I'm thinking of switching to N scale. how many GOOD RUNNING steam locos are there. Thinking of a generic coal hauling railroad. Patterened after N&W / C&O. Also what about putting DCC decoders in them???? Mike
There are three first rate steamer out there if you can find them. Life Like makes a 2-8-8-2 which I believe was patterned after the N&W prototype. It runs like a watch. Bachmann makes a 2-8-0 Consolidation which is highly regarded as long as it is a "Spectrum". Lastly, Kato has a 2-8-2 Mikado which runs like a..........Kato! Those are the steam engines that I have. In two or three weeks I will be able to comment on the DCC aspects. I am sure that others will add some more info. Len
The newest releases of Model Power Mikes and Pacifics are wonderful. run mine for hours every day. the Bachmann's (Consul and Mountain) are like the girl with the curl: when they are good they are wonderful, but when bad, they are awful. I have a good and a bad Mountain, and 3 Consuls, which after some tweaking all run well. the MDC 2-6-0s and 2-8-0s run better than anything else, but are very early period. the LL 2-8-8-2 is worthless: won't pull anything as delivered. have a couple but never run them. (and will undoubtedly buy the new Berk, as well - hope it comes with a traction tire!) find a Rivarossi/ConCor articulated on EBAY, but get a promise that it runs well. The ConCor northerns can run well, but try before you buy, and needs big radius curves. the Kato Mike is pretty good, but make sure you get a traction tire.... and a lot of the old stuff can be coaxed to run well, like the old Atlas steamers, and the Trix 2-10-0. there is an old time 2-6-0 from Atlas, and they are bringing out a Shay...... actually, pretty impressive list of good running steamers. probably most can be DCCed if you are willing to invest the effort Michael P.S. actually, this post ought to stimulate a LOT of response....I am sure I just gored many peoples oxen!!!
Look forward to hearing more on this as some day I would like to build up a small D&H Steam Era model in N Scale and would likely need to do some custom paint jobs and would prefer to at least start out with a solid working piece.
Mike: There are several good running steam loco's in N scale that I could recommend, Kato Mikado 2-8-2 Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 The Kato Mikado is one of the most difficult loco's in N scale to install a decoder into. I would use a Lenz 1025 with a harness. The HO decoder will give this loco the power it needs. The harness will prevent the decoder wiring from touching the drawbar, which can compromise the running qualities of this fine loco. You must also install traction tires as an add on feature to have any pulling capacity. With traction tires, the Mikado pulls well. The decoder must be installed in the tender as there is little room in the loco to place a decoder. The Bachmann 2-8-0 and 4-8-2's are the best detailed N scale loco's. There is room to place a decoder near the six wires necessary for the installation by removing a weight in the boiler area. I have used the Lenz 521W with BEMF for this installation. You could also use a Digitrax DZ143 as well. Both Bachmann loco's run well after a break-in period of about 3 hours. They will also pull a nice string of cars on level track. BTW, the Kato Mikado also requires a 3 hour break-in period and it's runs better the more it is used. Hope this helps you. I would stay away from any Model Power and Con-Cor steam loco's. I have found too many problems with MP loco's. They do not work well when a decoder is installed and only use a three pole motor when a five pole motor should have been used. There are traction tires available for these loco's but the average modeler should nor install the traction tires. Also if you decide to open the boiler and shell area you proceed at your own risk, because you probably won't be able to put the loco together again. Con-Cor steam loco's donot have the same quality as the Bachmann Spectrum's, Kato Mikado's and LL 2-8-8-2's. I have several of these loco's namely a 4-6-4 Hudson and a GS-4 and they donot run particularly well, although the GS-4 in SP Daylight colors is a fine looking loco. You might also want to consider the LL 2-8-8-2. It pulls well on level track but doesn't do well on grades. You can use a Digitrax DZ 143 decoder in this loco, but you must remove the factory installed light board and re-wire the loco lighting through the decoder. If you leave the light board in place, the chances are that you will blow out the decoder. The LL 2-8-8-2 is also a finely detailed loco. [ 13. July 2004, 18:44: Message edited by: Powersteamguy1790 ]
I can't speak for anything but the Bachman Spectrum 2-8-0: mine is great - especially in Southern Green and Gold
I have absolutely fallen in love with the MDC Roundhouse 2-8-0 and 2-6-0 models, they run as well or better than any Diesel model in N scale. I had one running at the train show in Tallahassee that the only way you could tell the train was in motion was to watch a car pass a crossbuck. With 16 wheel power pickup on the Consolidation and 14 wheel on the Mogul, added to a skew wound five pole motoor and flywheel, these are incredibly smooth and powerful. I've been a model railroader for a half century, and the 2-8-0 was the first locomotive I've ever liked so much that I purchased a second. Since purchased a Mogul as well and have almost finished converting it into a PRR F1. Here's what they look like, converted to a PRR H3b:
It looks like everyone pretty much agrees (for once?); so do I. For a coal-hauling road, the 2-8-8-2 would be the key engine. The Life Likes need weight added (under the boiler, on the trucks) plus traction tires (no such), otherwise stock they pull around 20 cars. Add the weight and doublehead and you should be able to pull a respectable coal drag. The Con Cor Challenger or Big Boy are good pullers, though the latter must be in the red or tan (NOT woodgrain) box versions. Would be likely found on eBay only nowadays. Al
Bachmann SPECTRUM USRA light 4-8-2 or the 2-8-0 are excellent. Some have said that the revamped Bachpersonn Standard Line ATSF 4-8-4 is not bad, but as superpowers are not really my thing, I have yet to try one. I have seen the revamped B-mann Standard Line USRA 0-6-0, but have not tried it as it looks like there has been no improvement to the 'live' forward tender truck, which was the source of most of its problems. That tender needs to be reworked to all wheels live. The Kato USRA heavy mikado is excellent. Two things: 1. Buy the traction tyre driver and do the swap-out. It is an easy task. I understand that you can go to the Kato website for the directions. 2. Add some weight to the tender once you have installed the traction tyre. This will improve markedly the electric pick up and consequently the performance. The tender superstructure is a friction fit and will slide from the chassis with a minimum of effort. Despite what many have said about the two recent MP offerings, USRA light pacific and mikado, I generally like mine. The nastiest brickbat that I will throw at the MP is that only two wheels on each pole are live on the tender; it needs to have all wheels live. The relatively great weight of the locomotive will compensate for some, but not all contact problems. They run more smoothly than the Kato. I must agree with GM about the MDC late nineteenth century steam: excellent runners and the best creepers yet. Take the pilots from the 2-8-0 and you have a great industrial steam switcher. The Atlas/Micro-Ace Civil War era 2-6-0 is not bad, but it could use a live front tender truck. The LL USRA 2-8-8-2 holds a nice, steady 20-25 SMPH (which was the usual operating speed of these things--any faster and the vibrating got geometrically worse with each 1 MPH of speed increase). There have been complaints about its pulling power. There are those who like the RR 2-8-8-2. Every one that I have ever had has always siezed, eventually. Yes, I do lubricate them. Kato does offer some JNR prototypes that can be bashed easily to look like North-American prototypes. I probably forgot a few, I usually do.
I gambled 50 bucks and bought a Bachmann standard 4-8-4, with the intention of applying Steamguy's "jaw dropping" modification. This mod involved adding power pickup to the tender wheels. As luck would have it, mine ran well after some breakin time. No need for Ken's modification so far. When time permits, I intend to try to obtain some powdered tungsten for the purpose of adding weight. I have thought of mixing the tungsten with epoxy and adding it to whatever voids I can find around the boiler. I have also thought of using this stuff to thicken the walkways. This shouldn't be too noticable, and might add considerable weight over the drivers. So far this is just a theory. Len
FWIW, out of the box my LL 2-8-8-2 easily pulled 20+ Kadee/MT boxcars up a 2% grade. Since my layout is under construction, I don't don't yet know what the max will be on my layout (my layout will have 2% maximum grade). There is some performance variance on these, I know others who have similar results to mine, yet others can't seem to pull much at all . . .
FWIW, out of the box my LL 2-8-8-2 easily pulled 20+ Kadee/MT boxcars up a 2% grade. Since my layout is under construction, I don't don't yet know what the max will be on my layout (my layout will have 2% maximum grade). There is some performance variance on these, I know others who have similar results to mine, yet others can't seem to pull much at all . . . </font>[/QUOTE]N&W: Fortunately for you, that is the exception and not the rule. Many of the LL 2-8-8-2's have trouble pulling more than eight cars up a 2% grade. "Mash" on the Atlas forum also had his LL 2-8-8-2 pull more than 20 cars up a 2% grade. Am glad that you have that response from your LL 2-8-8-2.
R.E.: LL 2-8-8-2 Sorta makes one wonder if they're coming from the factory consistently with their drivers all on the same plane...
My 2-8-8-2 Life Like couldn't even pull a strand of warm, wet spaghetti up an incline. It can pull 5 cars. It was a complete waste of a lot of money.
Ooops , sort of forgot about this post . Thanx for all the replies,sort of confirms what I suspected about the steamers. Surprised to hear about the LL 2-8-8-2 though. My HO model was great ( no grades though) I figure to keep the grades light on new layout . probably only the mine spur will have any type of grade at all. Is the decoder install a plug in, or is soldering a requirement on most steamers?.....Mike
Another good one is the Micro-Ace 0-6-6-0. It has a japanese style tender, but the engine can be easily "Americanized" and it runs smooth as silk. I have had an MDC 2-8-0 and it too was smooth, but the Micro-Ace wins hands-down. [ 21. July 2004, 17:48: Message edited by: slimjim ]
Mike: On all N scale steam loco's you must hard wire the decoder. The only steam loco that is plug N' Play is the Con-Cor GS-4 Daylight 4-8-4 and its many variations. The Digitrax decoder used for this plug n'Play installation is not one of their best. I hardwired this loco as well. N scale steamers are not like the HO counterparts that utilize plug n' play decoders. It would be great if this option was available in N scale.
