Which are the better brands

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Iron Horseman said:
As far as "better" in appearance you are not going to be able to do better than the Scale Trains "Rivet Counter" series.
Then you get into the:
Rapido
Atlas Master
Broadway Limited

Now on the most reliable and smooth running, the best aren't even made any more. That would have been the Atlas and Stewart locomotives with the Kato Drives. You will find those on the hobby store shelf next to the Dodo Birds.
For currently manufactured today it is very close as to which is "best". I go something like this:
Atlas Master
Kato
Athearn Genesis
Proto-2000 (technically they hold the world's record for longest running model train locomotive)
Rapido (however they are here for smoothness, I've not owned one long enough to have any reliability issues)

But the quality of HO locomotives is so high compared to what is used to be. I say one cannot go wrong with any of the major brands.
Atlas Classic, Bowser, BLI, Athearn RTR, InterMountain, Walthers Mainline, Atlas Trainline, and from the older Athearn Blue box and Atlas yellow box are hard to beat because they will probably be running after the apocalypse.
Click to expand...
Is Proto-2000 the same as Walthers Proto or something different?
 


Bring back the Proto 2000 line -- just as it was!

I have some Proto 1000 RS11's and RS2's that are fine runners, also.

Re MTH ... They offered some "DC" models (thinking GP35) that had a light board that would accept standard dcc decoders. No DCS on-board.
 
Most of the general comments I would add have already been covered above, so I'll cut to the chase from me.

HO locomotive brands that I would not hesitate to buy if I saw something I liked or needed:
-Atlas Master Line
-Atlas Classic Gold or Silver
-Walthers Proto
-somewhat newer Proto 2000, i.e. made in say...the last 20 years or so. I think the detailing on some of the early P2K from the 1990s wasn't as good as the later years, IMO.
-newer Athearn Genesis, also within the last roughly 20 years, same comment as with Proto 2000.
-Kato, although I prefer DCC and sound, and it seems rare to find Katos with that installed. I have done DCC conversions on Katos and they run absolutely great; however I find the detail on their locos made 5-10 years ago is just a shade below the level of a Proto or Genesis right now.

Other brands that I've been content with:
-newer Intermountain, they seem to have come a long way from their early products from 20 or 30 years ago that I still see in the back room of my local hobby shop.
-Athearn RTR, I have a few of these mostly when it's a subject not available elsewhere. e.g. I recently picked up an ATSF GP60B by them since it's a less common locomotive.
-Fox Valley, I have four GP60s from them, converted them to DCC with sound, and they run and look great.
-I have one Bowser Alco C636, it's the only thing I have from them. But it's been great, runs well, looks good, and even has working 3-color classification lights. However, chatting with the owner of the LHS, he said he bought one and had problems with it, ended up having to send it back for repairs.
-Atlas Trainman Plus and Lifelike Proto 1000, I'm not sure if these are even made anymore but they provide a decent level of detail at a lower price point than most of what I've listed above.
-I have a few Broadway Limited steam locomotives. You were asking about diesels, so I can't really weigh in on BLI diesels. But in terms of steam locomotives, I have two BLI steamers that run great, and I have one that has problems.

I don't have any Scaletrains or Rapido locos, but someday I'll probably give them a try. The few Rapido passenger cars I have are nice.
 


Back in the day, Life Like and Bachmann both used to produce low end trains, accessories and building kits. In my opinion they were nothing more than toys. These items NEVER appeared on any layout featured in MR magazine. They were for kids on kids train layouts usually running around on the floor.
Then came Bachmann Spectrum and Life Like Proto 2000 Heritage series. I remember folks at my LHS were just amazed. It was like going from the "pits" to being "king of the hill" as far as plastic scale models are concerned. The P2K Heritage 0-6-0s are still a sought after item. Those P2K locos had Kato motors and are still great runners with terrific detailing. And the Bachmann Spectrum series are nice detailed plastic models with Bachmann still offering parts for most locos.
Just a bit of history for the younger folks.

For me, the best loco is one that looks prototypical, runs good and is easily maintained with a "reasonable" price tag. Being able to convert to DCC easily is a plus these days but a lot of the better detailed locos I have purchased were made before DCC was offered from any mfg as optional.
I think the Rapido offerings look great but they are out of my price range. There PA - PB locos along with the FA - FB units look very nice but so do my P2K, PAs and FAs.

I have an I. H. C., 2-6-0 loco that I bought new on flea-bay for $47. It runs like a Rolex and the details on it are what I would call above average. I'll be putting DCC in it soon. I like it as much as my Athearn Genesis 4-8-4 Northerns.
Each to their own as long as you are happy.
 
It also depends on the era you model, as to what's available. I model the 1940-1960 era, so my diesels are, in many models no longer available. My Denver Zephyr is powered by a Model Power or Proto 2000 E6A and B, which I "converted" to Burlington E5A/B's by adding corrugated siding to the plastic bodies. I don't recall if I had to change the gears on those two, but did have to on some others. They are DCC with sound.
When it comes to steam models, I am a firm believer in Mantua locomotives, some of which I converted to DCC and re-motored with Canon coreless motors or others. Even with the old open-frame motors, they run pretty well as is, especially if they have the gear boxes, rather than the direct drive ones.
 
Catching up!

Locomotives over the years until maybe 2000 were always Athearn and Atlas, unless it was steam and then they were brass.

After retirement in 2014 I started selling off all my locomotives (100+) and in 2017 I started fresh. I purchased strictly the Genesis series from Athearn. As Willie wrote very nice details but pricey. When Scaletrains started up I purchased 5 on pre-order Turbines and they were awesome +. Too big IMO for my layout, so off they went…

Now I have 7 locomotives. All Genesis, Gp40-2l’s Gp38-2’s and MP15ac’s. I don’t mind the price because I am getting the sound decoders (Tsunami2) and the LED ditchlights I want. I only change out the couplers and speakers. The units are awesome runners.

I have limited experience with other manufacturers and because it was gained only at op sessions I never ask what brand locomotive I am running. I do have an area friend who has Bowser and he loves them. I have thought of purchasing the Sd30c-eco or something like that from them for my free lance railroad. But, I am too busy right now and don’t have enough layout up to operate

Interesting discussion. I stopped running 6 axle diesels and moved to just 4 axles on the layout right before the Covid shutdown in 3/2020. Not because they gave me issues but they IMO didn’t look right on my curves on the layout.
 
My HO DC loco experience:
Athearn Genesis - run excellent
Rapido - most of them excellent
Atlas - most of them excellent


My N DC loco experience:
Rapido - excellent
Atlas - excellent
Intermountain - I wouldn’t buy anymore of these
Fox Valley - I only had one and it never worked
 
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