Recommendations needed

[barney121e]

Hi All

Have decided to go OO and will need some locos and stock, as i dont have any.

Just wondering people's view on Lima models are. I appreciate they are older models but look good to me. Looking for makes that are great at slow running. Any recommendations?

[Bufferstop]

Cheap and cheerful, detail level was variable, thin in places other bits as good as you got at the time. Mechanically simple easy to fix, great to cut your modelling teeth on.
John W

[Bigmet]

...Just wondering people's view on Lima models are. I appreciate they are older models but look good to me...

Looking good was what they were all about, the models were 'livery horses' endlessly churned for collectors in 'editions' carrying the latest livery variations. Mechanically very basic, and twenty years since production ceased due to bankruptcy, so spares are mostly salvage. This is a classic 'suck it and see' situation. Buy one - ideally having seen it demonstrated as a runner - and assess for yourself whether it meets your criteria.

...Looking for makes that are great at slow running. Any recommendations?

Generally, what is currently in production, but there are some traps to avoid so it is helpful if you can describe what you are interested in. To explain; about 25 years ago ready to run OO product received an injection of the proven mechanism technology from HO, due to manufacture moving to China; this is what you want if good slow running is a priority.

If for example you want a class 08 diesel shunter, both Bachmann and Hornby offer versions. These have a large five pole can motor with a flywheel, 40:1 multistage gear train, and can creep along smoothly all day if the controller provides a small enough output. (Hornby may well still be producing what is notionally a 'class 08' on an incorrectly featured and dimensioned mechanism - no flycranks, overlength wheelbase - with the motor directly driving onto an axle; that's a classic example of a trap to avoid, a poor mechanism design dating from long past.)

[barney121e]

...Just wondering people's view on Lima models are. I appreciate they are older models but look good to me...

Looking good was what they were all about, the models were 'livery horses' endlessly churned for collectors in 'editions' carrying the latest livery variations. Mechanically very basic, and twenty years since production ceased due to bankruptcy, so spares are mostly salvage. This is a classic 'suck it and see' situation. Buy one - ideally having seen it demonstrated as a runner - and assess for yourself whether it meets your criteria.

...Looking for makes that are great at slow running. Any recommendations?

Generally, what is currently in production, but there are some traps to avoid so it is helpful if you can describe what you are interested in. To explain; about 25 years ago ready to run OO product received an injection of the proven mechanism technology from HO, due to manufacture moving to China; this is what you want if good slow running is a priority.

If for example you want a class 08 diesel shunter, both Bachmann and Hornby offer versions. These have a large five pole can motor with a flywheel, 40:1 multistage gear train, and can creep along smoothly all day if the controller provides a small enough output. (Hornby may well still be producing what is notionally a 'class 08' on an incorrectly featured and dimensioned mechanism - no flycranks, overlength wheelbase - with the motor directly driving onto an axle; that's a classic example of a trap to avoid, a poor mechanism design dating from long past.)

Hi @Bigmet

Suppose i am more of a diesel and dmu guy, so an 08 would work. Also got to think as layout is only 6x4 i need to beware of radius of curves and train length. Although i am sure a steam train will make an appearance. Thinking heritage railway so i can run what i like.

[Bigmet]

Smaller traction then. A good option if you see one are Bachmann's first 'Derby Rat' releases starting from 32-400 for class 25, 32-425 for class 24. The all-wheel drive design is very good, and they should come at a decent discount, long superseded by upgrades with lights and improvements to body shape from Bachmann, SLW and Heljan: ideal fodder for some bodywork remodelling if you are so inclined. (My oldest example has been running 21 years, still as good as on day 1, quite capable of pulling a circuit filling train on a 6 by 4 layout.)

There's much more (all the mainstream BR diesel classes are available in model form) Heljan's 23 and 26/27/33, Dapol's 21/29 and 22, Bachmann's 20, the mechanisms are all similarly fine and robust performers if it's a different compact BoBo that appeals more. That said, I have been looking for a decently cheap early Bach 20 since it was superseded by a recent upgrade release, and no joy yet...

A (small?) steam loco for a preservation outfit, the choice is so large, that you really need to identify what you prefer.

[Mountain]

The newish Hornby and the Bachmann class 08's are good. Hornby is slightly more detailed but I prefer Bachmanns mechanism as my Hornby one squeels a bit. I need to spend time on it to make it run quieter.
The older version of the class 08 that Hornby made had a decent enough body but the chassis looked nothing like an 08!
Lima did a nice enough 09 even if the con rods were ovescale and they later did an 08 with thinner rods as a new model (Not so easy to find but to be honest I would go for a Bachmann unless one wanted the budget friendly 09 as these were nice cheap and cheerful things. Not that refined but simply made.
Wrenn used to do a class 08 which was actually a Hornby Dublo model. Heavily engineered and will very likely outlast its owners, these things mechanically are ace! But they are a little old fashoined when it comes to their detailing as they have a large flat screw at the top of their body. At least their con-rods look right! Lovely heavy things! I have one myself.
Triang did a loco they called a class 08 but which did not look like one, but to be fair they made the model before the prototype was actually made, so they based it on what they thought the then new class 08 would look like. The front looks like the older LMS jackshaft drive shunters. Another well made model though as Triang are simply made and robust though one may need to forgive the large heavy wheel flanges and the con-rods not being outside the frames... These are real budget friendly models to find though but the Wrenn/Hornby Dublo quality is in a different league.

All in, my personal preference would be for Bachmann for a precise modern model that ticks all the boxes as models go.
If one wants to have a model that is built to last and does not mind trading finescale detailing for bulletproof heavy engineering then go for a Wrenn if one can find one secondhand. (Wrenn is not really suitable for DCC conversions. Nothing is impossible but if one wants DCC then best bypass the Wrenn. It was designed long before DCC came along and is one of the few locos that when I went into DCC, I thought better of it. Is the only model of all the makes and models mentioned abovd that will pose more of a problem to convert to DCC. Even the earlier Bachmann 08's which were at first not made for DCC can be converted using small Lenz decoders desiged for N gauge. Triang, earlier Hornby and Lima can all be converted to DCC if required though decoders will need to be hardwired in).

To go with DCC or go with DC. Is personal preference. I used to have DC and then back in the year 2000 I looked into DCC and bought into DCC from then onwards, but around 2007 to 2009, I changed to narrow gauge modelling and I missed the simplicity of DC and so all my narrow gauge models are now DC. I like both but these days I prefer the simple approach so DC is for me! Pros and cons for both DCC and DC. DCC does need a better bank balance as each loco needs to have a decoder fitted. If going for either get a really nice controller as this makes a difference in both DC and DCC. Saved me money in DCC as I bought the best (Lenz set 01 with upgrades) in its day which only a few things it cant do which don't matter so much. Had I bought other makes I would have had to have bought another system or even two by now to keep up with the technology.
DC is a case of buying something nice to use and reliable. DC these days and I would buy either a Morley or a Gaugemaster. Gaugemaster DC is like Scania is to UK lorry drivers! Morley would be more like a Renault or a Volvo. Both are nice. While I actually like Hornby I would not buy their controllers. They are just too awkward to use (DC) or just look too cheap and plasticky. (DCC).