N scale steam

[kgreen]

Is there any steam right out of the box that runs good without tinkering  Thanks Kirk

[peteski]

Is there any steam right out of the box that runs good without tinkering  Thanks Kirk

How much experience with N scale steam do you already have?
If your trackwork is good, then any Kato steam loco will run fine, out of the box.  But even a perfectly made steam loco model is much less forgiving of poor trackwork than any diesel.  So it is not just the quality of the model that counts.

[nickelplate759]

What Pete said.
I have 3 Kato heavy Mikado's and an SP GS-4 and they are all great.    Stick with Kato if you don't want to fuss.

I have a lot of other steam, and SOME are great runners, but inconsistent.  I have three Model Power 2-8-2s.  One was great out of the box, two are OK, but I had 3 rejects along the way.     Bachmann's are also inconsistent.  Non-Spectrum Bachmann's are generally pretty poor runners.  Some Spectrum models run well, but the wheel gauge on earlier runs is often narrow, and some are just turkeys (like my 2-8-4).   I did get a Bachmann 4-6-0 that runs beautifully.   

If at all possible, get your steam from someplace that will let you test run it first.

[greenwizard88]

In my experience; Bachmann k4, bli t1, anything kato.

[Roger Holmes]

BLI Mikados

[Cajonpassfan]

BLI Mikados

Yes, absolutely. They are awesome runners...
Otto K.

[ns737]

the kato Mikado 2-8-2's are great runners. but you need to get the second run. 126-0200 or higher. they have the updated drivers.

[nickelplate759]

the kato Mikado 2-8-2's are great runners. but you need to get the second run. 126-0200 or higher. they have the updated drivers.

Good Point!   First run also will not work on Atlas code 55 track.   One of my three is first run, but was rebuilt into P&WV 1053 and had all its wheels replaced.  Definitely in the "tinkering" category. 

The first run is easy to spot - when new none of the handrails, bell, pop valves or whistle were installed.

[ns737]

yes but some of the first run  that are for sale have had the detail parts put on by the owner.

[SkipGear]

Actually detail parts were not installed until the third run which was only a select few roads and undec, umpteen years after the first 2 runs. It was the last hurah of the the Mikes, just after I had scratched and scrounged to round up all the Gen 2 units I could afford. But yes, Kato Mike's are excellent runners.

Traction tire conversion is a must if you want to pull anything with them. I haven't checked in a while but you used to be able to get gen2 drivers as a kit from Kato that fixed the pickup issues and flanges. The issue was that the driver center metal hub and rim were two pieces and it was only friction contact between the two with the plastic wheel center holding them together. The gen2 wheels are a one piece metal wheel with a plastic center for detail only.

[mike_lawyer]

I also highly recommend a Kato Mikado if this is your first first into steam.  Just choose the second or third run of the model, with serial numbers ending in -200.  You can still buy the traction tire driver from Kato's parts department, that is a must-have.

[reinhardtjh]

Traction tire conversion is a must if you want to pull anything with them. I haven't checked in a while but you used to be able to get gen2 drivers as a kit from Kato that fixed the pickup issues and flanges. The issue was that the driver center metal hub and rim were two pieces and it was only friction contact between the two with the plastic wheel center holding them together. The gen2 wheels are a one piece metal wheel with a plastic center for detail only.

The driver sets are gone. It's been a year or three since they sold out.  As Mike stated, the traction tire driver is still available at Kato and probably various hobby shops.

[cjp53]

The Kato Mikado I was looking at today was a 126-0107 I take it that's a first run?Is this a run that should be avoided?I have the D51 Japanese steamer that runs great.

[brokemoto]

Kato USRA heavy 2-8-2
B-mann SPECTRUM 2-8-0 although if you get one from the first two runs, it is decidedly try-before-you-buy.
B-mann USRA heavy 4-8-2
B-mann ALCo 2-6-0
MRC Eight wheeler.  Be sure that you get the MRC version as it has an all wheels live tender.  The old Model Power version has only  a half wheels live tender.
Athearn 2-6-0.  If you get the old MDC/Roundhuse, the Athearn is a copy of it.
Athearn 2-8-0.  If you get the old MDC/Roundouse, the Athearn is basically a copy of it.  Be careful of the MDC if you want to take off the tender trucks, as they are hardwired to the  motor leads.
BLI-USRA light 2-8-2.

The MDC/Athearn copies are probably the best running N scale steam out of the box.  They are decidedly nineteenth century creatures.  You could do a minimum of alteration to the 2-6-0 to reflect a locomotive repeatedly rebuilt over the years.  I did that with
 a 2-6-0.  All that I did was move the headlight to the middle of the smokebox cover (changed the fixture), put a generator where the mantel clock headlight was and add a power reverse detail.

Some roads did rebuild and retain very low drivered 2-8-0s into the late 1940s.  Other roads used old 2-8-0s as switchers, with or without the pilot truck.

[nkalanaga]

My best is the ancient MRC (Rowa?) 2-8-8-2.  It's almost 50 years old, and runs as well as any of my diesels.  Plus, once I turned the flages down on the tender wheels, it will run on Railcraft code 40. although it isn't always happy with the newer Micro-Engineering stuff.