Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm glad to say that Watash's comparison with Swiss watches is generally true in my experience even though many of the European brass locos are produced in the Far East as swissrhb (great name by the way!!)correctly points out. If I have done my arithmetic correctly it appears that you guys across the pond are paying even more for brass locos than we are in Europe.....and for a poorer product. It is now clear to me why many of you are so "anti-brass".When I first started modelling Swiss N-scale I had many plastic locos to choose from and although brass was available I never gave it a thought. I have slowly exhausted the choice of plastic locos available and as very few new ones are being introduced I have turned my attention to brass. Instead of buying maybe 3 plastic locos a year I will now buy 1 brass so the outlay remains the same. I am pleased with my brass models but if the choice was there I would much rather go back to buying 3 plastic ones !!! We all like buying new locos don't we ?? Best wishes, John
I'm sorry for the "Q" thingy that does refer to the SCL crew cabs. Not to step on toes again but I also stand by my "eye candy" statement, they're beautaful to look at and they run smooth (if you can ignore the wobble in about half of them) but it takes three of them to equal one of my "old" GP-38's from Kato. What gives with the QC at Atlas these days. I have three brass steam engines. I did have two brass SD-45's but as was noted on this thread they could not run with anything else on my railroad, so it was good by and good ridance to them when Kato introduced their's. The three steam are a PRR S1, a SP GS-4, and a A,T&SF 2-10-4. the S1 is by far the best of the lot with its full floating suspension.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by squirrelkinns: Not to step on toes again but I also stand by my "eye candy" statement, they're beautaful to look at and they run smooth (if you can ignore the wobble in about half of them) but it takes three of them to equal one of my "old" GP-38's from Kato. What gives with the QC at Atlas these days. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Quality control at Atlas is a problem. One of my B23-7 wobbles badly and grinds. About 1 in every 4 new Atlas locos I get has a running problem that is unacceptable and is sold on ebay. I have never had a Kato grind or wobble. Kato runs smoother too.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by eddelozier: ... I'd announce that the order I placed in Jan. 2000 has finaly arrived!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Ed. looks fantastic! but waiting OVER a year for it?? and paid thru the arse for it... but you seem to have a good run with your brass.. where most others have to bollocks around with them to get them running. Another point, If Im paying 2 months wages (Aussie $ is worthless) on a brass loco, then I want it to walk, run, whip Carl Lewis and cook me dinner without having to put a pinky to it.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Scott Siebler: Quality control at Atlas is a problem. One of my B23-7 wobbles badly and grinds. About 1 in every 4 new Atlas locos I get has a running problem that is unacceptable and is sold on ebay. I have never had a Kato grind or wobble. Kato runs smoother too. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> This is the first I heard of any running problems with any of the latest Atlas locomotives. I've had China made GP40/40-2's, SD60/60M's and friends that have the SD35's and B-23-7's. No reported problems with any of these and mine all ran flawless, not a coffee grider in the bunch. The detail on these are also super, not as much as Brass, but then neither is the cost.
You have been either incredibly lucky or some of us are just more nit-picky. In another thread I posted a fix for the most common problem with Atlas/Red Star engines, that being the wobble, which incidently, is acompanied by a distinct gear noise. this "problem" can happen one of two ways lack of care in assembly or rough handling during shipment, and concidering how they are packed I'd go with the first cause
hey scott what is your ebay name that way i dont get any bad engines off of there. by the way do you post on there that they are new and unused? or that they have some mechanical problem. i buy alot off things from ebay and hope to never get ripped off.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mopac3092: hey scott what is your ebay name that way i dont get any bad engines off of there. by the way do you post on there that they are new and unused? or that they have some mechanical problem. i buy alot off things from ebay and hope to never get ripped off.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I state in my auctions if the engine has running problems. I also sell new locos too. Don't be afraid to buy something from me. My ebay name is the same as my email address.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by squirrelkinns: You have been either incredibly lucky or some of us are just more nit-picky. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Naaah, I can be pretty nit-picky too. The only Atlas Loco I've ever had a problem with was my first GP30, the drive was made by KATO. It developed a "lope" and "click" to it after I had it for about a month. After taking it apart, I found some flash on one of the main gears in the rear power truck. I've also had the front power truck fall out of one of my Kato CW44-9's. This was the first time right out of the box! Luckly for me, Ole RoyalBlue had a replacement. I guess the point I'm trying to make here is I've had MUCH better luck with my pure Atlas Locos than my Katos. Thing is, I think they all (Atlas and Kato) run equally as well overall. Still, you can keep your brass, I'll take a pass thankyouverymuch...
A real quick mental note .Don't buy from scott on ebay you don't know what you will get.also i checked ebay and the email you have that you say is your name on their don't come up.can you please post it.thank you
Hi all, Concerning European brass quality,I suppose there is an explanation to the better stuff: At first, brass imports were made for the German and Swiss market.These folks were acustomed to quality brands like Märcklin, Fleishman, Roco and so on...had been the first imported stuff the same quality as old Life-like garbage, European importers would have gone bankrupt faster than bees fly to the honey pot... You never kid German people with mechanical stuff !Do you know better cars than German-made ? On the other hand, there is lesser variety from European rolling stock (nationalisation)so importers were due to emphazise on quality instead of choice... At last, I saw several times Lemaco engines running at slow speed and switching on exhibit layouts, and I can tell that "running like a swiss match" is an understatement concerning products of this brand. You, Americans,have to pay somehow the choice you have in ready to run rolling stock with ridiculous prices in comparison to European prices(120$ at least for first hand ready to run engines in France) Marc
What can I say WE Americans like cheap and lots of it VS. say Swiss watch and lasting a life time. In our hayday, you could buy Lionel and know that it would be around for your grand children, now we are lucky if it is still around at the end of the year in which we bought it. That is why some of the people rave about these chinese products, there is no way that they would be willing to pay american rates for it just look at the complaints about Micro-Trains. The new Atlas GP-38's won't hold a candle to the old Kato's, they will be just so much EYE CANDY just like their B23-7's!!
The new Kato runs great and will last. I prefer it over the old Kato because of the momentum it has after the power is off. This enables it to better get over lousy electrical spots. Over all, the quality of N engines is much better than it was even five years ago. But, I would like to see other manufactures join the list of "quality" engines. Right now, we have only three (Kato, Atlas and recent Life Like), I'm still out on my vote with Bachman spectrum, not quite up to snuff yet.
All I can say about my EYE CANDY is I LIKE IT! When the 38s come out I will get more EYE CANDY. My B23-7s Look good run good and do the job they are supposed to do just fine. <marquee>North American Rail Alliance</marquee>
Well Catt thank you for helping make my point! As long as we keep our expectations low we'll stay happy with our eye candy, I'll rest my case for now.
Lighten up a little bit guys! I don't want to start yanking posts here, but I will if you ALL don't chill out a bit. Please keep your posts calm and don't point any fingers without THINKING FIRST! Thank you...
Eye Candy is anything pleasing to the eye. My B23-7s please my eyes.I don't care if anybody else likes them or not I do and I paid for them. There is a saying about pleasing all the people all the time. Can't be done.The only person you should have to please in this hobby is yourself. Right??? <marquee>North American Rail Alliance</marquee>
As I read through this thread, I can't help but wonder why some people get so nasty when other people have differning opinions. Frankly, if there weren't anyone buying Bachmann stuff, they would have long ago gone out of business. You may not care for what they sell, that's fine. If I choose to run Bachmann stuff, that doesn't make me a lousy person...just someone who makes differnt choices. One of the things that makes this hobby so much fun is that you can do pretty much whatever you want on your own layout. Wanna run SD-90s with 34 foot cars? Or pull a double stack train with a 4-4-0? Good for you! If you want to model the Sante Fe in Topeka on August 3, 1957, at 3:30 in the afternoon, Go for it! Just remember, not everyone has to share your opinion. That doesn't make them enemies, just people who differ, but still love trains. Jeeze, I even have friends who somehow enjoy H-orribly O-versized trains. They think that Athern was a god and brass is queen. Just have fun, run trains, and play nice. Jeff Augsburg & Concord R.R. (a fictional shortline in Central Illinois) http://www.acrr.rrdepot.com
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Ed Pinkley#2: A real quick mental note .Don't buy from scott on ebay you don't know what you will get.also i checked ebay and the email you have that you say is your name on their don't come up.can you please post it.thank you<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Are you sure you spelled it correctly. It is: bsie157822@aol.com My record speaks for itself on ebay.
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by squirrelkinns: You have been either incredibly lucky or some of us are just more nit-picky. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I guess you could call me that. I try to get all my locos to run as smooth is possible. On of the main things that bothers me is wobbling rolling stock and locos. It just doesn't look right. It seems that the rear trucks sideframes on both of my UP B23-7s sit lower on the truck assembly. The front wheel on the rear truck causes this wobble.
