I found myself with a Athearn GP38-2 in CSX colors and an Atlas Trainman GP38-2 in CNW colors, both DC.  My layout is DCC running CSX and my freelance road. The Atlas Trainman GP’s are superb quiet runners available at a very reasonable cost; I have a few with Digitrax no sound DCC decoders added. After adding a Digitrax decoder to the Athearn it proved to be an unacceptably noisy grinder. Despite cleaning up the old grease on the gears and re lubing everything it’s still a grinder.

I am interested in collecting/operating some different HO scale models of various New Zealand railroads, e.g,. Kiwi Railway, etc. The only models I have been able to locate are made by Frateschi, a Brazilian model train manufacturer, and not much is known here in the USA about their model train business.

Quality, performance, and prototype detail are important to me. I have not been able to locate many reviews of the Frateschi models, most being from several years ago.

I've seen most of the assorted "what do I use to strip the paint off of..." most manufacturers products. 

But I haven't seen ScaleTrains.com mentioned yet. And I have an SD40-2 that I'd like to strip the Santa Fe paint off of, so I can repaint it into my home road colors (which likely will never be offered commercially). 

 Atlas Yellow Box S2 S4 B&M, I have a few, they ran great on DC , I had them converted to DCC because I love the smaller diesels, the guy did a great job, they ran really well at first but now they run fair to not so good depending on which one, I've done some research,  the wheels on these are Brass, and the pick ups rub the flange.  One in particular had started running in sputters, I removed wheels cleaned them and cleaned the pick ups best I could..Overall compared to new diesels I own these just run inconsistently on DCC and get dirty fast,  they also have s