N scale 2 axle locomotive recommendation?

[vsmith]

Diesel or steam or traction? I am so very tired of lousy mechanisms for very small engines in N, at least the ones I have tried are. I have two small microlayouts each less than 1 foot square, one is N the other HOn30, on both I have to use the two axle engines but it seems like everything produced that's that small is really poorly built with limited reliability, of course you can guess by now that my roster consists of entirety Bachmann starter set fodder. What can I say, they were inexpensive, and yep you get what you pay for. I have lately been using a toy battery powered system called XTS trains that's N gauge but they have no speed control and they have a limited lifespan as well. I want to use track power and I want a good solid reliable stable of little loco's so I will put it to the masses.

Any recommendations?

I only have a handful of requirements, two axle 0-4-0 as 0-6-0s will tend to bind up on the 4"R curves, and track power DC. Can be diesel gas steam or electric or traction, doesn't matter its a reliable mechanism I'm after.
Thanks

[Anonymous]

vsmith - if you are looking for a two-axle quality mechanism, there is only one source I know:

sb-modellbau

The page is in Germanm so you my have to run it through a translator.

Their drives are the best there is, but quite pricey, though.

[vsmith]

well that's an option, some of those would work for a retrofit or kitbash, and yes a wee bit pricey... 140 Eurobucks! Ouch!!!! Doesnt work for steam though, been looking at a Fleishmann Poccolo Maffei

[LensCapOn]

The late model B-mann Plymouth switcher gets good reviews. If it's not part of your Train-Set starter stuff try to get one on the cheap. It's 6 wheel, but if it fails on the curves you can look to blanking the center wheels.

 

And it's a lot less than 140 EUR.

[Anonymous]

Come to think of it, the Minitrains 0-4-0 chassis is a pretty good performer. The Brits use it quite a lot for kitbashing (bodging) projects.

[vsmith]

I'll keep an eye out for both, any others?

[vsmith]

I can't edit my above post so I'll add, I do have a Bmann Plymouth but mine is very old, over a decade at least. I also picked up a similar looking Plymouth at a train show recently, but its a two axle version, and its busted, glad I only paid a couple bucks for it.

[tgindy]

eBay store, Plaza Japan, has a number of good motorized chassis, and the price is right (even including shipping).  Japanese N Scale (1:150) is quite compatible with U.S. N Scale (1:160).

"The trick" is to figure out "the best fit" of chassis to your engine shell.  See some links here at 1950s Subways and Motive Power (http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/202357/2212610.aspx#2212610).

 

[AltonFan]

Kato used to make two rather toy-like N scale locomotives for a toy train line they had.  One was a four-wheel boxcab electric loco, and the other a six-wheel steam tank locomotive.  (I do not know if Kato still has them.)

Some years back, I bought two of the boxcabs because they were cute I found them appealing, and I thought they had kitbash potential.  They ran as well as Kato's more typical offerings.

I wonder if the Spectrum gas-electric might have some potential.

[AltonFan]

Also, if you can find one, the old Rivarossi 0-4-0 ran rather well.  But those haven't been around for years.