Recommendation's on purchasing a Locomotive

Background:
I dug out my old HO trains for Christmas last year and set them up around the tree for my children.
By the end of the season, I had three broken/not working locomotives.

Thinking ahead for this year: What brand/kind of diesel locomotive should I purchase?
Nothing special, road name does not matter, style and details are not important, I don't want to break the bank either.

Thanks
Brian

What caused the locomotives to break? I hope you weren't just running the track on bare carpet.

No I didn't run on bare carpet, I have a board have track mounted on, and I put that under the tree.

One my two year old daughter picked up, and dropped, one of the trucks broke.

The second, is an old athern, and the "U" joint between the fly wheel, and the trucks broke.

The third, just stopped working

Inexpencive locomotives,I would recomend Bachman or Atheran.You can still get DC powered Diesels around 50 $ more or less.You can find some deals from online dealers,but a good hobby shop will test the unit before you buy.The Atheran usually has more detail,but is more delicate and children are attracted to trains like a magnet,so the Bachman may hold up better.Steam with more than two driving axles start adding 0 to the price.

I'm surprised the Athearn broke. those old blue boxes were tanks. Maybe get a new joint piece? they're not that expensive, and if the trains are going to keep getting handled (and broken), might as well have the spare parts.

Cadet57 wrote:What caused the locomotives to break? I hope you weren't just running the track on bare carpet.

Due to early constraints of my model railroad, I was doing that for YEARS. No damage related to running on carpet. It DID require more maintenance than I cared for (regularly scheduled of course )

That said; I'm not recommending running on carpet. I eventually put the layout on foam core (still on the floor as it was the only feasible option available at the time). After over a decade, it's no longer the case.

Sorry but had to digress as that statement touched a nerve but no offense intended or taken .

I would recommend finding any old Athearn BlueBox locomotive. They're durable and long-lasting. Additionally, there aren't too many fine details to worry about breaking off and you can just assemble the bare minimum (windows, pilots, etc.). That's what Northlandz in NJ does, lol. Best source is eBay as you can score one for dirt cheap ESPECIALLY if you're not too particular about what you're looking for.

I would suggest an Athern "blue Box" F-7. This loco has virtually nothing to break off!

If you are just planning a loop of track, have you considered using a hollow-core door? You might even be able to get one from a lumber yard for little or nothing if they have one with a minor ding. Fasten the track down using a foam roadbed to prevent the hollow door becoming a sounding board. If you glue the roadbed down (hold it in place with brads while the glue dries, then pull them out) and fasten the track down with spikes that will not penetrate into the wood, the sound will not transmit from the rail to the door.

The hollow door provides a handy place to hold your track wires out of sight and away from damage. If you make your scenery removable, you can store it in a box with the train and stand the door up against a wall (or slide it under a bed) for storage.

Les

this ought do the trick. I accidentally brought it camping with me when i was 14( over 7 years ago). It still runs just fine, despite getting rained on for a week!

green_elite_cab wrote:I accidentally brought it camping with me when i was 14( over 7 years ago).

I'm sure we would all love to know how you managed that...

ns3010 wrote:

green_elite_cab wrote:I accidentally brought it camping with me when i was 14( over 7 years ago).

I'm sure we would all love to know how you managed that...

I left it in my backpack after bringing it with me some place. I never unpacked it since it was in the "Back" pocket. I just through my books and food into the main partition and went on my way (all my other gear was in large containers/bags).

I should point out that this is a recent picture, and that this locomotive is my third ever HO locomotive, and it still works, despite all the damage i've done to everything else over the years. You really can't go wrong!

Well, even a Geep appreciates a wash job now and then!

Do you remember the Athern rubber-band drive Geeps? I got one second-hand around 1969.
For such a crude design, it ran pretty well. Better than some geared models I've owned.
The rubber band drive actually had several advantages over a geared drive. It was very quiet. The flexible drive allowed them to "mu" with any other loco and still run smoothly (they were probably the smoothest running model locos ever built). Without any gears, you didn't have to worry about foreign material getting sucked into the drive train and jamming things up. And if you shut off the throttle after getting up to speed, the unit would coast to a stop sort of like if it had a flywheel.

The system used a Pittman motor that had the armature shaft coming out each end, like modern motors. On each end of the armature shaft, a flexible coupling ( a short piece of rubber tubing) connected it to a steel rod supported by the frame.

Each axle had a plastic drum between the wheels. Rubber bands connected the driven shafts with each axle drum. The whole system was cheap and simple. If you wore out or broke a rubber band, they were a standard size that most people would have around the house.

The main drawback to these units was their cast zinc frames and truck frames. These tended to deteriorate over time.

I understand that Athern also used this drive system in their F-7 at one time, but I've never seen one of those.

Les

Athearn Blue box F-units are the best I have ever had..

I got a Blue-box F7 unit,custum painted in VIA Rail,I had it juste before I get 12 years old,almost 25 years and it still running great..
but if is to put under X-mas tree and some kids are around,I sugest to have Life-Like brand,it's less expensive and are popular for this kind of use

My two cents if the kids are young and you dont wanna worry about them destroying anything good just go on ebay and buy one of these $20 lots of athearn/tyco/life like old cars and locos. I am always throwing something like this up there and people are always snatching them up for this purpose. Let the kids break the junk stuff and get in to it now, when they get older they will have the experience and then can play with the big stuff.