Who makes the best HO Steam Engine?

[grayfox1119]

Ray, thank you very much for your assistance, very good useful in fo for me !!!!

[orsonroy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by grayfox1119

I am still trying to find a loco with Alesko water heater. All the locos I see made by the top companies, do not illustrate any. Who makes them?

The BLI NYC Hudsons come with Elesco feedwater heaters. Other than that, you'll have to add your own with aftermarket parts. Bowser makes several Elesco sets, in their Bowser, Cary and Cal-Scale parts divisions, and Precision Scale makes a few very nice sets, including one that has all the parts and piping you need. Use prototype photos and Kalmbach's "Steam Loco Cyclopedia" for reference.

[devils]

I went for broadway for the whole package with sound, Lifelike would edge into first place on fine detail but I haven't tried one of the new ones with sound. Bachmann take some beating for value for money. As more of these DCC/Dc decoders with sound are made available I'll be upgrading the rest of my steam models. Being able to run on either control system with out changing anything really helps especially with club layouts which are popular over this side of the pond.

[Anonymous]

Whichever one I own at the moment, cause it's mine.

[grayfox1119]

I am still trying to find a loco with Alesko water heater. All the locos I see made by the top companies, do not illustrate any. Who makes them?

[Anonymous]

My vote was dependent on two factors. (1) Price. (2) What I have actually seen and operated. On that basis I voted for LifeLike Heritage Series, specifically the Berkshire (2-8-4). To me this is the best looking/running HO steam locomotive I have had the opportunity to own. My Rivarossi Berk is nice and will actually pull a greater load (this is the newer Riv. model with the motor in the boiler/firebox) but it falls a little short in the details and overall accuracy.

Maybe this poll should be re-run to include price ranges. For locos under $100 I would vote for IHC.

So far I have never built a Bowser steam loco kit but someday hope to do so.

Bob DeWoody

[doctorwayne]

Lots of good ones out there. I have a John English Pacific that I bought used in the '50's....it still runs and pulls well, brass wheels and open-frame motor notwithstanding. I have a Bowser Pacific and a Tyco/Mantua Mikado, both re-motored and re-geared that also perform well. In the past, I've had several MDC/Roundhouse locos that ran well and were a lot of fun to build. I bought a pair of Athearn Mikes and while they ran well, their pulling power was dis-appointing even after adding a couple of ounces of ballasting to each. I finally solved the problem by removing the spring on the trailing truck. The Proto 2000 0-8-0 ran smoothly and looked good but it could barely pull its own shadow. I was going to get rid of it, but I managed to add enough weight to it to obtain satisfactory tractive effort from it and decided to completely rebuild it cosmetically, including all new piping and a lengthened frame to match a CNR prototype. I bought a Spectrum USRA light 4-8-2 and while it pulled fairly well, it was noisy and ran poorly. After spending a lot of time tinkering with the valve gear and siderods and making improvements to eliminate contact between the motor and the superstructure, (all efforts resulting in minor improvements) I discovered that a couple of drivers were out-of-quarter. The engine was so improved that it too got a complete cosmetic rebuild, including raising all of the running boards to accomodate new lead-filled air tanks and a completely rebuilt front end ...frame,pilot, shielded air pumps, headlight,bell, and Worthington feedwater heater. The finished loco looks similar to a NYC L-3 Mohawk. I also have several individual locomotives that I bought because they appealed to me aesthetically and fit my motive power requirements for light, older power. Most ran poorly but I found it very enjoyable to correct their maladies and make them a useful part of my roster. However, my vote goes to the Spectrum 2-8-0 . It ran well right out of the box and pulled even better with a few slight modifications. Electrically, it seems impossible to stall them and they will doublehead smoothly with almost anything that I own. I have five of them now and I run them more than any others that I own.
The larger locomotives available today impress me to varying degrees but are not suitable for my secondary mainline/branchline layout set in the mid '30's, so I won't comment on them. All in all, I think that we're very fortunate to have such a wide selection of good quality, prototypical, and affordable steam power.




.

[grayfox1119]

This is very interesting reading thread. Just getting back into MRR'g from 1948 Lionel set, you can imagine by thoughts as I read 4 pages of "why I like this company or that". Maybe we should ask Consumer Reports to do a test of several wheel configurations from all the major vendors. We would get an unbiased opinion at least.
Maybe a better question might be, how are loco constructed, how many poles in the motor? The gearing, etc. that might answer the questions as to how one Mfgr might have a very quiet running loco, or another which is noisy and can't pull it's weight.

[Anonymous]

I miss Mantua. IMO, dollar for dollar, they were the best value and the first choice for museums and other layouts where the trains run all day everyday.

I like Broadway Ltd.

[Anonymous]

Is there an article somewhere on how to add electrical pickup in tender for a P2K 0-8-0. Thanks

[Anonymous]

I think TRIX are the best. I have 4 of their loco's and can't fault them. I got the new BLI J Class and it looks good and sounds good but the sound isn't very well syncronized with the wheels. The sound is still going after the train has stopped for about a second or so. This isn't the story with my TRIX Big Boy. It is spot on. Roco are pretty good too as are the new Hornby stuff.

[selector]

Mondo Train Hype?

[Anonymous]

When it comes out, the best will be the MTH K4.

[dinwitty]

I put Broadway, I have the 2-6-6-4, excellent.

however all the higher quality models being made are far better than many of the earlier 60's -70's models.

The LL berkshire is much better than the Rivarrossi.

So really I give those model manufacturers a thumbs up for doing some great improvements. Including RR for the 2-6-6-6 I also own.

[randyaj]

I voted for the IHC for the money the best steam locomotive out there. I have four of them and they run great and have good detail. I bought three of the four on ebay for the average of 60 dollars and the other at my LHS for 75. I have an Athearn Genesis that runs no better and has no more detail-in fact had to add more of the detail on the Athearn-not impressed; even more so with the huge cord from engine to tender. Unless I hear differently about the other Athearn steamers, that is the only one that I will own. On the otherhand the fleet of Athearn diesels that I have are reliable and good runners, but the proto series of the GP-9 is the winner in my book!
and that is my taxable 2 cents worth
Randy Johnson

[espeefoamer]

I said Bachmann because I have two of them. A Bachmann spectrum K4 and a standard bachmann GS4.I also have a Rivarossi cab forward and an IHC 2-6-0.This engine ran for a short while then quit running abruptly.I can't send it back for repairs,as I bought it used at a train show[:(].

[TrainFreak409]

I would have to say Broadway Limited Imports. They are the bomb![:D]

~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~

[Darth Santa Fe]

Bowser's the best steam manufacturer that I've had experience with, so I voted Bowser.

[Anonymous]

The best maker in HO Steam Engine are FLEISCHMANN and MICRO-METAKIT

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

I've seen a Trix BigBoy run at a train show and was unimpressed. [V] It kept stopping abruptly and uncoupling from its cars. ... Mabey its wheel were dirty, or somthing was wrong with that particular unit. Also, it kept juming in speed with no one controlling it.

Hmmm, Interesting but exact opposite of my experience. I would rate the Trix a cut above all the others in the list.

A friend bought two of them, and they are both the smoothest running things I've ever seen. I was envious. They ran better than some of the brass that I have remachined. He thinks that they run so much better he is planning on gutting the sound units out of his Lionel and Genesis (4-6-6-4) to put into them.

I have to qualify this by saying I have never even seen one of the new Rivarossis.

[don7]

I have BLI's, Bachman Spectrums and Rivarossi's, They are all about equal in detail, but the BLI's with sound are actually the most affordable if you shop around. Adding a good sound unit to the Spectrum and Rivarossi(aftermarket) drive the final price up and make them even more expensive than the BLI's with their factory sound. For detail they are all very close, for ranking I would give the BLI the top mark (because of the sound) all run extremely well.I do have one IHC which as others have pointed out are of minimum detail and would not purchase any others.

[Berk-fan284]

I'm biased I have 10 Rivarrosi,2 Athearn,4Bachmann,1 Proto 2000,several older brass, they all have their good points/"charms", based on volume I vote Rivarrosi.

[baniaj2]

I chose Bachmann over BLI and P2K for this reason:

I have had longer running time logged with bachmann spectrum engines. I have had no problems with their 2-8-0s many years of hard running (2+% grades, heavy tonnages, minimal maintenance). I have a light 4-8-2 that has proven to be very reliable. These are also borderline easy to tear down and put back together if needed.

BLI; for the money, I have not logged the miles to determine the reliability, intial prospects look good however. Initial NYC 4-6-4 may have noisy motors

P2K: I like the 0-8-0 alot. electrical pickup in tender is a must to install. 0-6-0 too light to be useful for my purposes. Again, have not seen the relability due to a lack of running time.

I'll go out on a limb. For those wanting to get into good plastic steam: go with Bachmann Spectrum. Best value for the money.

[Anonymous]

I voted BLI because of the class A,but my P2K 0-8-0 is just about as nice as you can get without the price tag for brass.If this would of been posted two years ago probably Riv,or LL. would of been top dogs Bli's introduction was like someone put a hot wire to the ho scene.With LL.re release of their 2-8-8-2 with factory sound I think BLI will have a very serious contender.

[Texas Zepher]

Best, best what looks, running, value, sound, durability??

I was impressed with Oriental Powerhouse in the late 1980s. The IHC run really good for the price but lack any detail. Then I was impressed again with the Bachmann Spectrums. Then the first run of the Proto 2000 raised the bar again. Athearn Genesis were a disapointment (both detail and performance) but it seems at least their pulling power improves with age (hopefully they've learned and improved because I crossed my fingers and ordered a 4-6-6-4). I'm disapointed with both the sound and detail of the Broadway Limiteds, but they seem to run OK. My friend has two of the Lionel Big Boys I got to run around on the layout with. He is going to gut them for the electronics because of lurchyness, binding, noise. And he bought a TRIX that out of the box is so much better it puts them all to shame. It glides over track at the club that stalls even the most shure footed diesels.

So for plastic TRIX gets my vote, but please note that I have not been able to play with any of the new Rivarossi units.

If you include the brass I have to vote for W&R. Their NP Z6 is the only locomotive I've never had any doubt was well worth the price tag.

[Anonymous]

For the price, I really like Bachmann. Picked up a weathered C&O 2-6-6-2 for about $230 bucks ,very nice just needs sound decoder and a layout to run on. My old IHC Heavy Mountain ain't bad either.

[Anonymous]

Hornby's current model live steamers are British OO scale, i.e. 4 mm to 1' and not HO scale at 3.5 mm to 1'. The current range is just Sir Nigel Gresley's Pacific A4's, one of which, Mallard, still holds the World steam record.

In one of our Saturday papers, whilst announcing excellent company results for Hornby, it stated Hornby were intending to issue new live steam models for both the USA and Germany next year. Could this be based on Rivarossi models from the Lima acquisition? Might be a Big Boy for the USA and a German 01 pacific. Just my guess though. These would be HO.

Hornby are opening its first shop in the USA on 24th November, although this will be for slot car Scalextric initially.

Lots of nice things to look forward to from Hornby over the pond.

[Anonymous]

I vote Trix for thier Big Boy :)

[tatans]

Just got from ebay very cheap 2 old 50's or 60's AHM Rivarossi locos in new mint condition, (old-old stock) a 0-6-0 saddle tank and a 0-4-0 switcher, both in original beat up boxes,a little cleaning & oiling and detailing, these little engines run great at very slow speed and pull enormous loads ( I added lead weight) and will be great on my logging layout. It's like Christmas.