Comparison

Heritage Units vs e

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Heritage Units

This app allows users to track and report special interest locomotives from major US railroads. View reported units on a map within a 200-mile radius and contribute new sightings directly from your device.

Highlights
  • Track heritage units
  • Report new locomotive locations
  • View locomotives on maps
  • Search within 200 miles
  • Support for major railroads
Features
Read full description

Track and report Heritage units (locomotives) and other special interest units for Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, CSX, BNSF and other railroads. Features: • View reported locomotives within a 200 mile radius of your devices location. • Report a new locomotive location directly from the app • View locomotives on maps All recorded locomotive information is provided by volunteers using native apps and website (https://www.heritageunits.com) Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Terms of use: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/terms Privacy policy: https://www.heritageunits.com/user/privacy

About

e

Control your model railroad with your smartphone or tablet. This app supports various scales and both DC and DCC cars, featuring built-in sound capabilities for a more immersive experience. Simple and intuitive operation makes managing your trains effortless.

Highlights
  • Smartphone/tablet operation
  • Supports Z, N, and HO scales
  • Operates DC and DCC cars
  • Built-in sound function
  • Simple and easy to use
Features
Read full description

●This application functions on Smart Phone and Tablet Phone, which will make it easy to operate most model railroads when used together with Rokuhan e-Train controller"(sold separately). ■Most model railroad scales will be operated.■ Z-scale as well as N-scale and HO scale will be opearted. ■Applicable to DC car as well as DCC car!■ DC cars (without any additional work) as well as DCC cars (mounting decoder) can be operated. ■Equipped with sound function.■ A speaker is mounted in "e-Train controller" thus, no need to work on your cars to emit running sound as well as effect sound. ■Simple and easy operation■ A car is operated easily as you normally operate Smart phone and Tablet phone, e-Train controller http://www.rokuhan.com/ ---Cautions--- ・Rokuhan "e-Train controller"(sold separately) is necessary to operate this application on Smart phone and Tablet phone. ・Function of this application depends on the condition of your Smart phone or Tablect phone. ・Recommend to be a member of Packet service to save money. ©ROKUHAN

Screenshots

Heritage Units4 screens
e4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: e at none against Heritage Units's 2. e also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Heritage Units's advantage is ratings volume (253 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Heritage Units sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year. e asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.1 for Heritage Units against 4.0 for e. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heritage Units has 253 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Heritage Units ships an update every 10 days, e weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and July 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Heritage Units versus e: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeritage Unitse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (253 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings253 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size122 MB64 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBrian Minnichtoytec

Customer experience

Heritage Units

All ratings253 ratings
Positive76.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral15.1%
Negative26.9%

e

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Heritage Units

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • App crashes when refreshing or loading reports
  • Persistent 'You've reached your limit for spots' error that lasts weeks or months
  • Login credentials rejected despite correct password/username
  • Automatic logout after 1-2 months of inactivity
  • Premium subscription purchases not recognized by app
Show 9 more
  • Email validation not working or emails not received
  • Location tracking showing incorrect geographic location
  • Reports not posting after submission despite multiple attempts
  • Timezone error when submitting reports
  • App incompatibility with certain iOS versions (iOS 12, etc.)
  • Cannot report certain locomotives that exist in database
  • Notification system stops working after initial use
  • API exceptions with no user-side resolution
  • Random account suspensions without explanation

Requested features

15 requests
  • Dark mode and light mode toggle
  • Report timestamp visibility to distinguish old vs new reports
  • Edit and delete buttons for submitted reports
  • Increase daily/monthly report submission limits
  • Ability to favorite or star specific locomotives
Show 10 more
  • View history of past reports made by user
  • Color-coded report age indicators (green for current, red for old, etc.)
  • Push notifications for units within 50-100 miles
  • Guest mode without account creation requirement
  • Chat feature for railfan community discussion
  • Add more heritage units to database (NS 3625, BNSF H1s, etc.)
  • Unlimited photo uploads for free users
  • Live time and destination information for trains
  • Ability to report multiple units in single photo with highlights
  • Include normal locomotives, not just heritage units

e

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Heritage Units

Subscriptions2
  • Ad Free$0.991 Year
  • Premium Membership$5.991 Year
None

e

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Heritage Units free?
Heritage Units is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is e free?
e is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Heritage Units or e?
Heritage Units is rated higher. Heritage Units averages 4.1 out of 5 from 253 ratings, while e averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Heritage Units or e have ads?
Heritage Units shows ads; e does not.
Which is updated more often, Heritage Units or e?
Heritage Units ships an update every 10 days, and e weekly. Most recently, Heritage Units was updated on September 29, 2026 and e on July 7, 2026.

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