Walthers' PROTO 2000

[Pacific Northern]

     Is the Walthers line of Proto 2000 locomotives actually worth as much as they sell for?

RE: Proto Steam engines - The MSRP for these are very high. If you search around you can find the engines discounted. I would not consider paying the MSRP on these engines, way too expensive.

Also beware of steam engines from the first runs. The 0-8-0's did not have electrical pickups on the tenders and were prone to stalling on turnouts.

Also the 2-8-4's that came without the traction tire can hardly pull their own weight. Note that according to Walthers you can not upgrade the early 2-8-4's with traction tires - too bad.

[SteamGene]

Hobo, Atlas doesn't build HO steam locomotives for one thing.  For another, how many Proto 2000 2-8-4s do you own?  How many Bachmann 2-8-4s? 
Now, stop shouting and learn to capitalize. 
Gene

[Guilford Guy]

depends -GET REAL STEAM GENE proto 2000 is better than bachmann and almost as good as atlas .

Gah, both Gene and PN beat me to it...

Pros

Atlas has good detail, and good running qualities, and pretty good sound.
Proto has good detail, good running qualities, pretty good sound.
Bachmann has good detail, good running quality most of the time, and pretty good sound.
Athearn has great reliability, a proven drive(although it can be noisy, at least in the blue-boxes, and a good amount of detail for the price.

Cons

Atlas doesn't make HO Steam but their O scale steam is stunning.
Proto 2-8-4's were flukes in pulling power. Some diesels had a cracked gear problems.
Bachmann has some defective models, that seem to show up more in their models than in others.
Athearn doesn't use great sound decoders in their models, and aside from the SD70's they are very reliable.