Is this locomotive worth it?

I recently sold one of my Life-like locos for a decent amount and was wondering what the quality of walthers proto n locos are?

http://cgi.ebay.com/N-SCALE-Proto-E...286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66:2|65:15|39:1|240:1318

The loco in this ad doesn't look to shabby but is it wirth the money or should i just wait/save for a kato/atlas unit?

I somehow got lucky and bought a NS kato U30-c for 50 beans a few weeks ago but can;t locate anymore of them...

 

They are not bad at all. M.B. Kleins has them for $39.95, though woo woo woo - LifeLike PROTO N 920-75007 GP38-2 low hood Norfolk Southern 5385

 

They do not convert to DCC easily, despite previous claims. If that's not an issue for you, they are well-detailed and strong pullers. I am pleased with my SP one, except for the DCC problems.

 

Love them! And when they go for between 30 to 40 bucks, they are hard to pass up.
Go and get one, you'll be happy with it!

-Mike

 

Superb detail, strong runners. I have two GP18's that are very good. Paint and lettering is not as high quality as on the Atlas units, but that's a minor issue for many of us.

 

I seen these GP38-2s at the club and to be honest I think they are just as nice looking as the Atlas GP38-2..They seem to be a very smooth runner.

 

My experience has been that the Walthers/Life-Like locos are the same quality as the Life-Likes that were being produced just before Walthers bought them out. And much better than the older plastic framed Life-Likes.

The Kato U30C's have been discontinued for many years (Kato shows no interest in making another run) and occasionally show up on eBay (or at trains show seller tables). But, the chances of finding A NS U30C is much less than finding another road name and repainting it to NS.

 

May be able to help you there...

 

My only experience with these locos is on the test track at the LHS where they performed smoothly and flawlessley--to my surprise considering my previous expierence with Life Like. They look great and I would not hesitate to buy one if I was in the market. The DCC is a bit of a drawback, especially with so many true DCC competitors out there. Jamie

 

It appears they are a vast improvement over the old plastic frame LL's.

When they first came out, LL omitted the sight glass & some other important detail bits. I hope they have new shells to remedy this defect?

 

Did Kato do a U30C in NS? Years ago I bought an NS and a CSX, I just dug them out to have a look and they are C30-7's. Apart from getting MTL couplers and a test run they've been sitting in their boxes all these years because I got them just as I started running DCC, looks like I'll need a couple more TCS-CN decoders.

 

Thanks for the reminder. The GE I may have somewhere is a C30-7 from memory. I don't recall a U30-C in NS come to think of it.

 

Turns out it is a C30-7

 

Would the LL GP38-2 be a good candidate for the TCS CN-GP decoder? I would think they would be. If yes, that would make DCC quite a bit easier to install.

Also, don't confuse these with the much earlier, cheaper LL GP38-2s.

 

A trix U28C in NS colors

 

I can't think of an NS U30C in real life. Am I just forgetting?

 

Southern brought five hi-hood U30Cs to the merger but they were retired in 1982.

 

$44 is cheap. Some Life-Like locomotives sell for over $200 on feebay. They are usually the older ones, not the new Walthers produced crap. Some of the Life-Like engines that were custom painted by Bev-Bel are now hard to find.