Dragon Breath
Livin' It Up
I'm just getting into the hobby. I was wandering what are some of the best brands. I'm looking at a IHC and how do they rank? Thanks!!
What Brand?
- Thread starter Dragon Breath
- Start date
ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)
JeffShultz
Stay off the tracks!
IHC is definitely lower tier.
Top Tier Locomotives:
Atlas
Athearn Genesis or RTR
Life-Like (Proto2k only)
Kato
Some BLI/Factory Direct Trains
Rolling Stock Top Tier:
Atlas
Athearn Genesis/RTR
Walthers (esp. Gold)
Life-Like Proto2k
Red Caboose
Kadee
Tangent
Best on a budget:
Atlas Trainman (both locos and cars)
Yes, I tend to like Atlas. A lot. And they've earned that, too.
Top Tier Locomotives:
Atlas
Athearn Genesis or RTR
Life-Like (Proto2k only)
Kato
Some BLI/Factory Direct Trains
Rolling Stock Top Tier:
Atlas
Athearn Genesis/RTR
Walthers (esp. Gold)
Life-Like Proto2k
Red Caboose
Kadee
Tangent
Best on a budget:
Atlas Trainman (both locos and cars)
Yes, I tend to like Atlas. A lot. And they've earned that, too.
rhoward
S.L.O.&W. Trainman
Well..... That all depends. Are you going with diesel or steam? What scale? I am assuming HO? Jeff gave a pretty descent list, although as a steam fan I haven't gotten an Athearn anything that is worth running. That's just my personal opinion based on my own experience. For steam locos, I love the Bachmann Spectrum (not the standard line which is very low tier!) and found they are a good compromise of detail, pulling power, and running qualities, and are backed very well by the company if there are any problems (All 5 of the ones I have have been excellent - the only problem I have encountered was a shorting problem on a decapod and I was able to fix that myself easily). Proto 2000 are also very good runners and very well detailed.
For rolling stock I like the Accurail line, Kadee, and Tichy Train Group. But...... I am modeling 1925.
In this hobby what some people swear by, others swear at. By and large you usually get what you pay for. Avoid the entrance level "Train Sets' like a plague! Do a lot of reading here at the forum and at some other model train related sites and keep an open mind. You need to decide what era, what scale, what Prototype or where it is located if a freelance and a lot of other stuff like that. Then jump in, expect to make some mistakes, and most of all HAVE FUN!
For rolling stock I like the Accurail line, Kadee, and Tichy Train Group. But...... I am modeling 1925.
In this hobby what some people swear by, others swear at. By and large you usually get what you pay for. Avoid the entrance level "Train Sets' like a plague! Do a lot of reading here at the forum and at some other model train related sites and keep an open mind. You need to decide what era, what scale, what Prototype or where it is located if a freelance and a lot of other stuff like that. Then jump in, expect to make some mistakes, and most of all HAVE FUN!
Last edited by a moderator:
Dragon Breath
Livin' It Up
Rhoward, yes you're correct the scale is HO. I'm seriously leaning towards the steam locomotives. I really like the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy. I also want sound and smoke.
JeffShultz
Stay off the tracks!
Steam -
BLI, PCM and Proto2k are all quality manufacturers. Bachmann Spectrum is also generally well thought of, although perhaps not as consistently.
BLI, PCM and Proto2k are all quality manufacturers. Bachmann Spectrum is also generally well thought of, although perhaps not as consistently.
JeffShultz
Stay off the tracks!
For a Big Boy, I think Trix, PCM and Athearn have all put one out recently. Athearn is most likely to be problematic I believe, simply because it's going to have an MRC decoder and they have not proven reliable.
Selector
Well-Known Member
I tend to be very selective and careful about my small stable of engines in that I wait until I know exactly what the engine was used for, where it was used, and then who makes the best model of it. I read looking for feedback by users, and I also rely to an extent on Model Railroader magazine for an assessment.
I have a single Trix Mikado 2-8-2 which is a nice, if light, engine. I have a much heavier and rugged, and nicely detailed Lionel Challenger 4-6-6-4...a real workhorse (Lionel backed out of HO after about a year five or six years ago). I have one PCM, a Y6b 2-8-8-2, a marvelous engine. I have a tiny Proto 2000 0-6-0 USRA switcher, a gem of an engine for many reasons, detailing and running characteristics chief among them....but it's a light wee beastie and can't pull much.
All the rest, five of them, are from Broadway Limited Imports. I think that if you can find them for a decent price, say 30-40% of MSRP, you will have done yourself a favour. They are nicely detailed across the board, well weighted and weight-distributed, well motored, well decodered and the sound systems are great. They sometimes need some tuning to run well if the track is perfect and they aren't, but they just as often point out defects in my track. I have sent two back, one a decoder failure and the other for a broken wiper tine on a tender truck that I broke when cleaning it. The cost for each repair was $7.00 for return shipping. Not too shabby.
I have a single Trix Mikado 2-8-2 which is a nice, if light, engine. I have a much heavier and rugged, and nicely detailed Lionel Challenger 4-6-6-4...a real workhorse (Lionel backed out of HO after about a year five or six years ago). I have one PCM, a Y6b 2-8-8-2, a marvelous engine. I have a tiny Proto 2000 0-6-0 USRA switcher, a gem of an engine for many reasons, detailing and running characteristics chief among them....but it's a light wee beastie and can't pull much.
All the rest, five of them, are from Broadway Limited Imports. I think that if you can find them for a decent price, say 30-40% of MSRP, you will have done yourself a favour. They are nicely detailed across the board, well weighted and weight-distributed, well motored, well decodered and the sound systems are great. They sometimes need some tuning to run well if the track is perfect and they aren't, but they just as often point out defects in my track. I have sent two back, one a decoder failure and the other for a broken wiper tine on a tender truck that I broke when cleaning it. The cost for each repair was $7.00 for return shipping. Not too shabby.
HaggisKennedy
Coal Shoveler
There's always been an undercurrent of criticism of the reviews that Model Railroader publishes. These usually go along with the 'they'll never say anything negative because the manufacturer is an advertiser' genre. Having said that, I have seen the occasional bad review. But, mostly they'll gloss over the shortcomings.
What you might want to do is get yourself a subscription to Model Railroad News. It's a larger monthly publication which is sometimes called the 'Consumer Reports for Model Railroading'. The reviews are done by a staff of reviewers around the country. They tend to not be beholden to special interests and will say what they need to say.
http://www.modelrailroadnews.com/
They have a free trial subscription, which might interests folks who are curious.
As a disclaimer, I do have a financial interest in the magazine as I'm a stringer for them, doing photo coverage of the major Model RR shows here in the Midwest (like IHobby, Trainfest, and the like).
Oh, they are not scale specific thought the editor does have a garden layout.
Kennedy
What you might want to do is get yourself a subscription to Model Railroad News. It's a larger monthly publication which is sometimes called the 'Consumer Reports for Model Railroading'. The reviews are done by a staff of reviewers around the country. They tend to not be beholden to special interests and will say what they need to say.
http://www.modelrailroadnews.com/
They have a free trial subscription, which might interests folks who are curious.
As a disclaimer, I do have a financial interest in the magazine as I'm a stringer for them, doing photo coverage of the major Model RR shows here in the Midwest (like IHobby, Trainfest, and the like).
Oh, they are not scale specific thought the editor does have a garden layout.
Kennedy
Kennedy, I've seen the reviews in Model Railway News and like them a lot compared to MR or, even worse, MRC. Both the major magazines do tend to gloss over major operational defects and spend way too much time rivet counting. I'm really not interested if a model has a fuel tank that's 1 mm off the prototype but I am interested in how well the manufacturer got the details right for a specific protoype and how well they run, pull, and sound. As an example, I've never seen MR admit that P2K locomotives had gear cracking problems and warn consumers even when the issue was well known. They also reviewed a P2K NKP GP-7 and were all agog over how sharp the paint was and all the included details. Fine and dandy, but the unit didn't have the front Gyralite that was on every NKP SD-7. I think it should have been modeled correctly since Walthers was claiming to make correct detail specific prototypes but MR never even mentioned this fairly major oversight.
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)