Kato 2-8-2 Mikado or a Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-2?

[Tyson Rayles]

I love N scale, been in it for 35 years. But if I wanted to run steam I would switch to HO. I have tried Atlas/Bachmann/Kato and a half dozen others. Some are tolerable, none are good IMO and Bachmann is the worst. Also if you are going to run N scale steam don't use switches smaller than #8's and make sure your track work is flawless. Then be prepared to clean it very often as most N steam has traction tires which can foul the track in record time.