Your reliable slow running shunting loco that you'd recommend...

[tomparryharry]

Bachmann 03 from here, and....

 

Bachmann 04 (split chassis. 

 

Heljan D95xx

A later Bachmann 87xx

 

Hornby 08.

 

I used to operate my puzzle, and required a change of stock & loco every year. All of them were (are) pretty good runners.

[Multigauge]

I have a Hornby 08 that I'm constantly in awe of. The control on DC (not tried it on DCC yet) is simply amazing and I rarely get it to stall anywhere on my track which includes short Y's and a homemade sector plate. I have a peckett and a Dapol B4 too which perform very well too, but the former is not as smooth as the 08. 

[David C]

Johnster's post on 4 August about his experiences shunting in 1:1 scale was fabulous. So much of this kind of first hand information has been lost as railwaymen who actually did the work pass on to that great marshalling yard in the sky! How are we going to know how to operate our steam and early diesel layouts realistically? You can no longer linger around your local station to watch the real thing as the way the prototype is run bears no resemblance to the way trains (goods and passenger) used to be handled. Spend any time at exhibitions and it is immediately clear most operators haven't a clue how it was done! 

 

Johnster's, the Stationmaster's and other's posts dealing with the real thing pure gold. For the historical record, I do think their posts should be gathered (or at least indexed) in one place so we and future generations of modellers can find the info!

 

Back to the subject, I find my solitary Rapido 16xx is as good as the Bachmann 57xx, 87xx, 45xx and 3MT BR praires I have - not specifically shunters, but they could be found on branchlines. It (the 16xx) is a bit low slung however and I can't get it to go over the concrete apron by my Ratio cattle dock!

 

David C

 

 

[DCB]

Going back to the original question      Your reliable slow running shunting loco that you'd recommend..
The thing is I had a Hornby SSPP Mk 7 motored junk chassis in my spares box which was not very useful, and ran like a crab with arthritis and I had a  GWR 2721 class body so I tried to make something which I could actually sell on eBay without anyone demanding a refund.    Now as related elsewhere I reduced the travel of the rear sprung axle and carefully bent the coupling rods so they were the same length as the distance between crankpins with the wheels quartered.   When finished it would run very slowly if you set the controller just right, it was just getting the rod length  right to get rid of the tight spots which made the difference and keeping the  axles  a constant distance apart.  Most old tat will run slowly if set up perfectly, so really its about picking a really good example of a loco rather than make or model specific. That said its still junk as getting the right setting on a cheap resistance  controller  to run slowly is a bit like playing the lottery, but just because something runs beautifully slowly doesn't necessarily mean its any good for shunting.

[Ravenser]

On 03/08/2023 at 19:09, ColinK said:

Hornby have some great running locos, wrong type for you, but the Hornby 08 shunter is a superb slow speed runner.
 

If you can find a Model Rail magazine Sentinel, it’s a fantastic slow speed shunter, and despite only having 4 wheels it picks up well.  I’ve fitted mine with a 0-16.5 scratchbuilt body and its run for hours at exhibitions without ever stuttering. 

 

Hornby's tiny Ruston is another fine slow runner, though it may not be good for more than a couple of wagons