction before you could even think about putting them on the track. The list of faults is so long that all of you who ever owned one...just nod in accordance.
I was surprised to see that no one, unless I missed the post, mentioned Hallmark brass. By far the worst built, worst running junk foisted off on the model railroad community. Every engine took about 100 hours of reconstruction before you could even think about putting them on the track.
The list of faults is so long that all of you who ever owned one...just nod in accordance.
Not so much Hallmark Brass, but any brass that was made by Dong Jin for Hallmark, Custom Brass and others. The gear boxes were all junk and some had Tyco motors in them, the list of complaints is long and too diverse to post here. I did replace most gearboxes with Westside Gearboxes which then included requartering all the drivers.
Also KMT diesels also had their faults with the jerky drive train, motors, trucks, split gears, and gearing in general. They made diesels for Balboa, Westside, Alco and Hallmark. My Alco T-6 is the worst offender in this class, and I am going to repower it with an Atlas Chassis.
I did not own one but saw one, was an Alco Models import of the NYC K3q class Pacific. They would absolutely not run, the frame was like wet spaghetti and that caused all kinds of problems that no one could fix.
Rick
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
Gotta be my Balboa GS-4, been a dog as long as I can remember, likes to throw the valve gear, despite repeated repairs, the interior recesses create all sorts of oppertunties for shorts, despite carefull attention to routing and proper insulation of wiring. Somewhere along its life someone expanded on the factory DAYLIGHT paint and made a huge mess of the lower headlight housing by packing it with 5-minute Epoxy which also contrived to to coat the lower smokebox area and pilot as well.
Guess I should suck it up and fully restore it someday, or not!
Dave
Honestly, it's a P2K SW8. Strike one is a did a lousy job striping, and one of the paint shades is too dark, but that's my fault.
The real killer, is it runs like a brick. The thing doesn't get power (cleaning issue? I tried that though) It's a Limited Edition engine without the quickplug, the only one I've ever seen post-brown box Life Likes that is liek that, and the cast weight is gonna be a pain in the tocus to get a DCC chip into it. The engine is supposed to be a staple of my little railroad's roster, but it's gonna become a shop queen right quick.
-Morgan
jalajoie No kidding Sheldon to be exact however I must say that 5 of these SD70 from MTH where purchased between me and a friend. One of them a SD70 M-2 is running very well. The others 4 no.
No kidding Sheldon to be exact however I must say that 5 of these SD70 from MTH where purchased between me and a friend. One of them a SD70 M-2 is running very well. The others 4 no.
Is he STILL your friend??
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Pretty much anything from Tyco. They were made for running around Christmas trees, with no thought given for slow speed operation. They were pretty much the slot cars of the model railroad world.
Matt FlorackI can DEFINITELY pinpoint some of my worst, as follows (all HO scale)--
Even weathering the ---------- ----------- ---------- thing did not help!!!
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
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Gotta be the two Athearn Genesis 4-6-2s and 2-8-2s that I paid Can$1000 for when they were first released. Yes, Can$250 each when first introduced!
Split gears and Athearn didn't honour their warranty, using the excuse that they were out of production and they couldn't have parts made. The engines also tracked poorly and one of them was Model Railroader's "Model of the Year". Guess it pays to be a major advertiser?
All four engines now run well but ONLY because I had to repair them myself.
Cheers
Roger T.
Home of the late Great Eastern Railway see: - http://www.greateasternrailway.com
For more photos of the late GER see: - http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l99/rogertra/Great_Eastern/
I had a brass GE 44Tonner (can't remember mfg.) that would run about a foot and a half, then launch itself into the air and land at a right angle across the track. I tried everything and never could even find out why it did it. Traded in on a PFM Shay. Night and day.
Mike