Who makes the best Ho Locomotives? - Model Railroader Magazine
The makers of steam are Broadway Limited Imports (BLI), Mike's Train House (MTH), Athearn, Bachmann, Trix, Walthers, and perhaps just recently departed, Rivarossi. Some are eagerly awaiting of Rapido into the steam HO locomotive category, but we're still about 18 months away from their first issue.
Each of those currently with steam models available has both good and not very good examples, although BLI, MTH, Walthers, and Athearn generally can be counted on to provide good products. Every batch has a few lemons, but the service from the importers is generally quite good.
I would have to say that the rather costly Trix 2-8-2, which are now available after about eight years, is the finest N. American steam example available short of some of the brass models.
The trend in the hobby, with many holdouts still using and very pleased with direct current (DC), is toward DCC, or Digital Command Control. Even so, newer systems that purport to get around electrical pickup problems between the motors and the rails, are receiving encouraging reviews. Whichever it is to be as things evolve, it is driving the prices up commensurately.
Rivarossi has produced some good steamers in the past 20 years, but the rumour is that they are quitting the N. American steam market. I have one of their 2-6-6-6 Allegheny and would rate it at the top level in terms of reliability and looks, with plenty of details added to improve realism.
Bachmann is going through a revision process where they have been devolving some of their excellent Spectrum class of steamers down to their regular line. It's a smart move because they have to stay competitive against the other steam suppliers who have been upping their games. What the Company will do in order to stay in contention premium-class-wise is anybody's guess...maybe their Spectrum idea is gone forever. Note that their one failure in Spectrum was the Class J 4-8-4; I have experience with one of them, and soon found others complaining about their problems. Kind of put me off Bachmann, but due to the insistance of a veteran Spectrum runner on this board, I purchased one of their metal heavy Mountain Class 4-8-2. I was rewarded by both his recommendation and Bachmann's engineering.
