ES44AC: Premier or Imperial?

Premier.......worth the $75 just to have the inboard powered flanged wheels.....the imperial will look better on any curve smaller than 072.....tough choice.....

@Jim Berger posted:

Premier.......worth the $75 just to have the inboard powered flanged wheels.....the imperial will look better on any curve smaller than 072.....tough choice.....

Well, the $75 difference is between the two Imperial engines. The Premier is an additional $100 beyond that. ($350, $425, and $525 respectively).

@VonFrank posted:

Well, the $75 difference is between the two Imperial engines. The Premier is an additional $100 beyond that. ($350, $425, and $525 respectively).

Those prices sound outrageous. Rail King would definitely look best on your Atlas track. But I would keep looking.

@Badge109 posted:

Those prices sound outrageous. Rail King would definitely look best on your Atlas track. But I would keep looking.

Forgot to mention, those are Canadian prices. So that's approximately $270, $330, and $410 in USD.

My Imperial PRR Looks and runs very nicely on O 42 track.  It will run on O 31, but the overhang is noticeable. Their premier requires a lot more room, though it is physically bigger, and could run on O 42, but should have a larger diameter as mentioned above.

Another consideration is what cars are you going to use...  Premier loco with RK cars may look too small and I know the premier cars with too large with the RK, imperial or not.

Looks to me is just the years released that accounts for the 75$ difference between the two Imperials, unless I'm missing something.

@MR_P posted:

My Imperial PRR Looks and runs very nicely on O 42 track.  It will run on O 31, but the overhang is noticeable. Their premier requires a lot more room, though it is physically bigger, and could run on O 42, but should have a larger diameter as mentioned above.

Another consideration is what cars are you going to use...  Premier loco with RK cars may look too small and I know the premier cars with too large with the RK, imperial or not.

Looks to me is just the years released that accounts for the 75$ difference between the two Imperials, unless I'm missing something.

Ya, I'm thinking I have no choice but to go with one of the Railking Imperial versions. As much as I'd prefer to have the Premier engine on my layout, a 19.5" unit is simply too large to navigate my O-36 curves.

And I agree with your assessment. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the two Imperial units is the production year. I was hoping the newer one (the 2015 model) would have dual pickup rollers, but apparently even the 2020 Railking ES44AC's still only have a pair of single rollers. Come on MTH... Even my Railking SW-8 has dual rollers. Why wouldn't this Imperial engine have them too? I can only hope that the dual roller will fit in place of the single one.

Mine is packed away, but I think it has 2 pickups, one in front the other in rear, but just a single roller in each.. Never had a power / connection issues, since they are spread apart quit a bit. Maybe that is why they didn't put a double in the front and rear.

FWIW, I like the level of detail and smooth running of the loco with DCS especially for the price.

FWIW, if you're operating with smaller curves 031/036/042 I believe that you will find that the RailKing will look better. If you have 054 or larger, by all means go Premier.

All that said, I have BIG curves (0138 max) on my layout. Yet, I have two RailKing ES44ACs. One Christmas, one Halloween. With those two liveries, who cares about scale??? Both pull great, and have the same controls/sound sets as the Premier units.

@VonFrank posted:

Well, the $75 difference is between the two Imperial engines. The Premier is an additional $100 beyond that. ($350, $425, and $525 respectively).

The Premier also includes the passenger car that the RailKing versions do not correct?

@BobbyD posted:

The Premier also includes the passenger car that the RailKing versions do not correct?

It does, ya. At this point though, looks like I have no choice but to get one of the Railking versions. The only question remaining is which one is in better condition.

I know that with the DCS you can look up the Odometer and Chronometer of an engine simply by pressing a button. Is it unreasonable to ask a train store to tell me those numbers on the used engines? It's like asking for the mileage on a used car. If one of the two engines has significantly lower mileage, I'll buy that one, regardless of extra cost.

I have owned both.  For me I prefer the scale fidelity of the Premier model over the "squat" or compressed look of the Railking ES44AC.  At the same time I completely understand that it matters how they look on tight curves, so it is really a preference decision.

I've gone back and forth for years, but at the end of the day, it always comes back to Premier.

@VonFrank posted: Is it unreasonable to ask a train store to tell me those numbers on the used engines? It's like asking for the mileage on a used car. If one of the two engines has significantly lower mileage, I'll buy that one, regardless of extra cost.

IMHO, that is a VERY reasonable request...

Thanks for the help everyone!

I purchased one of the Railking Imperial engines and it's on its way. Turns out it's never been run, which is good news. The previous owner just liked to display engines on a shelf, I suppose.

My only question remaining is if each truck assembly can fit a dual pickup roller instead of the single roller. I suppose I'll find out in a few days when it arrives.

I have the EVO and CSX RK models. I have had no problems with the single pickup rollers. as they are far enough apart to span all my switches. My beef is with the blind wheels on the trucks sticking way out on curves. My smallest curve is O60, and I can't imagine how bad they would be on O36. I have a topic here, but never got a response.