looking for a nice steam engine WITH DCC & SOUND 4-8-4 or larger how is the Athearn Genesis UNION PACIFIC 4-6-6-4 WITH DCC & SOUND? Looking for any reviews on the engine or the company also any recomindations. thanks
Hello techmike, I have the 4-6-6-4 Challenger ,I run DC, I haven’t heard the prototypical locomotive so I can’t say how accurate the sound is. It is a well detailed, smooth quiet (engine and gearbox noise that is) runner that is a strong puller. As I previously mentioned I’m running analog so I use the remote which takes a little getting used to, it also has about a six foot operating range in my very cluttered basement.For my two cents worth I like the sound and performance, it is a heavy locomotive and tender. My personal experience with Athearn’s Genesis line has been positive outside of the split drive gear I had on the 2-8-2 Mikado which the hobby shop I bought it from replaced the loco. I have 9 Genesis Loco’s and outside of the previously mentioned Mikado I’ll probably pick up some more sometime in the future.
The decoders in the Athearn Big Boys tend to fail. MRC is behind when it comes to reliability with these decoders…and to be frank, their customer service is horrible. It is run by an arrogant fella…but that is a different story.
In a perfect world, Athearn should have contracted Soundtraxx and put in the Tsunami in their units. Athearn Big Boy + Heavy Tsunami decoder = God’s gift to model railroading.
David B
I have had my challenger for about 2 years. It was one of the reasons I went from DC to DCC. The remote, as previously stated, is not very good. My experience with their service was good. I e-mailed them about the remote not working and got a reply the next day. I returned the remote and the air compressor that had come off (I couldn’t find where it went). In less than 10 days I had a new remote, and a 8x10 color photo enlargement of the front of the engine, showing where the compressor went. It pulls very well, and even negotiates my 20" radius inner loop of my 4x8 layout! I like the sound, but I too have never heard the real thing. I do have several vidios of challengers, and the sound seems close to me. Overall a very nice engine![:)]
Fine engines. But MRC does not do Decoders very well therefore automatically removing this line from consideraton.
I choose QSI equippted engines instead from Proto and others.
I had a 2-8-2 Genesis Mike that was sweetest little thing on the rails but could not pull it’s own tender up any kind of grade; I sold it quick before the hue and cry got too loud about the lack of pulling and sunk the money into a BLI heavy mike that can march upgrade with 16 cars plus caboose.
As soon as QSI settles down and releases after market decoder with quick plug, I can re-consider Genesis once again WITHOUT MRC decoders.
Since expectations of ‘sound’ vary so greatly, one man’s champagn is another man’s beer.
REPORTS here seem to favor LOK sound or QSI, or BEST of both worlds - A Genesis with (aftermarket) Sondtraxx installed.
I have neither, but Athearn shoots for the lower cost market - which is why their sound SUPPLIER is MRC.
Since no Challeger is cheap, I think I would weight the options.