# Your Favorite Manufacturer and Why



## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

I just thought this might be a fun thread so I thought I would give it a try. I'm a huge fan of Broadway Limited Imports personally & they way would be, I like how well they detail their products & I love the Paragon2 sound system. I would say they make a brass quality locomotive without the brass price. I know I think that's their slogan but it's true. They make a great product in my opinion.

I like KATO 2nd because they too make a nice product with good detail & their sound is good, although it doesn't have near the number of sounds as BLI.

Lastly I would have to go with the higher end Athearn locomotives with the Digitrax sound system. What do you like & why?


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

I forgot to mention MTH however, I think MTH is way over-priced for what you get. I've seen quite a few & I received one two years ago for a Christmas & sold it shortly after. They have decent sound but I think their detailing is no better than BLI in many cases so, I avoid MTH period.


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## higgsbosonman (Nov 17, 2014)

I love Athearn bluebox engines, because nearly all the engines I got when I was younger were them. They are also stupidly simple in their design, they're all compatible with each other (mostly; I crammed a gp38 motor and driveshafts into a dash-9 and it mostly works. Just needs a bit more fiddling) and they're very reliable except for the weak axle gears.
I also prefer DC, because I find it simpler, cheaper, and more reliable than DCC, so blue boxes work well for me (dozens of electrical blocks don't scare me; i think a panel of electrical switches looks cool). This probably has a lot to do with my preferences. 
One of my favorite engines at the club layout is a DCC equipped BLI 2-8-2, though, and I will admit that it is an awesome little engine, especially with the sound and it's little cut of ore hoppers. The only good experiences I've had with other trains is KATO and Proto 2000 engines, although protos are bluebox copies with nicer bits inside. Atlases seem decent too.


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## PhillipL (May 5, 2012)

I love Piko for European models because they are good runners and affordable. For American models, I like Kadee freight cars, Walthers Mainline locomotives and freight cars and Athearn.


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

higgsbosonman said:


> I love Athearn bluebox engines, because nearly all the engines I got when I was younger were them. They are also stupidly simple in their design, they're all compatible with each other (mostly; I crammed a gp38 motor and driveshafts into a dash-9 and it mostly works. Just needs a bit more fiddling) and they're very reliable except for the weak axle gears.
> I also prefer DC, because I find it simpler, cheaper, and more reliable than DCC, so blue boxes work well for me (dozens of electrical blocks don't scare me; i think a panel of electrical switches looks cool). This probably has a lot to do with my preferences.
> One of my favorite engines at the club layout is a DCC equipped BLI 2-8-2, though, and I will admit that it is an awesome little engine, especially with the sound and it's little cut of ore hoppers. The only good experiences I've had with other trains is KATO and Proto 2000 engines, although protos are bluebox copies with nicer bits inside. Atlases seem decent too.


I have only two sets of Athearn Blue Box locomotives & I love them too. One set is BN & the other set is the GM Lease Units. Both sets, one engine is powered while the 2nd is a dummy but still, I wouldn't trade those for anything, lol.

I think about 80% of my rolling stock is Blue Box as well. I really like their quality & they're easy to detail & add-on.

I agree with you also on the DC/DCC thing. I just got into DCC a little over a year & a half ago, give or take a couple of months & so far I've had more issues than I ever did with simple DC. One thing is for sure, I will never part with all my DC power units, power supplies or accessories... just in case! ;-)


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

I like anything I can chop up...


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## longle (Mar 7, 2015)

First, last, and always, A.C.Gilbert American Flyer. 

I was 7 when dad bought a brand new Royal Blue freight set for Christmas in 1948 and they've been #1 in my heart ever since.

Larry


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

longle said:


> First, last, and always, A.C.Gilbert American Flyer.
> 
> I was 7 when dad bought a brand new Royal Blue freight set for Christmas in 1948 and they've been #1 in my heart ever since.
> 
> Larry


That has to be really sweet! Do you have any photos to share with us?

My very 1st train was a Lionel that belonged to my uncle that he gave me back in 1965. I don't recall the road-name or color, I just recall the train with this huge transformer that had these big handles to make the train go & it had some cool accessories. I liked it until I saw my first HO train set & then the Lionel looked too much like a toy train to me so it went in the closet. I tried hard saving money for a nice HO train set but it wasn't working well so, I asked my dad if I could sell the Lionel set to get me an HO set & he said it was my train to do with what I wished & yep, I sold that Lionel & bought my first HO train set. Boy what I wouldn't give to have that Lionel train today!


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## Texas Hi-Railer (Jan 28, 2015)

tooter said:


> I like anything I can chop up...


Now those are very cool. Are they HO scale?


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Rivarossi...










They're known as "Poor Man's Brass" and they've made me slobber ever since I was eight when a 4-4-0 "Genoa" ran around our Christmas tree...


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## AFGP9 (Apr 8, 2015)

*Favorite Manufacturer and why*

I started out many years ago with Tyco because it was cheap and usually available at garage sales. I didn't have the money for the better stuff at the time. I took those Tycos apart and tried to make them run better more times than I can count. Then it was on to Blue Box Athern. Great locomotives. I super detailed every diesel engine. Every car was also detailed. There were several Kato's and Atlases also. Fast forward to today and now it is A.C. Gilbert, American Flyer. Love S gauge. I forgot to mention my very first train was an American Flyer set in 1954. Loved that train. Some how it got lost. Today I have a pretty sizable American Flyer layout and collection. No modern Lionel/Flyer.
By the way, I kept all of my HO stuff. It is stored away. I do have a short section of HO in my tall mountains. More for scenery looks than anything but it can and does run.
One more good thing about the HO and AF, they are both 2 rail and, except the A/C D/C thing, I didn't have to learn any new wiring tricks!


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Texas Hi-Railer said:


> Now those are very cool. Are they HO scale?


Yes... I have a whole bunch of them.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Looks like you have 'short car syndrome".....


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## mikek (Dec 29, 2013)

I would have to say Athearn is my favorite. I like the way they run, usually quiet, and they are easy to work on. I like the way the motors are interchangable, unlike Rivarossi which seems to have a different motor for every loco. With a selection of general parts, I can repair most units.


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