Are brass model trains any better than die cast metal ones?
• Brass is for show—not often run as a die cast is on a lay-out • yes, better but more expensive • yes they are better in the aspect that they have many detail parts as far as running them they are only as good as the engine that is in them. if all you want to do is run trains and are not concerned with prototype and detail go with diecast metal but if you are a very particular person and you model for accuacy aand prototype and you have a big checkbook go with brass • Brass engines have a problem – they are hard to modernize with the new digital controllers, as the wheel power has to be isolated from the frames. If you intend to run them on some of the radio-controlled layouts, they can be a pain to convert. But it can be done. Plastics and diecast metal has advantanges in that they’re cheaper, and if you make an Oops, it won’t cost you as much. Plastics are easy to chop and modify for different engine revisions and changes, which happen over time in the 1:1 world. Brass, while it h
