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Puddington
Supporting Member
 SROEngineer
Canada
2194 Posts |
 Posted - January 14 2008 : 2:29:17 PM
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I generally agree with the aforementioned comments but offer a cautionary tale.....
I have a Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0; everyone raves about these - the "new standard"; the closest to the legendary Kato Mike...etc... Mine is a blob of plastic and lead. Won't work worth a darn - been in the shop twice - Bachmann won't honour the warrenty because I painted the tender... what that has to do with a non running engine right out of the box I'll never understand.
On the other hand I will put my A-B pair of Life Like C Liners up against any n scale locomotive ever made; anywhere. I ran them for 14 hours at a show without a derailment or loss of performance - they look great and run like a BMW - quiet; silky smooth... as opposed to my buddies pair, bought at the same store, at the same time that run... well... average.
The message is - quality control in the n scale locomotive industry isn't any better or worse than in Windsor or Detroit - who of us hasn't either owned or known someone who owned a "Monday Morning Lemon Ford; GM, Dodge,.... BMW !"
Internet N scale pundents are very quick to rush to judgement, both negitive or positive about a locomotive and then the company. Just like every manufactuing company, they all have good days and bad. The number of good and bad days go a long way to making the difference between a good rep and... well... being Bachmann... |
"Are you coming? See, how it works is, the train moves, not the station"
Ernie Capadino - A League of Their Own - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO VISIT MY WEBSITE http://mikemcgrattan.fotopic.net |
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wm3798
 Conductor
USA
2078 Posts |
Posted - April 14 2008 : 10:40:44 AM
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Here's a few more N scale engines that I have first hand experience with, with a brief review for your edification:
Atlas Trainmaster. Era: 1940's to early 1970's. This thing is a brute. It's got a heavy frame, and can handle a lot of train by itself, or add a boost when paired with other engines. Very nicely detailed, easy to convert to DCC. Highly Recommended.
Life Like 2-8-8-2. Era: 1940 - 1960 (N&W didn't give up on steam until '60). Great detail, very well put together. DCC conversion is straightforward, but not for the timid. To take advantage of the well-designed tender pick up, it is necessary to run wires between the engine and tender. As is, the tender pick up only operates the rear headlight. The main deficiency is its pulling power. With all those wheels on the ground, and the size of the boiler, you'd think it would have more chutzpah, but it barely made it around my layout pulling 10 hoppers. On straight and level track, your results may vary. Close, but no cigar.
Life Like SW-series switcher. Era: 1950's - 1990's. This was the first small switcher offered in N scale featuring a split frame drive. These typically run very smoothly with good tractive effort right out of the box. Adding a decoder can be tricky owing to the small size of the drive, but it's not impossible. Newer, smaller decoders make it possible to install a decoder without sacrificing a lot of weight, but again, it's not a job for the squeamish. The detailing on the shell is excellent, and aside from the cab weight blocking the "see through" nature of the cab, overall these are great switchers.
Life Like GP-20. Era: 1960's - 1980's. There are still a number of these floating around in shortline and industrial service. The GP-20 was the first Life Like engine to feature a split frame drive. It is comparable to an Atlas GP-7/9 in terms of quality and detail. DCC installation requires the frame to be milled and the decoder hardwired in, but this is not too difficult. All of the road names I've seen on this engine have been well executed, although the Conrail version has blue paint that looks too dark to my eye. Good smooth puller, and the only drawback is the truck frames do not enclose the gears, so these tend to pick up debris, such as stray bits of ground foam or pet hair, which can wreak havoc on the drive. They're pretty easy to clean, though. All around, a good engine to have in your fleet.
Life Like C-424. Era: Mid 1960's to about 1980. The Alco Century Series was that company's entry into the high horsepower wars that resulted from the introduction of EMD's "second generation" diesels in the mid 1960's. The Life Like model is an outstanding replica both in terms of detail and performance. A DZ-125 decoder can be installed with very little modification to the frame. These are great, heavy pullers, and this pair handled a 25-car grain hopper train on my layout's curves and grades without ever breathing hard. The only fix I would suggest would be adding some Plastruct I-beam along under the sill to represent the prototype's frame. Without it, there appears to be too much "air" between the trucks and the sill. Only a few points off for that...
More Later! It would be great if you could share your experiences with these or other models as well.
Lee
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Route of the Alpha Jets
www.wmrywesternlines.net |
Edited by - wm3798 on April 14 2008 10:49:36 AM |
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Puddington
Supporting Member
SROEngineer
Canada
2194 Posts |
Posted - April 14 2008 : 11:40:04 AM
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I'll follow up on Lee's lead here:
The Life Like C Liner (era - 1950's to early 1970's) - Man, I never thought I'd say this but "wow, is this ever a great locomotive"....The units are heavy and can pull the teeth out of a tiger's mouth. AN A&B pair have easily pulled over 40 40 and 50' boxcars on a level run - I can't make em' fail cause I don't have enough main line !
As you can see, the detail is very good; Life Like's paint is sharp and clear and the truck detail is correct for the U.S. versions.
I am so impressed with these units that I'd recommend them against anything.. 5 Smiley rating.
Trueline Trains RS 10/18's ( Era: 1950's to 1990's) These are a godsend for Canadian modelers; finally we don't have to butcher an Atlas RS 11 and fill in those blasted corners....! The unit is built on an Atlas frame and drive system so it runs very well. The drive is very silky and I've pulled 14 full size passenger cars plus a few boxcars.....
The shell details excllent and the paint was some of the best I've sen on my CPR, CP Rail PGE and CNR units. The fuel tank isn't quite right - it's too high and not the right size but this is a small problem IMHO.
The unit is an excellent addition to the market !
4 1/2 smiley rating
The Atlas Alco RS 3 ( Era: 1940's (late) to 1980's)..... for many of us "old types" the Atlas RS 3 was one of the first "modern" era locomotives we ever got. Over 10 years later Atlas still re-issues the old girl in new road names and numbers.
The original RS 3's are dated now; especially compared with newer Atlas products; their slow speed performance isn't compariable to the newer ones and their newer sisters are geared differently for better slower speed performance. This can lead to lash up issues in DC. That notwithstanding the RS 3 runs well and looks great - given the 100's that were made there are endless varations of details that can be added. The locomotive can pull as well as most Atlas units.
The Atlas RS 3 is a "old stand by" and both original and newer versions won't disappoint.
4 smiley rating
The Life Like (Hobbycraft Canada) chopped nose GP 7/9 ( Era: 1960's -w/chopped nose) to current day).... Nice unit !!!!! The detail on this is excellent, handrails are thin, paint and colours are excellent - only issue was wrong font road numbers that needed to be changed. The units have correct bell and headlite positioning for Canadian units ( and for the U.S. versions I've seen)
The mechanical guts are Atlas so you have no issues here. The unit runs well and pulls like an Atlas Geep.
4 smiley rating
The Model Power FP7 ( Era - 1950 - current day on excursion roads)..... ok; "Model Power"... can't be any good - right ? Well; that's not exactly right. The FP7 is a nice offering - all metal shell gives this unit a ton of weight and she pulls like a champion. Quieter than I thought it would be it still growls a bit but this is easily forgotten when one sees the surprisingly nice silky, smooth operation.
The details are not bad at all. One can be disappointed with the side grills not being actually separately applied and looking a bit chunky; at the not perfectly accurate nose boards and slightly elongated nose lines but these do not take away from two undeniable facts - the price ( MSRP of $ 50.00 and almost always selling for less) and the fact that, unlike the "always coming" Intermountain FP series, these are actually here.
The MP FP7 is a great starter locomotive - well built and tough - and it fills in nicely until IM or someone actually delivers more than an announcement !
3 smiley rating.
The Bachmann 16-44 ( Era: 1950's to 1970's)..... hmmmm..... no fanfair for this unit, much like the introduction of the prototype. The 16-44 is a neat little unit. By no means a Kato; it is, nevertheless a good looking unit that both fills a hole in the market and runs better than one might think it would. It pulls well; I've got 22 cars on flat grade moving quite well; but man, just like the prototype, it's noisy. You don't need a sound system here - the model makes enough nose for everyone !
The shell is nicely detailed but does leave some room for improvement - if you like detailing this is a good candidate. The hand rails are too thick; way too thick... oh well... room for improvement.
Nothing really seriously wrong with this unit - nice little surprise !
3 smiley rating.
The "original" Life Like SD 7 and SD 9 (Era - 1950's to 1990's) This is a mystery..... Historically first generation Life Like units are very poor - no flywheels, plastic drive trains and gears... yuck. But sometime in the production time for this unit Life Like "got it right". Later edition SD units run very well; even without a flywheel they run much smoother than their contemporaries.
Shell detail is very good and the paint is well done on my two units ( BN and CBQ)
I can't explain this unit; it shouldn't run as well as it does..... but it does......
2 1/2 smiley rating
More later gang !
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"Are you coming? See, how it works is, the train moves, not the station"
Ernie Capadino - A League of Their Own - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO VISIT MY WEBSITE http://mikemcgrattan.fotopic.net |
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darkcurves
 Skilled Engineer
694 Posts |
Posted - April 15 2008 : 4:37:21 PM
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Life Like SD 9
I sold one of those to my friends, was very surprised. Smooth and so quiet. Not sure why though, the manufacturer was MicroAce with Life-Like written on the under frame. |
Mehano Blue Tiger ADtranz/GETS DE-AC33C |
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gunner
Experienced Engineer
USA
288 Posts |
Posted - April 15 2008 : 6:25:51 PM
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Runs like a BMW... I'm driving a 335 coupe, it accelerates like an older Atlas or any Kato SD locomotive, has the top end to scare anyone in a curve like Bachmann. It gets 26MPG the way I drive, so ought to do better with a sane driver. It corners like it's on rails! It growls like the worst out there.
Crap this is the railroad forum, nevermind!
Bob |
I don't mind going nowhere as long as it's an interesting path.
Bob |
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Randall_Roberts
Entry level Engineer
16 Posts |
Posted - April 26 2008 : 3:54:24 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by wm3798
The later issue Life Like, and now Walthers, are good engines, typically on a par with Atlas. Look for a split frame mechanism. The older Life Like's with the plastic frames and lead blobs are generally to be avoided.
Lee
Lee;
At the current price of $14 each, the Life Likes with the plastic frames are great for getting kids started. If the take a curve too fast and it flies off the table, there's very little fiscal impact.
Best! |
Randall Roberts
http://modeltrains.about.com |
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wm3798
Conductor
USA
2078 Posts |
Posted - April 29 2008 : 08:38:45 AM
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Yes, and not all of them were duds. The early GP-18 by Life Like has the plastic frame, but this was the first model where they took detailing a shell seriously. I believe this was the first to feature full pilots and body mounted couplers.
I also have an original BL-2 in my fleet, also a plastic frame. It takes a little more coaxing than it's newer split frame counterpart, and the paint isn't quite as crisp, but it is still a brick, and will pull out your molars if called upon to do so... Note that the original BL-2 has been retrofitted with MT conversion kits to body mount the couplers.
Here's the newer model with the split frame:
Similarly, the early and later run FA-2's have the differences in drives and some differences in details.
This is the older shell retrofitted onto the newer drive. To get body mounted couplers, I used a Microtrains Conversion kit for a Walthers FA-1. The contour isn't exact, but it passes the 3' rule. For the rear, I salvaged the body mount parts from a newer FB unit that I didn't need (The LL FA's were sold as an A-B set. The drives are identical, with the only difference being the light board in the A unit.
The newer engines have lighted number boards, which is nice, but smaller horns, and a cast on sun shade over the windshield. These models were sold with Rapido couplers, but it's very easy to change them out for MT 1015's. Here's a look at the B unit...
Note that the BL-2 and the older FA-2 were offered in the paint schemes shown, the newer model FA was not available in Western Maryland because it was sold in the A-B set, and WM never rostered any FB's.
We started the conversation out with an overview of Atlas engines. Here's a couple of my favorites.
The GP-35. This has been available in three versions. Originally introduced in the early 90's, it was produced by Kato for Atlas.
The second version was released as "Atlas Classic" which is very similar mechanically, but made by Atlas in China. One notable difference is the open sides of the frame around the motor. Finally, the most recent release, also called "Atlas Classic" features a newly tooled drive that accepts a drop-in decoder board (the previous releases were not decoder ready.)
The major spotting feature of the latest release, other than the internals, would be printed number boards, and walkways and railings molded in colors.
These are all great running locomotives, with the only real drawback being that the hoods are just slightly wider than scale. It should also be noted that the same mechanism is used for Atlas' excellent GP-30 model.
Lee |
Route of the Alpha Jets
www.wmrywesternlines.net |
Edited by - wm3798 on April 29 2008 1:13:14 PM |
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joe935
 Passenger
USA
12 Posts |
Posted - May 25 2008 : 05:09:18 AM
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I'm considering buying the Proto Y3 2-8-8-2. Has anyone purchased it yet?
Any opinions on this Engine. And will it make it around 11.25 radius curves?
Thanks |
Don't Force it, Use a bigger hammer! |
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wm3798
Conductor
USA
2078 Posts |
Posted - June 02 2008 : 5:20:30 PM
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The Y-3 is a beautiful, smooth running locomotive. It will negotiate 11.25"r with ease, and I've been told it can handle 9-3/4", but I imagine it would look pretty dippy doing it.
The main problem with this engine is its anemic pulling power. Going up a 2 to 3% grade, it can barely pull it's own tender. I've heard that the upcoming run will have traction tires, which should help.
Lee |
Route of the Alpha Jets
www.wmrywesternlines.net |
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Swizzly
 Experienced Engineer
Switzerland
186 Posts |
Posted - July 26 2010 : 3:23:03 PM
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I am still a KATO fan!
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I am a  Fan
Greetings from Switzerland Eugen
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Locomotive Recommendations - N Scale
