Hi everyone. I am currently working on a small N scale layout and would like to hear what N scale locomotives others like. I personally like my kato f7 and am about to get an emd e5 from Kato as well. I am relatively new to the model railroading hobby and would like to hear everyone's personal favorites.
I don't know how you intend to operate but in general I love Atlas GP30, (and higher) models. For me they have always been reliable and relatively inexpensive. Oh, and I don't know how big your layuot is / will be but they look good shunting cars and at the head end of a few cars.
I love my Kato SD45s and my ScaleTrains ET44s. I detailed the SD45s and the ET44s looked just as good right out of the box. They all have ESU sound in them now.
I especially like my Kato P42's and Fox Valley NS Heritage units. So far I'm impressed by the Atlas SD60E's but have less than 10 hours of run time on them.
You can do it on a Kato chassis. Do any of you N scale modelers have any reason why that Kato SD45 chassis or that particular body might be a bad choice for a beginner?
I have too ever since I saw the Rivarossi models in MR back in about 1963. I finally got an S.P. version in HO about two years ago. Doug
If you have any interest in steam, my favorite is the Bachmann EM1. It is a great running, pulling and highly reliable locomotive. Being articulated, it can handle smaller radii although it may hang out in the corners. Bachmann announced a reissue to be available soon.
Given the operative word here is 'small' I'm thinking in the 2x4 or HCD range so you need a four-axle unit, really. Not that you can't get a six-axle unit around tighter curves but it looks rather awkward and makes switching near impossible. You also didn't say whether or not you've got significant grades, which would color my choice a lot - if you're pulling a lot of cars with a single unit that's going to impact my choice a lot. So limitiing it to four-axle units I'd have to say a rather natural choice would be the CURRENT Atlas GP-series; GP7, GP35, etc. The Classics have a higher RPM motor an notoriously noisy universal system but the new issues have an improved universal and slow-speed motor. Slow, quiet, easily works with DCC. A little lightweight for a puller though and won't even begin to pull what your Kato F will. But GP 7's, 9's, 35's, etc. are the basic locomotive for about every railroad out there and Atlas has done excellent paint work in a wide variety of roadnames, even if you have to go after old stock and auctions to find the shell you want. If you don't already know about Mark Peterson's site (aka "aka Spookshow") get to know it well. He's the Consumer Reports of N scale, everything ever made and everything you'll find both vintage and new, and will keep you from buying some of the truly poor product out there still. http://www.spookshow.net/locos.html If you're just getting started, this is best resource out there to avoid the frustration of some of the pitfalls you can purchase.
Agreed!! Being a new returnee to the hobby it has been invaluable to me. I also use almost every day ... https://trovestar.com/generic/zoom.php?id=150668 It often helps to give you the build date of a specific model loco so you can see if it is one of the 'good' years to buy based on Spookshow's recommendations, Sumner
I have a couple of Atlas GP35's too in C&NW I like. Early on, I had to replace the motor in one of them because the loco was so much slower than the other one. One of the motor coils was open. A complete stall with an open coil in a five pole motor is rare, unlike with a three poler. It just runs slower. Actually, maybe I should just have opened a coil on the faster motor and the speed range would be more prototypical on them. Nah, that's just not right. Doug
Yup, that's the same K-M I have. It's an earlier one with no road number on it. Rivarossi made some other minor changes on the later ones but I don't remember what they were. Doug
I like ALL of my GP-series locomotives. They are 4 axle and will easily pull 12 cars up a 2% incline.. I have 2 Kato 6 axle SD40-2's. They ran great. They where the first 2 locomotive I installed decoders in and do to my inexperience...both units soon let the 'magic smoke' out. The motors still run fine. They are on my list for new decoders. My wife has a Kato EMD E5A to pull her excursion train. Her and I have never had a bit of problem with it. Personally...I would say go with a Kato locomotive. Their quality is hard to beat. JMHO
Kato F7, F40PH, and SD70 series for me. Very bright LED's, quiet, and able to run smooth very slowly and also very fast. I have an Atlas GP35 and although it is a very strong and compact puller, it is a little noisy and the LED's are not as bright.
I like my two Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidation Frisco steam locomotives the best. My second favorite is an Atlas RS1 with black and yellow paint. All of them are great running even at slow speeds. I have about 20 locomotives and don't have any complaints. These are N scale. Joe
My favorite - ? Well -- let's see..... F units. Here are a few of mine. Original run Kato and some Intermountain Thanks, Wolf