who makes the best steam locomotive?

[briansommers787]

I'm tempted to go with steam.. I have a Bachman 44 toner and I really love that.. but I'm tempted to go with steam, but I need something really small..but I want to make sure it will run smooth as glass at slow speeds.

thanks

 

[Selector]

For lower cost, Bachmann Spectrum Heavy Mountains (getting scarce) or their Consolidation. That would be a 4-8-2 or 2-8-0.

Higher up, it becomes a toss-up between anything produced by Walthers Heritage Proto 2000, Broadway Limited Imports, or Mike's Train House. All of them have their Quality Assurance issues these days, so you may have to return an engine. Their repair and replacement services are quite good, although Bachmann is the only one offering a lifetime warranty.

Note that both Rivarossi and Athearn Genesis have some nice engines out, too, but they are few and may not be what you are looking for.

Broadway Limited (BLI) still has some BlueLine product out there. These are very nice engines that are somewhat cheaper because they lack a DCC motive decoder...they have sound decoders that are meant for DC. You'll have to add a motive decoder, but they can be purchased for about $20.

 

[trailrider]

My experience with steam locos is somewhat dated, but I have always liked Mantua locos. The current run have gear boxes and better motors, which my older ones did not until I installed gear boxes and Canon coreless motors. I also used the old Mantua kits as the basis for a bunch of kitbashed hogs. You also might want to look at the Climax loco. (Can't remember who makes that one, and can't get at the box right now, but it runs very smoothly, and has sound and DCC. It is, of course, not a mainline engine, being intended for logging roads and possibly industrial switching. But it runs great at low speeds.

 

[Espeefan]

If you can find one of these Heritage 0-6-0's on e-bay or in a hobby shop or at a swap meet, this is what you want. Nicely detailed, runs like a watch, and available with or without sound & DCC:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/920-67304

They also did an 0-8-0

 

[Tuna]

My small steamers are 4-8-2 and 4-6-2 locomotives by IHC. They have been pretty reliable. The only problem is that IHC is no more.
The rest of the steamers I have are Genesis and they are all big. No problems with them either.

 

[zoegraf]

I'm tempted to go with steam.. I have a Bachman 44 toner and I really love that.. but I'm tempted to go with steam, but I need something really small..but I want to make sure it will run smooth as glass at slow speeds.

thanks

I've yet to see a plastic loco run smooth and slow and haul as well as the newer brass locos that are on the market today, but for the price, I am impressed with the Heritage series, I hear that the Genesis are good too and would like someday to see one run. I saw a TLT run and was not impressed for the price they were asking.
I must admit though, the plastic locos nowadays have superb detail, which can surpass that of a brass loco.
Brass locos are handmade and there is always a few in the batch that will have minor cosmetic imperfections such askew numbering, a missing rivet, an improperly placed herald, etc. The best thing to do is to actually look over and test run the model in person, which isn't always possible. Places like Brasstrains.com have close up and macros shots or the locos they sell and are rated on how well they run.

Boo Rim make the finest running brass locos that I know of, but can cost you anywhere from 1300 to 1600 for a loco the size you want. They run smooth at all speeds and can run slower than prototypical speed.

The only thing I don't like about brass locos is that they are pricey and I've yet to have seen one with a working coupler in the front.

Here is a shot of two smaller locos they have made. I wish they made more Canadian locos. I think these are the only two CNR locos they have made - one for Overland Models and Division Point.

 

[Espeefan]

I think we're getting rather far from the original poster's question. He is comparing to a 44 tonner, so he's looking for something small. (BTW, I forgot the 0-6-0T and the Dockside 0-4-0T!)

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/160-81811

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/433-8301

Small steam covers 0-6-0s; 2-6-0's; 4-4-0's 4-4-2's; 4-6-0's, and maybe some 2-8-0's and 0-8-0's.

Medium steam covers 4-6-2's 4-6-4's and 2-8-2's.

Large steam covers 4-8-2's 4-8-4's 2-10-2's, and on up through the articulateds. There may be some overlapping of wheel arrangements. For example there were some pretty big 2-8-0's and one or two downright huge 2-8-2's (the GN 0-8 comes to mind) Some of the 4-6-4's got pretty big too. Look at the larger Santa Fe 4-6-4's Anyway, I think he's looking for a nice steam switcher, and not very likely a brass one.

Brass is a world unto itself, and I will have to disagree about the level of detail versus plastic. Oh you might win that arguement if you were comparing 1960-70's vintage brass to current state of the art plastic, but current offerings are much more detailed than their plastic counterparts, as they should be. Many are equipped to receive an operating front coupler. They just aren't shipped with one, as many brass buyers display and don't operate, but it's a pretty simple matter to swap one out for a functioning coupler if you want to.

 

[zoegraf]

I think we're getting rather far from the original poster's question. He is comparing to a 70 tommer, so he's looking for something small.

Small steam covers 0-6-0s; 2-6-0's; 4-4-0's 4-4-2's; 4-6-0's, and maybe some 2-8-0's and 0-8-0's.

Medium steam covers 4-6-2's 4-6-4's and 2-8-2's.

Large steam covers 4-8-2's 4-8-4's 2-10-2's, and on up through the articulateds. There may be some overlapping of wheel arrangements. For example there were some pretty big 2-8-0's and one or two downright huge 2-8-2's (the GN 0-8 comes to mind) Some of the 4-6-4's got pretty big too. Look at the larger Santa Fe 4-6-4's Anyway, I think he's looking for a nice steam switcher, and not very likely a brass one.

Brass is a world unto itself, and I will have to disagree about the level of detail versus plastic. Oh you might win that arguement if you were comparing 1960-70's vintage brass to current state of the art plastic, but current offerings are much more detailed than their plastic counterparts, as they should be. Many are equipped to receive an operating front coupler. They just aren't shipped with one, as many brass buyers display and don't operate, but it's a pretty simple matter to swap one out for a functioning coupler if you want to.

Probably a Heritage 0-8-0 would be appropriate. It would be great on tight curves and it is small.

After putting my glasses and magnifier on and taking a second look, I have to agree with you; newer brass has superb detail.
I took a good look at my brass 0-8-0 today from the 80's - still has great details compared to todays brass and plastic steamers.
However I almost got lured into a TLT loco by its details, but after seeing it in person noticed that some of its details were warped and not applied well. Whereas in brass, the details are solid and last.

As for the front couplers, some brass locos won't accommodate a front coupler like some samhongsas for instance, which need to have some metal cut out to get a coupler or coupler box to custom fit into it. I'm going to take a look at my new loco to see if I can get a coupler into it.

I love the look of that little Spectrum loco.

Cheers.


Here's a comparison of a brass and plastic 0-8-0.