ok lets have what you think is the best ever product in N scale and i dont mean just locos it can be anything from a Kato loco to a DCC system personally i think the Atlas 33,000 tankcar is it has the best railings i have seen although when i think about it more ill proberly change my mind so whats yours??? ------------------ wheres all the C636's???? stickymonk.com Matts Photo gallery
I think it's the Kato Mike. Best running steam I ever had. Before that I would say it was the Kato GP38-2. It was the best diesel I ever had when it came out. Still nobody beats kaydee microtrains in my opinion, but I have'nt seen the new atlas tankers yet. ------------------ Robert Ray The NP & UP N-Scale Railroad
well thinking about it i think maybe the microtrains trucks and couplers must be the best thing..... it has made the biggest difference to N scale ------------------ wheres all the C636's???? stickymonk.com Matts Photo gallery
That's a sticky question, sticky monk! I think that the advent of Kato quality has had a great impact, as it has forced others to try to emulate it. Before Kato, the running qualities of US N scale was pretty poor. But now the standards have been, and are being raised, so we all benefit. It will not be long before there is no poor equipment on sale, as we have become accustomed to the best, and in my experience as a manufacturer (in a very small way) purchasers are demanding quality. I know we all hate the 'limited run' syndrome which is infecting N scale at present, but we ARE getting better quality equipment. All we need now is a brave manufacturer to match Kato/Atlas quality, but WITHOUT limited runs (like Athearn, in HO), and we would have the best of all worlds. Maybe some day . . . . BTW, none of my products are limited runs ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com http://Andersley.homestead.com http://galleryusarail_tehcaj.homestead.com http://eurogallery.homestead.com
For all round value for money the LL GP 20's are hard to beat ------------------ http://members.optusnet.com.au/~pcassar/index
Maybe I'm looking at things from a different perspective, but I can think of three possibilities: 1. MRC power packs. Compared to the "toy train" equipment, the difference in running with nearly any locomotive is impressive. 2. Flex track, brand immaterial. The ability to replicate real track geometry without bending and spiking iron is a boon for starters, and the advent of nickel silver has (again) improved running and appearance. 3. Woodland Scenics. This vote is based on reading, not on personal experience, but I can't see trying to scenic a layout without the products they have produced and inspired. Long live the MoPac!
I would have to say that, over the past 7 years or so, Flex-track has been the best product with the vast improvement in motor design a close second. Without flex-track I wouldn't have expanded my layout to where it is today. I would be too busy installing and keeping tight, all the rail joiners needed. The new multi fly-wheeled and additional poled motors make running a model much more enjoyable. No more quick starts and jerkly stops. eddelozier
Model Railroading isn't a hobby of the past, it just keeps going and going so how can there be a greatest product ever? Model Railroading IS the best product ever. ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback
The above posts remind me what an all-encompassing hobby this is. You need to be a carpenter, electrician, engineer, artist, etc. to build a model railroad. Then you have to be a back-shop worker, yard foreman, locomotive engineer, dispatcher . . . . . Great ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com http://Andersley.homestead.com http://galleryusarail_tehcaj.homestead.com http://eurogallery.homestead.com