Lets look at N Scale Locos

Lets look at N Scale Locos

[@Trainmaster909]

Loved the video! Thank you so much for taking my request. You have a beautiful collection. And yes, you pronounced my last name correctly.

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Brian and glad to help. Mike

[@sandysmithvideos228]

So refreshing to get an honest appraisal on locomotives. It was a good to hear that you have had many of the same problems I have had, especially the Athearn axle issues. As a fellow Santa Fe fan, the big cowl units are a must have, now we just have to re-power them. Thanks for taking the time to produce these videos.

[@BernardBabin]

Mr. Mike Fifer: I would like to thank you warmly for the immense work you have done over the many years documenting and explaining to us the operation and how to do it for our model trains especially on the N scale. A very BIG thank you and I am convinced a lot of silent people like me will agree to say THANKS to you.

[@N-Scale]

Thank You Sir and glad to help. Mike

[@grumpybear7706]

Love your honesty , Great collection

[@phoolb7326]

Mike, As my dad once told me... (like every dad tells their kids). "Being honest is always the correct thing" learning how to do so w/o hurting feeling is the harder thing to do. Great Video being that I have been out of the hobby for a while it got me caught up as to how Kato, Atlas and others have progressed through the years as I now have locos spanning nearly 30+ years from the mid 80's to the latest Kato SD70. Oh wait a second... You haven't shipped that to me yet. lol. One thing to mention for any newer modelers out there. Money doesn't always buy performance. Generally there is a function of (Performance * Detail) = $$$. as I have some older brass that's only good to look at.

[@N-Scale]

So True, Mike

[@patrickhawes5007]

Great video! Love to see what brands and kind of locomotives other folks are running. I’m pretty much all Kato, except for a really good running Micro Trains switching I got in a US Army set. My two Baldwin locomotives give all kinds of grief, especially the 4-8-4 steam locomotive as it is had to keep railed. My Blue Bonnet F7 Kato took a while to break in but works pretty good now. Thanks.

[@RoyEltham]

You've got a really nice collection of locomotives Mike! I love all the Santa Fe Blue and Yellow paint schemes, and you have a lot of them. Thanks for sharing your experiences with them too.

[@N-Scale]

Thank You very much Roy. Mike

[@allenbarnes7202]

Great video, nice roster, my roster consists of 3 Bachman f-9 locomotives that are 40 years old, Athearn big boy,4 years old, a kato ES44Ac gevo demonstrator, all dc, need to convert to dcc.

[@texkoi]

Great video Mike. As you know, I too am a KATO motor transplant nut, having transplanted them in FVM Gevo's and some Atlas engines. As we have discussed before a person does not need to run them at warp speed, but can still have plenty of reserve pulling capability. Thanks for taking your time to do this vid. Carl

[@N-Scale]

Thanks so much Carl. We are on the same page, for sure. Hope you all get well and good to see you. Mike

[@christopherorourke6543]

Very informative video. I’m an N scale model railroader myself. All of my locomotives are all Kato as is my track & passenger trains. My freight cars are a mix of Kato, Atlas, Microtrains, BLMA, Intermountain, Athearn & Bachmann for my Southern Pacific bay window caboose & Santa Fe wide view caboose. My model railroad is the Pacific West Coast, I’m focusing on the last quarter of the 20th. Century & the first quarter of the 21st. Century. My layout that will become permanent later this year will focus on the entire West Coast from Tijuana,Baja California,Mexico to Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada covering from 1974 to the present. I’m very satisfied with the Kato locomotives. Soon I will finally have the Kato SD70M low radiator Southern Pacific number 9804 & plan on adding a Kato SD45 in Santa Fe & Southern Pacific.

[@nscalefun]

AWESOME, EXCELLENT and PERFECT!!!!! Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work.

[@tommythomason6187]

It was a good suggestion someone made. I always think it's interesting to hear modelers speak of the locomotives they own and why they like them, or why they don't like them. Some modelers may think the running characteristic, or problem, is just with a locomotive they own, and then realize, through videos like this, that they aren't alone. Maybe the running characteristics are intrinsic with certain brands, and the benefits/problems of their specific engine they own is not, just a production aberration.

[@xfiles-thetruthisoutthere8038]

Hi mike, first of all and yes you mentioned you don’t know all the locomotives makes but what you called a RS11 is a C420 I believe. (ALCO). I would like to tell you something I feel the modelers should know and perhaps you can get it out there. The n-scale ‘Rapido’ GMD-1 is over the top when it comes to detail and paint. For me that’s were it stops! Jack rabbit starts or it will just sit there for a moment. SUPER bad on Atlas switches that is code 55. At a higher speed it will cross over but not without some hesitation. Yes I ran them on straight track and oiled them and it helped but not enough for those prices. So there they sit. Code 80 or maybe code 65 they might be much better. Take care-ken. 👽

[@ainsleyperry5192]

Mike a very nice overview of your locomotive fleet, thank you. My Kato, Fox Valley etc. loco's just need the smallest touch of the controller and they are moving. An "N" gauge (D.C.) loco from the early 70's only knows 3 speed's stop, fast, flatout. You have to move the controller a long way before the loco goes. You can't do any shunting with it. I find it amazing looking back that this type of running was the standard back then. Cheers, Chris Perry.

[@N-Scale]

Oh , Those were the days

[@marsfromrexford]

What a great video, your store is great and Robin is great to deal with as well, you guys saved me during lock downs!. First time I heard about swapping motors, interesting. N scale info on engines is tricky and scarce thank you. Seems like manufactures share designs for ex. Intermountain SD40-2 chassis look very similar to Atlas just by looking at pictures but very good video

[@codyseybold7977]

This video was Awesome!! Seeing this gave me an idea, I never see people put together a "montage" if you will of different trains running across their layout, traditionally these videos always highlight one train but it would be cool to see multiple clips of different trains hitting the hotspots of your layout.

[@gpalmt]

Great video Mike. I like to see different locos that people have.I have several different locos, including a couple of katos I purchased from you. They run perfectly, and I’m quite happy with my fleet. I go to different train shows looking for locos or rolling stock that catch my fancy. Please keep the videos coming. thank you

[@davestrains6816]

Awesome collection Mike. I wished Kato made locos in the L&N paint scheme. Thanks for sharing. Dave

[@ponderingpops]

Very helpful video Mike! Perfect info for a regular guy model railroader. I have Kato and Bachmann; love the Kato, happy with the Bachmann steam, F units and SW, but both of my Doodlebug sets broke down after about ten hours with apparent gearbox issues. Sounds like your problem; would love to know if you hear of a solution. I have one Atlas, their newest two truck shay and it's great but I need to convert to DCC, a little intimidating!

[@wolfgangrimm9483]

Greet Video Mike. Locos, Locos, Locos.

[@elleryparsons2433]

I can never stop watching You Mike.

[@jolliemark6294]

One great vidio Mike, you seem to line about what I have found, except for the intermoutain locus, mine ran good but have died, and to see just what is wrong with them. I use the Spookshow to review what I'm buying and like you the have high prays for Katos as I have. But unfortunately the locos I like most aren't out. Going to have to make my own but will probably power them with Katos inside. Don't worry about your feelings I'll bet we all feel the same. Thanks for sharing 👍👍👍👍👍

[@brianpagemodeltrains]

Great video, Mike, sweet collection, and I appreciate the useful information.

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Brother. Mike

[@pieroluciano3272]

Hi Mike! Loved the video! I try to get mostly Kato units, but like you said with Atlas and Life-Like, those are good runners too! As a Pro-Tip, if the u-joint breaks in between the motor and trucks, I just use a small section silicone tubing that press fits in the drive shafts and voilà Cheers! 👍😎

[@N-Scale]

That is a good tip. Mike

[@marksawyer5299]

Very nice video Mike! If I had all of my modern (1990-present) locos in a display case like you have I don't know if I could tell a GE from EMD. I have a few comments if you will allow..Your comments on the 4141 are spot on. As a matter of fact when I received my first one I ordered a second one the next day. This is a gorgeous paint job and I'll keep one in the display case. Scaletrains may be approaching Kato as far as running quality but the quality of Kato out of the box will tough to beat. I don't understand why people approach speed matching like it a pain in the tail. Having been a sub since 2011 I know you have all the JRMI set up. I set all my modern prime movers with a top speed of 60mph using a scale speedometer. The other CV's seem to follow suit. Switchers..20mph. Steamers..30mph. I put a dot with a silver sharpie on the bottom when I'm done and everything seem copasetic.

[@user-rb1ey8zc3e]

Awesome collection! Thanks for review!

[@Tomodel1]

I think that you are very enthusiastic about the model train. Thanks for sharing as always. I could enjoy your video. Very nice and good job !

[@ericcoughlan]

Mike - great video! Really appreciated your comments. You may have pushed me to get a couple of those Kato F units. They are just within my layout's timeframe, so a couple would not look out of place.

[@Fughley]

Great video, thank you for sharing your opinion as well as your collection. As someone who is starting out, it was great to hear about which brands are very reliable and which can cause problems down the road..... Please keep them coming

[@mysticrailroad]

it was a good idea to do this video. very informative and enjoyable, thank you! I like Kato and BLI as well, and also F7's.

[@michaelsullivan3581]

Thanks Brian for suggesting this. And Thanks Mike for the tour of yer fleet! Purty dang impressive!

[@SFCRambo60]

Thank you for showing your locomotives and a description of them.

[@N-Scale]

Thank You for taking a look. Mike

[@bigsparky65]

Excellent video Mike, nice collection. Little disappointed in only 3 steam locomotives. 😕

[@N-Scale]

That is almost more than I can stand !!

[@bigsparky65]

@@N-Scale 😱🤯😄

[@Tank1TC]

Thanks for the run down on your Locomotives. I found the Lifelike Gp 20 with the split frame are excellent. Equal to Kato in everyway. I ended up buying 20 of them at wholesale. I used the chassis to repower F units and GP 9 shells I had purchased. When used in an F unit it left a lot of space for a decoder. One of the best Steam locos is the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0. They are smooth and pull well. Scale speed though so they are slow. My 2 cents

[@michaellovejoy2123]

Very informative for me, WELL DONE! Thank you for taking the time to make this video.

[@N-Scale]

Thank You Michael.

[@elleryparsons5766]

People Are Different In their own unique way that’s what I Love about Model Railroading.

[@thomascarr4603]

Very interesting and informative video, thanks for doing it. I couldn't help but note the lack of Bachmann diesels, with the exception of a couple of recent switchers I've never found Bachmann diesels to be good runners. I personally run mainly Atlas and Kato on my N-Scale layout, with a few Intermountain and BLI locos thrown in for variety.

[@N-Scale]

That is exactly my feelings. Mike

[@adriengadson3544]

The Bachmann Diesels look good , but have some problems. I have gotten my two 8-40's to run at slow speeds but require more current than Atlas or Kato. Also the power pick up and gauge on the wheels needs work.

[@brtree74]

Awesome video Mike. A great collection indeed👍👍👍

[@N-Scale]

Thanks so much . Mike

[@ralphgreenwood5857]

Great Video Mike! I like those GP-30's too!!

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Ralph , Mike

[@elleryparsons2433]

By the Sounds of it you have a lot of Kato Engines I am Thinking of Goin to That brand keep up the Great collection.

[@livingston878]

Mike, no need to apologize for your opinion. That’s what I enjoy: what you’re thinking and why you think it! Great video. I have an early F3 pair from Kato (powered A & B) that seems to grind and runs slower than all my others, but might be from being packed away for maybe 15-20 years! Keep up the good work.

[@N-Scale]

Likely they need a good lube job. Mike

[@davidallen6333]

Nice collection of locomotives Mike very impressive , great description of your collection and opinion on each unit !

[@N-Scale]

Thank You David, Mike

[@charleswoods9938]

Hey there sir You have some nice great Locomotives of all models you have I really like those Santa Fe GE Built WC 44 9 CWs those are alsome in the Red and Silver and I the EMD Built SD 40 2 s and those SD. 45 s they look nice and great just keep doing what your doing and thanks for this video

[@N-Scale]

Thanks so very much Charles

[@CornCountryRails]

Great overview of your Motive Power Fleet. I may have to do something like that later on down the road of my Rock Island fleet. Hope you are doing well. Take care, Tony

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Tony , I would love to see your fleet as well. We are doing fine and You All? Mike

[@shiftintohigh5564]

The Rock Island Line has been reborn in Mississippi. Runs in the Delta. Just amazing.

[@CornCountryRails]

@@shiftintohigh5564 Yes, it certainly has. They are getting a bay-window caboose painted currently to go with their fleet. Tony

[@shiftintohigh5564]

@@CornCountryRails That is really stellar! Thanks for the update. Just might have to stop by and see something like that.👍👍😎🇺🇸

[@kenriches7403]

Thx for the vid

[@Death_From_Below]

Thanks for sharing your roster.

[@kenhorne5650]

Enjoyed very much. Learned a lot

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Ken , Mike

[@wykedinsanity]

ty for the info mike i now know what to avoid, im limited on imcome alot so i like stuff that works, ive made mistakes already on coal cars lol someday i fix them when i find a mini drill to drill out and tap the metal plated molded into the plastic

[@islandofmisfittrains5114]

I feel the same way. I have several brands of locos, the way I buy them is if it catches my eye I have to have it. Everybody is gonna feel their own way about the different brands. You're 100% right Mike, as long as you like what you have for your railroad that's all that counts.

[@calvinsullivan5741]

awesome video, especially since I have many locos as well. I can relate to the different emotions I have towards different brands of locos. Some I like because of the road or paint scheme. Katos always seem to run the best. I also like my Intermountain F Units which I have many of. Question - do you have an instructional video on how to strip a loco so that you can roll it in a consist, as you are saying, without powering it? I have tried and they are always too heavy to pull without stressing the couplers. How do you reduce the weight in them? Thanks!

[@ernestyount3061]

Well done, I couldn’t agree more with your description of the quality of locomotives.

[@N-Scale]

Thank You Sir !!

[@farmcat3198]

The Kato F units are pretty nice. One of my favorites as well.

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

I have to agree on Kato locos. I have a lot of F3s and F7s (because the WP had fleets of them) and an E8/9 and a few PAs. I also collect Japanese locos, and the Kato steamers run like Swiss watches. Unfortunately, most of my equipment was stored away almost as soon as I got them.

[@tulyar1043]

The BNSF 566 @ 25.55 is a model of a General Electric* B40-8BW. This means it is a four axle, 4000 horse power wide or safety cab locomotive. Originally bought by Santa Fe as part of their Super Fleet and used on fast intermodal trains such as the 189 and 981. Atlas produced this model some years back and may do another run of them. Your model of Santa Fe 804 is a C40-8CW a 4000 hp safety cab locomotive with *Dash 8 electronics and micro processor systems. Atlas have also produced this model and maybe available again.

[@jamesnear3911]

Hey mike. what type of Kato motor did you use for Atlas GP 38 & GP 7 & 9 ? J Near Michigan.

[@monarchco]

I bought exactly one thing from athearn once. It was 3 packages of coal hoppers, and another one standalone coal hopper. Exactly TWO of the 16 coal hoppers (they were 5 packs), did NOT have the issue where the internal weights had come loose in shipping and were bouncing around, breaking the internal detail bracing, and rattling. Literally 14 of them had this issue. An 88% failure rate, brand new before they even reached the customer (me). I vowed to never again buy anything athearn. This video makes me glad I'm sticking to that. Primarily my trains are Kato, with some Atlas. Though recently, BLI and Scaletrains are likely to compete for most popular slot. Both have superior detailing to Atlas and Kato. Obviously Scaletrains has more detail than BLI for diesels, and BLI has electrics and steams where scaletrains doesn't. My personal favorites are the new BLI big boy with smoke, and the scaletrains turbines (both big blow and standard turbines).

[@N-Scale]

Scale Trains, Athearn, and Exact Rail do not sell to wholesalers and thus Retailers

[@kenfolstad1346]

Great video Mike, love it!!!!!

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Ken , Mike

[@gerryroncolato8895]

Mike, a great and unique video. Thanks for putting it together. I have a few questions... 1. I've tried speed matching without much success. So I usually run same manufacturer locos together. What I was wondering about was the difference between using similar motors (i.e., the Kato motors in Atlas locos) versus using different decoders. I've found the NCE decoders Atlas was using to be "slow"--which may be because of the motors. When I install decoders I use TCS...and have done a lot. I find they match up pretty well, even between different loco manufacturers. Any thoughts would be appreciated... 2. You said the VO-1000s were good runners. I've had mixed success with them. Even with TCS decoders they usually run a little rough. Is this a case of more break-in is better? 3. What did you do (if anything) to get the Kato NW-2s to run smoothly? 4. I see you didn't mention much about Intermountain locos (except the FTs). I find their locos, especially the F-Units, to be very good runners. Any thoughts? Thanks much, and again well done! Gerry

[@N-Scale]

1. I use almost all Digitrax decoders. 2. Mine have run well and decoders will NOT help a loco run better, it could be the factory setting of the decoder, but a bad running loco is still a bad running loco. 3. All they need is a small amount of break-in in both directions. Check for dirty track. they do not like it. 4. Yes most run well but the added detail is bad for me as all it seems to do is get knocked off. Mike

[@elleryparsons2433]

Holy Cow Mike you have A Large collection of Blue and Yellow engines.like it though.keep up the Collection.

[@redwoodcityintheuknscalera7179]

you nailed it love the honesty of your video after several years of experience it's kato all the way for me :) as for bachmann all mine are in the spares/non runner box imho they aren't worth it

[@johnscanlan5704]

What is the model number you used for the Kato motors you installed in the Atlas locos?

[@1WideRide]

Just like the POTUS I’m lost for words (in a good way)thank you for ur time and explanation on your hobby🤙🏽🤙🏽🤙🏽

[@N-Scale]

LOL

[@robertbooth6144]

Thank you that's a great set up of locks me I need if they don't run they go as dummy I run dc dcc and you can never have to many locos. Thank again

[@mhbpodnk]

I have 3 of the atlas gp 9 and they run like crude even after putting in a new decoder and you have an awesome roster and layout

[@N-Scale]

Thanks so much and I understand. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do not. Mike

[@mrodtoo]

Hi Mike You said the Atlas BNSF GP30 at 24:24 that runs well with your GP38-2 run well. Did you re-motor with Kato? Also the Metro North 212 RS11 at 30:20 needs to have the handrail popped back into its mounting hole. I enjoyed this video n like those Hy-Cubes. Thanks

[@rickstrainhouse2025]

Mike, great video & great info. Thank you. I have mostly Atlas but I do also have some Kato. I would like to re-motor some of my Atlas but don't know which Kato motors to use. I have both older Atlas (Kato Made) and newer (China Made) loco's. Any help or sugestions on motors to use would be great.

[@N-Scale]

Please see all the other posts here

[@craiglordable]

Thanks Mike. I have had similar experience with my Atlas that had decoders. We pulled the old Lenze decoders out, put digitrax in gave them a good run and bingo they are ok. I think those Lenze decoders became out of date with the new controllers as they were ancient. Currently converting my Kato war Bonnets to DCC (digitrax) and very happy.

[@N-Scale]

Quite a task , for sure !!

[@craiglordable]

@@N-Scale Good news we have an Authorized Digitrax Tech in this group and he loves doing this stuff. Even better we only have to buy him lunch.

[@N-Scale]

@@craiglordable I need a mechanic like that !!!

[@timothywinter2412]

Thanks for another good video Mike; I like how you say what you think and give an honest appraisal. I found your evaluation of the Athearn F45s interesting as I have a couple of Athearn FP45s which I, and a friend who is a model railway mechanical guru, haven’t been able to get moving faster than a scale slow jogging pace; very disappointing I must say. A question if you don’t mind, is there a variety of Kato motors you replaced you Atlas motors with, or are they all the same?

[@N-Scale]

PLEASE , I keep telling everyone I WILL NOT GET INTO THE MOTOR CHANGES . Call for that info.

[@NicksCollectableCreations]

I enjoyed hearing your experience with these locomotives. Sounds like Athearn needs to rethink their n scale locomotives if they want to have a presence in that market.

[@N-Scale]

Athearn just needs to have not been bought by Horizon Hobbies , They are the problem.

[@colnagocowboy]

Critical to my (NYNH&H) roster are alco dl-109s which means life like. A few kato rs units for freight. A few steam locos. For the interchange (NYO& W) NW 2 and FTs and and doodlebug. Im still cutting and chopping on scrap non-runnes, as i learn to make Camelback steamers.

[@N-Scale]

I hear you there!!!

[@ATSF1317]

Love your collection Mike. You certainly have the locomotives that I'm wanting. When you changed them to the Kato motors, how did you know what motors to buy and did you also need to change the drive shafts? Do you have part number/numbers for the motors? Cheers

[@N-Scale]

I will simply not go into explaining how the conversion is done as it is way to much info to type in. Call me if you need the info. Mike

[@ATSF1317]

@@N-Scale that's ok Mike. I live in Australia, so calling would be a bit hard

[@shiftintohigh5564]

This is great stuff! My experience With Life Like which is from a while back, looked great but would not run like the Katos. Would not ease off or slow down with momentum. At speed they were fine. Of course they were half the price of the Katos. So, to watch the trains run, you did not mind wearing them out. Enjoyed seeing this!👍👍😎🇺🇸 I may need to try a new Life Like!👍

[@N-Scale]

That must be a very old lifelike. Mike

[@shiftintohigh5564]

@@N-Scale Yes, several decades old. I am that old. TY for the update.👍

[@N-Scale]

@@shiftintohigh5564 LOL I know the feeling !!

[@chuckbessels6084]

Great video Mike!! Nice roster, and I appreciate your opinions!!!

[@N-Scale]

Thanks so much Chuck , Mike

[@stanleym2679]

Great video ,lots of info,do you have any dcc sound in your loco or prefer not to have sound

[@N-Scale]

In my small room , I prefer No Sound

[@harryedmunds6652]

I have re-powered all my Atlas locomotives with the "black" higher speed motor. The gray motor is the "scale speed" motor that won't run with the KATO's. A few years ago, I found a guy back east that wanted to re-power his higher speed atlas locomotives with "scale speed" motors. We traded motors and it all worked out well. Another poor runner I had was a Walthers GP60. I re-powered it with an Atlas chassis with a black motor and it worked out great. Another crappy locomotive is Life-Like's GP series, so I run them together.

[@N-Scale]

You and I are cut from the same cloth. You can have a Lambo or a Yugo. I do not HAVE to go 200 in the Lambo but I could if need be.

[@fbrailroad4628]

WOW that is a lot of locos

[@N-Scale]

Stuff just happens !! LOL

[@HenrikSweden1]

great video ! The F7 and the F3s of Intermountain are great runners and strong engines so i use them a lot. Strangely their sd45-2 where very slow and almost useless when i bought locos from their first batch. Do you think it would be possible to put a kato motor in them ?

[@N-Scale]

I guess so but they need more weight as well

[@Stanf954]

Not sure which of my Atlas have the scale motor but usually speed matching with JMRI adjusting CVs let's me run them with my Katos. My pair of Athearn BN F45 will be interesting to keep an eye on. Thanks for the info.

[@N-Scale]

I simply do not want to (dumb Down ) my Katos to Atlas level.

[@Stanf954]

@@N-Scale Understandable. Just thought I would share my solution.

[@Longshadowsmodeltrees]

Always good to see ya Mike and to me....Kato's are the best runners and then Atlas. Bob.

[@N-Scale]

Thank Bob, Mike

[@owenlaprath4135]

Running two different locomotive chassis, that run at different speeds, in double traction, is nice for cleaning your tracks! There is of course a draw-back, which is, the added extra stress will break a cheap chassis. No biggy for me, as it separates the good from the bad pretty quickly. Just recently I decided to not waste time and money on any of my old LifeLike locos. I finally got around to another layout after a forced retirement due to a stroke. These LifeLikes appeared nice when I bought them in the late 80s and early nineties, but after over 3 decades in a box, they ran 5 laps and croaked. The vast majority of my collection is all German "Deutsche Bahn" and a few other European models by Minitrix, Fleischmann/Roco, Brawa, HobbyTrain, and Piko, and I also have Japanese models ("Shinkansen" bullet trains and others) by Kato and MicroAce. The US market models frankly cannot hold a candle to the European and Japanese models for reliability and running qualities, EXCEPT Kato, who of course also make amrvelous models with the "HobbyTrain' label. US market models are contracted or made and sold outright by Japanese and Chinese makers. Athearn supposedly makes thing in USA, but your naked chassis revealed old Kato designed and likely mad in China chassis, that are totally outdated. These days, I refuse to buy Bachmann, LifeLike, Athearn, and Atlas, as I have seen them in Hobby stores and I was never impressed with them. There is still a ton of that old junk in circulation, and my mind boggles at the prices that stuff fetches on eBay. Maybe their new stuff is better, but especially now being on disability, I have not a single cent to waste on even a chance, that something could be the same old junk it used to be :)

[@williamruss5883]

love your attitude,if it dont run good out the door

[@Stanf954]

Kato and Atlas are the predominant engine models that I have. A few Intermountain, BLI/PCM, MT round out the roster. For the few models that are only made by Bachmann and Life Like/ Walthers I will replace their chassis with a Kato or Atlas. The LIRR RS1/2 with the Rapido WF Osgood Bradley coaches and MTA RS11 were a surprise . I have the same set along with the Atlas LIRR Bicentennial and Blue Wave and a pair of MTA Blue-Yellow 205/228 RS11

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Stan. Mike

[@dwightatnorthernstar1820]

Maybe I missed it, ....did you use JMRI to consist your locos together?

[@N-Scale]

No , I used the throttle. Mike

[@Conn653]

Hi Mike -Great video. Would you consider making a video on how to install a decoder(with sound) into an N-Scale DC steam engine? I have several Mini-Trix K-4's and a slope back tender on an 0-6-0 Bachmann steam engine switcher. I do have a Model Power DC K-4. None of these have the capability of a 'drop-n' decoder. It sure would be helpful. Thanks! :-)

[@nycart256]

Great video. With the Kato RDC's I have had good luck getting them to run pretty good by using the ESU Loksound 5 micro decoder, never could get them to run right with the DN143K2 Digitrax decoder. I purchased the BLI F3 A & B units from your store, my only complaints with them is their slow speed operation (speed step 1 is way too fast) and the inability to set up the headlight the way I want, will probably eventually change it to a ESU Loksound decoder, other than those things they are great. Could you please do a video on how you re-motor the Atlas locomotives with the Kato motors I would like to try that on some of my Atlas locomotives. I also have some Long Island RR locomotives since I grew up on Long island in a little town in Suffolk county called Rocky Point on the North shore and now I am living in Hawaii. Aloha

[@N-Scale]

Robin is from Port Jefferson. I will not do a video on the motor swap as it requires a few special tools and sometimes ruins a good motor.

[@nycart256]

@@N-Scale Wow that's only three towns west of Rocky Point, used to catch the train at Port Jefferson to go into the city.

[@EvansRailroading1955]

Nice video Mike 30:05 high Hood alco C420

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Brother . Mike

[@wilzdart]

I figured you had a full compliment of locomotives. Like all of us it seems we have more power units than we need. That said Kato units are hard to beat... Atlas grey motors are slower but the black motors in the older ones do run fast but you can not get them.. Thanks for your thoughts.

[@N-Scale]

Thanks Will, Mike

[@rf8481]

Totally agree on the Athearn F45s and FP45s and I owned about 10 of these. They never ran well in DC unless you run them fast and break them in forever and then forget about converting to DCC as they eat decoders and never seem to work properly no matter how well you insulate them. On the other hand the Athearn Big boy is a great DCC/DC runner with crappy sound. Love Kato running characteristics but the paint and shells are toy like compared to other manufacturer shells from Intermountain to Broadway Limited. Kato generally has parts and their locos seem to last forever and seldom run poorly. Atlas speeds are all over the map and hard to MU as even the same Atlas models may run faster or slower than other Atlas engines. Also much harder to convert to DCC than Kato models and more pricey without much more shell detail. For me, pulling power is key and generally Kato units pull very well, but I love the Intermountain F Units most of all for the paint and shells and road names although they can be problematic and they can require soldering to convert but the paint schemes available and the great paint and usually excellent running charateristics make them my absolute favorites.

[@farmcat3198]

My favorites are the FU2 Units. They're hard to find.

[@dzgtnbz3680]

I'm surprised you don't have any scaletrains there great runners and their detail is off the charts for N scale.

[@ChuckBigbie]

Have you made a video of how you changed out the scale speed motors in Atlas for a Kato motor?

[@N-Scale]

Nope and I will not do one , as it takes special made tools . Thanks , Mike

[@carltierman4202]

I agree there's nothing runs as well as Kato N scale. I've owned several BLI diesels and had nothing but problems getting them to run reliably. Love the way BLI looks and sounds but the frustration getting them to run reliably overrides the looks and sounds.

[@gtc1961]

Agree 100% about the modern locomotives...they all look th same to me.

[@N-Scale]

LOL , Me Too

[@Madonsteamrailways]

Which steam locomotive is it? I’m hoping to find an S160 over here in England!!

[@N-Scale]

I am unsure what you are asking????

[@Madonsteamrailways]

@@N-Scale I was wondering which steam locomotive you were showing at the time, Mike.

[@N-Scale]

@@Madonsteamrailways At what time ?????????

[@Stanf954]

Mike I replaced the LL E7A chassis with the Kato E8 chassis with minor mods. Run that Rock Is

[@N-Scale]

That is what I may do as well. Thanks , Mike

[@ATSFNW22408]

Great Video Mike. I have the same problem with the Atlas N scale SD units. Out of a total of 8 locomotive in my SD fleet, 4 of them have the problem with the drives. Are you going to make a video on how to convert an Atlas drive with a KATO drive. Thanks for your videos.

[@N-Scale]

I have said it in these comments NO I will not do a video on motor swaps. Mike

[@ATSFNW22408]

@@N-Scale Good Video anyway. thanks

[@dino21tx]

Hi! I am just getting started into N scale since I recently retired and dont know anything! Love your video of N Scale Locos. I only have one Kato EMD SD70ACe that I just bought and am putting my layout together. Can you tell me your opinion on rolling stock? What companies do you recommend?

[@N-Scale]

Any rolling stock is OK but if it is not Micro-Trains It would need to be converted to Micro-Trains Trucks (if not Equipped)

[@dino21tx]

@@N-Scale Sorry to bother you sir but I truly respect your knowledge. If I convert to Micro trains Trucks, are you talking about the couplers or the truck and couplers both? I see some sites have Micro Trains couplers on different trucks like Adams, Bentendorf, etc. Please forgive my lack of knowledge. My dad always told me to don't listen to the BS just listen and ask the best. (You in my opinion) Thank you so much Sir.

[@N-Scale]

@@dino21tx It would be the whole Truck w/coupler. That is the EASIEST way. Thanks , Mike

[@WestSenecaValleyRailroad]

How much of a modification was required to put in the Kato motors?

[@N-Scale]

I will only answer this by phone as it is a job. Mike

[@squalli1297]

@@N-Scale There would probably be a load of us watching if you posted a video on how to install Kato motors in other brands of locos. I would probably need to have someone do it for me because I'm not so nimble anymore. But it would be great to watch! Great video!

[@squalli1297]

@@N-Scale OK sorry...got it. I'll need to phone you for info. Any recommendations on who I could contact to do it for me in So CA? I don't know if it's worth it since the swap I believe would probably be more than the value of my 25 y/o LifeLike & ConCor Locos. Thanks in advance.

[@raywyatt3671]

i fully agree with you about atlas locomotives

[@normanwilliamson5764]

I agree with you about speed matching. Not for me. I only have 3 locomotives Broadway Limited. NW7, Mikado light 4-8-3, SD40-2 i think All DCC with sound The next one I want is a Kato George Bush 4141 with sound

[@N-Scale]

Nice !!! Mike