2014 N Scale Locomotive of the Year

[Joetrain59]

No mention of Bmann S-4?
 Joe D

[spookshow]

No mention of Bmann S-4?

Came out in 2013.

Cheers,
-Mark

[spookshow]

When Kato first released the F3 a couple lifetimes ago they had what they called a Phase I which is the same shell as this newer F2 release (including small number boards).

Like this -



Cheers,
-Mark

[Joetrain59]

Came out in 2013.

Cheers,
-Mark

Wow, where did 2014 go? Could've sworn mine was delivered when released this past Summer. .
 My vote is for SW-1500.

[jdcolombo]

The FEF.

An iconic locomotive that even a lot of non-steam people bought in droves, with cutting-edge engineering in both mechanism and shell detail.

The U25C rivals the FEF in shell detail and engineering, but not in the mechanism engineering.  And until the coupler design becomes available as an aftermarket item, it's interesting, but not very useful to the rest of us.  Jury is still out on that.

I think both these models pushed the "state of the art" forward, but the FEF pushed farther in my view.  Had it come with a factory sound option (perhaps Kobo will do one?) engineered with the same care (a la the GMD-1 from Rapido and, I hope, the S-2 from Atlas), it would truly have covered all the bases.  But as is, it covers more bases than the U25C.

The rest of the list offer virtually nothing new in terms of engineering - they are simply filling holes in the prototype lineup.  E.g., certainly, N scale needed an SW1500, but there's little new engineering here.  Basically a Walthers/LL retread.  Loco of the year should do more. 

John C.

[randgust]

Good thing that Mark is the official 'model year' documenter, I didn't get my Atlas 4-4-0 until this year.   Could have sworn it was 2014!

All you've made me realize is that I have none of them from this year.   And haven't seen an FEF yet....  but knowing a little of the backstory on it I'll vote sight unseen at this point.

[Cajonpassfan]

.... And haven't seen an FEF yet....  but knowing a little of the backstory on it I'll vote sight unseen at this point.

Ditto here!
Otto K.

[muktown128]

Ditto here!
Otto K.

Same here.  I may get one just because of the reviews, even though I model the Pennsy.

Scott

[rrjim1]

The U25C rivals the FEF in shell detail and engineering, but not in the mechanism engineering.  And until the coupler design becomes available as an aftermarket item, it's interesting, but not very useful to the rest of us.  Jury is still out on that.
John C.

I own a U25C and at first I though the couplers were MT. They couple just fine with MT and every other coupler I have on my model railroad.  In fact you could just replace them with MT 1015.
IMO the mechanism is new and state of the art as far a n scale goes, mine ran great right out of the box, quiet, smooth, and great scale speeds even with a DCC decoder. 
Jim

[unittrain]

I have to say the U25C got my Conrail yesterday and it is top notch. Don't need an FEF so can't judge that one.

[basementcalling]

On the rails, FEF.

In the package, SW-1500.

[Nick Lorusso]

After testing last year(so long ago) a FEF & 2 GS-4 with my troop train. I would have to vote for the FEF-3. I like the engine so much I bought 2.

Regards,
Nick

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'm voting SW1500. It was a major hole in the N scale diesel world. While it's not perfect, it is widely useful.

The FEF, on the other hand, is a single class of engine used by a single railroad. It's a spectacle, not a bread and butter model.

[Philip H]

Tie vote for the SW1500 and the U25c

[peteski]

IMO the mechanism is new and state of the art as far a n scale goes, mine ran great right out of the box, quiet, smooth, and great scale speeds even with a DCC decoder. 
Jim

State of the art?  Inside bearings, old fashion electric pickup wipers and as I am led to believe plastic gears molded onto metal axles.  It might be good running, but to me it is old-school, not state of the art.