Hi all,
I was looking over the new Athearn RTR SW1500. They are listed at a much higher price then other RTR locos, and almost as high as genesis locos. I wonder why the price is so much higher, and what the railroaders in this forum think.
Matt
I bought an Athearn RTR GP35 recently. This level of model is a good buy in part because you get the same drive as the Genesis version. We also run a couple of AC44 in the RTR version and these are very nice also. I also have some Genesis locomotives and unless you like the added detail the RTR versions are a better value.
Walthers does the same with their Mainline versions as compared to Proto. I just bought two GP9 from Walthers, one Mainline and the other Proto. In my opinion the price differential is justified and I would buy Mainline and enjoy the savings unless I particularly wanted the additional detail.
Current levels of quality are much higher for the price charged than they used to be although inflation has obscured this effect somewhat. Prices are higher now but you get better models for the money. The “midline” product ranges of the major makers are very good value especially when the model is running and the extra detail of the higher range model is less apparent anyway.
Maybe price increase in china or where they are made taxes up shipping costs?
I had the same thought on pricing for the RTR SW1500, for $10.00 more check out the Genesis MP15AC, similar switcher with that offers much more especially in DCC . I pre orderd (ATHG74631) from Factory Direct Hobbies, best online price.
Bayway Terminal
The thing is that the price is dramatically higher than other RTR locos. I suspect they upped their game or they just want more mone.
Matt
Just a side note. Factory Direct Trains has expanded its business to include other hobbies, and is now at www.factorydirecthobbies.com
My guess – and it is entirely a guess – is that they are upping the quality of RTR models, with the Roundhouse line taking the place of the older RTRs. I think they are doing more prototype-specific details on these SW1500 units, things such as operating ground lights (very cool on a switcher!!), plus they are upgrading to LEDs and the new 21-pin-decoder motherboards.
I have a couple of the Roundhouse GP40-2s and I think they use the old blue-box style tooling (ie one-piece shell, no fancy see-through fans), and they do have seperate grabs but don’t have detail on the pilots (snow plows, air hoses, etc). Wasn’t that pretty much the way RTR models were a few years ago?
Aaron
Aaron
Oh, and I have heard (from a friend in the industry) that shipping prices from China have gone CRAZY. They tend to make these things in one batch, and ship all together in a small number of containers, so a container price going up can really affect what we pay. (So much for saving $$ by manufacturing overseas. Too bad Irv’s not still molding these things in Compton, California…)
Aaron
I agree Aaron. I own a couple older athearn rtr tunnel motors, and those are pretty much equal to the roundhouse today. I also guess that they are upping the quality and adding more detail. Here is a forum that has some good pictures of a tunnel motor from 2005.
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/30102.aspx
Matt
It may depend on the run. There are a number of runs of RTR SW1500’s starting around 14 or 15 years ago, and those could be had street price for around $60 or $70 dollars. Each time a new run has been done, the prices have gone up. The most recent runs are a good deal more expensive than the last because of increased labor costs much higher (3x or more) shipping container costs.
Anything that has been announced by Athearn in the past 12 months has had drastically higher prices. Heck, the RTR Fruehauf trailers have tripplied in price (per trailer) than about 8 years ago. The lower cost stuff like rolling stock and trailers have gone up more than engines because the shipping cost is overall a bigger hit on the per unit than engines.
I think the new RTR SW1500 is supposed to have a newly designed can motor. I assume the new motor will be in most new run RTRs. I also think that Genesis locos will have a new motor. Probably the same, one motor for both line-ups.
The 12+ year old SW1200 based on the same chassis. They have can motors even then and run very smoothly.
From the Athearn website:
NEW FEATURES:
• Operating ground lights
• Newly designed can motor is more powerful and quieter than before
• DCC-ready models feature 21-pin plug
• DCC & sound models feature Tsunami2 sound with dual cube speakers
• LED lighting for long life and reliable operation
Looks like they have been moved into the Genesis line.
The announcement for the SW1500 is in the Athearn RTR line…
Neal
Yes, but didn’t some of the Genesis line locos get moved to RTR when Athearn announced the Genesis 2 line?
If that is true, there goes Athearn again blurring the lines between product lines.
From what Doughless quoted:
NEW FEATURES:
• Operating ground lights
• DCC & sound models feature Tsunami2 sound with dual cube speakers
The two above features have so far been associated with the Genesis line -
-
Operating ground lights was one of the additions that bumped Genesis to Genesis 2, and
-
Tsunami 2 has so far been a Genesis feature vs. RTR that used Econimi sound decoders.
So you have to understand when I read the features, the SW1500 appeared to have moved to Genesis. Perhaps the lack of tread plate is a feature that caused it to fall short of Genesis designation? That said, the price went up into Genesis range! At this point, we are bandying semantics, or Athearn is. Whatever.
[quote user=“maxman”]
nealknows
The announcement for the SW1500 is in the Athearn RTR line.
Yes, but didn’
Whatever it is, if we want it, we buy it or go to the secondary market, buy a used one or a new ‘older’ version and be done. Or, we don’t buy it.
Posting here complaining isn’t going to change the mind of a manufacturer. What will change their thought process is when the dealers stop pre-ordering or they don’t get enough pre-orders to commit. Rapido does that. Others will learn as well…
Kinda goes with out saying but there, oops, you did it again. Sometimes I fall victim to similar comments. [:#]
When the cost of new models goes up much faster than my disposable income, it usually means I buy less and sell more out of scope models, or in some cases pass over models - I expect that will be happening more and more this new year and going forward.
I’m posting observations, not complaints. I’m usually the one to, like you, respond to complainers. Things are the way they are. If it is superfluous to you, feel free to ignore and walk on by (as the song goes).
Rapido and Walthers seem to be the most prone to cancelling announced models due to lack of pre-orders/demand. Each manufacturer seems to have their own way of doing things.