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My first engine was an N-scale black F40PH by Life-Like. My first full train was an HO-scale Life-Like Santa Fe train set with a GP38 diesel. I've been working on that GP38's electrical pickup for about 12 years now, and I still can't get it to work right! Your trains both stopped working at about the same time? The first things I'd check if that happened are the track and wheels. Are they all clean? Dirty track and dirty wheels don't conduct electricity well at all. Cleaning
I think the recommendations everyone's made so far should give you a good idea of what to get. I have one of the Spectrum 3-Truck Shays. It had the split gear issue pretty bad, so I replaced the gears with NWSL's metal gears. It was a difficult process, but I've got one smooth running Shay now! It's also made mainly from metal, and has about as much weight as you can fit in a Shay. It should handle about a 15" radius while pulling a good string cars up a grade. Rivarossi's
Did the decals not stick? Do you have any decal setting solution? Bowser decals won't stick well without it, as I found early on with my first kit. Walthers Solvaset works very well. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the finished kit! It looks very good so far.
It's not listed anywhere on the internet right now, but NWSL makes the gear for $10 (2132-6).
[quote user="DuceNovaII"] As promised pictures of the 0-6-0 and the 2-8-2. They are dusty from sitting for YEARS. The 2-8-2 had to have the cab replaced as dad dropped it somehow and broke it hence no numbes on the cab. [/quote] Ok, those are both Mantua/Tyco steam engines. They can be upgraded very easily using the remotor kits from www.yardbirdtrains.com ( D8120 for most, or D8124 if your 2-8-2 has the gearbox design). Or you can put a 1/2" neodymium cube magnet in place of the weaker
Their HO diesels are definitely excellent runners (although my SD80 is kind of noisy), but they aren't making anything that anyone else isn't right now, and the other manufacturers seem to put in better detail than Kato does. The other brands of diesels also seem to be coming close to running equally as well as Kato's. They've been cutting back on the American HO products, but I don't think they'll stop completely.
I just saw MRR's Trainfest report. It looks like the former Tower 55 SD70ACe will be in Athearn's Ready To Roll line. I kind of expected it to be a Genesis model, with a version available with Tsunami sound. Some may find this to be disappointing, but at least the RTRs have very near Genesis level detail now. I suspect the only differences will be a gold motor instead of a Roco motor, and it will only be sound ready.
Outside of possibly brass, it looks like the streamlined 4-6-2 has never been made in HO. If you go up a scale or two, American Flyer made the Royal Blue steam engine in both S and O gauges, but I think they only made the matching passenger cars in O. The O versions are more rare than the S versions. This is my old O gauge AF Royal Blue, which I finished restoring a couple months ago. The engine is actually very accurate. This set's been in my family for almost 70 years now!
It appears that NWSL may not be making the 18x33 flat can motor anymore, along with the rest of the Sagamis. My Tiger Valley ALCO RSD-12 diesel is powered by one of them, and I've found it to be no better than a decent motor. It runs smooth enough, but it's kind of noisy, and I had to adjust the brush tension for better running. It's a little more expensive, but I'd recommend the 18x33mm flat can motor offered by A Line. It's the same size as the NWSL motor (except the shafts
[quote user="DuceNovaII"]Beyond all of this, I also saw in the search here that someone put a motor like this: http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200415453 in there. This motor is in my GP40's that I have three of and they run smooth, quiet and have plenty of HP. We have to visit my wife's store in Big Flats and Lantz Hobby is right on the way. That way I can look at the motor before buying it.[/quote] These are the motors currently used in all Athearn Genesis diesels
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