Hi,
I have MTH OneGauge and I really like them. They are (were) affordable and I dare handle them. With Marklin I am always worried that I will break something and they are expensive.
The engines do have pickup shoes gliding on the rail between the wheels and the wheels are not 1:32 scale. MTH used the same explanation Marklin used for H0. The MTH OneGauge are designed for outdoor use and scale wheels were assumed to cause derailments. I am not sure but I think code 250 is the limit for the rails. I use LGB tracks (that was what was available to me at the time) and I have the MTH DCS system as well as Marklin. I am hoping MTH will release upgrades to the new decoder version (ProtoSound 3) with DCC. I have some MTH 3-rail H0 with ProtoSound 3E+ and the Marklin CS2 has no problem with them.
According to users of another forum, http://www.gscaletrainforum.com/, the quality of MTH is very good. I agree.
As I recall there was a store in Copenhagen with some MTH OneGauge engines like Big Boy (on my avatar to the left).
Björn

Very affordable. That's a major cause for my temptation


That concerns me some. I don't want pickup shoes causing havoc on the club layout. Also, off-scale wheels would be a deal breaker for me.


It seems their DCC implementation is OK, then.

Thanks, Björn.
Good and bad news here. I think I need to consider the fact that the MTH engines are built for outdoor running on LGB track (=narrow curves). If that goes at the expense of the model realism, I don't really want it. On the other hand, I do have plans to add LokSound decoders and KM-1 smoke generators to the B-units (and maybe the A-units too), so I don't mind a bit of tampering. Judging from the marketing material on the MTH site, the engines are really gorgeous, but the wheel size doesn't show properly, and some of the 3rd generation diesels have pickup sliders, some don't.

Ok, I'll re-read the brochure carefully and ask MTH directly.

Thanks again
Jens

After discussing the matter with the friendly folks at the G scale forum, who are very familiar with MTH, I should expect that the engines have current pickup sliders and that the wheel flanges may or may not be too large for the track code used in my club.

The plan is then to power the B-units with NWSL power trucks and LokSound v4 decoders. If this drive system does not match the A units (and it probably doesn't) or if the A-units have pickup sliders or too large wheel flanges, then ...

Oh, who am I kidding?
I will most likely repower the whole set right away

Now to find the cash while waiting for the models to ship ...

Well, and I have just ordered a GG1
Will be brought home to Sweden in a couple of weeks by my sister who´s on vacation in the US. I will let you know if it survives the trip in a suitcase...


Regards, Henrik

I have been thinking about getting a 1/32 scale train to run it outdoors, and MTH seems a good idea price-wise. However, I really do not know what's a good track to be used with MTH, Marklin and USA trains engines.

I hate toy-ish, narrow turns. Space is not a problem as I want to install the 1/32 layout outdoors.

Any suggestions?

That's a good example of a machine I'd love to get: a die cast BB.

USA Trains Locomotives

I have MTH trains in Gauge 1 and HO scale. True, the Large scale Locomotives have track wipers for better electrical pickup. In Large scale I have the Southern Pacific GS4 Steam engine with sound. I do not use Marklin Track, so I have no problems. It operates beautifully and the sound is first class. I also have several of their 1/32 scale freight and passenger cars which are also very nice. I do not have any diesels in Large Scale from MTH so I have no opinion. Mth also makes great HO scale Marklin compatible Locomotives which I own several which are also great. The only drawback I found with MTH is it may take longer to get parts if you need them sometimes.

See my reply to following post. Also, not to take away from this forum, but look at mylargescale.com . It's an open forum for all Large Scale including Live Steam in G Scale. You'll find a lot about track and more.