# Is minitrix any good?



## Area57 (Nov 8, 2015)

Someone is selling a somewhat ale lot of ministries stuff, about 40 cars cabooses and locomotives, diesel and steam plus track, controller, random stuff for $100. Is this quality train stuff? Any chance the locos might be dcc? Should I buy it? 

I've realized that while my starter set has expensive track, the ez and a controller(dcc) the train itself doesn't look as good as the stuff I saw by athearn. I've got my layout working along, just put a coat of ballast and glue for some texture on, but I need the train. This looks like a good lot if minitrix is good stuff.

Thanks.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

Decent runners,not DCC ready though.But at this price($2.50 per item),I wouldn't worry if the locos are even running at all.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Mintrix hasn't been making stuff for some time so they're likely to be quite old, but for a hundred bucks it cant be too bad. I have a Minitrix FM switcher and its a fair runner but nothing like the current crop of Atlas/Athearn gear. No chance they'll be DCC. If you want to convert them you'll need to hardwire them and might need some machining to the chassis to accommodate the decoder so no easy fix.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Minitrix*



Area57 said:


> Someone is selling a somewhat ale lot of ministries stuff, about 40 cars cabooses and locomotives, diesel and steam plus track, controller, random stuff for $100. Is this quality train stuff? Any chance the locos might be dcc? Should I buy it?
> 
> I've realized that while my starter set has expensive track, the ez and a controller(dcc) the train itself doesn't look as good as the stuff I saw by athearn. I've got my layout working along, just put a coat of ballast and glue for some texture on, but I need the train. This looks like a good lot if minitrix is good stuff.
> 
> Thanks.


Minitrix, in general, is a decent brand. It is also old tecnology. The motors in those locos will be open frame, three pole motors. That means the motors may draw heavier current, and won't run as slowly, and smoothly as the five pole can motors in today's locos. As already mentioned, the entire inside of these locos will be one big block of metal(for weight). That means you can't install a decoder without major metal surgery. 
All the cars should be OK. As youv'e already noticed the detail won't be as good as 
some of the better cars available now. Track? I don't think I've ever owned any Minitrix track, so I don't know. The controller is likely a cheap train set power pack. It would be OK to power some accessories, but not trains, since you're using DCC.
The price is cheap enough, but if I were in your shoes, I'd use my $100 to buy less, but newer and better stuff.

Just my opinion

Traction Fan


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## Florida RR (Oct 8, 2015)

traction fan said:


> Minitrix, in general, is a decent brand. It is also old tecnology. The motors in those locos will be open frame, three pole motors. That means the motors may draw heavier current, and won't run as slowly, and smoothly as the five pole can motors in today's locos.


Agreed. I just sold a Minitrix locomotive on FeeBay to someone who really wanted it despite the fact that they are old technology and do not like to run slowly. It had an open three pole motor. It ran very poorly when I took it out of storage. It took me over 2 hours to clean it up and lubricate it to get it to run ok. I would rather have a new-old-stock Atlas, but I sold it for $20 and an Atlas would cost $60. So, that's three times the price, but if it's in the budget it's worth it IMHO.



traction fan said:


> The price is cheap enough, but if I were in your shoes, I'd use my $100 to buy less, but newer and better stuff.


Me too. Good rolling stock can be had for $12 per car if you are patient on FeeBay. Good locomotives can be had for $60 (not DCC). I don't use DCC so I don't know how much they cost. Whatever you do, don't waste money on rolling stock and locomotives that won't fit into your plan. It's far better to buy once than to buy twice and try to sell your old stuff later.

-Florida RR-


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## Area57 (Nov 8, 2015)

Ok. Well. It was on Craigslist and even though we had a deal he hasn't been responding to me in a day and a half. I don't get these craigslist people. Our deal was he posted it for $100. I wrote and said do you still have it? I will give you $100. He said yes we worked it out, yadda yadda and now he doesn't respond. 

I will go with eBay because it's simple. You buy and they ship. Easier than dealing with an individual. 

So the newer stuff is the way to go huh? Are there much differences between the brands? I had heard Kato was best.


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## Florida RR (Oct 8, 2015)

Atlas works for me. Kato doesn't produce any locomotives in the railroads that I want so I don't have any. I recently bought a used locomotive from yardsaletrains, and I swear it was brand new when it arrived for only $55. It was "pre-owned" but I don't think it was ever really run by whoever owned it. It was a really good deal. It's running right now behind me in fact. 

-Florida RR-


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## Area57 (Nov 8, 2015)

Cool. Did you use eBay?


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## Florida RR (Oct 8, 2015)

I bought 6 locomotives in the past 6 weeks. One from Yardsaletrains, one from Amherst Depot, one from Amazon, one from FeeBay, and two from tophobbytrains. All were good experiences and fair prices from $45 - $90. 

Because I am interested in Seaboard Coast Line, I had to buy used and also new old (very old) stock that had been sitting on the shelf since 1999 or 2000. They all needed cleaning and relubricating even though they had just been sitting since the day they were manufactured. Now that I have cleaned and lubricated all of them, they are all great. I especially love the Southern switching engine that I happened across on FeeBay. It appeared to have no use, but it needed serious cleaning and relubricating. Now it runs great, and it's my favorite.

My point is - know the age of what you are buying even if it is advertised as new. I researched every one of mine using the Atlas web site and other sites to find out what year Atlas made the particular one I was considering. As I said, some go back to 1999. If you buy used or new old stock, ask the seller about the age and condition, research it yourself, and be prepared to learn to clean and lubricate these little locomotives, which eventually you will have to learn anyway. If your research shows that it's a recent run within a few years by Atlas, you should be fine so long as the seller is honest.

-Florida RR-


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## Florida RR (Oct 8, 2015)

Have you decided what railroad or railroads you want? It makes shopping easier.

-Florida RR-


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## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

Area57 said:


> Cool. Did you use eBay?


May I add something here?

Years ago I dabbled in N quite a bit. I bought a lot off eBay and learned one thing. If you find a seller that's good to you and trustworthy, do not buy from anyone else. I've been doing this train thing since 1947. I stand by that statement and have yet to be lead astray.

If I may, I'd like to PM some information to you?


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