Which is your best performing engine?

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy

My best running is my HO Rivarossi UP FEF-3. Smooth, quiet, and with the traction tire equipped it can pull the bumper off a chevy.[:D][;)] Yes, if anyone is thinking about getting this loco, don't hesitate. The headlight has a nice, bright, white glow and it's almost blinding!

I'll second that, an excellent engine bar none, in close second would be the Allegheny where as at the bottom of the heap would be my Rivarossi Big Boy, Coming to a scrap heap near you[:(]

Fergie....I thought you were repowering that badboy..I mean bigboy....

Let's see best performing would be the SDF40-2 made from an Athearn FP45. I repowered it with a monster Sagami motor, hi torque / low RPM. Routinely pulls 35 cars around the club layout. Took awhile to get it groomed and the bugs works out though.....minor issues like the motor torquing itself off the mounts..I had to zip tie it to the frame....great smooth runner now.

[cwclark]

My best running engines are both Athearn (it's a tie between my SP high nose GP-9's and my DRG&W GP-50's. the constant lighting circuits fit well in them also.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Roadtrp

Well, keep in mind that I drive poor man's locos (though I'm more cheap than poor...), and that I only have two of them. One is a standard Life Like F40PH and one is a standard Life Like GP38-2. Now before you laugh me off the board, please remember that I'm in 'N' scale. And in 'N' scale, even standard Life Like comes with all wheel pickup / all wheel drive and a 5-pole skewed armature motor.

[#ditto]
I have several locomotives, none of which I can run on a regular basis. In N scale, I have one Life-Like E8A that pulls a decent passenger consist of 8 cars through lots of different grades. I've also got a Model Power 4-6-2 Pacific which is DCC equipped, and which pulls decently, but not a lot of cars.

In HO, I've got an Athearn PA1 & PA2, noisy as heck, but run well. I've got 3 Athearn F7s from the late '80's, a Mantua 4-6-2 Pacific (do you see a trend in my steam locomotives?), and a Kato SD80MAC. I've only run the 80 a few times, and it seems to be a very smooth running, quiet, and responsive.

I've also got my two Lionel steam locomotives, but since I don't have a layout in O scale set up, I can't run them as often as I like.

I remember something an acquaintance said about locomotives. "If you're rich, you don't have enough locomotives. If you have enough locomotives, you aren't rich."

[Nieuweboer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jfugate

Kato and the newer Atlas engines. The Proto 2000 diesels start out running okay (they have slop in the worm gear, so will buck on hills without adding some washer shims) but they don't age well. The problem with the P2K's is mostly power pickup issues.

Adding track wipers to the P2K's seems to solve the problem, but it's too bad they don't hold up like the Katos and Atlases. With a DCC back EMF decoder and a gentle speed curve, I can set the Katos to just above a crawl with a 20 car train in tow and they'll just roll along, smooth as silk, through turnouts, around curves ... what a blast to run.

I've got the same power pick up problems with my P2K GP30 and GP18. How did you
attach the track wipers to the trucks or elsewhere......?


Here's some video footage of Katos and Atlas locos in action ...

http://my-memoirs.com/preview.asp

... it's harder to get the P2Ks to run this smooth on video!

[decapod39]

I have 3 Bowser 2-8-0's with a new gear boxes and can motors. They run so slowly that you can hardly tell if you are moving. I can bring it into a cut of cars so the KaDee's just close without nudging the string of cars everytime. Fun to switch with. [:)]

Bill Neale

[Anonymous]

The 2-8-0 Spectrum is just too smooth for words. I have three of them in the RI scheme.

[Nieuweboer]

Originally posted by jfugate

Kato and the newer Atlas engines. The Proto 2000 diesels start out running okay (they have slop in the worm gear, so will buck on hills without adding some washer shims) but they don't age well. The problem with the P2K's is mostly power pickup issues.

Adding track wipers to the P2K's seems to solve the problem, but it's too bad they don't hold up like the Katos and Atlases. With a DCC back EMF decoder and a gentle speed curve, I can set the Katos to just above a crawl with a 20 car train in tow and they'll just roll along, smooth as silk, through turnouts, around curves ... what a blast to run.

Here's some video footage of Katos and Atlas locos in action ...

http://my-memoirs.com/preview.asp

... it's harder to get the P2Ks to run this smooth on video!




[/quote

I had a question for Joe Fugate, but see now that I hid it in his quoted thread.
I have the same current pick up problems with two of my P2K diesels. They start running a bit erratically. How and where did you attach the track wipers? to the trucks or elsewhere?
Hans

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