American Ho help

[Earl Bathurst]

Hi

My main interest is british 00, but have always had an interest in american railways so bought 0n30 scale first which is a nice scale to model. But do fancy the american diesels in union pacific colours or prr livery as its always a smart livery (also i like unususl liveries) but where do I start? Any companies to avoid or recommended? Shops in uk that I can use to buy Ho which wont cost the earth. Also I see Bachmann do fairly cheap diesel locos what they like and do they have socket for dcc?

 

any help will be very useful

thanks

scott

[Robatron86]

I have found Bachmann very good for a starter. Some come DCC fitted these days at very good prices. Top of the range, in my experience are Atlas or Athearn locos. I would avoid Model Power if you can.

[lightengine]

Have a look at http://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php

its a US site with lots of useful sections.

 

Searching for Bachmann on Ebay, expand your search to 'worldwide' and you will have a lot more choice. (I dont mean to tell you how to suck eggs)

[switcher 1]

I recently started in H0 American, most of my stock has come from ebay, seems to be the easiest way to get started.

 

H0 stock can be got for £5 upward & diesel locos from £15 upward.

 

On30 stock goes for around £20-30 a piece, locos are in the £100+ area in the main.

 

Kadee couplings are the standard for American outline models, but most horn hook stock can be converted.

 

Also you might consider NMRA British Region membership.

http://www.nmrabr.org.uk/forum/index.php?sid=35a8a9393891ead4e51aeffab0233a75

 

Another good site to check out is Big Blue Trains.

http://bigbluetrains.com/forum/index.php?sid=d4bb9792a9890375cb336eab88a33553

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks guys.

what about kato diesels?

also the cheap Bachmann diesels are they any good?

 

Scott

[Oldddudders]

Kato have wonderful mechanisms, great detailing. Bachmann diesels are ok, but do not confuse them with the sort of quality that company provides in the UK market.

 

By all means buy models of all sorts of livery, if they appeal, and there are huge numbers of liveries to be admired. But if you hanker after a more realistic setting, then concentrating on one part of the US could help that aim. And, like the UK, locos, freight cars and companies and their liveries have changed enormously even since 1945, so you might want to think which era is of interest and concentrate a little on that.

[trisonic]

Give this section (USA & Canadian Railroads)  good read. You may get more ideas.

 

Best, Pete.

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks Ian and pete

American ho seems a mine field as there is so many liveries and companies. But do like union pacific and prr. As for era im not so worried like my 00 layout I just fancy collecting the above company's locos and run them and maybe in future build a layout. I find the diesels and gg1 very impressive machines and would be nice to own them in model form. I quiet like the Bachmann sound locos they do. Any thoughts on the sounds?

Scott

[shortliner]

Kato - excellent. Bachmann - depends on what you class as cheap - but I have only had one problem and that was with a 70 tonner on which the worm was misplaced allowing the rotating part of the motor to slide backwards and forwards and jam - cured very easily. Avoid any items that are fitted with Horn-hook or X2F couplers- only buy those fitted with Kadee or kadee clones

[Earl Bathurst]

Why avoid horn hook? Also rivarossi have a horn hook on some coaches I seen are they the same as Bachmann? Can you change this horn hook or is it a surgery job.

scott

[shortliner]

Horn-hooks are big ugly things(in a similar way to Hornby/Triang are non- prototypical) and don't couple to anything else - yes, they can be changed - often without surgery, but most modern RTR is pre-fitted with kadee (clones) and so you will probably need to (eventually) change them anyway - Also try not to buy things with truckmount couplers or plastic wheels - truck-mounts do not "push" well through curves, and plastic wheels are notorious for spreading dirt. Always start as you would like to go on.

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks I have modelled 00 for 10 years now so have a good understanding of that but H0 is a different story not sure where I start so its like starting again. Also can you recommend any good retailers for selling HO?

[CVSNE]

Bachmann with hornhook=junk and is best avoided. 

 

I don't think any US manufacturers have offered anything with horn hooks for years except truly train set quality stuff which is typically best avoided. 

 

Bachmann Spectrum steamers are excellent - the "standard" Bachmann steam locos can be problematic. 

 

In diesels for affordable and good quality a great choice is Athearn's lines - both the Genesis and the "Ready to Roll" line. Most of us in the US got our start with Athearn locomotives. 

 

Any diesel by Atlas and Kato is a good choice. 

 

Marty

[Oldddudders]

 Also can you recommend any good retailers for selling HO?

These people, who I believe used to trade as Model Motors, when their shop was just off the M40, have a good range and a reputation to match as far as I am aware.

 

http://www.modeljunction.info/estore/index.php?osCsid=bglraetpm17vs7upvrlqi8bl83

[Gary H]

Here's my take on the subject after buying American H0 for the last 7 years. I previously always had British outline until then!

 

Athearn Genesis: Top line for detail, almost on par with brass. Not very durable due to all the detail parts they have fitted, be prepared for something to fall off when you remove the shell for whatever reason!

A whole realm of different roads (livery's) and loco types and era's catered for. I just imported an F3 A&B set in D&RGW paint and it really is a work of art that has to be seen to be believed.

Athearn 'RTR':

This is Athearn's cheaper line of models, nearly the same amount of detail, a cheaper central flywheel motor and DCC ready with a plug and socket in most cases.

Athearn 'Blue box' models: Old and very cheap, also crude and generic detail, these are all over Ebay! Poor grumbly motors etc.

Atlas: Again great detail top drawer models, also fantastic drives!  Atlas have what they call Gold (sound equipped) , Silver (DCC equipped), Trainman (abit like Hornbys Railroad line of models) and Classic plus probably another I cant remember just now.

Kato: They put a lot more effort into N gauge than they do H0 to be honest. Detail is becoming dated and looks chunky compared with the above manufacturers IMO but their drives are world renowned.

A lot of my Athearn RTR locos have Kato motors in them!

Proto 1000:  A bit like Atlas's Trainman line, robust and cheaper, a little less detail, Very good smooth drives and still well worth the look.

Proto 2000: Proto's top spec models, some have sound and all should be DCC ready. Proto drives are also some of the best I have .

Broadway Limited Imports: Excellent steam loco's and near brass calibre detail but let down by their own sound decoders. Ive heard of issues with their sound decoders and all of their steam locos seem to have sound. Their decoders do seem to be abit of a lottery. Their diesels tend to have generic details fitted and are not as nice as their steam models.

MTH: Ive only had experience of their diesel locos. There OK but tend to have less detail than Athearn but they are for this reason more robust. I used to have one of their SD70ace's with the firms PS3 sound, it is not NMRA standard and so was a pain to adjust CV's plus the sound was not all that good, its an OK model, very heavy and a good puller but I sold it on and wont be buying any more personally.

Bachmann:

Two to look out for here and one to maybe avoid. Spectrum models are very good as stated above but personally I would steer clear of their non Spectrum GP50's GP40's GP38's, F7's, plus any SD's they make, (I think they do an SD40-2) these are very low end more suited to a childs train set rather than a more serious modeller.

Their S4 and S2 switchers are a joy though, as is their 44 and 70 ton switcher's, well worth getting and are good value for money with nice drives!

Intermountain: Not going back as far as the old Stewart models days, Intermountain locos are on a par with Athearn Genesis and if you like UP, then their ES44AC's in UP paint will not disappoint. DCC onboard or sound equipped.

A retailer Ive had great results with is MB Klein in America. http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Intermountain-HO-Scale-EMD-FP7A-F7B-Locomotives-s/3623.htm

 

 My latest F3 came from them and even with the high shipping cost, added VAT and the Parcel Force admin fee, it still worked out 60 quid cheaper than had I bought it in the UK. MB Klein have some really good deals on from time to time!

 

Ive just seen that Bachmann have just released their GG1 in PRR paint and very nice it looks to- http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Bachmann-HO-GG1-Electric-DC-PR-p/bac-65201.htm

[BR60103]

"Horn-hook" couplers were developed by an NMRA committee but declined as a standard by the membership. It may also be called an NMRA or X2f coupler (eXperimental design 2 variation f) but most no longer match the design.  Most work together, somewhat.

The original (1960s) Airfix wagon kits had a version of this that they called a "cornhook" but it was somewhat oversize, by more than the OO/HO ratio.

 

Because of the sideways springing, the horn-hook made truck-mounted couplers worse. The thin, sharp flanges that the wheels then had were pushed against the rails and picked at joints, particularly when pushing.

There is less variation in these couplers than in the British tension lock.

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks for the info.

Gary regarding importing items in do you have any problems. The more I read think ill give some of the cheaper Bachmann diesels a miss. Athearn and proto 1000/2000 look very nice. I notice some riverossi have unusual couplings aswell is the similar to the horn hook?

scott

[Gary H]

Earl Bathurst, on 09 Mar 2014 - 12:00, said:

Thanks for the info.

Gary regarding importing items in do you have any problems. The more I read think ill give some of the cheaper Bachmann diesels a miss. Athearn and proto 1000/2000 look very nice. I notice some riverossi have unusual couplings aswell is the similar to the horn hook?

scott

Of all the models Ive bought direct from America Ive never had any problems. MB Klein aka "Model train stuff" are fautless and are very good prices. Just remember to add in VAT to the total cost after you've converted dollars to GBP, I use this currency converter- http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

 

Due to living in rip off UK, also remember you will be charged VAT on the cost of shipping aswel plus the Parcel Farce "admin fee" which is another £8. When PF receive your package, they will send you a letter telling you how much you have to pay (the VAT and their fee). This is done easily on line with a unique reference code you get in the letter. They then release your package for delivery. Normally the shipping time from the U.S is about 10 to 14 days.

Just remember that sometimes bringing in a specific model can work out dearer than if you bought it here (due to the added VAT etc) so it pays to research before hand! but if you get a good enough price reduction to start with like I did on my Genesis F3 loco's, it can sometimes be very worthwhile.

As far as Rivarossi are concerned, Ive not had any thing to do with them but only because they don't make anything that interests me personally. Looking at this page- http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/HO-Scale-s/2.htm?searching=Y&sort=3&cat=2&show=30&page=1&brand=Rivarossi they all seem to have conventional knuckle couplers (basicly Kaddee clones like Mc Henry by the looks of them in the pictures. Maybe Rivarossi used to use horn hooks on old models, I don't know but I think they are easily changed out anyway.

Some of the Proto models come with both Knuckle couplers and horn hooks in the box for the modeller to choose so basicly the coupler box's are the same for both anyway. I normally chuck the horn hooks in the bin

[5050]

If you like UP and PRR try to avoid running them together.  UP is West and PRR East.  I suppose they might come together somewhere (Chicago??) but it would be very specific.  Also try to avoid buying stuff just because you like the colour etc.  You can end up with a lot of disparate stock, somewhat like running LNER locos with Southern stock on a GWR layout.  Read a bit about various railroads, who they connected with, what traffic they handled etc. etc. before committing a load of cash.  Plenty of useful info on the web.

 

Regarding suppliers, try Model Junction, LSWR Models, Contikits, Mac's.  A browse through 'Continental Modeller' magazine will help to identify US specialist retailers.

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks. I just like american diesels as I said union pacific and prr liveries are nice. Just learning and getting a feel on what not to buy and what to buy the comes the big decision to what to spend my money on.

 

Are there many preserved railways where you would see a mix of liveries?

[shortliner]

 

"Horn-hook" couplers were developed by an NMRA committee but declined as a standard by the membership.

...............always remember that old quote " A camel is a horse designed by a committee! (which goes on).....and built to a Government Ministerial Department specification after having been put out to tender and having the lowest bid accepted"

[Oldddudders]

Thanks. I just like american diesels as I said union pacific and prr liveries are nice. Just learning and getting a feel on what not to buy and what to buy the comes the big decision to what to spend my money on.

 

Are there many preserved railways where you would see a mix of liveries?

I think we in the UK are completely spoiled for choice when it comes to preserved railways, and probably have a better selection than any other nation on earth. There have been some spectacular preservation projects in the US - but most tend to be steam, because that fell from use a decade and more before the same event in the UK, so is a more traditional form of nostalgia. Our US members can give you chapter and verse, but preserved diesels may be fewer than we are used to.

 

As has been gently pointed out already, you need to define your likes - diesels from the '30s look very different from diesels from the '70s, for example. Body styles changed completely from carbody types to hood types, with exposed walkways.

[Earl Bathurst]

Thanks for the help. I quiet like fairly modern diesels. But GP38-2 , GP7 and sd70 Mac are my favourite types of diesel. They look very impressive im not looking for historic accuracy just happy to collect and run at home and for display purposes. But do like them to have details but nothing that will cost the earth  to buy.

 

Scott

[Northpoint]

Come to the Trent Valley Show in June (www.tvnam.co.uk) to see a whole range of US based layouts, meet other US modellers and have a good day out.

 

Plus there will be several traders if you want to buy something.

[MikeHohn]

Your likes represent about three decades of diesel power in the US. The GP-7 was new in the period of the 40 ft boxcar, which was being largely supplanted by the 50 ft boxcar by the time of the GP38-2. The transition was complete by the time of the SD70.

 

By the way, six-axle units can be a problem if your layout has tight radius curves and sharp turnouts.

 

Trains magazine would be a good source of information for prototype information and photos, especially railroading of today.

 

Many small branch lines in the US run rebuilt vintage locomotives today, so if you are looking to build a switching layout, you can run some of the earlier units like the GP-7 to do the switching. If you include an interchange with a bigger rr such as the Union Pacific, you can run modern motive power on the mainline.