[mikeintoronto]

This might not be a fair question. Are there manufacturers that I should avoid strictly wrt locomotives? Or maybe instead I can hear which are your favorite/most trusted manufacturers. If this has been asked before, please direct me. My question seems like a typical newbie question

 

[Lester Perry]

What scale are looking at?

 

[mikeintoronto]

What scale are looking at?

I was looking at HO scale.

 

[Lester Perry]

I am probably the only one to feel this way but I would stay away from Broadway limited. I have one and I will never have two. Ok never is a long time but you get the idea. I would say you can't go wrong with Athearn for dependability. I also like Proto 2000 and their heritage for steam. Bachman diesel from my experience, stay away. Their steam, if it is in a black box it is good, silver save your money. There are many more but let someone else chime in here. Also I doubt if you will get people to agree on this with the exception of Athearn Blue Box. They are not detailed,the are noisy, They are hard to find now but they are like a tank or maybe the eveready rabbit. they just keep on going.

 

[cidjackaries]

IMHO: Stay away from Con-cor. Poorly detailed and poorly constucted.

Athearn Blue box, they take a lot of maintenance to keep running, but I like them.

 

[tworail]

Anything really cheap - usually is of crappy quality. Spend the extra dough and get something you will be happy with - well detailed and smooth running. If you don't have those two qualities you will be complaining about something

 

[shaygetz]

My three favorite are Atlas, Athearn and AHM/Rivarossi, not necessarily the bestest running but a satisfying loc for the price for me.