powerful engines

I know that there are a lot of members here that are fluent with the mechanics of these trains. I was just curious to know... which is "truly" the most powerful engine? torque? speed? I know powerful Gordon is getting a lot of hype. but the steam along engines (1 of my sons' favorites) has a lot of power. then there's the 3speed series & now the new line. I have never tested them out against each other.

[Ucwepn]

Powerful Gordon is only slightly faster than normal so I'd say it has a Tamiya light dash motor or equivalent. 3 speed locos are fast at their top speed and I'd say would be faster than steam along Thomas. The new line are quite fast but they lack traction due to the hard tire even on their special track. The new line are faster because of the double voltage from 2 batteries and the gearing which is quite tall.

so... if you don't mind indulging me here... would a new train (with old model tires) be competitive with these others? do you have an order of these in relationship to speed? first second etc? is there a train that should be mentioned that I'm not? and finally, since speed is based on weight, as well as, power... would any of the vehicles have a fighting chance?

[Ucwepn]

yes certainly if it were possible to use the old type of tires on the new locos and add a little weight they would be the most powerful and fast by far. It's hard to place them in order the 3 speed is probably the fastest out of the box train of them all. Fastest of the older type are the very last releases such as flat drive Arry and Bert, flat drive Thomas and Percy. This is due to light weight as well despite being only 1.5v.

[HankAmericanEngine]

I can attest to only a few of the most powerful engines in my collection, and some are no longer available.

From Plarail, the Hyper Guardian Cargo and Trans Liner engines are sheer powerhouses with speed; both could easily haul a train in excess of 20+ cars, but I've never dared due to space constraint in actually testing it.

Another from Plarail is the HD300, which is just a tad slower than the other engines, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in brute strength.

From the Plarail Thomas & Friends line, Murdoch, Oliver, and Neville (mine known as "Stephen the Q1") are the most powerful ones in my fleet; surprising as Oliver is a tank engine, but a welcome surprise nonetheless.

From HiT Toys TrackMaster, Donald, Douglas, and Hank are my powerhouses from that range; the Scottish twins' motors are already noisy, but grow noisier still when given a long consist. Kind nice that it emanates real-life of an engine snorting noisily to move its train.

From Fisher-Price TrackMaster 1.0, Ferdinand is the only one who is fairly strong in his own prospect; he's the only engine who can really haul a long train without struggling or choking up on a straightaway.

From Fisher-Price 2.0, none of the engines in my fleet are powerful; they are shamed in speed against the Hyper Guardian Trans Liner and Cargo Liner, and same goes with hauling capacity.

****ADDED****

As jdogman has mentioned, the TAKARA TOMY Plarail/TOMY USA Thomas and the Jet Engine Thomas has a faster motor, which allows more hauling capacity; this makes the gears choke up, depending on length of train and weight, as the engine is made simply for rocketing along the line.

With HiT Toys TrackMaster and Fisher-Price TrackMaster 1.0, it can be difficult to finesse which engines are powerhouses and not; the motors can be picky on the battery brand that you put into them. For example, my HiT Toys TrackMaster Spencer will, somehow, purposely run slowly on a fresh Duracell battery while either of the Scottish Twins will thunder with any consist given to them; Fisher-Price Den may be sluggish with a fresh Energizer battery (<-- Ironic, isn't it?) but may speed along with a fresh dollar store brand.

All you need is Mr. Motorman. It can convert a crappy slow engine into a powerful one. I find the 2 speed Japan bullet train pretty fast too.

If I remember correctly, doesn't the Plarail/Motor Road and Rail Thomas and the Jet Engine pack feature a fast Thomas?

Where does one buy a mr motorman.

Where does one buy a mr motorman.

Looks like currently they are all on backorder right now but keep checking or place your order and they will ship it when it gets restocked.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/list/1855/2/1

[Super]

You can also order Mr Motorman Imported through Amazon & pretty inexpensive too. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1...r+motorman