Norton posted:I believe most of the Diesels are plastic. Most all the steam engines are brass. One, the NYC Mercury, is diecast. As with every companies engines, electronics changed over the years from conventional only, to TAS TMCC w/o Cruise, to TAS TMCC with Cruise and now Electric RR with Cruise. The last are the best runners.
Builders also changed. Some of the models built roughly 2000-2010 were of questional build quality. Parts would arrive unattached or came off easily even with careful handling. The ones made since around 2010 seem to have good build quality and run the best.
Its important when considering an older model to know when it was built and what it has for electronics. Its also helpful if you have some knowledge of brass construction and how to work with it.
Pete
Yes. I have managed to get several over the years, but was never overly impressed with the quality. I imagine that the later ones are better, but I quit buying them for various reasons - partly because my "buying" has shrunk by orders of magnitude. And, Lionel/MTH products were more predictable, and they kept offering more and more variety. I know of a couple of horror stories on some of the early 3rd Rail stuff. My NYC T-Motor of some years back was pretty nice, though. 3rd Rail paint jobs always look a bit better than anybody else's, for some reason (I know mainly the steam locos).
There is one articulated that they offered years ago that I would like to have. Seldom see it offered. No one else has offered it - not unusual.
I believe that the typical low resale values reflect the common - but not universal - issues. I am sure that the good stories about them are just as true as my less pleasing experiences.
(It also seems that the word "quality" has different meanings for different people. Mine is of the utilitarian/construction/dependability variety.)
