All of my diesel locomotives are Life-Like and Atlas. They make the types I need and I am pleased with them.
No one has made an N locomotive scale locomotive decorated for my home road, so I have to look for the correct types and do that myself. One of my three connecting roads is another southern shortline, so I also have to decorate locomotives and a caboose for that road.
Atlas did make GPs for the MoPac and the Rock, I just wish they would do a set of GP7s in "Bankruptcy Blue."
I have a Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidation and an MDC 2-6-0 Mogul for steam locomotives. Both are outstanding and are the types that my home road had when it was steam.
For freight cars I like Micro-Trains when they make cars that I need. They are the only ones beside Red Caboose that have ever made cars decorated for my home road. :thumb: :
Atlas especially for their pulpwood racks and tank cars. I also like their Piggyback flats and I have other Atlas cars that I like too.
Red Caboose for their Thrall All-Doors and they made them in my home road.
Deluxe Innovations for woodchip hoppers.
Walthers for modern log cars and for the pulpwood cars that I use as bulkhead flats.
MDC Roundhouse kits, some are really nice and they had a good selection of different roads and types. Inexpensive and a snap to build. I put Micro-Trains trucks under them.
Life-Like for cabooses for my home road because they are the only one that makes the type I need.
I generally use Micro-Trains couplers, but if a car has Accumates on it and I have no problems with them I leave them alone.
I don't have anything made by Kato because I have never found anything that they made that I needed for my roads.
I am not locked into a certain brand. I do look for quality equipment and I buy what I need from who makes it.