# Rolling stock brands



## SideTrack Hobo (1 mo ago)

Hello Fellow N Scalers,

I would appreciate any and all advice on what rolling stock brands are recommended and brands to stay away from. 

As a side note, I plan on installing Micro Trains body mounted couplers on all of my loco's and rolling stock. 

Thanks


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

Hi, yes having micro trains trucks and couplers is really more than half the battle. You can make most rolling stock work pretty well just like that. 
Having said that, it's fairly obvious the microtrains rolling stock is always a good choice. I've aquired more than a few of their freight cars and they couple easily, roll great and have a good weight. 
Also a lot of folks really like intermountain. Personality I also like walthers (not sure they're making much N scale anymore though- I got mine used..)
Brands I've had less luck with include lifelike and concor. 
Anyway, that's my two cents worth, good luck!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Some other brands in N scale that are good are Atlas, Athearn, and Rapido….


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

Old_Hobo said:


> Some other brands in N scale that are good are Atlas, Athearn, and Rapido….


I do have a fair amount of Atlas. A lot of it is from the '80s, and it's so- so as far as weight, but their newer stuff has improved a lot I think.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Weight can always be added if needed….


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

SideTrack Hobo said:


> Hello Fellow N Scalers,
> 
> I would appreciate any and all advice on what rolling stock brands are recommended and brands to stay away from.
> 
> ...



Side Track Hobo;

None are really horrible, though I tend to stay away from Bachmann, and Lima. Micro-Trains cars are excellent as are Kato cars.
Most cars are a good deal lighter than NMRA standards, and being too light can contribute to derailments. Run heavier cars at the front, and any light cars, such as flat cars, tank cars, and empty hopper cars, near the back of the train. This helps prevent string lining derailments.

Metal wheels help by having weight low down in the car. So if your car already has metal wheels, and you're going to body-mount your M-T couplers, you may be better off not putting M-T trucks, which come with plastic wheels,* on that car, just the M-T couplers.

If you plan to uncouple your cars magnetically, check those metal wheels with a magnet. Steel wheels or axles, may draw cars back together during uncoupling. Fortunately they are rare. Most metal wheels are made of non-magnetic metals. Also, most cars (not Micro-Trains) come with steel weights, which can also be problematic near uncoupling magnets. I weight my cars with brass, lead, and other non-magnetic materials.

If you plan on using the "put a stick in the coupler and twist" method of uncoupling, then none of the magnetic issues above apply.

Traction Fan;

* Micro-Trains, (and Intermountain, and Fox Valley Models,) do offer metal wheels to fit M-T trucks, but you have to buy them separately.


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## Oomowmow (10 mo ago)

Old_Hobo said:


> Weight can always be added if needed….


That's certainly true, and I have. A fishing weight and a little super glue inside the car works wonders!


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Metal N scale wheels are plentiful….







o


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## SideTrack Hobo (1 mo ago)

traction fan said:


> Metal wheels help by having weight low down in the car. So if your car already has metal wheels, and you're going to body-mount your M-T couplers, you may be better off not putting M-T trucks, which come with plastic wheels,* on that car, just the M-T couplers.


You answered a question that I didn't know or realize yet Traction Fan 😆 Thanks!



traction fan said:


> If you plan to uncouple your cars magnetically, check those metal wheels with a magnet. Steel wheels or axles, may draw cars back together during uncoupling. Fortunately they are rare. Most metal wheels are made of non-magnetic metals. Also, most cars (not Micro-Trains) come with steel weights, which can also be problematic near uncoupling magnets. I weight my cars with brass, lead, and other non-magnetic materials.


Yes, I do plan on using magnetic un-couplers. This is great info to know! Thanks again


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## SideTrack Hobo (1 mo ago)

Old_Hobo said:


> Metal N scale wheels are plentiful….


Thanks Old Hobo, this is also great info to know. 
It's nice to know that I'm not the only Hobo here on the old rails 😆


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Old rails….Old Hobo….makes sense…. 😆


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## SideTrack Hobo (1 mo ago)

I'm making a list to tally up all the rolling stock brand recommendations that I'm getting here. 
Thanks for taking the time to submit your recommendation. Keep them coming lol


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Forgot to add Kato as a good brand….their passenger cars are excellent!


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## EBrown (5 mo ago)

I like the Kato ones I have. They roll smooth, and even on rough track they’re quite reliable as far as I’ve seen with mine.

Be warned: some Kato stock takes MTL couplers far easier than other Kato stock (I’ve swapped all my couplers out to MTL, and more than a couple were quite painful). I believe MTL makes tools that work better for the process. If you have good patience, then you’ll be fine.


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## SideTrack Hobo (1 mo ago)

EBrown said:


> Be warned: some Kato stock takes MTL couplers far easier than other Kato stock (I’ve swapped all my couplers out to MTL, and more than a couple were quite painful). I believe MTL makes tools that work better for the process. If you have good patience, then you’ll be fine.


Thanks EBrown for the advice.


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## REdington (Aug 20, 2018)

Old_Hobo said:


> Metal N scale wheels are plentiful….
> View attachment 594430
> o


 Don't use the Micro Trains metal wheels like those in the photo. I've got 3 packs and they're garbage, They are cast white metal and some are out of round. Micro Trains is coming out with machined wheel set sometime in the near future. Most metal wheels being produced nowdays are machined.

Add ESM to your metal wheel sets list. Bryan at ESM has another shipment on the water right now and shops that are out will have them in early January. 

For adding weight, I use 1/64" and 1/32" sheet lead that I got from Amazon.

Another brand of rolling stock to stay away from is the old ConCor, that uses a oversized bolster pins. 

You can't go wrong with Kadee/Micro Trains rolling stock.

Intermoutain assembled refers are very light and hard to get the roofs off to add weight.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

I stick with Intermountain and Micro train rolling stock.
Any Model Power or Life Like stuff, while I have swapped out the Rapido's for MT Trucks, I leave on sidings or in yards for eye candy. Just to many problems running those brands.
Only Kato loco's, no rolling stock so far. 
Local hobby shop has a brand called Prairie Shadows which are supposed to be good runners. Haven't brought one yet.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Prairie Shadows is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba….they “do“ their own line, and also sell other popular brands….

Prairie Shadows

I have their FPA4 @ FPB4 CN locomotives, and they run very well….they were made and painted by Rapido in CN schemes, for Prairie Shadows….


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## REdington (Aug 20, 2018)

Before you buy any N scale locomotives or rolling stock, check out spookshow,net. 
Mark has reviews on almost all locomotives and rolling stock that has been made in N scale. Everything that Mark does reviews on, he buys or barrows from fellow molders, so he it's a honest review.


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## Displaced EL guy (3 mo ago)

SideTrack Hobo said:


> I'm making a list to tally up all the rolling stock brand recommendations that I'm getting here.
> Thanks for taking the time to submit your recommendation. Keep them coming lol


I tend to avoid Bachmann, Life Like, Model Power, and older Atlas. (some details are too thick for my taste). Atlas Master Line are pretty good. I have happily built some Intermountain kits. They do not come with weights. Another good brand is BLMA. I found some BLMA gondolas recently with marked-down prices. Broadway Limited Imports are great too, and similar in price to Micro Trains.


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## pmcgurin (Sep 7, 2010)

Old_Hobo said:


> Prairie Shadows is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba….they “do“ their own line, and also sell other popular brands….
> 
> Prairie Shadows
> 
> I have their FPA4 @ FPB4 CN locomotives, and they run very well….they were made and painted by Rapido in CN schemes, for Prairie Shadows….


The Prairie Shadows website has a number of interesting Canadian locos, a lot more variety than the Kato and Atlas CN locos I have. I need something more modern to pull my grain train.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

Another N scale brand I have and really like is Pacific Western Rail Systems N scale rolling stock.
Only have one three bay hopper in CN life saver livery I brought of Ebay a few years ago but its a really good runner.
Another Canadian company out of BC, seems to do only Cdn road names, that does really good work.
Don't know if they do loco's or not.


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## GTW son (12 mo ago)

Coupla pics


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Some of the cars they did were Intermountain cars, in PWRS paint schemes…..

They do a couple of other manufacturers locomotives in H.O., but none in N…..

PWRS


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## Viperjim1 (Mar 19, 2015)

Blma is owned by Atlas now.


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## Railtunes (Jun 19, 2012)

REdington said:


> Don't use the Micro Trains metal wheels like those in the photo. I've got 3 packs and they're garbage, They are cast white metal and some are out of round. Micro Trains is coming out with machined wheel set sometime in the near future. Most metal wheels being produced nowdays are machined.
> 
> Add ESM to your metal wheel sets list. Bryan at ESM has another shipment on the water right now and shops that are out will have them in early January.
> 
> ...


As a long time N scaler (over 50 years now!) and an intrepid operator, I applaud your choice to body-mount Micro-Trains couplers on everything. You'll have much better relliability when switching. You may also have a few challenges mounting coouplers on some rolling stock, as others have mentioned, but it will be worth the effort to persevere!
As for brands, others have pretty much covered anything I would have said. Almost all currently produced rolling stock has good detail and, if not operating perfectly out of the box, can usually be made good with minimum effort, especially if you swap out plastic wheels for metal.
As a Canadian prototype modeler, I can recommend the Prairie Shadows models. They are made for them by Rapido, so the detail is fantastic and correct for those protoypes.
As for wheel sets, I agree with not using Micro-Trains metal wheels. I've had the same problems as Displaced EL mentions. After trying virtually every possible brand, I've settled on Fox Valley as the most reliable. But note that they offer two different tread widths, and it's important to match the wheels to the type of track you are using. If you are hand laying (Fast Tracks jigs) or using Atlas code 55 (not particularly recommended), you can use the FVM regular tread, but if you are using track with a wider flangeway - Kato Unitrack or Peco or other European brands - you'll want the wide tread version to prevent the wheels falliing into frog area space.
- Paul Ingraham


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## Trainman41 (Jan 6, 2022)

Old_Hobo said:


> Some other brands in N scale that are good are Atlas, Athearn, and Rapido….


Another Manufacture that makes excellent N scale and HO scale modes is ScaleTrains I have two of their UP Gas Turbines, the 4500 HP and the 8500 HP models. Great runners and fantastic detail


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## scenicsRme (Aug 19, 2020)

Some cars are difficult to add weight to. What I use for those times is Tungsten. It is more dense than lead, cheaper and safe to handle and use. It also comes in a fine 'shot" form which can be perfect for those difficult to weight cars. You can pour it into spaces between the understructure on flatcars, gluing it in place with a few drops of med superglue set with acellerator and painted flat black, or paint brown like mud. for tank cars and others that are hollow but the insides are inaccessable, drill a couple 1/8" holes up into the shell from underneath, and pour in the tungsten shot. glue a small piece of sprue or plastic rod into the hole. I make tiny funnels from cut down plastic hypodermic syringes. The shot will pretty much stay in place unless the car is turned on it's side or upside down, but just give it a shake in the upright position before putting on the rails, If it concerns you mix the shot with epoxy glue before injecting into car, shake to settle and let sit upright until epoxy sets. The tungsten also come in thin sticky back sheet. The tungsten is available on Amazon or at large golf shops where it is used for adjusting club weight.


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