Dreyfuss Opinions

I have owned both the lionel and the Sunset 3rd rail Dreyfuss. Both of them are great runners. I ended up keeping the Sunset 3rd rail version because it matches the Golden Gate Depot 20th century cars. Also, the detail on the Sunset 3rd Rail is incredible. Each time I purchase something from Sunset 3rd rail, I am more and more impressed with the models they make. That being said, they are very hard to find on the secondary market and the Sunset 3rd Rail engines are much more fragile than the lionel engines. I would strongly recommend only buying one in like new condition if at all possible. However, If you do purchase one that needs work, they are very helpful in repairing it. Also, I found that my Sunset 3rd Rail hudson required a little more time to be properly broken in than than the lionel engine whiched seemed to run great right out of the box. That being said, now that it is broken in, it runs great. You also were wondering about sound. The Sunset 3rd Rail hudson has the option to chose 2 or 4 chuffs per revolution where the lionel hudson is always 2 chuffs per revolution, making the sunset 3rd rail sound more prototypical. Also the Sunset 3rd rail hudson has a fan driven smoke unit where the lionel hudson has the older style suction smoke unit (not sure what it is actually called) but the sunset 3rd rail engine smokes better imo. Here is a link to a video of my sunset 3rd rail hudson... http://youtu.be/I6vhVHvmWXY ...
In summary, if you can find a sunset 3rd rail hudson then be ready to shell out some cash and get it while you can because they rarely come up for sale. It took me about a year and a half to find one.
On the other hand, the lionel hudson is a solid engine which runs great and will pull anything you want it to. Also, I have a lionel Dreyfuss for sale right now if you don't wish to search for the sunset 3rd rail Dreyfuss or want something to enjoy until you find the sunset 3rd rail hudson (which is what I did). I am only selling it because I finally found the sunset 3rd rail hudson. Lmk if you are interested, I would like to sell this engine and I hope my review was helpful.

Let me say that I want the engine to run, not as a shelf display.

Looking for Scullin Drivers and the Blue accent stripes version.

 

If your layout is a "Water Level Route" the Sunset/3rd Rail model may prove to be an adequate puller.  A friend has one and reported that with a complete 20th century train set the locomotive was working near the edge of its capability.  If you have grades you will need a better pulling locomotive.

 

The 6-28084 Lionel Dreyfuss Hudson from 2002 had sound, smoke and speed control that was out of date 13 years ago.  They are better pullers and more solid mechanically than the Sunset/3rd Rail locomotives.

 

If you really want to run your 1938 20th Century Limited the MTH engines are powerful and durable.  The 20-3524-1 has the 1938 striping and Scullin disc drivers that you are interested in.  They shipped in October.  Click the Find it Locally tab on the product page for dealers who list it in stock.

 

http://mthtrains.com/20-3524-1

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...motive-guide-hudsons

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a 3rd Rail, MTH (~2006), and Williams Masterpiece Dreyfusses. The 3rd Rail and Williams are neck and neck in detail. One is a bit better in one area and the other in other areas. I started out with the MTH engine in 1940 paint and then got the GGD 1940 cars and found a substantial mismatch in paint. That led me to purchase a 1940 3rd Rail. My 3rd Rail came with drivers badly out of quarter. Its a poor runner but can be corrected. Not sure this is typical as my 3rd Rail ESE Hudson, virtually identical, runs fine. 

The MTH is a strong puller and will easily pull all 12 GGD cars. Right now neither the Williams or 3rd Rail can do that.

If I didn't have one now I would have picked up one of the new MTH engines. The paint is stunning and better than the ones mentioned. I would expect it to have a big motor and pull like its older brother. It was made with early and PT tenders and 1938 and 1940 paint schemes. Take a look at one before making a decision.

 

Pete

I have the Williams Master piece Hudson with added detail and the 3rd rail super Hudson. they both pull 9 to 15 car heavyweights on my RR with ease. sometimes I double head them.

 

Get the 3rd rail Dreyfuss and don't look back IMHO ! the detail is great! If it doesn't have ERR cruise, then put it in. You won't be sorry.

Here is the link to my listing with the lionel Dreyfuss and a few other items which are for sale

https://ogrforum.com/t...-and-sunset-3rd-rail

I have the Williams brass and I am extremely happy with the level of detail.  It has power issues, so I cannot run it without fussing with the wires first.  I am looking to upgrade it to Lionel Legacy or MTH Proto-Sound 3.0, if those ever become a possibility.

I had a 3rd rail 1938 version of the Hudson. I got it as part of a package deal with the matching GGD 20th Century limited cars.
However, and as some have pointed out above, the locomotive struggled pulling half of that full consist. Granted, most will agree the GGD 20th Century cars make up an extremely heavy consist.

However, having one without being able to utilize the other (locomotive and cars) didn't make much sense.
So I wound up selling the 3rdRail locomotive and wound up with the equivalent version from MTH which has superior pulling power.
If you have lighter consist, it's of course hard to argue against a 3rdRail model.
Wish I had a reason to keep it.

 

Good luck in your search. Turns out that's usually half the fun!

That led me to purchase a 1940 3rd Rail. My 3rd Rail came with drivers badly out of quarter. Its a poor runner but can be corrected. Not sure this is typical as my 3rd Rail ESE Hudson, virtually identical, runs fine.

 

Sunset/3rd Rail provides more brass locomotives that run well out of the box than most importers.  However, it just seems to be the nature of the small batch, small subcontracted shop, ad hoc, business model to have inconsistent mechanical and electrical quality.  That goes for production run to production run and for individual units within a single production run.  Larger producers can invest more in production engineering, fixtures, etc and get more predictable results.

 

Put another way, brass locomotives are consistently inconsistent. 

 

 

 

Son't know about three rail, but some of the 2-rail Sunset imports had plated driver tires, and they would slip at the first provocation.  Tey tell me that once the plating wore off, they would grip the rails better.  I use cast iron driver tires, and there must be little toenails in cast iron, because they really can pull.