After reading "Milo's" Early N Scale Oddities guide, it occurred to me that some folks might be interested to know what European N Scale items they might be advised to purchase in order to build a fairly accurate, working model railway.  And where better to shop than on ebay?  As one who has been on the N scale 'track' since 1976 and an ebayer since 1998, here's my advice (preceeded by a lot of background information).  Anyway, you might want to begin by reading  "Milo's" article for a bit of the history of European N Scale.

In writing this guide, I've had to draw a line separating what I would cover and what I would avoid.  To me it seems easiest to talk about and make generalized statements regarding the major manufacturers, both present and past and to leave the smaller manufacturers out of the discussion. Why?  Well, the vast majority of European N Scale found on ebay comes from the largest companies; why should I waste a lot of YOUR TIME discussing some rare item that may only come around once a year or so (and end up selling for a ton of money)? Better to stick to the mainstream manufacturers.

As you explore the world of European N Scale you might be tempted to ask the following question: "Blaine, why do models of the same equipment show up in the catalogs of multiple manufacturers?" That question perplexed me for years. After all it seemed there were plenty of models that had never been made, but should have been; why duplicate something already in production and then have to share the economic demand for that model with another company? Turns out that notwithstanding the almost perfect interoperability of brands in N scale, in Germany (the largest market in Europe for many years) brand loyalty is, or was, a major factor in the business. I learned this on my first visit; the opening question from almost every modeler I encountered was, "What brand do you follow?"

Like slot cars and radio controlled vehicles, Model Railroading (or Railway Modelling if you prefer), is a "Dynamic Hobby," meaning that there's motion involved. In a dynamic hobby, when items that should move do not move or do not move well, dissatisfaction is not far behind; the hobbyist may even abandon the hobby altogether for something more satisfying. Quality of movement has to be a prime consideration in any dynamic hobby; in Model Railroading it is paramount! To carry that theme forward, this guide is organized by manufacturer, from best running (in my opinion) on down. Within each section, I'll speak to the accuracy and appearance of that manufacturer's models.  BTW, I realize that Great Britain is technically part of Europe, but being an Island Nation (and notwithstanding car ferries, the 'Chunnel Trains') and so on, British trains are different as well as a subject with which I'm not too familiar so I'll leave that Guide to another Author.

THUMBS UP!

KATO is the King! Their product line isn't nearly as extensive as other brands but what they do make can't be beat. Kato got involved in European trains largely as a result of being contracted in the late Eighties by the original Hobbytrain company to build models of several Swiss electric locos and the incomparable Swiss RAe TEE II 6-unit Trans Europ Express EMU.  A few years ago the Hobbytrain name was bought up by Lemke and most of the Kato-made items are back in production and have been joined by a few new designs. Kato has also picked up manufacturing of the Swiss passenger cars once produced in-house by the old Hobbytrain company. These models have been vastly improved and brought up to date technologically.  You can't go wrong with a Kato product!

Fleischmann locomotives run as well as Kato's and there are more of them. The majority of their models, both past and present, are of German train equipment. Fleischmann produces the widest variety of steam locomotives of all the manufacturers; though most of these are German designs, thanks to two World Wars many German locos ended up serving in neighboring European countries so the models might be interesting to those who model other countries.  Passenger and freight cars are also of the highest quality; Fleischmann is the one European manufacturer that had few if any toy-like models in their line, even at the very beginning.  Generally their locomotives pick up power on all wheels and the motor drives all wheels (except lead and trailing trucks on their steamers).

The plastic used in older Fleischmann models has a tendency to be brittle, a condition that may be further exacerbated by the comparatively dryer climate in much of the United States. When shopping this brand, pay special attention to the condition of underframes and molded-on details. Fleischmann models usually command the highest prices, whether new in the hobby shop or used on ebay; this is the primary reason I rank Fleischmann slightly lower than Kato.

Roco was a major Austria-based manufacturer that produced about a 45-35% mix of German and Austrian equipment, with the remainder occupied by Swiss, French, Benelux, and the occasional Italian item. Beginning in the Eighties, Roco was arguably the most prolific producer of models of modern equipment. Roco's quality is better than average and their locomotives perform well and give long service. Like Fleischmann, Roco did not produce toy-like or out-of-scale models so you can buy Roco without worrying that your hobbyist friends will snicker at your purchase.

Roco was recently bought by Fleischmann and its unique products are being integrated into that company's product line; who knows what will happen to Roco's usually reasonable prices? Spare parts for Roco locomotives may be a problem depending on how Fleischmann chooses to handle the integration.

Arnold-Rapido is the putative granddaddy of N scale and was one of the industry's larger producers prior to its bankruptcy.  Again, much of the modeled equipment is German in nature, but freight car interchange and international passenger train service since WWII means that a variety of railway equipment is logically at home on any European-themed layout regardless of its country of origin. Arnold did have several comparatively crude, non-scale models in its earliest catalogs; these are best left to the collectors. Their products also exhibit brittleness similar to that of Fleischmann.

Finally, Arnold was good at adopting new technology for new products, but it rarely went back and updated the mechanism of any of its earlier, otherwise scale locomotives.  You can usually count on all wheel pickup and motorization, but virtually all Arnold motors are of three-pole, straight-wound design.  Many Arnold locos have all brass gears, which can be quite noisy. However, the most recent models have plastic axle gears that frequently crack as the plastic shrinks. Spare parts are a problem and it remains to be seen what Hornby, the new British owner, will do in this regard.

Minitrix was an early manufacturer of N scale and was one of the last to stop producing artificially shortened passenger cars, often dubbed 'shorties' by hobbyists. Their catalog once included actual 'toy trains' as well as toy-like models and they even re-released some of these during a recent anniversary year.  When judging a Minitrix freight car model, look for physical details as well as good paint and seemingly accurate lettering as evidence that you're going after a realistic piece.  The company is one of the more prolific producers of models of pre-war equipment but they make great models of some of the most modern equipment as well.

Early in the current century the entire Trix 'family' was purchased by Märklin (ironically a company not in very good health itself right now). One Minitrix model to avoid is the otherwise superb Swiss RAm TEE I - this 4-unit DMU is marred by annoying wheel-well cutouts and skirts intended to allow the trucks to swing through tight, model curves.

THUMBS DOWN (mostly)

Rivarossi started out producing Italian and German N Scale but was quickly lured away by the prospects of being Atlas' major supplier of U.S. prototype equipment. Generally, Rivarossi models look good but don't operate well by current standards.  Even their freight and passenger cars often have operating problems ranging from loose-fitting axles to out-of-round wheels; these defects can be fixed with the right aftermarket parts, but beginners are best advised to avoid Rivarossi until they gain a bit more experience in how to tune up their fleet for best operation.

Ibertren was out of business for ten years or more but has recently been revitalized and has re-entered the marketplace to a limited extent. Some vintage and unique Ibertren items (like the Talgo train sets, the modern covered hoppers, and the unique modern crane) command steep prices on ebay (moreso on ebay.de than on ebay.es). Most of their freight stock is slightly clunky with marginal wheelsets, oversize details, and cross sections that are too thick. Among their passenger items are some nice models (the short 'antique' coaches and the modern orange Eurofima stock) and some ho-hums. The locomotives are largely forgetable; better running versions of most, albeit in different paint, are available from other manufacturers (many of Spain's designs, if not the locomotives themselves, are imported from other countries including Germany, France, Italy, and even the U.S. and Japan).

Lima locomotives should be avoided as they are unacceptable performers.  Furthermore all of their Swiss locomotives and passenger cars are slightly oversize, creating clearance problems with lineside structures. Lima has been accused of producing 'shortie' passenger cars but those detractors are actually unaware that shorter versions of standardized European passenger car designs were tested in Italy and France; Lima's sin was in painting these models in German Railway colors, too.  Most Lima freight cars sell cheaply on the second hand market and with a little tuning can be fairly reliable.

Around 1990 Lima partnered with the former Hobbytrain company to produce a few models branded 'Minitrain' that included totally redesigned models of Lima's Swiss passenger cars and some new German multiple unit sets.  These are generally good models that later turned up under the Arnold name when Arnold and Lima N merged under the Rivarossi banner.

Piko is best left to the collectors and the more experienced modellers. As the lone Eastern Bloc provider of N, Piko actually amalgamated the production of several small factories under one brand name.  Product quality ran the gamut from acceptable to poor. The unique designs of the protoype are worth a look, but even the best of Piko's rolling stock needs replacement wheelsets to be minimally reliable. That said, I couldn't resist buying a bunch of it in East Berlin in the Eighties; $2.50 for a locomotive; 90-cents for a freight car; you've got to be kidding! But those prices are long gone now!

If Cold War, Eastern Bloc modelling interests you, look to some of the better manufacturers, particularly when it comes to locomotives. Many East German locomotives were integrated into the German Federal Railways after reunification. As a result, newer and better running models have been made. Some are even available in their pre-unification paint.

IN CONCLUSION

As I said in the beginning, the only way to deal with this topic effectively is in generalities.  There are some gems among the brands to avoid and some real clinkers in the Thumbs Up area.  Short of providing a detailed review of each of what must be a thousand or so models, there's no way to advise with 100% accuracy. But hopefully, this Guide is only one of the many resources at your disposal.

Acquiring European N Scale seems to be getting more and more difficult as time passes. Much of what's available for sale is in Germany and at the risk of annoying our German Friends, it seems the vast majority of them isn't too keen on:

• Shipping beyond Germany's borders
• Accepting PayPal (even though this has become ebay's standard elsewhere)

To make matters more difficult, the world's postal systems seem to be in cahoots to eliminate the common man's access to economical methods of shipment.  This is less of an issue to N Scalers than it is to those working in the larger scales, but it still adds to the price.