Votes for the best running N scale steam loco models...

[Flatrat]

I'm a born again 'newbie' from my N scale efforts in the 80's so please bear with me here. I chose Peco 55 on my new layout which seemed like a good compromise to run both new models and fiddle with my 'heritage' N scale stuff and I have two great vintage MRC transformers that are working flawlessly. So far, I'm very happy with my choices and I have gotten many of my old diesels out of the boxes and running really well. Old steam models...almost zero.
I'm just SO happy with the way my brand new Spectrum 2-8-0 runs on basic track power with my old MRC transformers compared to the half dozen vintage locos I have in my drawers that either don't run at all any more, or run, really, really lousy, no matter how i try to clean their wheels, pickups,etc. I'm sitting here typing with that 2-8-0 just creeping smoothly around the track at slow scale speeds.

I would like to learn what other N scale steam locos run as smoothly as my new Spectrum. Thoughts/votes for good running N scale steam currently available? Don't care about the price, just want to hear about other great running steam loco models.

Scott

[brokemoto]

The best out of the box are the Athearn/MDC 2-8-0 and 2-6-0.  These are based on 1880s prototypes and have a motor in the tender.

The Bachmann 4-6-0 is also very good.

The Kato USRA heavy 2-8-2 is the other standard (the Bachpersonn SPECTRUM 2-8-0 is the other) by which N scale steam is measured.  It is a very good locomotive, but it does require the traction tyre upgrade and a bit of extra weight in the tender.

Model Power offers a 2-6-0, a 4-4-0 a USRA light 2-8-2 and 4-6-2.  They run nicely but suffer from 1970s construction methods.  Substituting B-mann SPECTRUM tenders or the Kato USRA standard tender for the stock tender goes a long way toward improving their performance.

The B-mann Standard Line USRA 0-6-0 is not bad if you will substitute a SPECTRUM tender for the stock tender.  It is necessary to flip over the drawbar on the SPECTRUM tender before affixing the SPECTRUM tender to the 0-6-0.

B-mann sells an 1870s 4-4-0.  If you will buy the last version, in the plastic box, it is not bad.  It requires extensive break-in but still wobbles a bit.  You must also operate it on a pike that has metal frog switches.

Atlas sells an 1870s 2-6-0.  It runs fine, when you can  maintain contact.  The poor contact causes it to stall frequently.

There is some nicely operating big steam  out there, from what I understand, but I am not a big steam guy.

[Flatrat]

Great reviews. Thanks. I'm guessing from your suggestions that the larger steam locos, other than the Kato Mike you list are still problematic? May look into buying one of those if i can find one. Swapping the tenders is good 411, thanks. I would like to see a good running 4-6-2 and 4-8-4 in your picks. [sigh], Someday, maybe we'll see those. I would think those would sell very well.

I have an ancient 0-6-0 that i was playing with tonight [no clue who made it. 1980's.] and was surpised how well that one is still running. the coupler and front truck of the tender got damaged moving about over the years. I plan to rebuild that. The other big locos I inherited run poorly, or not at all.

thanks,

Scott

[bc6]

I love my Bachmann 2-6-6-2 and 4-6-2 both are excellent runners although not great pullers however.

[Ian MacMillan]

I have a Bachmann light mountain (newest model with the DCC ready tender) and I am very happy with it. It is my first steam loco, and for what I use it for, mainline steam passenger excursions, it works pretty well. I run about 8 cars behind it, and I have no grades.

[UP4-8-8-4]

     I've always had a bad habit of getting several or more of each new steamer releases through the years from all manufactors.
Out of all through the years for single best running and pulling out of the box is Athearns Big Boy followed by their Challenger, then Bachmann Spectrums Class J.



Ernie

[MVW]

If you haven't visited it, check out Spookshow's N scale loco encyclopedia:

http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/locos.html

Plenty of other good reading/reference on his site as well.

My personal experience with N steam is limited. I own a Bachmann heavy Mountain 4-8-2 that is an excellent runner and puller. I briefly owned a Kato Mikado that ran like a dream.

Jim

[Kiasutha]

The best out of the box are the Athearn/MDC 2-8-0 and 2-6-0.  These are based on 1880s prototypes and have a motor in the tender.

Fully agree; based on what I own (mostly pre-1930's-my biggest/most modern are LL 2-8-8-2's)
A lot of the others are good too but I trust these the most.

[SkipGear]

Great reviews. Thanks. I'm guessing from your suggestions that the larger steam locos, other than the Kato Mike you list are still problematic? May look into buying one of those if i can find one. Swapping the tenders is good 411, thanks. I would like to see a good running 4-6-2 and 4-8-4 in your picks. [sigh], Someday, maybe we'll see those. I would think those would sell very well.

I have an ancient 0-6-0 that i was playing with tonight [no clue who made it. 1980's.] and was surpised how well that one is still running. the coupler and front truck of the tender got damaged moving about over the years. I plan to rebuild that. The other big locos I inherited run poorly, or not at all.

thanks,

Scott

Brokomoto only runs smaller steam so he didn't comment on the larger stuff.

Availability is more of a problem than runability right now. There really haven't been any "clunkers" released in a while. Bachmann has the lead in good running steam by sheer numbers but there are other brands out there also.

Here are what is out there in no particular order or on its way....

Bachmann - Nice slow speed performance, very nice detail, many now dual mode DCC installed. STAY AWAY FROM ANY MODELS IN A WHITE BOX
 > 0-6-0 / 2-6-2 - Standard line loco but a great starter engine for people who want to learn to tinker. It is easy to improve on and when finished makes a great running little loco. There are too many versions out there to count but stay away from any but the absolutely most recent split frame version.
 > 2-6-0 - (not released yet so the verdict is still out)
 > 4-6-0 - Great running small steam. Had some teething issues with the first runs because of in incorrectly installed pilot truck from the factory but later runs have been pretty flawless.
 > 2-8-0 - You already seem to have experience with this one, excellent running loco. There are two versions, the original analog/DCC ready loco and the newest loco with DCC installed. The newest version has 6 wires between the loco and tender to facilitate the decoder install in the tender.
 > 4-8-2 Lt. Mountain - Be wary, there are two versions out there. The original which ran quite well suffered from poor pulling power. On many locos the traction tire driver could be shimmed to gain traction but it didn't work on all of them. There is a very recent new version which now has the decoder install location moved to the tender instead of the boiler. It can be distinguished by a group of 6 wires running between the loco and tender. Reports are that this version pulls much better. Neither come with a decoder installed.
 > 4-8-2 Hvy Mountain - This was a hands down winner when it came out. Take the smooth running character of the Lt. Mountain and add a die cast metal boiler for weight to get a great pulling and running loco. They come with dual mode DCC installed.
 > 4-8-4 Northern ATSF - Latest version runs good, could be geared lower and needs tender pickup added.
 > 4-8-4 J Class N&W - Good running, good pulling, easy DCC and sound install.
 > 2-10-2 USRA Lt. - Another metal boliered loco that pulls quite well. Similar performance to the Heavy Mountain.
 > 2-6-6-2 C&O H5 - This was the first version of the 2-6-6-2 and was plaqued with problems from the start. So much so that Bachmann has pretty much replaced all the first batch with subsequent production runs that worked much better for anybody that asked. Be aware there are still first run versions floating around out there and you don't want one of them. As mentioned above, pulling power is pretty whimpy as they opted to leave traction tires off of this model. They get better with age but still should pull more for a loco its size.
 > 2-6-6-2 C&O H4 - A different version of the 2-6-6-2. The valve gear and details were changed based around the same chassis of the original 2-6-6-2. These came duall mode DCC installed with a shorter Vanderbilt tender and ran very well, with improved pulling power but still not what a 2-6-6-2 should be able to do. Mine with some weight added will pull 35 cars on level comfortably.

Athearn / MDC
 > 2-6-0 / 2-8-0 - Brokemoto summed it up, great running small steam. The Athearns come with knuckle couplers, which makes life easier because coupler conversion can be troublesome on the MDC version. Both are a pain to convert to DCC.
 > 4-6-6-4 / 4-8-8-4 - Both good running sound equipped locos. New production run due next year, both with Tsunami sound instead of the MRC in previous versions. (There has been one version of the 4-6-6-4 with the Tsunmai already) Early MRC equipped Challengers had some issues with smoking the decoders that seemed related to too much DCC voltage.

Atlas
 > 4-4-0 - Disney version is out and reportedly runs very good.  Regular versions should be here shortly.
 > 2-6-0 - Rebadged MicroAce loco. Great running, incredibly small loco.
 > Shay - Delicate, intricate loco that runs like a swiss watch when everything is right.

Model Power - All Model Power locos share a common design. They have the motor mounted in a metal boiler that tends to make a little more noise than others at high speed. The tender pickups are the older style axle wipers which many choose to replace with tender trucks from Kato or Bachmann. Easy to get out of quarter becuse the driver axles are not splined. When they are right, they run very good but they are easy to get "out of whack". Relatively easy DCC conversion if you don't mind not having control of the headlight.
 > 4-4-0 - Very smooth, suffers the most from needing better tender pickup. If you want more pulling power add a traction tire driver from the Pacific.
 > 2-6-0 - Another good runner.
 > 4-6-2 - USRA Lt. Pacific. Good generic Pacific. Runs well out of the box, newest versions of traction tire already installed.
 > 2-8-2 - USRA Lt Mikado. Same review as Pacific.

Walthers / LifeLike
 > 0-8-0 USRA switcher - First run had some pulling issues due to wiring harness lifting rear of loco, easily fixed. Second run, problem was corrected.
 > 2-8-4 Berkshire - Runs like a swiss watch, pulls like it has greased wheels. Difficult to convert to DCC.
 > 2-8-8-2 N&W Y3 - Another stunning runner. First runs lacked traction tires and had anemic pulling power. Last two runs by Walthers were updated to include traction rires, easy DCC conversion and a sound version. These versions set the bar for how a steam loco should run in my opinion. The sound version is the best sounding steam loco with OEM sound installed, hands down.

Kato
 > 2-8-2 Hvy. Mikado - Often quoted as the benchmark for N scale steam. Bullet proof design that is hard to mess up. Very smooth running loco, traction tires a must in my opinion. My main complaint is the loco is geared to tall. top speed is much too fast and it could be even smoother and pull better with lower gearing.
 > 4-8-4 GS4 - Great running loco but nowhere near as bulletproof as the Mikado. Delicate design that is prone to throw traction tires if miss handled. Also some reports of cracked axles causing drivers to slip quarter.

ConCor
 > 4-6-4 Hudson - The current ones actually aren't the best that have been made but are a very good runner. The best version was the second version which was made by Kato for Concor. The current ones are a copy of the Kato design made in China.

I know I'm forgetting something but there is what is reasonably current. If it wasn't mentioned, it wasn't worth mentioning.

[peteski]

I also highly recommend getting this question answered by visiting Spookshow's (Mark's) website. He spent a good deal of time (and also asked lots of questions on the forums) to arrive with his honest evaluations of pretty much every US prototype model in plastic and brass.

Best running out-of-the-box steam loco model? I can't answer this question. Why? Well, even if a loco runs perfectly well right after I take it out of the box (for the 5 minute test I give it), I have this nasty habit of fully disassembling it to see how it was constructed and to see if I can improve upon its design.   

[pnolan48]

I agree totally with Skipgear. My favorite is the Heavy Mountain. I think I got lucky with the first Bachmann 2-6-6-2, and three of four of the first LL 2-8-8-2s: with a lot of tinkering I got four of five to pull fairly well, although that one 2-8-8-2 was just hopeless. Much like Victor Miranda and the late LongTrain (Bob Woods) I added enough weight to it to wear out the siderods.

The LL 2-8-4 Berkshire is noticeably missing from the list. I have four of them, and not one pulls anything. Oh, it runs smoothly and quietly, but barely pulls itself. I used one of my cheater boxcars behind double-headeds Berks on DC--they were difficult to convert to DCC (or looked difficult), so they were soon relegated to shelf queens on a dead track. I suppose I could tinker with them, but installing DCC still looks like too much work to bother.

I never fully deployed my fleet of DCC cheaters, as they were developed just before I moved from Albuquerque to Ohio.

[Flatrat]

This is truly great info!! Thanks to everyone who responded with their reviews.

I researched Spookshow's site a few months back and it is an excellent, thorough review of N scale engines. It's nice to hear other people's opinions too.

The layout I'm building is the period of Western Maryland in the late 40's to early 50's running through the rolling, rural foothills of north central Maryland and it has been aimed mostly at early diesel and freight cars of that railine but I have enjoyed the performance of my bachmann 2-8-0 so much that I thought of extending the time frame back further and the layout is kind of a nebulous design of 'middle America', rolling hills, rural countryside so recently I told myself it might be fun to stray farther from prototype and look at some other good running steam engines to run even if WM didn't have them on their roster, or other roadnames that might look appropriate running on the layout.

Great!!! Now I have a new reason to blow a lot more money on some good running steam locos. Thanks again for all the sugestions and reviews.

[SkipGear]

To the original question (I got a little carried away with the reviews).......

Currently available or at least recently available....

1. Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidation
2. Bachmann 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain
3. Bachmann 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler
4. Bachmann 2-10-2 USRA Light
5. Model Power Pacific with Traction tires

Over all best running....regardless of availability.

1. Walthers 2-8-8-2 Y3 w/sound - One of the few loco's that I have never done a thing to but run it. It took no fine tuning at all.
2. Athearn Challenger/Bigboy - Better than brass detail, will pull the paint of the walls.
3. Bachmann 2-8-0 - I have one that will pull 65 cars on level, I ran out of test track to see if it could do more.
4. Bachmann 4-8-2 Heavy - I have run one fresh out of the box at an Ntrak show for 4 hours straight, pulling everything US army that MT has released in one train.
5. Kato 2-8-2 - It is the most bullet proof loco out there and makes a great 2-10-2 with some work.

[Flatrat]

I didn't think you got carried away with your reviews at all.

Thanks for the condensed "Reader's Digest" version however. I already copied your first reviews to my hardrive notes.

Thanks again!

[superturbine]

Athearn challenger/ Big Boy