Reply to "What smoke fluid do you think works best in a Lionel engine?"

I have heard opinions of every variety, here and in hobby shops and club settings.

For the record, I have every readily available smoke fluid on hand — Lionel (several variations), MTH (regular and Christmas scent, my overall favorite), Williams by Bachmann, JT’s Mega Steam (two scents and Nada), LGB and maybe even a few drops of leftover K-Line.

I use to stick with the brand-for-brand approach, and still do while the product is under warranty. But for out-of-warranty locomotives, I now use what I feel like.

Frankly, I no longer believe manufacturers carefully balance the smoke units with the fluids they market. It’s likely a loose association at best.

So use what you like.