Best HO enigne??

Here you will have as many opinions as there are locos. Personnally here are mine. First I must say I model the mid 50's so what I consider best is limited to first generation diesels. Also, and more importantly, the one area where my skills are lacking the most is improving an engines performance. So, I have to make my comparisons with 'out of the box engines'. I do not own an Athearn and wouldn't except for the Genesis F units which are fantastic. I had better luck with old rubber band drive F units than any of Athearns newer engines. The units with the old sintered metal wheels were pretty much junk. Again, I'm talking out of the box and not after a lot of rebuild work. I have had good luck with the Proto 2000 units and have a number of them. I get most of mine from Kleins in Baltimore, so the $39. price I have paid for many of my engines has been an added benefit. My first choice however would be Stewart F units and any Atlas first generation diesel. The Atlas RS-1's and 3's are my favorite for smooth operation right out of the box. So, generally speaking, for across the board models, I'll take Atlas any time. I'm sure people who model the year 2000 will have a different opinion. Just my opinion.

Dale Latham

I model in the steam era, for Steam, you cannot beat Rivarossi.

I just sent two Athearn Genesis models back to my suppliers because of poor and jerky operation. I have never had trouble with Atlas or Kato. Just my opinion,\. James F. Westphal

I have two Genesis 2-8-2s. One runs beautifully, the other is terrible. I sent the bad one back three times but they could never fix the problem. The guys at Genesis worked hard to take care of me and when they couldn't solve the problem they sent me a new F3 which I like very much.

The product was disappointing but the customer serviced was greate.

Carter

I disagree. With the exceptions of the Allegheny and Heisler, all their products, even the newer improved ones, are inferior to MANY others.

The P2K steamers, the newer Bachmann spectrum steamers, and (so far) the Broadway Loco Importers are ALL better than the Rivarossi efforts. Most of these both run better and are more accurately detailed than Rivarossi locos. Even the less expensive IHC products usually run better 'out of the box'.

That said, the newer 'improved' Rivarossi locos are mostly decent. The older ones are pretty much junk for a drive standpoint, with poor gearing, oversized flanges, and other problems.

Dan Mitchell ==========

" snipped-for-privacy@CreditValley.Railway" wrote:

Jerry,

You can get new N/S wheels from Atlas - they drop in. They also can be used to replace the brass wheels on the Walthers SW1. All of the parts should be available. I ordered the geared wheels from Atlas about

Jim Bernier

Jerry Barnes wrote:

Leroy and All

I have two of the original Atlas S2's. They are rugged and have worked many miles over OMRS's Rails. The only thing is that the trucks get dirty a lot faster than the newer ones. Also I have the dog bone connector to the Motor shaft slipping. This is the Austria Model and I would like to update this with new wheel sets and or drive mechanism. Any suggestions?

I have three of the Kato NW2's. These also have been and are a very good runner. What I like is that you can get replacement parts from Kato. I now have the 4th cab and replacement parts for these locomotives.

Hope this gives you all an insight into the best HO Engines.

Please visit our Web Page to see some to the Kato's at work on OMRS layout.

Jerry

"Jerry Barnes" <

Yes, they do indeed. Noticed that from day one. The wheels really do seem to get dirty faster than any of my other locos.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

I have Atlas/kato C425's and Atlas/china RS3's and Proto SD60's. All are great, but would place the Atlas/kato's 1st place Proto SD60 2nd place and the Atlas/china RS3 in third place. Very relieable locomotives!

I've seen them in action. They're sweet. The sound quality is pretty nice. The brakes squeal when you throttle down quickly.

Such a deal for the $250 range (with sound).

Jay CNS&M North Shore Line - "First and fastest"

Jim

Thank you for your input. I ordered them yesterday with new universal joints (they were starting to slip).

Please visit our Web Page to see some to the Kato's at work on OMRS layout.

Jerry

| > Leroy and All | >

| > I have two of the original Atlas S2's. They are rugged and have worked many | > miles over OMRS's Rails. The only thing is that the trucks get dirty a lot | > faster than the newer ones. Also I have the dog bone connector to the Motor | > shaft slipping. This is the Austria Model and I would like to update this | > with new wheel sets and or drive mechanism. Any suggestions? | >

| > I have three of the Kato NW2's. These also have been and are a very good | > runner. What I like is that you can get replacement parts from Kato. I now | > have the 4th cab and replacement parts for these locomotives. | >

| > Hope this gives you all an insight into the best HO Engines. | >

| > Please visit our Web Page to see some to the Kato's at work on OMRS layout. | >

| > Also Please visit OMRS's Latest Grain Train Project. | >

| > Jerry | >