RailKing is King

New York Central USRA 0-8-0 #415 and EMD SW1500 #9654 are my two scale-sized Railking locomotives - the only ones I own. I have been running each of them with BCRs for about twenty years. Their detail is all that I think is necessary for models that operate on my small O gauge layouts. And, their relatively low cost compared to MTH Premier models makes me less concerned about running them.

MELGAR

MTH's Rail-King items sold very well in our store as did their premier items.When we were in business, MTH's catalogs were always packed with great items to buy.

Here is an early railking Hudson....pre sound.  My inner loops are 0-31 and the diminutive engine is happy with those tight curves.  It has a piston-type smoker as opposed to later fans driven units.

I purchased it new around 1996 and it has been a reliable runner.

Melgar and Fendermain, I absolutely love both of your layouts for different reasons. Indeed, I can't get enough of them, and your Railking engines look great on your layouts. Arnold

You are so right, Arnold!  RailKing locomotives have always provided great value for the $$.  Very well-made and dependable performers.

Even better is that for some models, MTH continued to add some nice details during the product lifecycle (smoke units added to certain diesel models, for example) without dramatic price increases, making them an even better value than the earlier versions, at least IMO.

This thread is making me re-think my recent decision to start selling off a good portion of my collection!

Yep. The rail king early issue were a joy to run, priced  right and perfect for traditional  layouts! I bought new the traditional Hudson (thanks Fendermain, great video), and the  Berkshire. I occasionally see them run on my buddies (my former layout) layout who bought all my 3 rail trains and accessories.  Melgar, that 0-8-0 is a little gem. I have seen them run at shows.  All I have to say is shoulda, woulda ,coulda, I snoozed! Lol!  They are terrific.

i agree with Arnold. The Fendermain and Melgar layouts are always fun to see. Showroom experiences. Thanks guys.

When I was building my roster, Railking was the only thing I got.  I said then and I say now that it’s the best bang for the buck.  But now that I have too many locos, I tend toward Premier.  I have a few loops with smallish curves where I primarily run Railking and a few loops with larger curves where I primarily run Premier.  If it’s Railking Scale, I would generally buy it over the same loco in Premier.  I currently have two GP9s on preorder (one Railking and one Premier).  I’ll be interested to see the difference.

The MTH steam engines, that are behind me and the MTH diesels in front of me, will be a thing of the past if someone doesn't take over MTH.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Melgar and Fendermain, I absolutely love both of your layouts for different reasons. Indeed, I can't get enough of them, and your Railking engines look great on your layouts. Arnold

Thank you Arnold,

Your layout and mine are similar in many ways.  One of the benefits of this forum is being able to view other modelers railroading endeavors that you, normally, would never see.  Every one of them is unique.

More railking.  Union Pacific M10000 PS2 with a BCR installed.  Again, an inside loop with 0-31.  

@Leroof posted:

Yep. The rail king early issue were a joy to run, priced  right and perfect for traditional  layouts! I bought new the traditional Hudson (thanks Fendermain, great video), and the  Berkshire. I occasionally see them run on my buddies (my former layout) layout who bought all my 3 rail trains and accessories.  Melgar, that 0-8-0 is a little gem. I have seen them run at shows.  All I have to say is shoulda, woulda ,coulda, I snoozed! Lol!  They are terrific.

i agree with Arnold. The Fendermain and Melgar layouts are always fun to see. Showroom experiences. Thanks guys.

Leroof...what's up sir!  Thank you.

This is another great topic, Arnold!  Here are my RailKing contributions.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad GP38

Western Maryland RS3s Fireball and Speed Letter

Western Maryland Pacific and Heavyweight Baggage Car

More Western Maryland Heavyweights and Pittsburgh Port Authority Transit PCC Car

I don't have a permanent layout yet, but I did purchase a railking challenger a few years back and ran it around the tree. Gives the big loco feel with a small radius track. And affordable too.

I plant to pickup a railking PS1 switcher at some point, but nothing yet. Nice pics everyon!

@Mark Boyce posted:

This is another great topic, Arnold!  Here are my RailKing contributions.

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad GP38

Western Maryland RS3s Fireball and Speed Letter

Western Maryland Pacific and Heavyweight Baggage Car

More Western Maryland Heavyweights and Pittsburgh Port Authority Transit PCC Car

Mark, I love the look of your Western Maryland Railkings, and love the name: Western Maryland Fireball. Arnold

Railking is good, but railking scale is outrageously good. I received a railking scale RS-1 for Christmas and was pleasantly surprised  at the quality, detail,  and workmanship for the price.

Some RailKing locomotives are pretty big. For instance, this Railking Proto 1 Jersey Central FM Trainmaster is huge IMO, and navigates 031 curves beautifully:

This locomotive has performed flawlessly for about 20 years, including smoke, sounds and front and rear electrocouplers. Also, it pulls long trains with ease. I often run it pulling oil tanker cars. Arnold

20 years old and going strong! One of the 1st PS2 engines to be delivered......

Peter

....in addition, an NYO&W switcher with a mixed train......

Peter

Railking Proto 1 Erie Lackawana diesel switcher:

As above steamer is a Railking Proto 1 K4 Pacific Pennsy.

Arnold

Lets not forget the accessories! One of my most rewarding preorders in recent years.

The operating water tower with sound thats more affordable than the competition and has functioning chain detail.

I was hoping this was only the beginning of accessories with sound from MTH, bummer.

Mike Wolf worked hard all the way to the end. Enjoy your retirement!

Every loco I owned was RailKing PS2.0 until 2020.  I just recently ventured into Lionel (used) TMCC given the MTH closing pending.  But, I agree with all said... RailKing definitely provided bang for the buck.  I worry that the lack of competition with MTH gone, will really hurt pricing by other(s).

Anyhow, here's a picture of one (and a half) of my favorite RailKing engines, N&W J609 and heading eastbound out of frame is WM Berkshire:

I do like the small Railking diesels (there is one Atlas on the shelf) I also like the USRA and B6 switchers.

I also like the SW1s

Here is one of MTH’s latest RailKing offerings: NYC L-3a Mohawk #3001.  This is an updated version of one of the first RailKing offerings.  The video highlights MTH’s annual RailKing Club car offerings through the years as well.  Arnold, thanks for starting a great thread.  I sure am going to miss MTH.

I am a big fan of the Railking uncataloged Boxcars. It started with Chick-fil-A, then Macy's, then Sears Craftman and Kenmore, etc.

It's fun just trying to track them down. Besides, they are well built and still reasonably priced!

@rjsmithindy posted:

Here is one of MTH’s latest RailKing offerings: NYC L-3a Mohawk #3001.  This is an updated version of one of the first RailKing offerings.  The video highlights MTH’s annual RailKing Club car offerings through the years as well.  Arnold, thanks for starting a great thread.  I sure am going to miss MTH.

Rob, I love your late model MTH RailKing NY Central Mohawk. I assume it's a Proto 3 model based on its outstanding sounds and smoke.

I have the early model of this locomotive, which you mention in your post.  It is shown in the video below, pulling Postwar extruded aluminum passenger cars:

It has been a very reliable and durable locomotive.

I had a problem with it last year, had it fixed by one of our highly regarded Forum train doctors, GGG, for a very reasonable cost, and now it runs better than ever. Arnold

By the way, Bing Crosby singing Let It Snow in my Railking NY Central Mohawk video immediately above, is not included in the sounds of the locomotive. LOL, Arnold

@RickO posted:

Lets not forget the accessories! One of my most rewarding preorders in recent years.

The operating water tower with sound thats more affordable than the competition and has functioning chain detail.

I was hoping this was only the beginning of accessories with sound from MTH, bummer.

Mike Wolf worked hard all the way to the end. Enjoy your retirement!

Just great, now I gonna be on a search for one of these, with all the steamers I have,  how did I miss this ?

LOL

@rjsmithindy posted:

Here is one of MTH’s latest RailKing offerings: NYC L-3a Mohawk #3001.  This is an updated version of one of the first RailKing offerings.  The video highlights MTH’s annual RailKing Club car offerings through the years as well.  Arnold, thanks for starting a great thread.  I sure am going to miss MTH.

I second that, Rob......I have the NYO&W version, a real smooth runner!

Peter

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

By the way, Bing Crosby singing Let It Snow in my Railking NY Central Mohawk video immediately above, is not included in the sounds of the locomotive. LOL, Arnold

Arnold,

Bing Crosby certainly evokes childhood memories of the 1950s and before. He was so famous and so popular!

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

Arnold,

Bing Crosby certainly evokes childhood memories of the 1950s and before. He was so famous and so popular!

MELGAR

Didn't we all want to sing like him with his rich, resonant baritone voice in the shower? LOL, Arnold

Since joining the hobby a couple years ago most of my purchases have been Railking locomotives. Most are several years old to 19 years old. No issues whatsoever and pretty much all are  MA&PA but my favorite is the Doodlebug #61

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Didn't we all want to sing like him with his rich, resonant baritone voice in the shower? LOL, Arnold

piece of trivia, Crosby's style, called "Crooning" came about because radio transmitters were fairly fragile in the first decade of radio, so singers had to be careful not to put it into overload if I remember the story correctly.

Railking Proto 1 Dreyfus Hudson:

Love the livery of this Railking Proto 1 Texas & Pacific steamer:

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Love the livery of this Railking Proto 1 Texas & Pacific steamer:

I've been watching your trains run for a while, with a degree of envy I should add. But I must say, your caboose is cuttin' that a bit close to the cow catcher, isn't it?

George

@GeoPeg posted:

I've been watching your trains run for a while, with a degree of envy I should add. But I must say, your caboose is cuttin' that a bit close to the cow catcher, isn't it?

George

Yes, George, it does. Sometimes I get in the mood to make my consists as long as possible. My reverse loops limit me to 10 to 12 traditionally sized train cars plus caboose, or 8 or 9 scale sized cars plus caboose.

Every now and then, I'll test these limits and end up having a train crash into its tail.

Next time I have such a crash, I'll get my crane car, which I haven't run in a long time, out to the accident scene.  LOL, Arnold

This is my first Railking engine -- CNW 8029.  I bought it new in 1996.  I added a BCR when they were invented.  It has been a work horse and runs perfect today.  It's pictured here for helping my test track set up and not the other way around.  Over the past few years I have purchased Premier diesels because they are scale sized, have smoke and more details but I have mostly Railking Steam engines because my curves are 0-42.  My favorite RK steamer is my PS2 Big Boy cab 4017 (from the National Train Museum in Green Bay, WI).  Railking subway sets and other specialty trains are awesome, too.

Ran Lionel and then introduced to Williams about a half dozen years ago on conventional.

THEN...... I visited VFM at Weedville Pa. and met Charlie.       I was amazed to see the look of this MTH Railking product.  I left that day with the CSX Dash 8 #7881.  We actually returned that day to get a second engine that we looked at when Judy asked me why I didn't  buy it also.      Thus began my eye opening experience to the Railking  line and DCS operation.  No more just setting up a track around Christmas..........full time operation now.

Since then it's been mostly been Railking and some Scale and then some Premier diesels. 

Drum roll, please.

At the moment, I am proud to share with you my RailKing King of Kings: the MTH RailKing Proto 3 NY Central RS3:

This locomotive is perfect for my layout: so agile traversing my sharp 031 curves and 022 switches, pulls like a bulldog, with smoke and sounds second to none IMO, and it fits perfectly with the theme of my layout, which loosely models The Put.

It was purchased about 1 year ago from JR Junction Train and Hobby Shop, a great brick and motor hobby shop in Syracuse. NY and one of our Forum Sponsors that make this wonderful Forum possible. JR Junction Train & Hobby donated part of the sales proceeds to a local railroad historical society. MTH custom made this locomotive for JR Junction Train & Hobby to sell exclusively. The price for this top quality locomotive was fair and reasonable.

I never felt better in my life about purchasing a model train.

Arnold