Hello, I am wondering if steam locos are popular among us. I have 2 Bachmann steam Locos and both are not good. I installed a Digitrax DCC decoder in it but it derail on the turns and on the Kato Double cross over because it its tender. The other loco does not have a DCC decoder and it does not worth putting one in. So if I would like to get one Which steam loco is the best steam loco that does not derail and takes DCC decoder or sound> Thanks. Mo
What engines do you have? The Spectrum J class 4-8-4 is an easy decoder install and the tender has provision for a speaker. We have ran one through Kato double crosovers and No.4 turnouts on our T-TRAK modules with no problems.
The best steam locomotive is not a very good question. Are you talking about Big Iron mainline steam or yard switchers? One of the best is the Kato 2-8-2 Mikado, and it is not the easiest unit to add DCC. The new Kato 4-8-4 units are pretty good as well, DCC is not too bad depending on what decoder you put in. The Athearn Challengers and Big Boys are very good and come with sound decoders, but they went with MRC and they seem to not work for very long before problems arise. Changed mine out with Tsunami units and they are much better. But my best running steam are some older brass Hallmark units. I have several 4-8-4 and 2-10-4 units that run like Swiss watches and pull 80 cars or so. But being brass and older, they are a real difficult to install DCC. They will also have have the Tsunami sound units in them some day. The only easy DCC steam I am aware of is what has been released in the last couple of years. The ConCor S2 and the 4-8-4 have a plug in decoder, but the quality is not much better than the Bachman you have. Installing sound decoders in many of the steam locomotives is a very difficult thing to do if you haven't had a lot of experience. For example, you almost have to take the LifeLike Berkshires completely apart to install DCC. You are much better off buying the steam you like, that runs well, and sending it to a professional installer if it isn't one of the easy plug in decoders units.
David is correct. Best for what? If you have relatively large radius curves (e.g., 12" or better), and want a terrific mainline steam loco from the late steam era, I heartily recommend the Athearn Big-Boy or Challenger. Though I am not a fan of the MRC sound decoder installed in these units, they are operationally exceptional - superb low-speed performance and pulling power. I have a Challenger, have replaced the MRC board with a SoundTraxx micro-Tsunami, and it is far and away overall the best steam I have. If you'd like to see a video of my Tsunami-equipped Challenger, go here: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1797N4BIpKw"]YouTube - Athearn N-scale Challenger w/Tsunami Sound[/ame] My second choice is the Kato 2-8-2 Mikado. The Mike is literally bullet proof, and even smoother-running than the Challenger. If you were running analog DC, it would be my first recommendation. But even with traction tires, it doesn't have near the pulling power of the Challenger, and installation of DCC is a significant pain (not impossible, but not a job for a first-timer; unless you are really experienced in installing DCC decoders, I'd leave this for a pro - hire someone to do it). On the other hand, the Mike will happily negotiate even 9.5" curves and not look terribly ridiculous doing so. Plus, the Mikes date from 1917, so they fit an earlier layout era than the Challenger or Big-Boy. If you want to go smaller and farther back in time, the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation combines excellent performance with good pulling power for its size. It isn't quite as smooth as the Kato Mike (though pretty darn close), won't pull quite as well as a Mike with traction tires, but is far easier to install DCC in. Downside is that Bachmann's quality control is more than a bit "iffy" - if you get a good one, it's great, but you have about a 50-50 chance of getting a lemon. Upside is that Bachmann's service is great - if you get a bad one, send it back to Bachmann and about 30 days later you'll get a new one which is likely to be good. And the good ones are very, very, very good. Some other steamers that have gotten rave reviews are the Kato GS4 4-8-4 and the latest run of the Bachmann Heavy Mountain (4-8-2) which already has a DCC decoder installed. I don't own either of these, so I can't comment on them from personal experience. John C.
In addition to the Athearn Challenger, I can't say enough good things about the Bachmann 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain (not to be confused with the Light Mountain). Great running, super detail, pulls well, and comes with a Dual-Mode DCC decoder already installed. I haven't tried it yet, but adding sound seems to be pretty straight-forward. I have also had good luck with the Con-Cor 2-10-2. It is one of the best-pulling locomotives out there, and adding a DCC sound decoder is easy. Just plug it in and attach the speaker in the tender (the holes for the speaker are already there.)
Are they the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0's? Did you buy them in the last couple of years? Those are incredibly good locos. If you bought the older ones, I can see why you're disappointed. I like the Spectrum 2-8-0's as well as the MDC 2-6-0. No derailment problems. My layout has one fairly tight curve, so I don't run engines longer than that, though the Kato Mikado would work fine on it.
I'll agree with Chaya that the Sprectrum 2-8-0 is an exceptional little loco, especially for its price. After decades of disappointment with other steamers, I was delighted when this came out. My layout is super elevated with considerable grades and curves, like the prototype. This little loco grabs the track, doesn't let go and never stutters. Wonderful performance on my PECO Medium turnouts. Scott
I only have 2 steam engines but both are great. One is the Kato 2-8-2 and the other is the Model Power 4-6-2 (warning other have had problems). They both run very smooth and quite. Kevin
The Bachmann 2-8-0 and the Light Mountain can even negotiate the bad, bad, bad track on my layout. They are quite forgiving. But the Light Mountain can handle just about 5 cars and a caboose... The 2-8-0 is much stronger. I have DCC in both engines, but did not install it by myself. I had a shop (Light Mountain) and a friend/professional installer (2-8-0) do the job for me. Bachmann has made some provisions for the decoder. A friend of mine has the Challenger and the Walthers 0-6-0. Also good runners. He installed a decoder in the 0-6-0: not too difficult, but the space in the tender is too small.
Out-of-the-box, with no modifications, the best N scale steam are the Athearn or MDC nineteenth century 2-6-0/2-8-0. The Bachmann SPECTRUM 2-8-0 is also very good, out-of-the-box, if . as others here have stated, you get a good one. There are fewer lemons in later runs. Bachpersonn SPECTRUM USRA heavy 4-8-2-much better than many of the steam locomotives released by the manufacturers about the same time. Also much better than the few previous SPECTRUM steam offerings. Now we get to those that require modification: The Kato 2-8-2 does require the traction tyre modification. The latest issues of it do have the tyred pair installed at the factory. Earlier issues require the modification. It is a swap out/drop in conversion that requires less than twenty minutes of your time. The Kato website used to have a tutorial on it, I do not know if it is still there, but there are other tutorials on it out there. Model Power 2-6-0: swap out the stock tender for a Kato USRA Standard or any of the Bachpersonn SPECTRUM tenders and you have a real winner. This thing will pull a train as it creeps at FIVE SMPH. Model Power 4-4-0: I have not added the traction tyre driver pair to this one, but I have done the tender swap. It improves the performance and pulling power. Model Power USRA light 4-6-2 and 2-8-2-Again, traction tyres and a tender swap are a big help. B-mann SPECTRUM USRA light 4-8-2: You must put a shim into the bearing journal of the tyred pair. This makes it a pretty good locomotive. Also rans: Life Like Van Sweringen 2-8-4: excellent runner but poor puller. LL USRA 2-8-8-2: older runs were also excellent runners but mediocre pullers. I do not have any of the newer issues, which I understand are better. B-mann SPECTRUM USRA 2-6-6-2: Can be made into an acceptable runner, but pulling power is mediocre. The most disappointing of the SPECTRUM steam. C-C 4-8-4: Runs acceptably, and good puller, but for a three hundred banana list, you expect better than 'acceptable'. I do not have the Athearn large steam offerings nor do I have the C-C 2-10-2. I have stopped buying big steam (although I would buy a B&O Big Six or P&LE A-2a). I have deliberately omitted the much older offerings (Rivarossi) and may have inadvertently omitted other recent releases, which I may, or may not, own.
For light steam the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 is smooth and has great pulling power. I have three of them (two also needed to be sent back, but replacements are fine). For medium steam, the Kato Mikado and the Bachmann Heavy Mountain are excellent. Kato is quieter, but both pull well (Kato needs the traction tire) and the Bachmann has the advantage of factory installed decoder. I have two Kato's and one HM. For heavy steam, several of the guys in our NTrak club have the Big Boy and 2-8-8-2. The Big Boy will out pull the 2-8-8-2, but two have been sent back due to decoder problems (and replaced without issue). The 2-8-8-2 has a rather pathetic sounding whistle but looks great. For my heavy steam needs I double head two Kato Mikados and they can pull more loaded hoppers than I own! For switching, after many problems, my Walthers 0-8-0 finally is running well. It will pull 10 cars on the flat, which is all I need. Very smooth runner.
Just picked one of these up for $50. What size shim? Mine runs pretty good, although the second driver is a bit wobbly. I've got a decoder on the way so I'd like to do all the internal works at once.
Unfortunately, John suggests that difficult DCC installation is to be feared. However, he guided me through my first DCC installation including tsanumi sound with his excellent e-mail tutorial for a Lifelike Berkshire. I had one glitch with a short between the frames and some minor issues with signal pickup since i only had one connection to a 64 ft around the wall temporary layout. I say give it a try with a good instructor. Jack
The Kato Mikado is still the gold standard but the first runs that didn't come with factory installed details parts could drive you crazy. Notice how quick those extra detail parts sell out? Someone on here posted a great tip about installing them with your engine in a large plastic bag to keep the little parts from flying off in to the unknown.
Shimming the tyred driver pair on the B-mann USRA light 4-8-2 involves cutting a piece of duct tape, hockey tape or even doubled over masking or shipping tape to fit into the bearing journal. Be sure to do it on both sides. The difficult part of the detail installation on the Kato USRA heavy 2-8-2 in the handrail stanchions. I used a small to average sized pair of needlenosed pliers and launched maybe three stanchions on several locomotives. One would think that the needlenosed pliers would be overkill, but they worked the best. Do take care lest you crush the stanchions, but be sure to grip tightly enough to avoid launching.
Have to agree with everyone so far. Bachman spectrim 2-8-0 very good and quiet. Kato 2-8-2 runs very good and is also quiet. Have the MP 4-6-2 also ,it runs very well out of the box ( cant see any reason to swap tenders IMO ) it does have a slight whine if run at faster speeds. Mike
No one has mentioned the Athearn/Roundhouse 2-6-0 or 2-8-0 as of yet. I run modern equipment but I have a few of these with decoders installed for the little woman. Never a glitch with these models. I can set them to go through a Kato double crossover on my layout and never have an issue. Mark
That is the same thing as the MDC 2-6-0. A matter of companies buying each other out. The "little woman"? A tiny engineer for your 2-6-0?
