I am very disappointed with the athearn RTR line. I have a 6 pack of hoppers and a diner car from the line and they derail more than any other car I have! Here is an Idea…if you are going to make a line thats “ready to run” you should do a better job instead of having modelers do work on them so they will acctually run!!![V][:(!]
sorry i just had to vent.[:I]
Guessing you had problems with out of gauge wheelsets too? My one Athearn RTR car (a CSX caboose) had wheels that were set too far apart and were also one-piece mouldings so I couldn’t re-gauge them. I eventually settled for swapping them for spare axles from BB kits that had had metal wheels fitted, mainly as I was unable to obtain any more metal wheels.
I think you are going to find that most all RTR items are still going to need a little tweeking here and there to make them good runners. You definitely need to check wheel guage with a NMRA guage and coupler and trip pin height ( I use the Kadee coupler guage). I replace all plastic wheelsets with metal from Intermountain or Lifelike P2K. I’ve found higher end models with out of guage wheels, especially the all one piece plastic ones. My 36’ 2-bay Athearn hoppers are a little light. I brought the weight up with metal trucks with working coil springs and a little lead in the center sill.
I recenty acquired two SD40-2s and a covered hopper from the “RTR” line. One wheelset out of 12 locomotive axles was in gauge[:(] The motors don’t come with any instructions, diagrams, etc., so a new person has no clue on how to take them apart. The plow they put on sticks out way too far. Remove that, and the mounting holes are in the right place to mount a DW 155 plow at the proper height[:)]. Then put Kadee no. 5 in their own box front and rear. I’ve found that the no. 26 with the long shank deflects too much under load. The covered hopper needed no. 5 both ends.
RTR = “Repair - To - Run” ???
I have also had wheel problems with my Athearn RTR and Genesis models.
Never had a problem with my Atlas or Kadee RTR models, however (and the Kadee cars already had the right coupler, of course!).
You get what you pay for, I guess.
Adam and George… you’re both absolutely right, My Atlas cars never derail, decouple, fall over, or annoy me in any little way. If there is ever a problem on the layout it ALWAYS traces back to an Athearn “RtoR” car somewhere. By the time you weight them, and install wheels and couplers that work, you could have bought an Atlas. I found the simple solution: Stop buying Athearn.
I remember a long time ago someone (I think it was Space Mouse) posted a comment here that model railroaders as a whole demand so little when it comes to product quality. We tend to readily accept that what we buy may not actually work as advertised, and that we’ll have to spend some more making it right. When we refuse to buy products like that, the quality will improve.
Guys,I have 19 Athearn RTR cars and 12 of the RTR engines and none of the wheels has been out of gauge …My biggest complaint? The KD wanna be couplers on the cars and they roll to freely…[:(!]
Now don’t brag up the Atlas cars to fast either…Every one of my newer Atlas cars the coupler is a half coupler to HIGH according to both the KD coupler height gauge and the NMRA gauge.That goes for some of the Atlas engines as well plus,some of the Atlas cars doesn’t roll as freely as some of them do…
Now don’t even get me started on Walthers RTR cars or should I call them RTR kits?[:0][}:)][8][:(!]
Now KD cars will not excape my chopping axe either…Some of my KD cars had the following problems… The couplers was to low or a tad to high.We won’t discuss the color plastc KD calls paint…[V][xx(]
BRAKIE
There are alway’s exception’s to everything - and you seem to be the exception to everything, here. I haven’t been a RR brakeman - and I wouldn’t tell you on how to hostle car’s - but, I have been in this hobby as long as you have, and I find your ‘finding’s’ extraordinary - and contrary to most - including mine.
I have about 20 Atlas - Atlas/Roco- Atlas/Kato engines and some of their cars, and with exception of early 15 year old Roco made FP-7 and SD-24’s, NEVER have found a coupler height problem.
By contrast I have approx.the SAME number of Genesis and newer Athearn RTR engine’s, and have YET to find one WITH NMRA height or KD compatibility. I also have two cases of Athearn freight car’s (100?) acquired over the year’s that have all been retrofitted with KD’S, NEW truck’s or metal wheelset’s, and brought up to NMRA standard’s. I say this not to brag but to establish credential’s. Larry. ALL of them were 1/4 - 1/2 coupler low. ALL. How can our finding’s be so different? Are there TWO Athearn factories?
I have to concur that ONE of us has off-kilter KD guages - or is living on two different planet’s. Perhap’s both! I am going to re-check my address, Kayee and NMRA height’s, and eyesight. You?
Just curious. What coupler do you have mounted in your NMRA guage, and how did you secure it.?
PS: Welcome back to the forum, and I sincerely wish you good health.
Don,Frankly I am surprise to hear all of the complaints on the RTR Athearn…Think I am the only one not having problems with the Athearn RTR or having problems with the Atlas couplers? If so think again.The only complaints I hear is what I read on this or that other forum.Even my Genesis NS SD70s run like a swiss watch.
Don asks:Just curious. What coupler do you have mounted in your NMRA guage, and how did you secure it.?
Don,you been in the hobby how many years and don’t know how to use the NMRA guage to check couplers? Just asking.Check your NMRA gauge real close and you will find a coupler height check point.
Now I have 2 KD coupler height gauages.One is fitted with a #5 while the other is fitted with a 78 scale coupler.
I have had problems with Athearns metal wheelsets.They do not like Atlas turnouts.Those couplers are a joke also.Other than that,Athearn is my product of choice.I have had no problems with my SD50 units save the plow which needs to be replaced with a Details West part anyway.The GP38-2 and GP40-2 have always had a high coupler mount.A kadee 22 takes care of that.Some of the RTR cars also are high on the coupler mount.Athearn added the extra thick bolster to all of its products to correct the height problem and some did not need corrected.If you have an older Athearn truck around that will correct that problem.I know the blue box Chessie bay window I bought looked like it was jacked up.That is when I found the thickened bolster.Atlas is top notch stuff but Ill agree with Brakie.Atlas has made some duds also.Dan
This has been some of the finest “choir preaching” that I’ve seen on the forum. This is a quality problem that Athearn will address when we either stop buying their product, or enough of us ask them to fix the problem that we have encountered. The ultimate quality control is in our hands, and at the current cost of R-T-R product, we should demand better quality from the manufacturers. I wonder if Athearn would be willing to exchange good wheel sets for bad. Might “fix” the problem quickly!! $.02
Boy you guys are on a rip today,Happy 4TH to you all.[:D]
When I buy fright cars anymore ,the first thing I do is check the coupler height,the second is check the wheels.Even if the car is horn&hook you can stell get a good idea of the coupler height,Then S…T can the H&H.I use LIFE LIKE 33" steel wheels,cause I do’nt have to clean the paint off the wheels.Most everything I have use KD#5"s.My coupler gauge is an old KD and has a #5 in it.I don’t seem to have many problems with my rolling stock.[^]Guess I’am lucky[2c]
JIM
RTR is just blue box with a little extra paint added. I am a BB modeler, and the kits run better if you add the metal wheel sets. The RTR line is too high priced for me. I will stick with BB that I can pull off e-bay.
Signed the poorest model railroader out there[:D][:D]
I have a few Athearn RTR and I don’t have any complaints about how the run. I swap out the couplers for Kadee’s so I don’t have any experience with Athearns couplers.
As part of my reply here, I mean not to disagree, thats not my intention, but to add some “food for thought” here. I can remember back when modeling in HO scale mean’t building from kits or scratch building what we wanted and RTR stuff was Lionel and American Flyer O and S scales. If my memory serves me right, HO RTR started coming out in the early fifties. As it should be, we’ve demanded better quality over the years and we’ve gotten it. We also demand things to be closer and closer to scale and we have all types of gauges and tools for checking coupler height wheel sets track gauge, etc. As we get things closer to scale, guess what? The tolerances also get smaller and smaller. Also my thoughts are that most, not all RTR stock is meant for train sets, but that the manufacturers know there is a market for single items as well. I may be an acception here, but if I buy a RTR item it’s for the car or loco I want, and I will more then likely change out the couplers and or trucks to fit my wants or needs. I do agree that manufacturers could and should do a better job on their quality control end of things. Until that happens, keep in mind that RTR means ready to roll, but not necessarily on your track!!! Just my thoughts here, Ken
Ken -
I must disagree that RTR is meant for train sets.
The high quality Atlas, Red Caboose, Intermountain and Kadee RTR cars are the best produced in plastic, and examples of what I think Athearn tries for with their line !
(Notice that Athearn always FOLLOWS the hobby now days instead of LEADS ???
What a shame !!).
No “train set” low quality from the better makers of RTR !!!
Yes, any maker can have a “dud”, but the point here is that Athearn seems to have more problems than most - one can hope that they will get their act together !!!
BTW How are the Smokys ???
I lived in Cherokee as a kid (my grandfather was DIA civil engineer for the Qualla reservation) - still seems strange to be out on the plains of Iowa!
Point well taken George, and I do agree with you here. However, I feel also that we are comparing Cadillacs to Chevies here and Athearn being the Chevy in price and quality. Regards, Ken
George sad:(Notice that Athearn always FOLLOWS the hobby now days instead of LEADS ???
What a shame !!).
By golly George I am beginning to think all manufacturers follow each other in one way or the other even Atlas played follow the leader in sound equipped locos.See what I am getting at? Atlas played follow the leader in sound,now its follow the leader in low end cars and engines called the Trainman Series.Athearn of course enter the high end with the Genesis line…The only manufacture that SEEMS to be dancing to their own tune is Kato.P2k SEEMS to be getting lost in the dust in what appears to be a trend for low end RTR products…P1K appears to be dead(sinking?) in the water as there hasn’t been that many new products in that line.
BTW…Interesting thing here…It seems that the new Atlas T/S GP38-2 will be about the same discount price…We will see who will win what I have dub "The battle for the supremacy in low end models’‘’ Now what will P2K do in response to the low end models trend? Will they stroke the fires on their P1K line? Will Kato introduce a low end line?
Stay tune folks as its bound to get interesting as he manufacturers battle for our wallets.!!![:D]
And this is why I used the Athearn Blue Box kits. A) they are cheaper, and B) you can expect to play with it for it to run right.
But I don’t worry about these at the moment, I’m N scale.[:p][;)]
~[8]~ TrainFreak409 ~[8]~