N scale steam is lightyears beyond where it was 10-15 years ago. I started in the dark ages of N steam and I can tell you, now is a great time for this scale and steam!
The Bachmann regular line, like the 0-6-0, 2-6-2, and the 4-8-4 have all been mechanically reworked (extensively) to near Spectrum standards in the last few years and are now reasonable decent performers. The shells have not been upgraded and could stand some work to make them look better, but thats the easy part, right? The shells and mechanics can be tweeked to work out quite well. You can tell the good ones to get by the jewel case they come in and they all have blackened drivers. I have three of the 4-8-4's and they do well (I'd recommend adding electrical pickup to all of the tender wheels, but thats just me). Now the regular line 4-8-4 is not to be confused with the Spectrum 4-8-4 that just came out. They are very different animals, and they even look different. The new Spectrum is a model of the N&W Streamliner, while the standard line 4-8-4s a regular Northern like in my picture.
(click to enlarge)
I've run the 0-6-0 and the 2-6-2 on friends layouts and they are respectable as well. The old Bachmann 4-4-0 has gotten some new paint in the last few years, but it's performance is still sub-standard. It has not been mechanically reworked.
The Bachmann Spectrum line is much better then the regular line. There were some quality control issues at first, but those have gotten better.
It's always a good idea to try before you buy though.
The 2-8-0 is probably the second best steamer in all of N scale, second only to the Kato Mikado (with traction tire upgrade). It will creep along at mind numbingly slow speeds and it has a good drawbar pull. It will also pull well on a grade. If you were only going to buy 1 steamer, I'd probably suggest this one, even though it's not the top dog. Why? Because it's close in performance to the Kato, but it's usually about half the price. I have 4 of these loco's and have been nothing but pleased with them.
The Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 Light Mountain is another great loco as it shares much with the 2-8-0 already mentioned. (Click to enlarge)
It does have one issue though, and that is a light drawbar pull. The reason is, the traction tired axles journal is just a fraction too deep, causing the wheel with the tire to have light contact with the rail, thereby limiting it's effectiveness. There are two easy cures for this though, and they turn this loco from an "also ran" to a star. The first is to simply loosen the plate on the bottom that holds the axles in, then carefully lift the traction tire axle to where you can rotate the journal block 90 degrees. Be carefull to keep the gears meshing on all the same teeth, as messing this up will cause very poor performance. If you don't feel brave enough, there is another way. What you do is looen the plate that holds the axles, then lift the journal block enought to slip a small sliver of masking tape between the journal block and the frame. Now reassemble. Your Light Mountain will now be a stump puller! I have 2 of these loco's and am happy with them after some light tinkering.
The Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain is by all accounts an excellent loco needing no tweeks to provide excellent service on your pike. I do not have one of these loco's, nor have I had the opportunity to run one, so I can only go on what I've heard from friends. So far, I've only heard good stuff. Being a newer loco, the price is still up there a bit.
The Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-6-2 is another loco I do not have. I have heard varying reports on it, everything from a fine loco to a light puller, but nothing horrifying.
OK, on to Athearn!
They only have three steamers, and only one of their own design, so lets take a look, shall we?
The 2-6-0 & 2-8-0 were originally designed by MDC before they got bought out by Horizon Hobbies, who also owns Athearn. (Click to enlarge)
They are both 1890's designs, so these are a throwback to another era a little bit. Thats not necessarily a bad thing though. These loco's would have made it in various states of repair on shortlines and rundown roads well into the 1930's and maybe into the 40's, so they are usable, but in a slightly different manner for your era. They also look slightly "off" when you first look at them. Something seems a little out of place. Some say the cab is too short, others say the tender is too tall, and still others say that the tender just isn't long enough. Whatever the case, there is a prototype for them and they do match the prototype, I just can't seem to remember the road name that they matched right now (NP maybe?). It's OK though, the looks can be changed if it bothers you. The easiest to change is the cab height. This is a tender drive loco, so modifying the tender is real work. It can be done though. Here are some instructions for modifying the cab: (Click to enlarge)
Now, I have 2 of the 2-8-0's, and 1 of the 2-6-0's, and they are all excellent runners and good pullers. Slow speed control is excellent as they can creep quite nicely. They rank near the top of the list. Just a side note: If you buy the MDC version of these loco's (still available in some places) you'll probably pay less, but you'll get Rapido couplers so you'll have to probably change those out for Micro-Trains. One of the MDC's also doesn't come with a working coupler on the front, but I forget which one. If you buy the newer Athearn version you'll get working Accumate couplers on the front and back of both loco's.
OK, the other Athearn loco is the Challenger. It has sound and DCC on board. From all accounts it's a decent performer, but I've not had a chance to run one.
The Walthers loco's (used to be Life-Like before they were bought out) are all very good loco's, though they can be challenging to add DCC to, so that might be a concideration. I don't own any myself, but I've run the Berk and the 0-8-0 and they were both very fine loco's. I'd have them in my fleet.
Kato only makes one steamer, the Mikado. It is still considered the gold standard once it has the traction tire upgrade. Without that upgrade it's only a moderate performer. As a bonus, the newest release of this loco finally has all of those miniscule detail parts attached at the factory, so no more going blind trying assemble them!
Model Power has tried to really boost their image in the last few years, but it's been somewhat of an uphill battle. They tend to be good looking loco's with decent slow speed control, but they're light pullers. The Pacific had a traction tire upgrade available for a while, and that made it a good performer, but those kits have long since sold out everywhere that I know of. They sold out because they not only fit the Pacific, but they also fit the 4-4-0 (which some feel is slightly oversized), making both excellent performers. The first batch of 4-4-0's to come over had to be recalled because of a poor wire connection between the loco and the tender, causing the loco to die sometimes within minutes of taking to the rails, so if you get one of these loco's, check that out. The subsiquent ones were all fine that I know of. I've had 1 4-4-0 and thought it was a decent loco. Another point of note: the electrical pickup on these loco's is by the old wiper system. Not the most reliable method out there.
And that leaves Con-Cor. The 2-10-2 and the Hudson are probably the best of the bunch, but the whole line is slowly being fazed out and the tooling and mechanics on these are a decade or more old, so if you were familliar with them before they'll seem like old hat.
Atlas has two steamers of late, a two truck Shay, which is an excellent loco, and an 1870's or so styled 2-6-0. The 2-6-0 is a decent loco, but it's light so it's not a big puller. To be fair though, neither was it's prototype. I believe it's based on a Micro-Ace design, and they make really nice foriegn steamers. The Shay is a fine runner and a jewel to have on any layout. Atlas should do more steamers if you ask me.
Thats about all I know of. Hope that helps!
(Sorry I rambled on like that)
