Switchers

[Anonymous]

iam looking for an inexpensive switcher that will actually work and not give me any problems any help would be great. thanx

[Adelie]

What scale?

[Eriediamond]

NJfreight, I can only answer this with a question first. Is the switching task light or heavy, steam or diesel, industrial or yard or road switching duties? For steam era anything from an 0-4-0 "shifter" up through a 2-8-0 would fill the bill depending on the duties required. As far as diesel I would say anything from a small 44 tonner up through a six axle would fill the bill, again depending on the duties required. Without getting into a lengthy book here, an 0-4-0T would be used for industrial switching,where as an 0-8-0 could be used for yard work where heavy trains were made up, humpyard duties and local runs out on the road. As far as diesels go A 44 tonner would be used for duties as an 0-4-0 steam and a "jeep" or a six axle diesel would be used around a yard or out on the road. As far as prices go, I would recommend comparing prices in Model Railroader or catalogs such as Walthers. Maybe someone else can help you here with more knowledge for prices and reliability. Now that I have you thoroughly confused, good luck, Ken

[retsignalmtr]

i have a couple of athern sw 1500's that run good. i use them to switch the yard on my clubs ho layout that is taken to shows a couple of times a year. atlas rs1's and rs3's are good too.

[Don Gibson]

For $40 -$60 you can acquire a STEWART or PROTO 2000 switcher . Since HO locomotives are averaging $100, that's cheap. You want CHEAPER?

Since your SWITCHER will be required to move cars around, do you want one that start's, stop's, and pick's up car's with a jerk?

Do you REALLY want cheaper? OR one that can inch along??

[Anonymous]

I can't agree with Don Gibson more. My entire layout is switching, so I know that smooth slow speed performance is everything. That means quality. Luckily, switchers are the smallest engines, and therfore the cheapest.

You can add Kato to the above mentioned brands. An old Kato NW2 has served me well.

Ken

[Anonymous]

Stewart is offering VO-600s and VO-1000s in various road names, also undecorated. You can get one for $50-$60. Their running qualities are OUTSTANDING (direct personal experience).

[htgguy]

P2K Alco S-1. I paid $40 and it runs like a dream. Looks fantastic too. Pulls my 15 cars with no problem.

[Anonymous]

Life-Like, HO scale, USRA 0-8-0 I bought one on eBay for less than $90

[aloco]

I like Life-Like GM switchers for their slow speed, but Atlas Alco swtichers are good for pulling power. I have a few Life-Like Alco switchers, but they are kind of light and don't run any better than Atlas units. As for the Stewart Baldwin switchers, I've got a VO1000 with a Canon motor in it - it's noisy but it runs okay.