Hello Everyone!
First post here - enjoying the discussion threads for the last year or so! My best friends and I are building our very first layout, we are finding all the information very helpful! From our track and wiring standards, to benchwork construction, etc.!
Our layout is set in Germany/Bavaria, early to mid steam era (you might call it a 'protolance' layout). With benchwork complete and track being laid, we are ready to start purchasing locomotives and hope we could get some feedback from the community on what manufactures we might want to avoid or which are really good!
We are running NCE DCC 2 rail system (so staying away from Marklin, etc.) specifially looking at K.Bay.Sts.B S 3/6, class BR P2.II, and similar and other similar early steam locos to populate our layout. What are your experiences (pros and cons) with any of these manufactures:
Leaning towards Trix, Brawa, and Roco for what appears to be their very nice detailing and performance options. Others such as MTH are a little more affordable we will consider, but some threads have shown they can be problematic for their diesels. I know a lot of times you get what you pay for, but value (not necassarily cheap), is important for us. Will happily spend a little extra to get something we will be happy with than something substandard, but the price differences on these manufacturers are sometimes fairly significant.
YouTube videos are good and I have read some helpful discussion threads here, but have not see a great deal specifically on reviews or comparisons between these manufacturers in the early steam era locos
Would really love to hear your thoughts and experiences on any of them before we start investing!
Train Hard!
Work Hard! Train Hard!
RRRR,
I can only vouche for Trix. I have two Trix 2-8-2 Light Mikes that I purcahsed 10+ years ago on deep discount (50%+). They are heavy, run beautifully, and look terrific. The motor on these is coreless so the drivers will spin if you push the locomotive down the track. I'm not sure if all Trix locomotives are coreless.
The only MTH that I have are some passenger cars: 20th Century Limited. MTH did a really nice job with those and I'm really pleased with the lighting modules that use capacitors rather than batteries to illuminate the interior.
Since you will be modeling Germany/Bavaria, I think the manufacturers you are leaning towards will offer you the best choices for what you want to model. The ones that I've seen at train shows and on the Internet all appear to be quite handsome and beautifully detailed.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Brawa, Fleischmann, Liliput, Roco and Trix are all what I would consider premium brands with a high level of detail and quality. All of them are quite expensive, but still a good value for money. I am not sure about MTH, though. MTH plays hardly any role in the German model railroading market. Their K.Bay.StB. S 3/6 certainly looks great, but the sound is absolutely incorrect for this 4 cyl. compound steam engine. Hear for yourself:
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
And MTH's proprietary DCS system is STILL not completely compatible with standard DCC. Yes, you can run it, and make the soudns work, and some of the other gimmicks (not sure if this loco has the same sort of gimmicky things they put on their US style locos, like the remote control couplers). Making more than basic configuration changes requires access to a DCS system though. I have one MTH loco,a nd it is the last MTH loco I will buy. Coupled witht he previous post saying that the sounds are all wrong - that would be a hard pass unless perhaps someone gave me the MTH loco for free, or at least some ridiculously low price - because then I could rewire it with a good quality standard DCC sound decoder with the proper sounds. Which isn't easy - MTH doesn't follow the conventions there, either, and uses a negative common for their lighting, meaning you have to modify and/or scrap it all to replace their electronics with someone else's.
At some point I plan to do this with my MTH diesel. They aren't bad looking, but the DCS electronics are just horrible, and non-standard. I replaced the (sort of) operating couplers with standard Kadees shortly after getting the loco. They uncouple fine, but you have to slam into things to get them to couple back up, and I don't run my traisn that way.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Randy,
Thank you for the feedback! The MTH do look nice at a cheaper price, but your exprience confirms some of concerns that others have seemed to mention. As we are new to this, the ease of use and trouble free running without major modifications are important considerations!
Thank you so much, Tom!
Ulrich,
Thank you for the great feedback - I would have never even considered the sound was incorrect! I am not a rivit counter and we are not doing an absolute prototype layout, but as an architect, the details are important to me and will gladly pay more for something that is correct!