If you have one (or more) of these units, what do you think of them? I’m thinking of getting into N scale, and don’t know much about the brands. I was planning on sticking with Atlas locos, but I wondered how these brands stacked up against each other. I can look at pictures to see a difference in detailing, so I’m more concerned about operational performance. I don’t have a LHS nearby, so my purchases are done via the internet, which makes hands on trials impossible. Thanks in advance!
And before you comment on me posting this question before checking for old forum topics, I tried searching the the search engine in the new forums doesn’t seem to be working yet - so I made a new post. It’s not the end of the world if someone asked this same question last month or last year.
Think of it this way … #1 would be KATO, #2 is Atlas & in last place is Athearn. Then again, what one maker doesn’t have in the scheme you want, another possibly will, so it could be then that Athearn would be #1. All depends on your needs & what matters the most to you ! I have two of the Athearns & I’m not thrilled about them, but they fill a void. All depends on how you look at it I suppose.
Ya know, I have one or two of these but darned if I can remember which ones from which company they are. I’ll check and get back to you. I can tell you right off the bat they are both good.
I have about a half dozen Kato SD70M/MAC locomotives and they are the absolute top of the line. I will be purchasing the SD70ACe models as soon as they are released early next year. While I do not have any of the Atlas or Athearn models in question, I have a slew of Atlas models such as GP38-2, B23-7, etc. and they are also excellent quality in both looks and performance, although I rate the Katos just a shade higher. Plus, the Katos have working ditch lights which is a very nice yet rare feature in N. I would buy the Atlas GP60M in a second; in fact the only reason I don’t have any yet is because I have three of the new Atlas C40-8Ws on order. Jamie
Okay, most of mine are various Atlas SD50-60 types and I have a wide cab thrown in there. My SD70 loco is a Kato, the one with flared radiators. They all run good and the Kato model has given me no trouble. It seems to lack roof detail though.
I don’t have any of them, but here’s my rankings of the manufacturers:
Atlas
Kato (very close behind)
Athearn
I atually only have atlas units, and unl;ess a manufacturer offers something that atlas doesn’t (like a hood unit or SW8 or NW2 or F45 or whatever), I’ll stick w/ Atlas. Can’t go wrong w/ them. I have heard that kato is right up there w/ atlas though.
I have 3 Athearn SD70s,2 KATO SD70s, and 4 ATLAS SD60s The Athearn and KATO units in my book are quite equal with the exception of lighting with the KATOs having working ditch lites.The ATLAS units are good runners but seem to be a bit noisier than the other two.
For my money they are all a good investment though I wish Athearn and ATLAS would discover how to make working ditchlites [:D]
Katt, Thanks a bunch for this info, especially on the Athearns. My LHS has a bunch in stock and they look good but I have not had any first-hand accounts on how they perform. I’ll certainly consider getting one the next time I am shopping for locos (always!). By the way, Atlas just announced a new model to be released in May 2009: Dash 8-40CWs (wide cabs), not only with lighted ditch lights, but with working ditch lights (on/off/alternating) in the DCC version. Jamie
I have 8 Kato SD70 Macs, They are quiet and very smooth running, and have ditch lights. Nice details but you have to finish them .(step rails , number boards, short shank coupler if needed)
I have 5 Athearn SD70 Macs. A little more noise, and still pretty smooth .All the details are done but no ditch lights.
I don’t have any Atlas loco’s but from what I hear and read they are just as good as Kato.
Kato/Atlas
2.Atlas/Kato
3.Athearn
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these, and all 3 cost about the same around 75.00
Kato is number 1 in my book. All but one of my new locomotives are Kato’s. They run great and they have good pulling power. I’ve had Digitrax decoders instaled in each and thet makes them even better as far as I am concerned.
The other new one I have is a Walthers and the only reason I bught that one was because it was the only one I could in the paint scheme of the Long Island Railroad. I haven’t converted it to DCC primarily because there are no drop in decoders that would work for this locomotive. While it caries the Walthers name but it is really a Life-Like but it has a 5 pole motor and runs great. Converting it to DCC is byond my talents so I may have to send to Litchfield Station or one of the other places that does such conversions.
As for Atlas and Athearn, well I can’t really say anything from personal experience. However, my traon club buddies say that Atlas isn’t Kato but makes a good product. They also say go for the DCC version of any Atlas locomotive. Athearn is new on the scene since they’ve only come onto the N-Scale market recently. I don’t know anyone who has one of thei
Having owned or own all of these manufactures and models plus more my rating is:
1-Kato, 2-Atlas, 3-Athearn.
Kato has never given me a problem, always great proformers, easy to work on, and plug and play decoders.
Atlas can be noisy, as much as they say they are PNP they aren’t and require a little bit more work to put decoders in them and the motor pickup tabs can be a real pain which is why I’ve actually swapped all my older Digitrax decoders with the newer models from Digitrax with slots so the motor tabs can go through and folded over for better contact. And to work on they can again be a pain in general.
Now Athearn… Not bad runners but they do need some work specially with the SD70/75’s they came out with. There is a lot of rough edges on the gears in the trucks and I’ve actually had to take an abrasive polish and run the trucks by hand back and forth to clean them up, but once done they run super smooth and quiet. The other issue is they used 3 or 4 motor types and some were PNP decoders some required a lot of work but it all depends on the model/series of which motor you got. The only other complaint I’ve heard about but didn’t bother me was the “coke” bottle glass but at the 3" rule didn’t bother me at all. Now the F45/FP45’s they just came out with is a different story, the decoder is PNP without issue and they run beautifully without issue.
What newer decoders are you referring to? I have mostly Digitrax DN163A0 decoders in my newer Atlas models (GP38-2, B23-7, etc) that I purchased about 12-18 months ago–have these decoders changed since then or do I have the latest ones? I know the ones I have the board is thin compared to the stock light board so it does not fit as snugly, resulting in intermittent contact unless you add some shims to make the decoder board fit snugly.
BTW, I find all of your comments above to be right on with what I have experienced with my locos from the various manufacturers.
I do like Kato a lot but I can see what you are getting at. But it is Athearn who have to launch into the N scale market also, they all have occasionally gone long periods of time with nothing new. And when they do have something its like you can’t find it. Athearn has made some cars like the Articulated Auto racks which I own a few of, and some others that look good, but I would like to see more in N and more engines from them. Sometimes it doesn’t look like they are quite serious yet.
It’s hard to say. Probably the easiest way to tell is if you still have the at least one of the manuals that came with yours and it should explain what the slots are used for. If you don’t have the manuals just pull your shell and you will see two small slots in the same location as the motor pads through the board, if you don’t have them then you are probably have the new ROHS compliant boards before the revision.
Now I know what you mean with the thinner boards. There are several ways I’ve fixed this. I tin the pads that contact the frame to tighten them up which has been a normal practice for me with any Digitrax decoder for well over a year now since they stopped doing this from the factory. The other method I’ve used is to gently tap the contact on the frame down till its tight enough. The shim method works but I’d prefer to have contact with the frame on both upper and lower pads on the decoder and if you ever need to take the engine apart for anything you don’t have to worry about the shim going MIA.
Well, I was really enjoying this site that you linked until I read where they rated the Bachmann GE C40-8 2003 release as an “A.” I have dealt with about half a dozen of these in the last year or so and the ones I had were all consistently really bad. In fact, I would give them an “F” although an incomplete may be more appropriate, since each one I had would go no farther than a few inches without needing a nudge to make it the next few inches. Jamie
I haven’t seen that site in years. I don’t think it is active any longer, I remember reading a good few years back that the guy behind it chose to leave the field and wasn’t updating it anymore. Wow, what a blast from the past.