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Athearn HO scale EMD GP7 diesel locomotive
I have two of these models and they run very well. Smooth acceleration when cv’s 2,3, and 4 are adjusted, My only criticism is the same for most Athearn engines. On some swithes they will hesitate. This causes the sound to recycle and the light to go off and must be reset. Otherwise a great addition to any model railroad.
I recently purchased one of these locomotives. The sound system is as good as it gets and everyone that runs it on my layout agrees. My only complaint is the inability to program this unit on a standard programming track without a booster. It can however be programmed in ops mode. Looks and running capabilities are top notch. This loco is the pride of my 60 plus locomotive fleet!
I read with some interest that people suggest that it’s only Athearn 4 axle locos that hesitate in switches - I have other brands and often more than one of any given loco and some stall on some of my switches and some don’t. I suspect much of the problem can be attributed to the closure rails not being powered, or at least intermittently powered. I am 98% sure I will put fine feeder wires to my closure rails and I am betting much of this stalling will go away.
The second issue is possibly out of gauge wheel sets that may be shorting across the two rails in the frog. Even peco insulfrog can be bridged but some wheel sets. Again simple fix is to grind this area down and file with epoxy and file, smooth back to original profile. And obviously check your wheel set gauge.
Finally check to see if the loco frame is twisted or at least all wheels sets touch a smooth (preferably shinny) surface that you can sight. Try adding some weight to loco and run across “problem” switch and see if this helps with contact.
Apart from that I do like the current series of Genesis locos and that not outrageous money being asked for them. Keep it up Athearn and others, your modellers are liking this stuff.
I have 2 of these models and my friend owns 4, all are Tsunami equipped. The detailing and paint are state of the art. Out of the box the extreme slow speed performance is not as good as QSI P2K or LokSound Kato. But my big complaint is the low sound volume. Even after adjusting up the sound volume CV’s this is a quiet locomotive model compared to many other HO models I’ve worked with. Athearn tells me I’m the only one to complain. I have run the decoder sound output to my decoder-tester mounted speaker and the sound is loader using that speaker. So, am I the only one to have this problem?
I have to agree with Stephen Barmash, the volume is just too low! I suggest that the cause is small depth of the speaker enclosure, which is mounted atop the frame end. I also use the automatic horn feature and brake of the Tsunami. My PRR unit was correctly decorated with the “F” denoting the forward running on the long hood, but the unit was wired for the short hood forward. The only way to get the loco to work long hood forward, & have the auto horn and lights working right was to swap the motor and the light leads, an easy job, but one that shouldn’t have been needed. Finally, the P2k GPs have lighted number boards and a crew. I still like the loco, but it falls short of what could have been a real home run!
The details are superb and the paint is crisp. The SoundTraxx DCC system makes a great addition to the locomotive. I look forward to Athearns next release.
This locomotive looks and sounds very realistic! I’ve been
a Santa Fe fan since I was a kid in the early 50s. I’m thinking very seriously about getting one of these.
hi ,
this is a great model , howhever ,the sound is just too low
i have one model, union pacific , but i’m thinking to change the
speaker !!! , i’d like gp7 , also , just for that complain , i d’ont want to buy another one …