Within the past two weeks I have purchased three new N-scale steam locomotives (yes, my wallet hurts). The first was one of the Bachmann Pennsylvania K-4 Pacifics to go along with my Micro-Trains set of heavy weight passenger cars. This set of locomotive and cars is not really appropriate for my layout, but they sure do run and look good. The K4 runs exceptionally well with good slow speed control and a good range of speeds on the throttle. Electrical pickup is great, not even hesitating over the dead frogs on my code 55 Atlas turnouts. As far as the sounds go, there are the usual compliment of chuffs, whistle sounds and other steam related sounds. Although the sounds are good and quite loud, N-scale sound is still relatively new and has bit to be desired. But I am sure it will get better in the future. I just still can't get over the fact that the manufacturers can pack the DCC decoder and speakers in the tenders. Click here for a video of this locomotive and cars traveling across my layout.
A couple days after the locomotive above arrived at my house, I got an email from Pete at Brooklyn Locomotive Works that the two MRC/Model Power locomotives that I had pre-ordered early last year were now in stock and had shipped. I already have the DCC/Sound versions of the 2-8-2 and 4-6-2 MRC retooled from Model Power a year earlier, and these are fine locomotives. The new locomotives arrived after a couple days and I could not wait to get them on the rails and see (and hear) how well they run. The 4-4-0 "American" and the 2-6-0 "Mogul" type locomotives are perfect for my Deer Creek & Susquehanna Railroad. On first running, these locomotives did not disappoint, running flawlessly right out of the box. All wheels are within gauge and electrical pickup is excellent due to the re-working of the pickup wipers on the drivers and truck-mounted pickups on the tender. Knuckle couplers similar in size to Bachmann's are mounted on the tender and the front pilot, making these locomotives perfect for switching operations on my railroad. If you want to customize your version of either of these locomotives, the undecorated version comes with some alternate parts including a cab, tender trucks, front pilot, valve and cylinder and front plate with alternate headlight position. Although I have not tried to change anything yet, these parts look easy enough to swap out. After a good break-in period, it was time to see what kind of speeds I could get out of these locomotives. Both run similarly and have a maximum scale speed of about 55 smph and an impressive slow speed of about 2 smph, with a mid-throttle speed of 25 smph. This indicates that the throttle response is very consistent with the full range of speeds spread over the entire throttle range, unlike some other N-scale small steamers that get fast very quickly on the throttle. Now for the sounds, and boy are there a lot of sounds. With 10 different chuffs, 8 bells, and 17 whistles to choose from, as well as a full compliment of other steam locomotive sounds, these locomotives are ready for your pike. Although the sounds are great, the volume of these locomotives leaves a bit to be desired, with the sounds being somewhat muffled. The speaker is located in the tender under the coal load and could probably benefit from a few tiny wholes drilled for the sound to escape better. Having ordered the undecorated versions of these locomotives, it is time for me to get to work lettering them for my home railroad. I am very pleased with all three of these steamers and hope to run them for many years to come. Maybe, just maybe N-scale steam has finally come of age and the future is looking bright. See these locomotives in action here.
For another review of these locomotives (and many others), check out all of the reviews at spookshow.net.
