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Rate the best RTR HO Locomotive release of the past 10 years

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      5711 Assistant Commissioner

    Thought this might encourage some interesting discussion.
    With reading another thread about the best and worst of the latest generation of RTR loco's, I thought it might be interesting seeing what everyone thought.
    Criteria must be from the first of the latest generation locomotives so I am going to say the Austrains 80 class would be a suitable starting point.

    My thoughts would have 3 contenders :
    Auscision 422 class *42220 Super series : reason, pretty much the real thing shrunk down to HO scale. Beautiful locomotive model that is hard to fault.
    Trainoroma 42 class 125th anniversary: reason, captures the classic lines of the GM Bulldog and the colours look beaut and a close second to the Auscision 422.
    Southern Models 82 class: reason, great release from a new manufacturer and just has a great presence amongst the latest release. One of my personal fav's....

    What about you?
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 14:12

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      M636C Minister for Railways

    I really like the Athearn SD45T-2....

    The folded EMD grilles are really something in HO scale.

    M636C
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 14:31

    Last edited by M636C on 07 Sep 2014 14:37; edited 1 time in total
      jd4980 Chief Commissioner

    Location: Grafton
    Trainorama 47's. For me it set the benchmark of quality and fair level of detail without over doing it to ridiculousness, and so far at least have proven very worthy additions to the fleet where reliability is concerned.
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 16:33
      Albert Chief Commissioner

    TOR 47 and 49.

    Reliable, smooth, highly detailed. Best looking marker lights and headlights. Love the magnetic switch on the 49. Don't have to pick up the loco to switch it's lights on and off.


    As a side note, isn't the Austrains 80 class is going on 20 years?
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 18:34

    Last edited by Albert on 07 Sep 2014 18:41; edited 1 time in total
      speedemon08 Mary

    Location: I think by now you should have figured it out
    Auscision AN's. Bloody brilliant. Asides from the fact that the headlight beam looks like its on low all the time Razz

    And the On Track 82's, especially the newer run (not quite here yet, but they did sell some 8215's at Caulfield) with the fixed lights.
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 19:34
      LaidlayM Chief Commissioner

    Location: Research
    TOR S class, sits about a mill to high, that's about it for problems.  Best Aussie bulldog nose yet.

    Mark
    Posted: 07 Sep 2014 20:59
      c3526blue Deputy Commissioner

    Location: in the cuckoos nest
    Austrains Y Class, first run.  Almost faultless, most other models mentioned above have some problems/glitches.

    Too many to go into full details.

    Happy training,

    John
    Posted: 09 Sep 2014 16:47
      PICHhobbies Locomotive Fireman

    Out of the ones I own probably the Hornby Castle class. While it is a Hornby model in the railroad range, it has full detailing, and additional brake blocks that you can add. It comes with driver and fireman figures, along with full firebox detail. Just my opinion, but if it was based on what I have seen it would have to be the Auscision 280HP Walker. I am hopefully getting one for christmas.
    Posted: 22 Sep 2014 16:57
      DQ2004 Chief Commissioner

    Location: Hobart -where the rain has lumps in it
    I haven't purchased a great deal of overseas stuff in recent years (although I have gotten some), but for me the best Australian outline releases, in no particular order (these were the ones I purchased, so I can't comment on those that I didn't buy of course) were:
    Trainorama 47 class
    Trainorama 49 class
    Auscision 422 class

    All of these that I purchased were candy; unfortunately none of them quite got the candy stripes colours right. Otherwise all are excellent models IMHO.
    Posted: 22 Sep 2014 21:05
      M636C Minister for Railways

    Out of the ones I own probably the Hornby Castle class. While it is a Hornby model in the railroad range, it has full detailing, and additional brake blocks that you can add. It comes with driver and fireman figures, along with full firebox detail. Just my opinion, but if it was based on what I have seen it would have to be the Auscision 280HP Walker. I am hopefully getting one for christmas.
    PICHhobbies

    The Hornby Castle is based on the moulding of the 1980 era Airfix model, so it might not count as from the last ten years...

    This is not to say that it isn't a good model, even in its original form with tender drive. I have an Airfix original "Pendennis Castle" basically as a memento of that loco's long visit to Australia. I managed to photograph it in both Sydney and Dampier. I later picked up an early Hornby version with the (incorrect) flush sided tender (It is a County tender with the LMS style underframe) and a more recent version with a double chimney and a Battle of Britain name ("Defiant" if I recall correctly).

    I haven't looked closely at the current Railroad version...

    M636C
    Posted: 22 Sep 2014 22:16

    Last edited by M636C on 22 Sep 2014 22:18; edited 1 time in total
      TheBlacksmith Chief Commissioner

    Location: Ankh Morpork
    Anything with a tender drive should be ruled out right from the start. A ridiculous idea by anyone's standards.
    Posted: 23 Sep 2014 08:26
      comtrain Chief Commissioner

    Location: Near Albury Wodonga
    Trainorama S Class and GM. Pull a nice load and easy 2 minute conversion to DCC.
    The best, most accurate nose as well
    Auscision 422 and in particular 42220 Because I drove the real one Smile and I managed to get one from a friend, after missing out on the model which sold out on first delivery.
    I think these "short" deliveries first started souring my feelings towards Auscision. This being a good reason not to put the 422 first.
    Then short ordering continued on with the AN Ghan, and is being promised for the Aurora cars. A very strange practice for a business venture designed to make money. Finding another box of Ghans a few months later was a little melodramatic as well.

    But of course this might be how the "young turks" work these days?
    Cheers
    Rod
    Posted: 23 Sep 2014 09:23

    Last edited by comtrain on 23 Sep 2014 09:25; edited 2 times in total
      PICHhobbies Locomotive Fireman

    Hi,

    The Castle I got is in the current railroad range, and came DCC fitted. It is locomotive driven, and can be run without the tender. The only setback is that it doesnt come with NEM 362 coupler sockets so I cant change the bulky Hornby couplers to Kadee no. 17's
    Posted: 23 Sep 2014 11:23
      LaidlayM Chief Commissioner

    Location: Research
    Hi,

    The Castle I got is in the current railroad range, and came DCC fitted. It is locomotive driven, and can be run without the tender. The only setback is that it doesnt come with NEM 362 coupler sockets so I cant change the bulky Hornby couplers to Kadee no. 17's
    PICHhobbies

    The topic is clearly H0 (3.5mm) scale, the Castle is 4mm scale thus ineligible, and the Australian focus of this group implies (to me anyway) Australian prototype.

    Mark
    Posted: 23 Sep 2014 22:09
      comtrain Chief Commissioner

    Location: Near Albury Wodonga
    Eh Mark? lighten up, mate The Group is Model Railways last time I looked and our friend obviously models a British railway Wink  Yes it did say HO, but ostracizing a fellow modeller is a bit harsh Smile
    Cheers
    Rod
    Posted: 24 Sep 2014 00:31
      PICHhobbies Locomotive Fireman

    Hi Rod,

    I am not offended by what Mark said, it is a perfectly reasonable observation. In regards to your comment, The majority of my model trains are in OO scale, owing to the fact that I have gained a large amount from my father. The Castle is the only OO addition to my fleet since 2012 when I got an Austrains X class. I do not in fact model a British railway, however it is a perfectly reasonable assumption to make. I have recently started narrowing my modelling prototypes down, so I dont have rolling stock from different operators in different periods of time. I have narrowed it down to VR in 1956. I have recently sold the Castle and its appropriate GWR coaches, to allow me to expand my VR stock. I am getting an Auscision Walker for christmas, to operate on my Maldon layout when it is completed.

    Peter
    Posted: 24 Sep 2014 09:25
      M636C Minister for Railways

    Anything with a tender drive should be ruled out right from the start. A ridiculous idea by anyone's standards.
    TheBlacksmith

    Only the original Airfix Model had tender drive.

    The same drive was used by Airfix in the Castle, The Royal Scot and the Dean Goods.
    Tender drive was standard for British and German steam (tender) outline models at the time.

    All of the Hornby "Castle" models had locomotive drive, as did the Dapol County, which was reputed to use the same boiler as the Castle. Hornby have since made the County using the Dapol moulds with locomotive drive.

    I referred to the earlier Castle using the County tender. Since the County was locomotive drive, it follows that the Castle did too. "Defiant" has the standard 4000 gallon tender with "joggled" coal bunker sides.

    I purchased the earlier Castle at the same time I bought as a named green C36 and the red and cream Pullman cars from Austrains (so quite some time ago). The Castle came in a set with three red and cream (BR) Centenary cars for the same price as the set of three cars from Austrains, and both it and the cars ran better than the Austrains 36 and Pullmans since the 36 suffered from the leading bogie spring lifting the driving wheels from the track, and the four wheel bogie coaches ran better than the six wheel bogie coaches.

    M636C
    Posted: 24 Sep 2014 11:47

    Last edited by M636C on 24 Sep 2014 12:13; edited 2 times in total

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