Model Train Company Tier List
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- Опубликовано: 5 сен 2024
- A lot of you have asked what my thoughts on different model train companies are, so today, we are going to make a tier list for them!
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Fairview, Tennessee
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With Märklin you definitely pay for quality and long-lasting mechanisms, whilst detail is usually done better by other manufacturers. Other European manufacturers usually build better detailed models at comparable or lower prices, but at Märklin you'll get far more robust models made mostly from metal. Running digital locos on 50+ year old tracks is no issue, and most will run for years without maintenace. Drive failures or motors burning out is unheard of, no matter how old or new the locomotive is.
In recent years things have gotten closer, with Märklin improving detail and other manufacturers catching up in terms of quality and price, which essentially means that in the European market aside from a select few exeptions all offerings are very high quality at really high prices.
I'll vouch for Marklin. I've been collecting them since 1977, and they have held up. They tend to be a little more expensive, and finding hobby shops that carry them can be hit-or-miss, but they're solid. My only "wish" would be for them to expand their selction of American rolling stock.
Marklin is great (HO and Z); they also have the Trix range (HO and N). Marklin HO is AC, Trix is DC. Roco (HO/DC) is also good. They now own Fleischmann now (N scale/DC). Had Tyco back in the 1970s. They were stored in the attic and we gave them to a friends kids and they still ran well.
You forgot about Gauge 1.
@@Alcofoamer Don't do Gauge 1
My Cuban grandfather handed me down a LGB and it still runs perfectly. LGB is one of the best train companies. I agree with the ranking though dropping 1,000 on a starter set doesn’t do it for me
That is very cool! Thank you so much for the comment!
The cost of G Scale trains alone is enough to put someone off from getting into that scale. Often times getting into G Scale trains is through hand me down equipment through either extended family or extended family friends.
LGB is owned my Märklin.
I have seen Atlas and Athearn products, Märkli is another league (but also price wise)
Definitely an interesting video. When I started collecting Ho scale trains beyond the lifelike sets, Athearn was my top pic by far. I love all of the production lines from the roundhouse to the genesis line. Offering all three of the main price tiers of the Ho model railroad hobby is great and there’s something for everyone in the athearn ho brand
Did you say that Proto 2000 used Walthers castings? Just the opposite. Walthers bought the Proto line from Life Like and has improved the running characteristics of engines they release since.
I'm surprised Rivarossi didn't make this list someplace...
Easy, SS tier!
Kato is pronounced "kah toe" because Kato is a japanese company
Kay toe 🤠
Is not kai tou, is ka to
Mfs who say Kay-Tah go here
K-toe
Tyco wins the best logo award. What an awesome logo.
märklin stuff would be sss tier!!!
I would rank Lionel B tier. As someone who works in a model train shop I’ve run into several problems with them on their new products. I find that they don’t stock spares, don’t really support their stuff, and their l lack of quality control on some of their expensive legacy engines is crazy sometimes. Not to mention their warranty repair and service department is terrible
This is completely valid, I have heard their response to issues with their products isn't great
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan yes, especially with regards to their $3000 engines 😐😐
@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan also I’m about it be a Nashville local so I’ll visit the shop
I agree with Marco. I also currently work at a model train store part-time and have been been selling trains since 1989. Lionel as you said really has issues especially with spare parts and customer service. Both Lionel and MTH have big issues with their electronics. So I would not rank them as high.
In my opinion Marklin can't be less than athearn.
Interesting tier list. I rather like Bachmann I have a HO scale 'Harry Potter Hogwarts Express' set from early 2000's that still runs great and a 'Rail Chief' set I purchased a couple of years ago like it so much I bought another matching GP40 model loco in BNSF livery to add to it. I have an older HO scale Atlas 'Silver series' model of Alco HH660 loco that is excellent so I can attest to Atlas quality. Tyco made a colorful assortment of rolling stock one thing about Tyco is I can find Tyco rolling stock for cheap at garage sales, antiques emporiums, flea markets, etc.
I bought Athearn kit cars back in the 90s. I think they were really good for the price.
I have some Marklin locos that my dad bought for me in 1963, when I was 6. They still run and look as good as new, even after being stored in a box for about 25 years. FYI, Marklin basically invented model trains as a hobby, and also the HO gauge, and the Z gauge. I believe they own Arnold now, who created the N gauge. They’re not inexpensive, but worth every damn penny. The starter sets are reasonable, for the quality you get. The more spends and larger things are well done. As you move up the price range, the detail gets more realistic. They use a 3 rail AC track system, which makes building a complicated layout a piece of cake. A good portion of their stuff is available as DC, in their HAMO line.
no they own Trix and Minitrix, Arnold is owned by the british Hornby group..
Hi, I'm the guy who asked you about the Bachmann Rail Chief. Thanks for the video, I think you answered my question fairly well. I'm starting to feel a sense of loyalty towards them, planning on getting some of their other products. Also, I remember Tyco from the 80s, still got some of their building blocks.
What about rapido trains and scale trains
Tyco and life-like when I was a younging were the kids toy train set you started out with in the 70s. And as you progressed in the modeling of your miniature railroad empire, you would upgrade to Athearn-Atlas-Concor; as I recall. As far as I remember Atlas was basically an improved Athearn. Love the ones with flywheels installed. Now today as i recall Walthers bought out Life like and to me Walthers is on par with Athearn,Atlas. You are correct as Bachmann goes their early products were not the greatest but they have improved over the years. Cheers From Florida.
LGB uses some kind of German space plastic that is indestructible LoL. I have G scale track from other company’s and the track ties are cracking and falling apart after a few years in the sun. I have LGB track that is 35 years old and not one has a single problem. Big problem with LGB is the cost as you said. But when you get into nice G scale trains EVERYTHING is expensive unfortunately.
It's worth the price for sure, but it unfortunately is out of reach for some - I've been fortunate to own a few sets and they are great. It's interesting you say that about the track because I just had some come through the store with the same issue
Bachmann sucks. I had some Bachmann back in the 80's and had to junk every one of them due to cracked gears. I would never purchase a Bachmann again. I'm tending toward buying brass models lately. Brass will be here long after I'm gone. If you like plastic models, that's fine but I have found that some of the older plastic models (Mantua/Tyco) after 30 years tend to deteriorate over time. Just think that if you had a $600.00 BLI locomotive for 30 years and it began to fall apart. At least brass doesn't deteriorate, just tarnishes. I don't do DCC! To me HO DCC sounds way too tinny. Cheers from eastern TN
Bachmann is nothing like it was in the 1980's. The company's products underwent a massive increase in quality during the 2000's.
What's funny is a had a guy on eBay want to sell me a Tyco for over 100$ I was going to buy it for no more than $20, but he declined my offer and said he can get over 100$ I said it was not worth it I'm not paying 100$ for a tyco.
Guess he is looking for that Tyco acolyte with more nostalgia than brains.
One thing that really tics me off. Australia 🇦🇺 yep . Availability of brands and then product within brand is so frustratingly limited.
I was looking at a couple of Bachmann ,Hornby and Kato.
I get all excited about something then want extras, nil bloody stock.
The second hand market here you would love . Its all collectable, quality, rare, classic, and whatever.
So the prices are in orbit, even crap track.
Been into N scale for a while, but recently built a HO layout, and bought a few older Athearn Iron horse train set's as well as a few old blue box's. A few I made into dummy loco's. In addition spent the big $$ on a few Athearn DCC/sound loco's and a Atlas master gold.
Agree with your list. Athern 70’s 80’ hood units, GP7,9, etc, were not scale. The very good motor and fly wheels were too wide to fit under a scale hood. That changed in the 90’s with a new “can” motor that allows the SD40-2 and on to be actual scale hood width. Still the way they ran made it expectable to overlook the dimensions issue.
Well model railroading is about showing some love to the models you own by customizing them including scratch building interiors and adding new technology to them rather than the easy way, with that said HO scale is the smallest scale which isn't easier to lose than a contact lens and fairly easy to work with
Honestly if you ask me, LifeLike is always going to be an S tier brand, especially their proto2000 series, I got a GP-20 in the EMD leasing livery and a Monon BL2 from my grandpa that still run perfectly fine, even after spending about 10 years in a box. they're a little noisy here and there but they run perfectly fine. The vast majority of my roster is Athearn and Bachmann, I plan to expand into Walthers and Atlas eventually but what I have works perfectly fine together.
Where are the Piko trains? For me they are one of the best
Piko is very underrated in America. Their American efforts until very recently have only been in G Scale. They've only just pushed into American HO even though they have made HO for the European market since their time as an East German company.
We are a New in this industry. Looking forward to deliver a good products.
My biggest problem is there isn’t enough space to put them out. My Lionel’s are the favorite, but they only come out at Christmas. My first set was a Bachmann from the 70s Sears catalog. It still runs, but it’s definitely low quality. I had Life Like and AHMs and Tycos, but my favorite small trains are the Atlas, Athearns and Katos
Life Like developed the proto 1000 and 2000 series before the buy out
Lifelike was formed from Varney, Varney is a legendary name and it's a shame how far the products fell
Kato Is The Most Technecal products hands Down.
Scale Trains will win every time just on their Quality Control. They literally scrap entire runs of shells if there is a mistake on them.
Im learning more about your stores....be back soon....gotta wait till i get delivery and pick ups up there....
The main problem I have with Märklin is that it's a closed system; they use their own 3-rail/stud-contact AC system, so you have to start out with buying everything from them (or making sure you're getting the compatible version) and converting/upgrading to Märklin means having to get rid of all of your DC track and engines. Also, most of their models are European-outline, so modelling Märklin in the US or Canada is kind of a fringe sector of a fringe sector of the hobby...
THIS is exactly what I wanted to see! Thank you very much!
Thanks for watching!
My Wife And I use Bachmann Track and We Don’t have Any Problems With them.
Atlas Is Like TYCO is a Pillar Of Model railroading And Yet their Track is Still being used.
Kato and Atlas is my jam lol
I rank Atlas and Kato quite high because the locomotives from those two manufacturers that I have in my N Scale fleet are reliable, some of them are 30 years old and still run quite well. Bachmann is one that I'm quite mixed on as some of their locomotives are rather unreliable while their 90's "Spectrum" locomotives run better but make quite a bit of noise in the process. Life Like is one that I had better luck with than Bachmann as they run reliably without making too much noise in the process, the downside with Life Like is the difficulty in trying to find spare parts when compared to Bachmann, Kato, and Atlas.
Kato's japanese domestic stuff is incredible. I have 1 of their JNR steam engines with another on the way. DC only but the level of detail and the the quality of the mechanism? You can't TOUCH that for the price with American stuff. Especially since steam isn't always well served in n scale. Insane value for what you're getting.
You forgot Bowser and scale trains on the list can you do a part 2 on others
Great info...thanks for sharing.
I do really like my LGB stuff, but yeah... PRICEY! Piko had been a good alternative.
Have you heard of LikeLike's Proto line. They are LifeLikes high level trains and are typically good looking at good quality with proto 2000 being highly detailed
i'm mostly a lionel guy but i would LOVE to get some LGB stuff my favorite model train of all time being their massive freelanced SD40 looking engine but those prices are too big for my wallet
I have both lionel/ lgb for g scake
MTH DCS can access most of Lionel's Legacy features using the MTH WiFi App and a Legacy system via a SER2. If you are still using a MTH Handheld then they will control Legacy engines in TMCC mode. No worse than before. The biggest issue with both MTH and Lionel in way of command systems is neither one has been available for a while. Hopefully that changes this year.
There is no way that Athearn or Atlas beats a Marklin (Trix) in an overall score. I have both Marklin (Trix) and Athearn Blue box and Athearn Genisis. The Marklin stuff is just better made, more metal and cast parts, more up to date decoders. Even the lower tier Trix is better made.
I find it interesting how out of all the things you could mention for Athearn, you mention that they don't do any semiscale stuff, when they're one of the classic manufacturers known for making semiscale HO with regards to their heavyweight and lightweight passenger car sets. Don't get me wrong, I'd rank them an S, but that's still funny to hear. Most of the rest of the list I'd call fine, at any rate. Great video.
Big mainstream ones that are missing: Piko and Roco.
I have to say I agree with you on all of these. I may be a bit different on MTH but could could argue for you ranking too. Some of their stuff has issues but not like Lionel. That said a lot of their tooling is that of Lionel produced products from before the even existed. All in all I agree with you and like you have them all except LGB. Great video again and catch you soon.
Tim
Thank you so much for watching, Tim!
Informative and useful info. Thanx !
Thank you for watching!
Just bought from you finally! Stopped at the antique store. Do you have other stores?
I agreed what he said with the Tyco, I LOVE tyco!
Thank you so much!
You may not want to put “SS” as a tear because Germany Btw the life like Proto series is pretty good even for now they are nice budget engines that look good
Nice!
Normal bachmann is A tier, old spectrum is SS
kinda forgot about intermountain, and scaletrains, as well as aurora miniatures
I didn’t put those on because they don’t make starter sets and many train stores probably don’t carry them
ah ok@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan
Atlas and Athearn Being Same Company but Athearn is the Higher End. Plus Atlas for NON EZ-Crap Track and Flex Track all the way!
Life-Like/Tyco you Get for Stock, Switching Yard Material and for Modifications, Customization.
Walthers is Over Priced Life-Like Stuff but Mostly used for Building and Landscaping
Bachmann is Over Priced ( More than Doubled since 2009) But Okay, Just Stay away from the EZ-Crap... I mean Track...
Trade Secret...ALL Model Railroading Stuff is Sold at FULL MSRP! But Dealers/Stores Buy For Half... But NOT Track and Other Stuff like that.. Just SETS! There is Room to Work with them as long as You are NOT Being A ASSHOLE About It....
Funny, when I started in 90’s I started with athern then Kato and Atlas in HO. Best running engines. Still have some HO but now have O gauge, Lionel and MTH and I feel for the money, MTH better
1:59 maybe in the US but in the UK it's hornby
Life Like Proto is good!
I agree!
Lionel isn’t really great for HO scale as they bought out a manufacturer and recycled their old tooling that runs poorly. I only have one piece of their HO scale rolling stock and my local hobby shop hasn’t bought anymore Lionel HO scale stuff to sell. I have two older Atlas locomotives from the “Yellow Box era” that run like Swiss watches.
They bought out Model Power which in turn bought out Mantua so you see Model Power accessories rebranded with Lionel and rolling stock with some Mantua leftovers as well. The prices they charge for them is outrageous.
Marklin is by far superior to any American brand. Athearn genesis is close but the technology, tooling and motors not as advanced as the German one. It doesn’t last as long as the German one either. That’s why Marklin is typically double the cost of anything else. It’s like Chevy and Mercedes Benz IMO. You can still run Marklin engines from 1960s on the latest digital layout. Marklin is the only model train maker that does serious research and development in house and they now own LGB and Trix. They also have the most advanced central control unit in the industry that can run anything from analog to MFX and DDC. Model train is not a very popular hobby in America as it is in Europe. Most people in the US never ride a train in their lives. In general the industry is very small niche with little growth, research and development in this continent and is reflected in the quality, sophistication and the technology of the domestic brands.
I think your list is fair, but just a comment on a couple of things: LGB is now owned by Marklin and is produced in Poland I believe, no longer Germany. Lionel (imo) is a name only, when it was sold to General Mills in the 70’s it became 💩 and although some of the stuff looks kinda ok, their quality control is horrible for the price you pay for their product, very poor value in my book. Several youtube Lionel guys just flat out gave up on them due to qc issues and poor customer service and sold everything they own out of disgust.
I’m not quite sure how to absorb the rating it would make more sense if those arrangements were made for HO OO N Z T O G ETC. But ok.
K-Line did not get bought by Lionel. They lost a lawsuit and Lionel won the rights to use the name.
Lifelike's Proto 2K series is really good though, but Lifelike brand stuff is pretty terrible lol. Walthers Proto came later and kept the same standard.
I have some märklin stuff. But if i want locomotives with sound for a reasonable price which company?
You put Atlas on top? Every single piece of rolling stock I have bought from Atlas has been terrible. They make the worst intermodel cars.
I might just be lucky but I've had good experience with them, I will say I haven't owned any of their intermodal cars
Did you swap out their couplers? Their Accumates are trash no one uses them you are supposed to swap them for Kadees that's what I do. Other than that, I can't think of anything else wrong with them.
You left off Micro Trains/MTL (SS) and Rokuhan (A or S). Btw, Marklin is an SS company for sure. Reference to WWII Germany unintended.😉
You seriously need to redo this list You left out so many brands it's not even funny.. where is exactrail, scale trains, Broadway limited, hornby, MTH, to just name a few..
MTH is in this video and ExactRail, BLI, and Scale Trains don’t make starter sets so they didn’t meet my criteria for this particular tier list.
Can you do this again but for z scale manufacturers? I've been looking at getting z gauge and the lack of video's/ easy to find and read information out there is frustrating. Right now i think in going to go with micro trains, but american z line is also tempting (manly because azl actually has a web site that works. Idk whats going on with micro trains is doing with their site.)
Marklin does Z scale (S tier on his list).
@@darthjohn0 as far as all the research I've done there's only 3 manufacturers märklin, azl, and Rokuhan. Micro trains used to but they're stepping down from that gauge.
There might be more manufacturers that I don't know about, my other problem is I have no idea of their quality. My only frame of reference is the life like I got as a kid. And well we know about the quality of that brand.
My other concern is where they're made. I was really saddened to learn that micro trains was halting pronunciations of engines because they were the only one still manufacturing in the United States.
In n scale I feel that Bachmann kind of sucks in my opinion. Don't get fooled by their good details on their products. I have never been so upset at a manufacturer lately due to their lack of quality control, things breaking, horrible mechanisms etc. if I'm goanna spend +$200 on a model I should be getting quality out of it and I certainty should not have to buy more than one of a specific model that I wanted due to it being broken or something(Bachmann spectrum N 4-8-2😕). Of course this is just my opinion, but I wouldn't recommend Bachmann trains to people.
What do you think about IHC?And river rossi and roko
IHC didn't make anything. They imported everything from a Slovenian company called Mehano.
Bachmann locomotives may be good but their customer service is trash, parts dept is actually kinda rude
+1 to that. I was yelled at by their parts manager blaming me for stuff they sent back damaged to me trying to make it look like I broke it. Why would I break my own stuff twice??? Heck the regular tech showed better customer service skills than the effin' manager!!
@@OriginalBongoliath In some instances you are better sourcing an independent shop/store that has a dept' that does repairs. Better service and in my experience only too happy to help an enthusiast get out of a hole with a dodgy model. 😀🇬🇧
SSS Tier … Scaletrains ❤
Walthers bought out Lifelike Now Has a New Look.
God Blessed Model Railraoding👍👍👍👍.
MTH’s ho scale products are absolutely horrific
Well yes and no. It depends on what it is.
Rolling stock? Amazing especially their passenger sets.
Mid-2000's engines? Not good because they were new and not the best quality.
Late-2000's-Mid 2010's? Their best era.
Late 2010's-2021? Absolute trash.
Steam engines? Yes they were great during their brief golden era and the main reason to buy MTH. They made locos that other mainline companies were not making or were improvements upon like the Berkshires (better than Bachmann's), 2-6-6-6 Allegheny, 4-8-4 J which many say was better than Broadway's and definitely better than Bachmann's, NYC Mohawks, GS-4 and 6, Erie Triplex, etc.
Diesels? Nothing amazing about them. Proprietary decoders hindered them here since most people run them as consisted units with other diesels but they did make DCC-Ready variants that were fine since you could put in your own decoder. I bought mine for well below market value and run them separately anyway so YMMV here.
TL;DR, they were the American Bachmann in HO since Bachmann Bachmann is technically a Chinese company owned by Kader.
I thought mth went out of business.
Some employees bought the rights and some of the tooling to keep the brand going - but it's a lot smaller than it was.
what kind of guitar is that? haha
Jackson Dinky! :)
super sick!! I think Im grabbing a King V next haha, now on a related question, how do you feel about Broadway Limited? :0@@WashingtonDistrictRailfan
Bachman has to be the absolute worse manufacturer except for maybe Playart.
1:33 to me you have it backwards, bachmanns spectrum series is amazing,5 pull motors and fully light high detail coaches, there new stuff is the cheapest garbage I've ever owned,id put them in D teir