# The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.



## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

I have purchased three Model Power N Scale 2-6-0 Moguls from ModelTrainStuff.com. The first one worked fine for about one week until a power pickup contact fell out.  Instead of contacting ModelTrainStuff.com for a replacement, I sent it directly, at my expense, to MRC/Model Power for warranty repair. It returned with the sound not working properly. I sent it back again, also at my expense, and when it returned the sound volume was low. I contacted MRC and they said to send it back to them again. At this point I had spent about $30 in shipping. I did not want to do so again so I contacted ModelTrainStuff.com and they issued me a prepaid shipping label and gave me a refund. Great!
I had liked the 2-6-0 so I ordered another one from ModelTrainStuff.com. It arrived with poor sound levels so I contacted them again and they once again issued a prepaid shipping label and a refund. Great for them but I was beginning to question MRC/Model Power's 2-6-0 quality.
I model in Santa Fe and wanted a small steamer with Santa Fe markings but they were hard to find with sound. Last week, while searching for one, I found one, they only had one in stock, at ModelTrainStuff.com. So, I thought that maybe three times was the charm. I ordered the third one.
Guess what? The sound volume was so low that I could barely hear it and my wife could not hear it at all! I checked all of the cv's and reprogrammed both with JRMI and my NCE PowerCab. Even though the levels were at max (63) there was still no improvement. So I called ModelTrainStuff.com, this time quite embarrassed, and they once again issued a prepaid label.
So...
*The Good:* ModelTrainStuff.com because of the best customer service that I have experienced and knowledgeable sales/tech help as they are all model railroad hobbyist. Also very friendly!:appl:
T*he Bad:* MRC because even though they tried (3 times), it had cost me more money, loss of the units and considerable frustration by not being able to repair in one shot.:smilie_daumenneg:
*The Ugly:* Model Power's 2-6-0 N Scale Mogul with sound. Three bad out of three?:thumbsdown:
What a hobby!:dunno:


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## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

Nevermind


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I am disappointed with all N scale sound locos. I bought an atlas gold series S2,
maxed the CVs and still have to lean in to hear it. I will not spend another dollar
for sound on N scale. I guess it comes down to speaker size.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

mopac said:


> I am disappointed with all N scale sound locos. I bought an atlas gold series S2,
> maxed the CVs and still have to lean in to hear it. I will not spend another dollar
> for sound on N scale. I guess it comes down to speaker size.


I have 3 Kato F3's with MRC1957 sound decoders. I could not be happier with the sound level. In fact, I have reduced the Master sound cv. Also, I have a BLI 4+8-2 with Paragon Two and the sound could not be better!
The very first Model Power Mogul had good sound volume but it had other mechanical issues. When I sent it in to MRC for repair it came back with low sound volume. Go figure??? The other 2 Model Power Moguls had terrible sound levels, even at max cv. 
I agree that there is much more that needs to improve with the general N Scale sound decoders and speakers.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I'd hazard a guess that size is a factor here. Not only are you limited in what you can install, but there is little room for resonance.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> I'd hazard a guess that size is a factor here. Not only are you limited in what you can install, but there is little room for resonance.


That is true on a general basis. However, if one loco would work at first and two others of the same manufacturer did not work well seems to indicate that there may be other problems. Maybe quality control? At any rate, I will never buy another Model Power locomotive.:thumbsdown:


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