Which Loco In Roster Is Your Least Favourite ?

[riderdan]

Worst when purchased were my Aristo Eggliners. They ran just OK on DC, but terrible on DCC. I tried a number of things: extensive track cleaning, wheel cleaning, fitting a power buffer, but they really were awful. They stalled on every turnout (I have dead frog turnouts) and just gave me a fit.

When I work in the garden, I like to send a loco around. It's a fun reminder of why I'm weeding or doing track maintenance. It was quite annoying to have to cross the layout and give the Eggliner a little shove to get it over the turnout every 10 minutes.

Eventually I solved the problem by retrofitting LGB pick-up skates to the little guys. They're much more manageable now, though still occasionally stall on not-freshly-cleaned track.

I have the Piko BR-80 starter loco. I agree that the plastic running gear is really a let down. But I haven't had any running problems with it, so far.

 

[pugwash]

None really. Okay I admit I used to get very annoyed having to wander the track looking for bits that had fallen off my LGB locos, but the next running session they were straight back out there (after gluing). The Piko BR80 and BR218 were just fabulous.

 

[Ralphmp]

LGB Durango and Silverton Steam 2-6-0 (ref 25196 I think). Bought as an impulse buy after a holiday in the US and visit to the real railway. It feels "cheap" and struggles to pull the 2 D & S coaches and Baggage car I have on anything other than very slight gradients. However, it was cheap and came with a decoder.

I'm sure it can be fettled (add weight, change traction tyre, etc.) but somehow it's never generated much enthusiasm in me to start the work. Maybe this winter I'll give it a go.

 

[stevedenver]

this one ,simply, the red headed boy of all of my LGB.
Don't know why. I take it out to run occasionally at best , and find little fascination or satisfaction when I watch it go. My streetcars are more interesting to me...

It's a lovely loco, in every respect. Runs smoothly, reasonable puller, lights change over red/.white
I like orange too. Side rods.....

But , its pretty wide and pretty high, and doesn't suit my 'eye' with most rolling stock , except the MOB style swiss metal sided box cars. everything else looks a bit small or out of place.

I have very little in the way of swiss stock , but for my electric and steam rack locos , and the cars for them.

Why then did I buy it.....well......ummm....the trains convention was in town. I had been restrained while at the vendors area.

Then, I visited my local store and they had a lot of unusually low priced items on consignment. probably to unload to convention goers. Got on a roll........came home with a lot of LGB items I had thought about previously but didn't own. Pricing can do that you know.......

To each his own. I happen to love the 2090 like Stockers. And, mine stayed yellow too.
I added bright LED lights on both ends in both colors (change overs) and I love it. I like the duo auto uncoupler 2090 red versions I have too....with 2 lights on the top that tell you when youre uncoupled.....

 

[spoz]

Not sure I have a least favourite; although I have one of the cheap IP Engineering diesels that I have never been able to get to run properly, despite now being on my third chassis thought for it. The original was acquired very early in my time in G Scale, indeed as the first kit I made, I don't think I got the alignment quite right. Haven't given up hope yet, though, although I've got some other projects to finish before I get back to it again.

I run battery, so I don't have any real experience with Lyns on track power but I've now got two, and to me they're some of my better performers.

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Me, mine has to be the original Bachmann 0-4-0T Porter.

Went OK for a while, then it jumped out of mesh, ultimately stripping the gear. After a long frustrating episode of
correspondence with Bachmann, I finally acquired a replacement gear...... it lasted 20 minutes before wearing out.
Bachmann never wanted to know me after that. However, that never stopped me from getting my favourite, the Climax,
also one of their products.

Still, it is now a 'shelf queen', as you say, parked up a backshunt at my log siding.

 

[beavercreek]

I don't have a loco that I actually dislike but I do have a a few that I am disappointed in.
They are the LGB 2-6-0 Moguls that I have collected (all but one was a used example).
They do what they say on the tin BUT they are absolutely terrible on my inclines.
Their gearing is so easy to push along the track that they have no real grunt when it comes to the climb.
In fact they can only pull themselves (and maybe one very light car behind) up my maximum 1:10 gradient and that is with one driving axle having both traction-tyred wheels fitted.
Also they tend to 'run away' when coming down an incline.
Of course on a level track they perform just as they should.
I can 'help' them with my rolling stock that has concealed motor blocks in the bogies but the Moguls actually perform worse than the Bachmann Annies as hill climbers.

Why have I collected them....I want to make a 'Colorado &Southern' presence on my layout and these little locos were the backbone of the real line for some time.
And they do look right with their 'bear-trap' smoke stack and once they have been weathered and detailed.

 

[stevedenver]

well, if its any consolation, the 'real' moguls didn't pull much up grade, maybe 2-3 coaches or freight cars, from my examination of many photos.

I have a 4% grade, and, while I only run short trains of 3-4 tops, often only 2-3, I have never had issues with pull, unless the track is wet.

you might try double heading-although the front coupler issue is a PITA imho.

the moguls are among my favorites.

However, while not prototypical at all, but a close second,
are the forneys, especially german made, which are heavier. They have great pulling capability, at least running forward, a bit less in reverse due to weight distribution.

 

[Madman]

Bachmann has the artistic quality but the engineering lacks on some of their motive power. Reminds me of Chrysler automobiles. There is or at least there used to be a disconnect between an innovative engineering department and the manufacturing end.

 

[Brixham]

It has to be the Bachmann ( strange how this manufacturer crops up frequently ) gandy dancer

I bought a used one with a sticker saying 'power problems', which I thought was due to the missing drawbar, which connects the trailer unit's rail pickups to the motorised pump action trolley.
So I fabricated a replacement drawbar, then under trials, the drive train only moved a small amount before jamming. Investigation revealed a split drive gear, which somehow I repaired, but after 10 minutes it failed again.
It's somewhere in the storage bunker, way at the back, as I've not seen it ( nor do I want to ) for several years!

 

[PhilP]

It has to be the Bachmann ( strange how this manufacturer crops up frequently ) gandy dancer

I bought a used one with a sticker saying 'power problems', which I thought was due to the missing drawbar, which connects the trailer unit's rail pickups to the motorised pump action trolley.
So I fabricated a replacement drawbar, then under trials, the drive train only moved a small amount before jamming. Investigation revealed a split drive gear, which somehow I repaired, but after 10 minutes it failed again.
It's somewhere in the storage bunker, way at the back, as I've not seen it ( nor do I want to ) for several years!

Strange.. I have repaired a broken beam between the two operators on one of these..
I find them better than the LGB one!!

 

[Zerogee]

As some others have said, I don't really have a "disliked" loco - possibly because any that I've not really liked for whatever reasons have been gradually sold off..... I suppose that of my current stable, the one I'd say I find the least interesting is probably the Harz 2-6-2 (the 99-6001) - I don't really have any reason for feeling that way except a vague sense of aesthetics - to me it is just a rather dumpy and not terribly engaging loco! Maybe it just pales a little against the sheer size of the 2-10-2, or the fascination of the Mallets...?

Jon.

 

[beavercreek]

to me it is just a rather dumpy and not terribly engaging loco!

Jon.

It speaks well of you though..........

 

[Dtsteam]

I've been away for a bit and this thread has made interesting reading. Generally I'm with Stevedenver on the RHB Orange steeple cab thingy. I really wanted one, and did a good deal to get it, but its...... lacklustre..... uninspiring...... slightly boring..... and seems a little big.

Well, that was it until we get to Jon...

As some others have said, I don't really have a "disliked" loco - possibly because any that I've not really liked for whatever reasons have been gradually sold off..... I suppose that of my current stable, the one I'd say I find the least interesting is probably the Harz 2-6-2 (the 99-6001) - I don't really have any reason for feeling that way
Jon.

Well, to be fair, not Jon, but the 2-6-2......

I don't dislike this engine - it is my arch nemesis, Magneto to my Dr X. I bought it in 1981 and for the last 34 years its been emotional. Its knackered.it was knackered when I bought it and its still knackered. A mans gotta do what a mans gotta do, so over the years its had a new motor, some wheels, numerous self tappers and a smoke-ectomy. At the end of the day you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?', and as far as this engine is concerned the answer is 'no'.

Why haven't I got rid of it ? honestly I don't know, but I'm determined not to give in.

 

[Keith RhB]

Fun thread!

For myself, I don't have any locos that I dislike, but I definitely have one that has caused me a lot of grief over the years. As my wife says, I should just stop fiddling with it and it would be just fine. She's not wrong there!

My memory is a bit iffy, but this is the gist of it:
It all started when I decided to add sound to it--it came with a basic onboard decoder. I made my own magnet wheel to trigger the chuffs in a Phoenix sound system, and that was fine and dandy, until it turned out this particular Phoenix board had a problem so whenever the smallest power interruption happened, it would reset the sound system. So....I had to pull that board, and put in a different one since there was no way to add capacitance. According to Phoenix, the newer version fixed that. .
Then I decided to put in one of the new Massoth pulsed smoke makers, but to coordinate the sounds/chuffs right I decided to pull the onboard decoder and Phoenix out and put in an XLS decoder. Everything was good but it turned out my particular pulsed smoke maker had an issue so it wouldn't give me four chuffs/rev. It was an early production run and the only fix was to send it back. By this point I can take the Heidi apart in about 20 seconds and the screws are getting worn out! At that point I decided since I had it apart, I'd add a servo to run an uncoupler. Well...I did something wrong because after a while I fried the XLS decoder so...apart another time!
Time passes, and yet again I couldn't resist the temptation to fiddle with it. My wife at this point reminded me of all the past grief, and that I should leave well enough alone....but no....the call of a firmware update that would make the slow speed performance better called and I just couldn't resist. So...I downloaded the new firmware, started doing the update, and.....errors starting showing up on the programming. Now it wouldn't read, write or do anything. Great....I bricked it!! You gotta be kidding!!! So...back to Massoth went the decoder and now it's back in. At long last...it's almost perfect.

Keith

 

[pugwash]

At the end of the day you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?', and as far as this engine is concerned the answer is 'no'.

Well there is one way to solve the problem:

 

[PaulRhB]

My least favourite loco is one I really like! The HSB Kof, looks superb and runs poorly. I keep meaning to rip out the chip and replace it as it runs ok on DC it must be the chip and I've tried all sorts to stop it being so lumpy. Seems to be common as I've seen three different ones exactly the same. I've reduced it but it still annoys me as it's primarily a shunter.

 

[Eaglecliff]

Most disappointing, the Bachmann mogul. Pretty useless. Or, pretty, useless. Also beginning to fall out with my Aristo railcar. Worked perfectly for quite a while, then started to play up. Our resident expert Neil R tweaked it but it's gone back to its old ways. Just stutters, goes for a bit, stutters again, goes for a bit, stutters...
Mixed feelings about my Stainz; never falters, despite hard treatment, but hate the half-relief vac pipes, one open coal hatch - almost as bad as the LGB four-wheel coaches, all with the same window open.

 

[sparky230]

Most disappointing, the Bachmann mogul. Pretty useless. Or, pretty, useless. Also beginning to fall out with my Aristo railcar. Worked perfectly for quite a while, then started to play up. Our resident expert Neil R tweaked it but it's gone back to its old ways. Just stutters, goes for a bit, stutters again, goes for a bit, stutters...
Mixed feelings about my Stainz; never falters, despite hard treatment, but hate the half-relief vac pipes, one open coal hatch - almost as bad as the LGB four-wheel coaches, all with the same window open.

One thing I did with my named fleet, was mix up the coal hatches, so some have 2 open, some 2 closed, I also swapped over the sides, to which one open, so every named unit has different hatches

 

[sparky230]

Oddly the one Loco I have that always causes problems is a Stainz, It's a Very elderly 1970's version with a round roof vent, and early split box and skates, however whatever i've tried doing to this one, it will not run straight, it derails without warning, on almost any part of the track. One day I will change the block as I have several spare.