Alternative to Marklin Locomotives and rolling stock
garben
Long Island, NY
Hello, I've have a Marklin 3 rail layout and have always purchased Marklin Locomotives and Rolling stock. It's time for me to broaden my Marklin snobbery and branch out to other manufactures. I'm looking for good quality at a reasonable price. Also, I'm looking to have the trains run "out of the box" without having to do any alterations to make it 3 rail. I see all the different manufactures (Rocco, Fleischmann, ESU, Liliput, Roco ect.) on the Reynaulds site, just not sure which ones would fit the bill. Thanks.
Comments
Roco is an excellent manufacture still building locomotives in Austria while everyone else is farming out the work to the Chinese.
ACME is another good brand, but made in China. Same with Brawa.
Most major manufacturers offer AC wheels for their HO freight and passenger cars. As these will vary by model, always see which AC wheelsets are listed as matching a particular model. Changing out the wheels is really trivial. I've purchased some used Roco cars that had AC wheels, which I've converted back to DC by installing DC wheelsets.
Some retailers will convert cars for you when you buy them new.
Also don't overlook Piko.
-- Ernest
Thanks for the input. In your experiences, is there a pecking order for the various 3 rail AC brands. Like which one is the Mercedes and which are middle of the road and which are more towards the bottom, in terms or quality and performance? Thanks.
Garben ESU is another great brand, their locomotives are multi-system they run on AC Digital or DCC and they are packed with details and innovations. Watch videos below to view
Rather than worrying about which is "best," look at which models best fit the region, era, and trains you are modeling.
While there is some duplication of models among manufacturers, there are many models that are only available from a single manufacturer.
I have a couple of Piko coaches that were just right for a modern long-distance train running through Austria. Piko lists these as part of its Hobby line. And, while they have slightly fewer individually applied details, the average viewer is not really going to notice this.
Oh, and another manufacturer worth looking at: Viessmann. If you are modeling modern era, their track maintenance vehicles are really worth looking at. (The Maerklin Robel maintenance vehicle is actually made by Viessmann.)
-- Ernest
Good points. Thanks for the input and I'll check them out. Appreciate it.