riogrande5761 There are people who are happy with anything - which is fine. It is still worth making comparisons with other brands just so people who do care will be informed. I know I was never very happy with the old Athearn (Globe) F unit, so I was tickled when Stewart brought out their F unit, and that was a new standard by which to compare. Anyhow, for $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer!
There are people who are happy with anything - which is fine. It is still worth making comparisons with other brands just so people who do care will be informed. I know I was never very happy with the old Athearn (Globe) F unit, so I was tickled when Stewart brought out their F unit, and that was a new standard by which to compare.
Anyhow, for $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer!
Putting the drives aside for a moment, it is hard to beat Intermountain and the Genesis/Highliner for fine detail and proto correctness of details on EMD F units.
Yes the Kato drive is nice, but not that much better than the Intermountain and Genesis F unit drive based on my experiances.
What makes the Stewart loco better? The Stewart locos lacked hand rails/grab irons? What was that about? I don't care if the shell is a little more accuarate in some way, I'm not buying a loco already painted and lettered and then adding those details - they should be on there before the paint job.
Bowser now sells them with those details in their "Excecutive" line.
And what is with the dummy B unit thing? I have never owned a dummy unit, don't want any. It is still a major deal and extra expense to get powered B units from Bowser.
As for those MRC F units, they always looked a little "toy like" to me for some reason, not sure who made them but I doubt MRC tooled them completely from scratch.
All my ATLANTIC CNETRAL F units are Genesis and Intermountain except for one set of PCM F3's I got really cheap - undecorated stealth verions - ABBA - $100 for the whole set from Factory Direct Trains on closeout.
The detail on those is nice too, but that tooling now belongs to MTH.
As for F units that came lettered, I have Proto2000 (C&O), Intermountain (B&O) and Genesis (WM) units - all look good and run very well.
And I still have a set of old Athearn Blue Box F uints, super detailed, GSB cab interiors, can motors, Walthers dressup kits - they actually hold up pretty well next to the newer models once all that is done. The side grills are really the only telling detail that gives them away.
Sheldon
The one I purchased was decorated for Union Pacific, came in a plain white box, and was most definitely a Walthers Trainline locomotive with only one flywheel and only one powered truck.
I eventually removed the decoder and gave it away to a person who could not afford even a cheap DC loco.
Let's put it this way:A friend of mine models the B&O, and MRC brought out their F7A in two numbers for the B&O. The funny part is that the units don't match. Why? Well, if you're familiar with the B&O paint scheme, the lower part is blue and the upper is gray. Then there are yellow pin stripes outlining a wide black stripe in the blue area.
On one model, the scheme is as described. The other is lacking the black stripe. Oh, the pinstripes are still there, but the black is missing. How in the world did they manage that?Here, I found a pic online that shows it:
That's MRC "Kuality"...
Paul A. Cutler III
Cuda Ken;Hey, I braved the hot room & found that my units may have been repackaged or stripped of their shells.Which explains their colors!
I have stock numbers of boxes;521552175711
The earlier pair do not have the Chassis painted & one included a dummy chassis with gearless trucks. All the rest were powered, so my apologies.
It definately looks like we have very different production numbers, & they may have changed during that time. If, & only if, my chassis were placed in the correct boxes after the shells & accesories were removed. I got these from an eBay store, so I can[t speak to their former lives.Anything could have happened.
Hope that helps!
Chad, I still have one of the boxes. Part # listed is 5910 F9 A/B Set Santa Fe. Instructions say's 5100-5900 Series Revised 11/20/0.
Does not really matter, only thing I have left is a dummy chassis.
Ken
I hate Rust
Hey Ken, Wow, I have not seen or heard of that version, I really wonder what the ones you have are!?!?!?!??
My example is prior to DCC plug tech, I also have a couple GP35's with this "wire manager" board, but a newer GP35 actually has a PC circuit board that does have the DCC connector on it.
I will really count myself lucky to have what I got.
All of mine are powered & only one set is 'A & B packaged', the rest were single units.
Could you take a picture similar to mine, so we could look it over, & try to figure it out?
Thanks,
Well thank you folks for your answers.
Tom I did buy the Stewart's new and was very pleased with them till I hit around 100 hours. Then the bearings in the motor started squeaking. I would oil them and get a few more hours out of them, then the squeaking came back. This went on till the motor ate a decoder. The motors where Buehler's.
I did give them another try as well, that is why I had 2 bad ones.I cannot see chancing it again after two failed.
Chad Mine all so came in the Red and White box with white foam. They where sold in pairs, one powered A unit and a dummy B unit. My light board was white and had a 8 pin hook up for a decoder.
Don 7 How do you like your MRC's?
If the ones I am looking at do have MRC decoders, I know they will go straight into the trash can.
Far as there details not being right, not a big deal to me. While I do have some nicely detailed trains, I enjoy my BB and Proto 1000 engines as much as my PCM's.
So, MRC made them then? Any other comments?
Again thank you all for your time.
Say what now????? I'm getting confused, heh heh... This made me check my 'Box 'o Stewart's!!'They were the ones in the slim 'White with Red & Black trim' boxes, with a white foam cradle..This is my Stewart-Kato Drive F chassis. It has the older Kato Light Board, & the lower truck gear covers have the 'Kato Crown' logo on them. They run smooth, strong, & silent as the legend says. Feel free to use this as an Identifying photo against other units.
So, what WAS the Verdict? MRC Made their own? or used Life Like components? ( I too, was side tracked, & apologize for furthing that confusion, but thought I could help identify one chassis manufacturer/OEM).
cudaken I bought 2 Stewart's F 9's and there motors and drive Where Not Made By Kato! I gave both of them to a member here at the site. Both motors had gone bad and had to be replaced. Far as detail, no better than a Proto 1000. Just wished they ran as long.
I bought 2 Stewart's F 9's and there motors and drive Where Not Made By Kato! I gave both of them to a member here at the site. Both motors had gone bad and had to be replaced. Far as detail, no better than a Proto 1000. Just wished they ran as long.
Ken,
Were those Stewart F9s used or new units. The newer Stewart drives (i.e. Buehler and Canon) are the absolute best on the market. I have a Stewart FT and a VO-660 and VO-1000. Each one of them is an exceptional running unit.
I would strongly encourage you to give Stewart another try.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
cudaken riogrande5761: For $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer! Yes it is a no brainer, I bought 2 Stewart's F 9's and there motors and drive Where Not Made By Kato! I gave both of them to a member here at the site. Both motors had gone bad and had to be replaced. Far as detail, no better than a Proto 1000. Just wished they ran as long. If I pick up another F unit, I might try the MRC's. Cuda Ken
riogrande5761: For $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer!
For $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer!
Yes it is a no brainer, I bought 2 Stewart's F 9's and there motors and drive Where Not Made By Kato! I gave both of them to a member here at the site. Both motors had gone bad and had to be replaced. Far as detail, no better than a Proto 1000. Just wished they ran as long.
If I pick up another F unit, I might try the MRC's.
Cuda Ken
Do yourself a favor and buy a KATO made Stewart - again there are plenty out there. The Stewarts made in the US did have a different motor but I have heard they ran smooth and quiet - your's is the first instance that I heard that they went bad. Anyway, I'd say your odds are still better than MRC, your choice of course - as the saying goes you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
don7 They got a bad review from MRC and word of mouth spread like wildfire and soon everyone had negative comments http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,421806
They got a bad review from MRC and word of mouth spread like wildfire and soon everyone had negative comments
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,421806
Ken:
Suggest that you read the link Don7 suggested, above. It pretty much mirrors the review that MR did. That review was in the March 2001 issue.
In case you're wondering, the list price quoted in the review was $79.
The MRC DCC equipped F7 locomotive I purchased way back when MRC first began to enter the DCC market was a Walthers Trainline product.
The locomotive itself was not a bad product but the factory installed MRC decoder was totally dead, as were 3 out of 4 additional MRC decoders that were part of the same introductory offer.
That was my first and only foray into the world of MRC DCC products.
A few years ago I saw those MRC introductory locomotives being dumped for as little as $15 each, so the price you saw them advertised for is a real ripoff.
riogrande5761 For $69 you should be able to find a Stewart which as a rule are pretty accurate and the drive was made by KATO generally runs like a swiss watch. No brainer!
I have a pair of the MRC F7's in Green Pennsy livery.
When these engines came out in 2001. I myself liked the engines.
Then again some people quite liked them
http://www.internetmodeler.com/2001/january/railroad/mrc_f7a_review.htm
In 2005 MRC had a fire sale, the were selling them for $15.00 each through their site.
Came across two MRC Platinum F7 A's today at my LHS. Normally small details do not impress me being half blind and running the trains 8 feet away from me. But these really impressed me!
Did Inter Mountain make them for MRC? Box said Decoder 300 was installed, so I am guessing it is a MRC decoder.
They are $69.00 and that seems pretty fair.
What do you folks think or know about them?
Thank You for your time, Ken