Hopefully they ditch the DCS. I like Scale Trains, and their products.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewi There is also news out there that they are closing shop. Mike.
There is also news out there that they are closing shop.
dti406 Everyone is hoping that Scaletrains will announce a new state of the art GP35 soon. Rick Jesionowski
Everyone is hoping that Scaletrains will announce a new state of the art GP35 soon.
Rick Jesionowski
Just announced.....
https://youtu.be/moYQb1tCIVM
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
richhotrain Good riddance. MTH has always been a plague on HO scale, beginning with their lawsuit against BLI fo no good reason. They won't be missed. Rich
Good riddance. MTH has always been a plague on HO scale, beginning with their lawsuit against BLI fo no good reason. They won't be missed.
Rich
A mixed blessing. I am glad to be rid of DCS. It's the red-headed step child of control systems. Its incompatibility with DCC has been a blot on the image of those of us who would have preferred a single consensus system we could all work with.
At the same time, MTH fought a legal battle for all of us over trademarks and railroad heralds, and won those battles on our behalf. MTH also built models of the Little Joe and Bi Polar, two Milwaukee engines that a few afficionados would appreciate. To my knowledge, no one else has attempted these, but I might look for a DCC model someday if someone picks up the tooling.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The couplers work fine, the engine runs great, should last a while.
As far as quality goes, the engine is sure to last a long time.
As far as detail and paint goes, well its a starter engine. They put it into HO starter sets. Its designed to not have detail parts break here and there, but as a result its far from the best detailed and the paint's a little thick.
If you like the look of it, there's no inherent problems with the engine.
Trying to avoid any bias toward or against the manufacturer.
Charles
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Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO
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mbinsewi The only MTH I have is O scale , a set I picked up for the grandson. Their HO scale locos use DCS, MTH's own version of DCC. I have no experience, but their system does not always play well with DCC, as others have said. There is also news out there that they are closing shop. Mike.
The only MTH I have is O scale , a set I picked up for the grandson.
Their HO scale locos use DCS, MTH's own version of DCC. I have no experience, but their system does not always play well with DCC, as others have said.
Alton Junction
Ringo58 How is the quality and sound on a MTH GP35, or any of their HO scale trains. I've never had one and wanted some opinions on them before I pull the trigger on one Thanks for any input! Edit: It also looks like the couplers are a different style than I am used to seeing. Can you replace them the same as any locomotive??
How is the quality and sound on a MTH GP35, or any of their HO scale trains.
I've never had one and wanted some opinions on them before I pull the trigger on one
Thanks for any input!
Edit: It also looks like the couplers are a different style than I am used to seeing. Can you replace them the same as any locomotive??
I have several of the MTH GP-38 which is very similar. The good news is that they run very slow and smooth. The sound is very good. The shell isn't perfect but the paint is nice. The bad news is that their decoders only imitate DCC and clearly are not. They don't play nicely with other DCC decoders. This is really apparent when you use JMRI. The LEDs are wired backward.
The worst though is that they talk. When sitting on idle in the yard, they will suddenly say something really stupid like "Let's move on down the line". Theorectically you can turn the talking off, but I have not been completely successful doing it. The talking is typical for a toy tinplate train, but for a scale model train. The main thing is that MTH DCS is not DCC.
Just happen to have one I got with a Digitrax system. It is what got me started in DCC and sound. Never a problem with it.
Don't have a GP -35 but I have a GP -38-2. If you are used to other DCC Locomotives then MTH will have learning curve as the function keys are different. For instance most sound locomotives start up on applying power but MTH you first have to press F6 (if memory serves) to activate the sounds. Not really a bad thing but different. Suggest keeping a printed function list handy.
Joe Staten Island West
dti406 The MTH GP35 from what I have read is on par with a Rail Power shell which means it is not correct due to many errors in the die work. Also the paint is overly thick on the units and they are a bear to disassemble to fix or change anything like the clunky remote couplers. Also the mechanism is sometimes a crapshoot as to reliability, and since MTH is closing you won't be able to send it in for repairs. Your best bet is to get a Kato as they run the best and are mostly correct detail wise. Everyone is hoping that Scaletrains will announce a new state of the art GP35 soon. Rick Jesionowski
The MTH GP35 from what I have read is on par with a Rail Power shell which means it is not correct due to many errors in the die work. Also the paint is overly thick on the units and they are a bear to disassemble to fix or change anything like the clunky remote couplers. Also the mechanism is sometimes a crapshoot as to reliability, and since MTH is closing you won't be able to send it in for repairs.
Your best bet is to get a Kato as they run the best and are mostly correct detail wise.
Well that explains the good price, going to go with a walthers proto.
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MTH has tried to buck the system for a long time. Early on, they created their proprietary and incompatible DCS system which competed with DCC. Lately they've made DCC compatible decoders, but still, full control requires their proprietary controllers. What vintage is the locomotive you're looking at?
For some reason, their LEDs are wired backwards from DCC LEDs, so if you were to replace the DCS decoder the lights wouldn't work.
I believe some MTH engines were equipped with throttle controllable couplers.
MTH did some good work and some modelers love their engines, but yes, they are shutting down later this year, and I have not heard of anyone stepping up to purchase the line.