A far better deal would be an

A far better deal would be an Athearn shell with an ATHEARN drive.  I had an old Tensodo sd9... ran like a blender with a load of marbles. For your first loco, and if $35 is the price range, I suggest a real Athearn Blue Box loco.

that's the worst of both

that's the worst of both worlds, lol

athearn shells are not known for being very good is pristine condition, and tenshodo brass drives are well known for sounding like coffee grinders  ..

as anther suggested, all athearn is better, just poor in total ..

Well it looks like my hopes

Well it looks like my hopes and dreams have been crushed Thanks for your help guys! The search continues

It's December for $35 I'd

It's December for $35 I'd scan what is on sale at Trainworld.

Like right now they have the Bachmann GP7 WITH DCC for $50 

https://www.trainworld.com/manufacturers/model-train-specials/specials-ho-scale/specials-engines-2/bachmann-62412-dcc-equipped-emd-gp7-locomotive-rio-grande-5102/

MB Klein has some DC options.

https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/trains/locomotives/#/filter:custom_scale:HO/filter:calculated_price:40:60

Bachmann and Walthers Trainline are basic, but they are all wheel drive and all wheel pickup and are going to be good starter locos given your price tag.

It's not the bad old days of a few decades ago when these brands would die very early. 

The stuff I listed is

The stuff I listed is obviously not $35. If that is a true hard limit, then try Ebay. I saw a handful of Walthers/Bachmann engines in that price range...although many more which were more expensive which makes no sense to me.

Just remember... Canada

Just remember I am in Canada. Finding any locos for less then $100 is some decently hard work and impossible new lol. I checked train world but the shipping is the same cost as the loco plus I may get charged duty as well. I really wished I lived in Sarnia where I can ship to the states side and pick up my package and save myself absurd shipping fees. 

modelling outside the US

I feel your pain. I'm in Mexico, and import duty is 16%, and shipping from the US costs a lot more. 

Sometimes you just have to pay the freight as a cost of living where you want to. Modelling is going to be more expensive for you, that's just a fact. And it's a big disadvantage not being within easy driving distance of conferences and estate sales. 

There are of course trade-offs that fall in the plus column, but we're silenced when it comes to talking about them.

Just an Update

So literally the day after I posted this, a gentleman was selling a CP GP9 from Proto 2000 for $75. I picked it up and other than a few minor cosmetic issues that I believe I can fix down the road, it looks great! Just ordered a MRC tech 4 from another gentleman as well and I should be getting that sometime soon and then I can test the loco and see what is what  

Thanks again for all your help!

Yes..Trainworld

  Check Trainworld sales....They may not have all road names on sale but don't bother with old brass drives.. You will have more headaches than you want. 

Yes..Trainworld

  Check Trainworld sales....They may not have all road names on sale but don't bother with old brass drives.. You will have more headaches than you want.