Buying Engines

None.  When I  buy used - rare anymore, but possible, I look at the condition of the loco and if it looks like has been cared for or neglected.  

dont really pay any mind to it. i follow what lee said.

I'm more interested in condition and the specifics.  I don't buy 5V PS/2 unless it's a screaming bargain, as I assume that those boards will likely crap out in the not too distant future.

 

I don't generally bother to look at the hour meter on a DCS engine. A look at the wheels and rollers will tell me what I need to know about how much it has been run, and the overall condition, plus whether the owner has bothered to save the original packaging, tells me how it has been taken care of. 

Very recently purchase an MTH PS2/3 diesel engine from a person on the OGR forum and I didn't even bother asking the seller about miles or operating hours. As Lee already stated condition and the care the engine has previously received is much more important to me.

Several years ago I bought a Premiere SD90 that had over 10,000 miles on it. Was somewhat concerned but after nothing but smooth uneventful running I became completely at ease with it....

None, unless it's an early PS2 model.

-Greg

I think everyone feels the same on this.  I try to stay clear of PS-2 5V unless it is cheap enough to put replacement boards in.  Both Lionel and MTH engines will go the distance with proper care.  I get to see many PS-1 engines that are still going strong.

I keep an eye out for nice PS/1 engines, sometimes they're a real buy.

 

Thanks to all for your responses.

 

Joe B.

If the boards in a PS2 loco have ever been replaced, it resets the Odo/Chrono to zeros, so you can't put too much stock in the readings. Check the wheels and rollers and you can usually tell if it has a little or a lot of time on it, then look at the overall condition of it. If its clean, and you're going to keep running it anyways, the exact numbers shouldn't matter.

 

How do you tell how much and for how long an engine was used?  Places like the Choo Choo barn run them all day long and because they stay on tracks, are seldom touched and are kept in a temperature controlled environment they still look new. Point is, those engines are heavily used but if you purchased one, how would you know it? That's why when I buy used RR equipment; I buy them as cheap as possible.  

Good point John.  I have a few PS-1 engines I converted.  They are great.  My friend Locolawyer just found a NIB unrun PS-1 Empire State Express that I just converted for him.  Engines like that are great when converted.