# HO Locomotives... Research & Help!!



## Atsf1964 (Dec 9, 2017)

It's been MANY years since I've run any trains and man oh man have things changed!? 

I'm trying to research and understand the different features and, therefore, prices of all the locomotives available. I'm looking for a website or articles that explains what someone should consider before purchasing a nice locomotive. Can anyone provide a good starting point or a few websites? 

For instance, is Walthers Proto the best? Or do they have a certain niche or specialty? How about MTH? Who makes the best price/value diesels? If I'm interested in a Union Pacific diesel, why are some priced at $89 and others at $450+ ? Yikes, that's a lot of $$ for a model train! 

Thanks in advance!

Steve


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Yep, the hobby's prices have kept up with the times, but they also reflect our modern penchant for walking out of the stores with boxes whose contents are ready to go after being energized or charged a first time. IOW, we want it now, ready to roll, and we don't want to have to fiddle with it much.

*The prices, to put it simply, are dependent mostly on sophistication and refinement*. Period. 

The more details you want, the more electronics you want to work for you, the more you must pay for that service (including design, capitalization, manufacture, importing, distribution, and profits for everyone).

You can still get basic locomotives that run on DC. Simple. Hook up tracks, hook up two wires, run trains. If you'd like fewer molded on details and would rather pay for more realistic looking scale models, expect to add at least 20% to the purchase price, often as much as 40%. On average.

If you are bitten by the Digital Command and Control (DCC) bug, you'll need more sophisticated (remember that word?) electronics, and for those you'll have to part with more cash. If you want DCC with sound decoders and a speaker added, even more cash. And so on...

Digital control is here to stay. It's also evolving. The big fly in the ointment is reliable pickup of power from the rails. Our tiny models don't tolerate less-than-excellent track laying because their metal tires break contact repeatedly with either dirty or improperly laid rails. When those breaks happen, you get intermittent and aggravating performance. The newer control systems want to build power storage on the trains and let the power packs take charges while the tracks are energized. We're starting to fiddle with ideas about train control all over again, especially using Bluetooth technology....as an example.

All the current manufacturers make good products. The cost reflects sophistication (remember that word?) and that includes advanced electronics and more nice details like piping, grabs, windshield wipers, etc. They all do a fairly good job across the board of trying to make sure you end up satisfied with your purchase. But, they also all have some problems with quality control. Our models are hand-assembled. They are not mass produced. And their components are often subject to failure rates that make one want to cry.

The hobby has a steep price up front. Then, it's merely maintenance, plus your occasional new purchases, which most of us can't seem to keep from doing. We want a new spiffy locomotive, each about $150-450, and much more for brass.

Does that help to orient you a bit?


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Steve, here's a link to a thread in this forum that might help get you going.
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=150914

Also, search through the various sections of the forum. There's information galore! Good luck! :smilie_daumenpos:


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## tullnd (Jan 3, 2018)

There's a ton of brands to choose from. I'm also getting back into the hobby. While choosing locomotives is probably one of the last choices that should be made(long after general layout decisions are planned), what I can tell you helped me make a few fast and loose decisions to capitalize on a lot of the christmas sales going on a while back, was just picking what specific engines I wanted.

I knew that I'm not as interested in defining a specific time period. I really like the look of the GE Tier 4 GEVO's as I see them locally quite often. So I just watched a number of Youtube video reviews comparing the different brand names out there. Some were higher end/more expensive than others, but offered more details, higher end decoder on board possibly and maybe a little smoother running or stronger motors. I basically decided what options I wanted and what I was willing to pay and pulled the trigger. 

Going forward, I'll probably pick up a steam engine at some point. There are a lot of models where there may be older versions of the same engine that manufacturers stopped producing years ago, but may have the same quality level I'm interested in, versus some of the more expensive(and probably more accurate) models that many companies are coming out with. I'll just have to decide at that point.

One thing I have noticed is I really want the reviews for DCC decoders if that's important to you. Often, buying a model with a DCC decoder on board is cheaper than buying the "dcc ready" version and adding DCC...but you have to look at the reviews of that decoder. Not all are equal. I bought a small switcher I found on sale and specifically didn't buy the decoder version, because I read a lot of reviews that indicated the sounds weren't entirely accurate and many people had issues with the decoder. The DCC version would have ran me $60 more...which is less than the cost of a good sound decoder, but I figure I probably would have wanted to replace it eventually anyways. So I'll just grab a $25 basic(non-sound) decoder to get it running and eventually upgrade it to a sound decoder when they come out with one that has better quality sounds for that model.

All of this requires research. It's honestly not too hard if you just watch a few Youtube videos. Again, watch several. You'll quickly find out which people seem to know more about what they're talking about than others(they'll be less likely to speak in absolutes without full details). Then you can just do general web searches for historical forum posts or post a question here for more specific questions or clarifications.


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## Atsf1964 (Dec 9, 2017)

Yes, this helps. Thank you!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

tullnd said:


> One thing I have noticed is I really want the reviews for DCC decoders if that's important to you. Often, buying a model with a DCC decoder on board is cheaper than buying the "dcc ready" version and adding DCC...but you have to look at the reviews of that decoder. Not all are equal. I bought a small switcher I found on sale and specifically didn't buy the decoder version, because I read a lot of reviews that indicated the sounds weren't entirely accurate and many people had issues with the decoder. The DCC version would have ran me $60 more...which is less than the cost of a good sound decoder, but I figure I probably would have wanted to replace it eventually anyways. So I'll just grab a $25 basic(non-sound) decoder to get it running and eventually upgrade it to a sound decoder when they come out with one that has better quality sounds for that model.


This may be true for sound-equipped models, and yes, you have to factor in the cost of your time to do the install, but if you're like me and don't care about sound, it is much, much cheaper to install your own.


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