I've just about decided to add another yard engine to the roster. It'll be a little steam engine of some sort. Cost is a consideration. Any recommendations???
Along the same lines as Ironhorseman, there are some nice (ie plastic, 0-6-0's and 0-8-0's out there) the proto 2000 0-8-0 comes to mind
<font color="336633">My fave of the small good running good looking steam locos is the Proto 0-6-0, I know that these are not cheap but they are well worth the extra cost of buying them.</font>
Proto 2000 0-6-0 or 0-8-0. Cant go wrong with either of these. You get what you pay for here. Dont go with cheap locos, they run like cheap locos . Anything made by Proto 2000, Bachman (Spectrim line only ) Or Athearn will generally perform best.....Mike
My P2K 0-8-0 is the best runner of all my engines, and I got it cheap at a train show. I agree with Mike C., always get the absolute best that you can buy, it will save you money in the long run. I've got a box of cheap loco's that no longer run. My grandfather always told me, "Buy junk, own junk."
I have a Proto 2000 0-8-0 that I like but it was pricy. One the Budget side, I also have an MDC 0-6-0 that runs great and was cheap. You can get them used on e-bay for around 20-40 dollars. Mine is older and had an open frame motor that I replaced with a can motor and a huge flywheel. The flywheel fills the cab, but a little black paint hide it well. The gear reduction in those older ones are great. With the big flywheel and the gear reduction, that little engine will coast forever. The kit is easy to put together. I could give you a few pointers on how to get it together without any of the troubles you hear steam kit builders complain about. The nice thing is that the boiler is plastic and almost detail free. It was fun to add the detail parts that I wanted on my engine without carving off cast on details.
