Rating HO Steam Manufacturers

Lately I've taken a keen interest in HO. It would seem BLI is king of the hill for steamers and the LL Heratige Series are good looking locos too( I have an 0-6-0. Excellent detail and a fine runner).

For modeling a short line ( I'm thinking of Prairies, Ten-Wheelers, Mogals, Pacifics) the selection of steam seems relegated to Mantua, Roundhouse, IHC, and Spectrum. How would you "score" their steamers and are the negative points something that can be corrected, ie; lack of detail, re-motoring, adding pick-ups, etc..

 

Each of the HO steam engine manufacturers has it's pluses and minuses. Some have more detail, others will pull the paint off the wall. Let me add my two cents' worth:

Athearn Genesis: They offer a USRA Mikado and Pacific. Excellent detail, run fairly well but don't pull much. I've heard they are hard to take apart.

Spectrum: Consolidation, Ten-Wheelers and more. Excellent detail, run well.

Proto-2000: 0-8-0, Articulateds. Excellent detail, run well, but not cheap.

Mantua, now offered by Model Power: Not much detail, but they run well, especially the releases after 1994. Easy to fix if you can find parts. Tyco steam engines released before 1977 are identical to Mantua steam.

Roundhouse: Kits take a little work, but if you take your time, they run well. Engines released after about 1995 have can motors. Don't think they have much detail. RTR versions run well.

IHC: These run OK, not much detail. Very affordable. The Mogul and 4-4-0 are the best of the lot. Parts can be hard to come by.

Model Power (not Mantua): OK, not great, little detail.

There might be others, but I can't think of any right now. Hope this helps.

Pat

 

What can you afford to spend?

Then, the Athearns suffer from a weight imbalance and both models are too lite.

I'm a firm believer in at least a 16 oz loco and the weight is balanced over the middle of the driving wheelbase to achieve maximum adhesion. Athearn does not qualify

The Spectrum series has started to earn some creditable comments.

IHC run,pull well and are not pricey.

Up the ladder you have the P2K and the Broadways.

The older Rivarossis are cheap but do not enjoy a good reputation.

I own the Riv Allegheny, New FEF-3s and the Spectrum HW, all of which are not in your parameters.

 

Interesting topic. I'd rate them as follows (keep in mind I wouldn't hesitate to tear down anything at this point):
BLI - truly ready to run. Decent detail on the Paragon series, but even the Powerhouse series runs well. Great sound, and pull down the wall. Darned difficult to work on in my opinion. I believe the Mike is their smallest loco.
Proto 2000 - excellent runners, very good detail, drawbar length not adjustable, and hard to change, before the 2-8-4. Not too easy to work on. The 0-8-0 is a gem.
Bachmann Spectrum - good runners, good pullers, decent lookers. May need some modifications, like the drawbar on the J. Pretty easy to work on. The 4-8-2 Heavy is a gem.
Athearn Genesis Pacific and Mikado- good looking, excellent running, easy to work on. Pretty good detail. Needs weight, but easy to add that and to balance. Pull real well then. These sound like an opportunity for you.
Rivarossi- Most are decent running, decent looking, always have had to add weight to all of them, but that's easy. Easy to add detail, easy to work on.
IHC- very good runners. Not great detail, but easy to add and to work on. Good selection.
Bowser- good runners and pullers. Fairly easy to work on. Not the easiest to add detail to. You better like Pennsy style locos to like Bowser.

I have never HAD to remotor but one loco... and it was brass. I have chosen to remotor a couple more. None of the above listed need remotoring in my opinion. Compared to 25 years ago, today is steam heaven.

 

The Spectrum 4-6-0 is a beauty, very cute, and it will pull far more than their 2-10-0 will!

I have an IHC 2-6-0 on my workbench, running is okay (has pickups on loco and tender) although not as smooth running as the Bachmann steam. Detailing looks poor at first glance but with some extra detail and painting the shiny silver bits it should look pretty good. The 2-6-0 is an SP prototype as far as I can tell.

I have a Bachmann heavy mountain as well, great model, pulls a whole track full on our layout, plus looks good too, but probably a bit chunky for shortline use!

 

There don't seem to be as many about as the 2-8-0's, which i've seen knocked down to under £40 at times.

I'd do a ring/email around & see what folk have, Model Motors/Model Junction were my local one when I lived in Slough & I still use them for mailordering stuff:
orders@modjunc.fsbusiness.co.uk

It's a nice couple that run it, used to belong to the Slough club when I was there, then got into US outline stuff!

 

I've got one of the IHC Moguls. Ran it so much I melted the motor support so that the worm gear won't engage! It is based on the SP M-4, but is also very similar to a B&M Mogul. It is a nice little engine, and better yet, it costs a lot less than brass!

Pat

 

I like the 4-6-0 as well. I think that'll be the next purchase....hopefully this month.