Other loco manufacturers

[G8B4Life]

Don't they all claim top of the line these days?

I have a BLI and a few Bowser loco's but unfortunately have not done anything with them (as I wait to find a good paint stripper for them) so I can't give advice on how well they go I don't own any Atlas, Kato or Genesis.

Most loco's would be a hit and miss; very few importers (note, they are rarely manufacturer's these days) have much if any idea of mechanical engineering and know how to design a good drive train, they rely a lot on the manufacturers to know what they are doing in that department,
sometimes with disastrous consequences.

- Tim

[William Brillinger]

Now that they are broken in my Genesis GP38-2's run great, but still not nearly as smooth as my 20+ year old Kato SD40-2's.

[Dean]

All of my RailPro decoders are installed in 25+ year old Stewart/Kato F units. The power board had to be shortened and a 9 pin connector soldered in, but it wasn't difficult. After a little lubrication and break-in they run smooth as silk.
I have all these Katos in 3 consist. Two 4 engine consist and one 5 engine consist. The RailPro consisting beats anything DCC. Splitting a consist into two sections, two engines at the front, and two near the end of the train is amazing. No jerking, pushing too hard or pulling the train apart.
And the best part. Not spending hours trying to speed match the engines.