Just got 4363 this week. Appearance wise it is exactly correct per all my MT4 books. I helped a Carlin NV yard worker grease the rods on this type of loco in 1946.
Problems: The whistle on max is still very weak. Pretty much the same as my old 4346.
It correctly has an airhorn in the front of the skyline casing. However there is no CV or any other command to use it.
Runs great so far and looks even better. My old 4346 is just a roundhouse queen. Runs terrible, has very little traction, and the chuffing was not sync’d.
I got #4354 a couple of days ago. Everything looked OK at first glance. The lit train indicators said “X-4354” as if the engine was set to pull an extra. And then I noticed that the marker light “lenses” were painted green, which indicates a following section. Extras don’t run in sections, only scheduled trains do. You can’t imagine the emotional turmoil I went through as a result of this monumentally egregious and easily preventable faux pas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqxbeEy8dMk
I’d paste the flaming prose I fired off to Athearn excoriating them for this gargantuan failure of quality control, but I’ve been advised by my attorney that I’m well advised to refrain from doing so lest I reduce my chances to be awarded a large sum of money for the nearly unbearable emotional pain I’ve suffered as a result of Athearn’s error.
Hmm. I wonder if anyone will actually think I’m serious about this.
My skyline caseing Mt-4 has been with me for about a year now. It has been a fine runner but it is a little soft voiced in terms of whistle and chuff. The only problem I’ve had is that the left side radius rod dropped when the tiny screw holding it backed out. I was able to find the screw near the drop zone and put it back in with a tiny drop of Loctite. Since then no problems! Production practices relating to all manufacturers of steam locomotives seems to result in a certain percentage of non-performers. It seems to just be “luck of the draw”. Document your non-performer and send it back before the warranty expires!
Irrespective of the faux outrage of my prior MT-4 post, I’m quite pleased with it. It ran smoothly right out of the box, both the chuff and whistle seemed loud enough to me and that six chime SP whistle is a real treat. Are there some things less than ideal, sure. The engine’s missing on of SP’s postwar steam signature details, the blowdown spreader (seen here between rear driver and trailing truck on P-10 #2488http://www.modelingthesp.com/Steam_Locomotives/Steam_Locos_IV._files/shapeimage_1.png ) and the number at the rear of the tender is the small number used before the adoption of the big Southern Pacific lettering in 1946.
The chuff rate is 3 per driver revolution rather than the correct 4, but someone on the Atlas Rescue Forum said it can be fixed by setting CV 116 to 200. I’ll give it a try when I get a chance.
