They are fine products comparable to Proto, Genesis, and Intermountain. I'm sure each have their quirks as far as working on them, so which is better than the others in that way would be a matter of taste.
I have 2 GP60s with factory sound and they are great. As an online review pointed out, the ditchlights are dim however. As the online review didn't point out and I found out later, the sound of the high pitched turbocharger whine is extremely annoying and drowns out just about every other prime mover noise. It can't be isolated or removed, so I don't operate the locomotives much despite their overall high quality. Bummer.
I suggest you listen to any sound loco in person before you commit funds. Even online reviews don't provide a thorough sound test, IMO.
- Douglas
One of my club members was very satisfied with his interactions with Fox Valley. He highly recommends them. His two (steamers) locos run extremely well and look great.
Have 2 GP 60's. They are my favorites! Both have sound, run and look great. Very good. No problems what so ever. I think they are made by intermountain, but seem to run better than my intermountain SD 40's. I do have both consisted with an intermountain loco and they work great together.
I am looking at an HO scale FVM diesel loco. Have never owned one and know nothing about them.
How is their quality? Comparable to an Athearn Genesis, Walthers Proto, or Atlas? Do they have can motors?
Who makes their models, or do they make their own? In the pics, they appear to be quite close to a Walthers Proto.
How easy are they to work on - removing the shell, swapping out decoders, servicing the drive gear, etc?
Thanks in advance,
Mark