There will be several arguments to my thoughts here, but after going through the gauntlet of buying many of Atlas' newest releases, I have to say that Kato is still the far superior N scale locomotive when it comes to performance. No doubt, that Atlas has made great strides with their releases in the past 2-3 years. They are highly detail models and operate very well. Their slow-speed motors are great. But here's what I'm talking about: The switching portion of my layout (Pine Ridge) is full of old Atlas and new Peco turnouts, has sharp curves and some hard-to-reach areas. I've tried several Atlas locos as the primary switcher serving the layout's industries. All have performed well, but some times I get hiccuping from Atlas locos because of low amperage areas at prototypical speed. I recently employed a KATO RS2 that I won as a door prize at an NMRA convention last year to switch Pine Ridge (I think it had been sitting on the shelf at the donor's hobby shop too long, and that's why it was donated). It has worked near flawlessly through this maze of track, well enough that I feel it's the superior quality of the mechanism that is overcoming my aged track. It is now my lead switcher. Kato locomotives just run so much better. And even though other manufacturers like Atlas, Life-Like, Bachmann, et al, have made great strides in quality, Kato is still the best. Just thought I would share with the group. Anybody else have similar experiences with Kato? Thanks, Tim
Tell ya what, if Kato would come out with a tunnel motor, I'd dump my 50 Intermountains in a second! :teeth:
I think I would be behind you... I like my IM tunnels, but my Katos are smoother. The detail is tough to beat, though. My F7's are great, though...
I love all my Katos.The newer ones,I'm alittle perplexed.My Amtrak F-40's had to go back.Both were busted up.That new non-foam packing & they didn't make it.The undec were fine.But,one runs much better than the other one.I hear that the new SD-40's have problems.
Hmm, I can't tell the differance between Kato, IM, and Atlas. Bachman SD45s are noisy but their little Plymouths are great! Love Em. I like my Con Cors too. Note to those who don't know me: I have very poor vision and select my cars and engines based on overall esthetics.
Tim, You pot stirrer, you! And you posted on 9-11 of 9-11! I do have to agree. I think its because they use a different plastic on the gears that is slipperier (if thats a word) and because they are slightly heavier than Atlas and others. Kato is smoother, albeit they are getting slightly less detailed. The new run of 40-2's corrects this a bit with the AC units, etc. I don't have any of the FP40H, but do know those two models had some very un Kato like QC problems. Actually, Atlas may run just as smooth, but are a bit louder, IMHO. With less weight, I don't think they pull as well. Even though IM uses Atlas components, my few TM's don't run as well as even Atlas for some reason. LL is improving, but not there. Athern has great detailing. Bachman in a non starter for me, the Cubs or Mets of the model railroad locomotive world. So for me, the final division standings are: 1. Kato 2. Atlas 3. (tie) IM LL/Walthers (loses out on difficulty of of DCC conversion 5. Athearn 6. Bachman
Out of thirty-odd locomotives, I have two sold by Kato. Why? The only model Kato ever made I wanted to buy was the Mikado. Yes, it runs very will, but so do my MDC 2-8-0's and 2-6-0. My Bachmann 2-8-0 and Model Power 4-4-0 and 4-6-2 are nice runners, too. Kato may make great stuff, just not anything I can use. :sad:
Not to agree or disagree, but there's something else to consider... age. The older Kato units were heavier, which may account for better current pickup. They may not be appropriate, but one of the old Life-Like E- series locomotives would do even better. At about 6 ounces, they pull stumps and squash all dirt in their path!
Gosh, you guys actually buy ready to run locomotives? And here I spend all my time bashing my own from bits and pieces. At least when they run like crud I know who to blame.
Here are my picks for performance, 1 Kato Tie 2 Atlas ,LL 4 Athearn 5 IM For some reason my 2 Tunnel Motors are loud and not good runners. I will say IMs customer service is excellent
KATO is still #1 for performance and quiet operation. Where they really shine is their slow speed performance. With DCC Atlas really is quite improved but is still noisy and not the greatest pullers. The new SD 40-2's are great as well even if they changed the design of the loco from what was a loco design that had absolutely no problems. (it doesn't help their cause when the trucks fall out in shipping). KATO needs to take pointers from the ATLAS painters. There is no contest there. One wonders though...does KATO listen to what anybody suggests or maybe KATO USA has no say? Still I always am interested in most of their releases. Brian
I have Atlas spanning back to the A/K days and have no complaints on any of them. I have a pair of C44-9's running on the shop layout now that are some of the noisiest I've ever heard. The IM F7's are very good pullers. One pulled a 33 car train here on the layout. The key is to break in your locos. The MP 2-6-0 has been very nice as well. The 4-4-0 will be tried soon on the layout and we'll see how it does.
I will second that quote. Any steam, or even some early transition Diseasel would be a welcome release from Kato. (F units to go with the specialty passenger sets don't count.) Atlas wins just for the fact that I can buy steam from them. I am waiting for 2 shays from the next run now.
My Kato diesel are the best running engines I own followed by Atlas. My Bman consolidation is smoother than my Kato Mike however.
Like what has already been said, the big diffrence between the Kato's and others is their weight and the materials the grears are made out of. the Kato's have a better "self lubricating" factor to them and are "machined" to a tighter tollerances. also something I have noticed in the past is the Kato's have heavier flywheels on avarage, witch helps it thought dirty track work and dead spots.
My Favorites Listed Here's my favorites borrowing Jeff's list with a slight revision: 1. Kato 2. Atlas 3. IM 4. Life Like 5. Con-Cor 6. Athearn Last and least liked 7. Bachman Bachman, in my estimation is all but worthless. I have found them to be good haulers when the amperage actually reaches the motor... without burning it up. I've watched so many Bach's go up in smoke. Most of the units I have are oversized and overated. I do have some early Atlas, when Kato allowed them to use their power house/chasis. They pull great and do a fine job with little or no hiccups. Usually the hiccups are from dirty track or poor connection at the points on switches...frustrating! I have a recently produced Atlas GP7 Santa Fe in Zebra Stripes that will almost out pull anything on the layout. I compared it to it's brothers the SD24's and the Geep, pulled the train in tow right up a 2.5% grade. It took two SD24's with some wheel slippage to accomplish the same thing. In all fairness to Life Like. I have a number of SD9's and 7's. You talk about pullers and smooth runners. Put them side by side with the GP7 and sorry but I can't tell you which operates or rates highest. Equal by these tired eyes. I lashed up my Kato F3's with a SD9 and they ran great together. My two cents.
I will agree that Kato have the edge over Atlas and the rest. Their motors are superior for smooth, slow speed running. They also have the power to pull long trains with ease. I buy Atlas because they churn out models which Kato do not make but I still do not like their 'scale speed' motors. They lack the pulling power and are not smooth as the Kato's. I rate Atlas and IM as second best. IM has very good details but I am disappointed that they used the Atlas motor for their SD40T & SD45T Tunnel Motors. My third choice is Athearn. I believe that with the good details, they will catch up with Atlas if they improve on their motors which are now noisy and lacks smooth power. Cheers, http://cliffordconceicao3310.fotopic.net/c328807.html
I'll toss in my $.02 here as well. Kato only makes up about 5% of my roster and although they're all wonderful runners, It's difficult to pick a "best" of so many of the quailiity locos we're enjoying these days. Atlas has done a great job in recent years. My MP15 and Shay are a delight to run. The HO guys from the club are always impressed by them. Atlas Geeps and LL SD7s get a lot of run time on the club layout. I got my first IM F7s a couple of weeks ago and was amazed at the paint, detail and the super smooth mech. These are beautiful engines! I know they're not DCC freindly, but there's a lot to be said for older LL E units as well. Real strong runners and I picked up most of them in the $15 - $20 range. Lots of "bang for the buck" The newer release LL split frame Es and Erie builts are silky smooth and pull like, well... locomotives. Kato builds fine models and I believe they have kept the bar high for quality for a long time, but I think there are several competitors knocking at the door to be the "best". In the mean time, we N scalers really get to enjoy a lot of nice products.
