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 Posted - June 21 2015 : 12:45:30 AM
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Poll Question:
im big on this question what do you like best ?
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devin "give me the ugly steam none of that streamlined stuff"
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 08:12:18 AM
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I voted "other". Was looking for "all of the above and then some".
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 09:36:07 AM
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I had to go with Tyco. Of all the companies on the list, Tyco is still the one I get most excited about finding at train shows...and it makes up the majority of my collection. 
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 09:42:37 AM
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Well, I LOVE collecting Tyco, no doubt. Do I run them at train shows? No, I still have not converted one (yet) to DCC to do that, but that is coming this year. So it's a divided question for me, I love nice running locomotives like Athearn, Atlas, Life-Like, Walthers, etc. But the pleasure is quite a bit with Tyco products. So that was a hard question to answer, but I do have tons of Tyco compared to other makes of trains. 'nuff said?
Jerry in VA
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 7:18:53 PM
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I marked Tyco meaning the Mantua/Tyco steam locomotives that are the backbone of my layout.
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 8:26:19 PM
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No way to pick just one, but I did. I went with LL only because my first train was one and I've fallen back in love with some of their building kits.
I could just as easily have picked Model Power for their great building kits. Or Tyco for all the fun accessories and rolling stock. Or AHM for the mountain of awesome things they produced. One thing I can say for certain is that I'd put Bachmann at the bottom of the list. I've never been a fan other than a few pieces.
Where's Athearn? Love those blue boxes! Also I agree with Jerry.
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 9:09:00 PM
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I chose Other cause I like to find the odd brands
Like Varney, Lionel, Marx & Mantua
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Posted - June 21 2015 : 10:22:49 PM
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I had to mark Tyco too as my layout is reliving my old 1970's childhood 4x8, only much bigger with all the stuff I wish I could have bought as a kid. However, the 70's layout had several Life-Like buildings & lights on it... and a tiny bit of AHM & Bachmann, as does the present one...
Edited by - walt on June 21 2015 10:24:02 PM
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Posted - June 22 2015 : 1:07:33 PM
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Hi dmoney2015,
I selected other as well. As much as I like Tyco and how much it reminds me of my childhood, I would have to go with Athearn for it's quality and ease of repair.
Mytyco
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Posted - June 22 2015 : 2:34:21 PM
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AHM...4-8-8-4 Big Boys for $49.95 and Bercs for $27.95 in those ads on the sidebars of those beautiful blue boxes burned deep into this kid's brain back in '67...
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Posted - June 22 2015 : 5:41:03 PM
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Bachmann,
The modern Bachmanns still have some problems, but for the most part are reliable. They have improved their parts support and online information. They are not Atlas or Athearn, but are very good for the price.
Regards, John
Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote.
Paul Harvey
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Posted - June 22 2015 : 6:29:14 PM
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I would say all of them. All manufacturers given have released something pretty good in their lifetimes. I don't know, as long as it functions, I like the item.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - June 22 2015 : 10:47:54 PM
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quote:AHM...4-8-8-4 Big Boys for $49.95 and Bercs for $27.95 in those ads on the sidebars of those beautiful blue boxes burned deep into this kid's brain back in '67...
Originally posted by shaygetz - June 22 2015 : 2:34:21 PM
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I was born ten years after that, so I kind of missed the AHM years. I sure wish I'd been there though, because I'm constantly finding neat stuff they made. However, I have the same feeling about the Athearn blue boxes that I grew up with. Many days I wish I could go back to my local hobby shops (all long gone) and sort through the stacks on the shelves.
Good to see you on here, Shaygetz. The SP GP9 I bought from you is still one of my favorites and you always gave me good advice.
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Posted - June 25 2015 : 09:22:34 AM
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| I prefer the Athearn BB locos and the BB kits for rolling stock. For steam I have to go early Mantua and Riverrosi. For trolleys I have a few of the Mantua / Tyco ones. I have re-powered a Tyco diesel or two but do not like the lack of reliability the original PT had.
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Posted - June 25 2015 : 10:45:24 AM
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quote:
Good to see you on here, Shaygetz. The SP GP9 I bought from you is still one of my favorites and you always gave me good advice.
Originally posted by burlington77Â -Â June 22 2015Â :Â 10:47:54 PM
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 I try not to lead others astray...
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Posted - June 25 2015 : 5:57:54 PM
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I'm going to be the odd man out here and cast my vote for Ulrich, Ambroid, Silver Streak, and Athearn (pre-1960). Plastic can't and never will hold a candle to good old fashioned wood and metal! 
(although this isn't to say the overwhelming majority of my fleet isn't Athearn blue box and MDC/Roundhouse freight cars, so I should probably vote for those instead...)
--CRC
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Posted - June 26 2015 : 9:08:48 PM
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I have a fair amount of SilverStreak, and really like them. Same for Ulrich, finally got the Ulrich track cleaning car we could never afford 50-60 years ago. I like Athearn BB.
Locos, steam diseasemal and rolling stock, Varney, period. Next down, diseasemals Athearn, period, and I mean back to HiF drives (and we, in the family, seem to have cornered the market on them, but second line, steam, Mantua, and not Tyco, meaning Version Two Mikes with eclosed gearboxes, motors in cab, cast tenders and cabs, insert main bearings.
If I get a Tyco with bearings in the pot metal, it goes away faster than Botchmann stuff.
Put a poll up, asking for opinions, well, you got 'em!
Dave
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Posted - June 26 2015 : 9:36:26 PM
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quote:I like Athearn BB. Locos, steam diseasemal and rolling stock, Varney, period. Next down, diseasemals Athearn, period, and I mean back to HiF drives (and we, in the family, seem to have cornered the market on them,
Dave
Originally posted by ScaleCraft - June 26 2015 : 9:08:48 PM
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So, how do you feel about diesel locomotives?
Edited by - burlington77 on June 26 2015 9:38:20 PM
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Posted - June 26 2015 : 9:41:00 PM
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quote: quote:I like Athearn BB. Locos, steam diseasemal and rolling stock, Varney, period. Next down, diseasemals Athearn, period, and I mean back to HiF drives (and we, in the family, seem to have cornered the market on them,
Dave
Originally posted by ScaleCraft - June 26 2015 : 9:08:48 PM
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So, how do you feel about diesel locomotives?
Originally posted by burlington77Â -Â June 26 2015Â :Â 9:36:26 PM
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I grew up reading John Allen. And others.
John had someone hanging from a trestle with a sign hung on the body..."Diesel Salesman".
They have their place...and only Fairbanks-Morse.....and that's in a Submarine. "Four main engines on-line, making turns for home".
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Posted - June 26 2015 : 9:50:41 PM
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You got the Ulrich track cleaner?
I keep seeing ads for them in old issues of RMC but one has yet to show up in real life, at any price. Trying to get one of each type of car Ulrich made, all I'm missing is the stock car and the track cleaner now I think.
For diesels, my loyalty lies with Athearn BB, since it seems like you literally can't kill one without power tools. But for steam, my username should give away my preference for Penn Line, Bowser and MDC.
And if anyone ever runs out of spare rubber bands for the Hi-F drive, I have enough to last through the apocalypse and then some.
--CRC
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Posted - June 26 2015 : 10:32:14 PM
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Actually, I have several Hi-F's and I've never found bands that I'm totally happy with. I've used various hair bands and random rubber bands I've found. The hair bands seem to work for a while, but then break.
Dave, you seem like a good guy to hang out with. You're definitely from a different time and place than me and I like that. You've dropped at least two names I'm going to have to look up. This forum is the best place to learn about anything to do with model railroading.
EDIT: I looked up John Allen and now I remember reading about him. Just before my time. For the first time in a long time, I feel like the young guy in the room.
Edited by - burlington77 on June 26 2015 10:35:03 PM
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Posted - June 27 2015 : 12:42:34 AM
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Once again, Athearn dropped the ball on parts...rubber bands were out of stock. So, I got a bag of coloured hair bands (also used for granddaughters), and I colour matched to the loco shell to be different.
John Allen...Gorre and Daphetid. Was quite a famous guy...scenery went ceiling to floor, you walked in the bottom of the canyons. He had a Stegosaur or some such as a switch engine.
Almost all the Varney ads in the Model Railroader back then were his layout.
What's the other name?
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Posted - June 27 2015 : 01:01:17 AM
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Botchmann or Fairbanks-Morse? There were F-M locomotives. The engines are still used today. Diesel subs in WWII had four of them. CO's (Commanding Officers) used to say, if you had to go to sea in a diesel boat, and had a choice of Fairbanks-Morse or GM diesels, you ALWAYS chose Fairbanks as they would get you there and back.
Was a matter of pride for Enginemen on boats to come back into port with four smoking. Other crews would line the piers to observe. Even if they would not develop power, you had them running. Every return, they took one apart, hoisted the bits out the particular engine room hatch, laid the parts on the pier, the truck would come down from the shop with refurbished parts, drop them off, pick up your old ones and leave, then you started loading the bits back down the hatch and re-assembled it.
Let's say you had a 9 or 10-cylinder FM. Common on later Gatos, Balaos and Tench boats...but they had two crankshafts and 18-20 pistons and rods. Crank on top, crank on the bottom (and a bugger to get out) with a LONG cylinder in between with a piston at each end..the pistons came together in the middle.
We had FM's on the 637 class SSN I was on, I know LA class boats had them, and Tridents did.
Here's a link with an explanation of the engines:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbanks_Morse_38_8-1/8_diesel_engine
Air start. Run the fuel rack to "stop", open service air, pull the lever to "start", engine starts to spin, at a specified RPM you ran the fuel rack to "run".
The guys in WWII, just to avoid having to charge air banks up if they had to dive quick, started them off the first one running by motorizing the generator...highly frowned upon initially. If they were really low on air, they'd start the first one with the batteries, motorizing the generator via the sticks in maneuvering.
You ventilated the boat (if you were early enough not to have a schnorkel) by using open hatches (usually conn) to suck air through the boat. Did that on the SSN when you had to run the diesel and didn't want to run the LP blower.
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Posted - June 27 2015 : 8:18:11 PM
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| I was also talking about Ulrich. Never came across those here. But thanks for the info!
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Posted - June 27 2015 : 9:36:42 PM
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Ah. Ulrich. Made some neat cast and wood stuff. I have three gons, the track cleaning car, well, here's my database:
D&RGW outside braced boxcar OB-108
GN outside-braced boxcar road number 31055 OB-10 (series OB) (3283H?)
Outside-braced cattle car, unlettered (series SC)
Composite Gondola, (series CG) unlettered (kit #106) 1959 catalog
Composite Gondola, (series CG) CNJ(kit #106) 1959 catalog
Track cleaning car (undec) (kit 105) 1959 catalog
Drop bottom gondola, (kit 115) SP #91976 , 1959 catalog
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Posted - July 04 2015 : 12:42:20 PM
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| I like them all, but I picked Life-Like because that's what I started with when I began HO model railroading. My current layout has a nice mix of Life-Like, Bachmann, A.H.M., TYCO and others set up on it.
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Posted - July 04 2015 : 12:57:30 PM
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quote:You got the Ulrich track cleaner?
I keep seeing ads for them in old issues of RMC but one has yet to show up in real life, at any price. Trying to get one of each type of car Ulrich made, all I'm missing is the stock car and the track cleaner now I think.
For diesels, my loyalty lies with Athearn BB, since it seems like you literally can't kill one without power tools. But for steam, my username should give away my preference for Penn Line, Bowser and MDC.
And if anyone ever runs out of spare rubber bands for the Hi-F drive, I have enough to last through the apocalypse and then some.
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â June 26 2015Â :Â 9:50:41 PM
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I have a metal tanker from that track cleaner but that's it, really. I'm thinking about using the tanker as an oil tanker by a factory on my switching layout since I can't find the track cleaner it came from.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - July 05 2015 : 6:44:46 PM
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If you have all the wood bits I think you have, that's the "kit". Craftsman.
Show your stuff...figure it out and build it!
http://www.hoseeker.net/Ulrich/ulrichtrackcleaningcarpg1.jpg
http://www.hoseeker.net/Ulrich/ulrichtrackcleaningcarpg2.jpg
Print them out, use them to figure out what you have...stripwood will replace what you're missing.
Come up with some trucks, wood screws (round, slot head) to mount them, couplers, paint, and you'll have something:
/tyco/forum/uploaded/ScaleCraft/20150705184433_ulrichcleaner.jpg
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Posted - July 05 2015 : 11:23:01 PM
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quote:Ah. Ulrich. Made some neat cast and wood stuff. I have three gons, the track cleaning car, well, here's my database:
D&RGW outside braced boxcar OB-108
GN outside-braced boxcar road number 31055 OB-10 (series OB) (3283H?)
Outside-braced cattle car, unlettered (series SC)
Composite Gondola, (series CG) unlettered (kit #106) 1959 catalog
Composite Gondola, (series CG) CNJ(kit #106) 1959 catalog
Track cleaning car (undec) (kit 105) 1959 catalog
Drop bottom gondola, (kit 115) SP #91976 , 1959 catalog
Originally posted by ScaleCraft - June 27 2015 : 9:36:42 PM
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Very nice
Here's what I have, just off the top of my head since my roster in excel isn't finished:
Outside-braced box:
- M&StL green
- currently staking out a Pere Marquette one on ebay
Drop bottom gon:
- M&StL green
- GN (not assembled)
- Michigan Central (custom, first one I got)
- currently staking out a Utah Coal Route one on ebay
Composite gon:
- Rock Island
- undec (unfinished)
OS Triple hopper:
- M&StL red
- SP
- M&StL BLACK (is this a factory error or something? never seen any other black M&StL hoppers)
Twin hoppers:
- B&O offset side
- Rock Island offset side
- WM ribbed (unfinished)
- RDG ribbed (unfinished)
- currently staking out an N&W ribbed car on ebay
pretty sure there's one more but I don't recall which
Truss rod flatcar:
- NC&StL (with log load)
Steel frame flatcar:
- SSW (unfinished)
No stock car, reefer, track cleaner or piggyback flat yet. Currently making new sides for a penn line trailer to fit on the piggyback in case I find one without the trailer.
--CRC
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Posted - July 06 2015 : 11:26:50 AM
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quote: Is there anywhere I can print out an accurate wood diagram thing (the markings for the kit) so I can know how big the wood needs to be to build this thing?
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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 Posted - July 23 2015 : 8:41:55 PM
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sorry I didnt add all pf the above I didnt think about it until you mentioned it
devin "give me the ugly steam none of that streamlined stuff"
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Posted - January 29 2016 : 3:05:41 PM
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For me:
Locos
1. Atlas- Absolutely the best
2. Proto 2000/Walthers Proto
3. Kato
4. Athearn Genesis
5. Athearn RTR
6.Proto 1000/ Walthers Trainline
7. Broadway Limited
8. Intermountain
9.Bachmann Blue box- Buy without DCC and add your own decoder. Bachmann DCC is shotty
10. Bachmann Spectrum
9.Intermountain
Rolling Stock
1. Intermountain
2. Atlas
3. Athearn RTR
4. Everything else
If you are not having fun, you are not doing it right.
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Posted - February 29 2016 : 11:14:44 AM
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At this point in time I'm going with TYCO; after 40+ years of storage, moving in packing trunks and of coarse, early child abuse, my TYCO engines started up. They ran slow due to badly needing to be cleaned and lubricated, but they moved. The non TYCO engines just sat and showed very little signs of working..
Howard L. Bean
skype: papahandgrandmar
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Posted - February 29 2016 : 1:05:38 PM
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I have to go along with Steve. I've got a little bit of everything. They all produced something
good at one time or the other.
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Posted - February 29 2016 : 10:18:12 PM
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Hm... I had to pick "Other" because there's so many I like. Tyco's variety and budget-freindliness is nice, my MDC Roundhouse Pullman Palace cars are beautiful, Athearn BB is also easy enough on the budget and there are some nice offerings there... My Hornby Thomas and Duck run nicely and powerfully, and my Bachmann stuff (which is mainly their Thomas range, and the mechanisms in those are gorgeous even if Thomas, Percy (who I don't have), and James are underpowered) is lovely too.
Feedback-hungry attention w****
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Posted - March 06 2016 : 10:05:48 AM
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Older Hornby. Rugged. Flanges you could plow a garden
with. Got that OO chunkiness. For American, I won't buy
another Tyco locomotive if you paid me. Those Pankake
motors, or whatever they're called, are worthless junk.
I'd buy a Mantua if it came up, however. Tyco cars: I
swear that I will never buy another, then buy five.
Lately I traded up for a Joeuf OO Playcraft that I
quite enjoy. The motor and transmission could be
adapted to saw lumber.
Electroen is pretty cool, too, but wicked hard to find.
Edited by - Chops124 on March 06 2016 10:08:16 AM
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