request suggestions for quietest locomotives

[FosterG]

After dabbling in On30 for awhile, I am getting back into HO.  I have unpacked some HO locomotives from the 1990's and older.   I have all makes and models, some a lot louder than others.  Problems usually get worse with the shell on the chassis than without. I have serviced, cleaned, lubed but with little success in lowering the noise.  One that is particularly loud is stock Athearn AMD 103.   One of my quietest is Bachmann Spectrum GP30.

Before I purchase anything, what would be considered fairly quiet in the 1st and 2nd generation diesel category?  (With or without sound). 

I will assume some of the quieter ones are some of the smoothest running and probably the most detailed.  And it's a given the more expensive the quieter.  I am interested in any make and any price range. 

Give me your thoughts,  Thanks.

[Frisco]

Proto 2000s are very quite smooth running locomotives.
Atlas are very smooth and pretty quite although some are a little louder than others.
Overal BLI is defently the best (in my opion).

[Eryalen]

I heard a Walthers GP7 with bevel gear drive that was very quiet.

[Yampa Bob]

Foster,
That's a tough question. I have some Bachmanns that are smooth and quiet, but a couple that are a bit noisy. 

I think most drive mechanisms are reasonably quiet when running, but I have noticed some grumble in gears at certain speeds. Motor armatures, flywheels, drive shafts, worm gears, etc rotate at high speeds, anything out of balance can produce vibrations and noise.

The shells on some diesels fit tight around the motor and casting, allowing vibrations and resonance to be transferred to the shell, like a sounding board. The sides, being flat, seem to resonate more than the curved shell of a steamer. A little foam padding in critical places seems to help.

Another issue is decoder/motor noise. One of my diesels growled like an alley cat at low speeds until I changed decoders.

I realize this doesn't help you much.  I would offer one caution, just because a certain model/brand is super quiet, don't assume all locos of the same model or source will be just as quiet.

[Paul M.]

I have a Proto 2000 GP7 with a split gear, and it runs okay, if you can get past the pounding and lurching...

OTOH, I have a Proto 2000 FA-2 that runs just great, almost as good as a BLI or Atlas.

[Rangerover]

The way I'm reading Fosters post is that I believe he is talking about analog, not dcc. I came back to the hobby with my old bachmann, tyco, model power, atlas, etc after being stored for 30 years. Ok he's talking early 90's that's why I assume analog. The first thing I did was pop the covers off the gear mechanism's, took the gears out, cleaned and regreased or reoiled. Cleaned the  wheels also from the gunk that's  been on there hardened up after all those years, I used a small piece of basswood and made a 1/4" flat chisel point and got most of it off with that and then I cleaned the wheels with isopropyl. Also I cleaned the contacts on the wheel pickups and sort used the rule of breakin when I first ran them.

Then I discovered DCC and how quiet today's loco's run, heck I ain't even disappointed with Bachmann compared to the old Bachmann they are very quiet to me. I also own Atlas, beautiful and quiet as are the Proto 2000 and Athern, Stewart, the best to me is the BLI, all I bought new since coming back, all in DCC and some with sound, LOL, you don't have to do what I did, I bought approx 25, I was like a 10 year old kid in a candy store with a dollar in my pocket. After hanging out here and learning, I'm gonna go ahead and convert some of my old time favorites to DCC. Hope I helped and welcome back!

PS I use homosote for roadbed, old timer stuck in some of my old ways but homasote litterly kills noise, LOL they run quiet with that even if they are noisy otherwise.

[Yampa Bob]

Yes, I just added the decoder comment for future reference. I agree on the Homasote, I can't imagine laying track directly on plywood.

A bit off topic, but it also has to do with noise.  Some have complained about EZ track being noisy, especially if laid directly on plywood.  Even using homasote or foam base won't help much, as the hollow plastic roadbed also acts as a sounding board. 

There is a cure for this.  The N gauge foam roadbed by Woodland Scenics is the right thickness and width to fit underneath the plastic roadbed. It acts as a damper to help quiet the track.

[RAM]

I think as a general rule all of today locomotives are quiet.  Some are better than others, but they are all better than they were 30 years ago.

[Tylerf]

Athearn RTRs are very nice for they're relatively low cost but I've found they do have a fair bit of noise. But some noises the locos make are sorta realistic but some are just anoying.

[ajp3751]

All of my proto 2000 are transition to early desiel, all of which run much quieter than my athearns. i would expect BLI to be more quiet. Adding a sound system will drown out gear sounds with engine sounds. Try ebay or train shows. All of my protos were purchased relitively cheap, much cheaper than a brand new bli.

[Tylerf]

It's definetly possible to get great locos for cheap, my roster of about 20 locos are all high quality and somehow were all on amazing sales. Just spend some time and look around for that barely used loco or even find a nice cheap hobby shop. I'm actualy amazed to think back and realize nothing I own was it's full price.