Join the discussion on the following article:
Athearn Trains HO scale GP38-2 diesel locomotive
I want a BNSF roadname version.
Mine arrives tomorrow and I expect it’ll put to shame all the undecorated diesels that I’ve tried to SP-ize.
What a great locomotive. I have to tell you my favorite has to be the Cotton Belt/ Southern Pacific SD45T-2. The paint scheme is undeniable. The scarlet red on Grey and the white numerals set this type from the rest
I hope that Athearn will hurry up and have my two BN GP 38-2’s that I ordered available soon. However, I’m very tempted to get one of the SP’s as well, now that you’ve given this review. All with sound of course!
These Genesis models are emphatically not the same as the less detailed and less expensive “blue box” HO GP38-2’s that Athearn first made years ago.
Would have been nice to add a short video with sound, eh? Nice looking unit, I would go with SP!
It is so nice to see some manufacurers paying attention to CN now with dedicated locos and correct cabs.
I got mine in Southern Railway, with the high hoods, beautiful engines, only thing you really have to do is put Kadee couplers on and then enjoy. Athearn has also announced for the Southern Railway addicts, Genesis GP-50s with the high hood
I got the Southern Railway Scheme and tested out of my layout and it ran very well, when I looked at prototype photos of it before the retrofit it looked identical and it even had the Southern sun shades that most models don’t have. The only problem that I had was a M.U. cable fell off, but it was easily fixable and I think it is one of the best models Athearn Genesis has made!, and I’m picky on my models
My CN version recently , Carol and I ran it up on the test track with great results! No joke this thing is beautiful, Athearn / Horizon continue to wow us with their attention to detail. I can still recall how happy I was when Erv originally released his 1980’s version of this much needed roster addition, and if you need a refresher on just how far this hobby has come in the realism division, take your original GP38-2 off the shelf and put them side by side, ha! Now, if we could just get the boys and girls at Horizon to release an SDP40F, or an H16-66 for us!
Keep up the awesome work guys.
Bought the SP 4800&4837 and after having those for a couple of days went ahead and bought the other 2 SP. These are great looking and running engines, now if they would just make a genesis SP SD40, I’d just be in heaven.
I was surprised at the low drawbar pull of only 1.6 oz. I normally expect an HO B-B diesel to pull at least 2.5 or 3 oz. Possible cause is the need to reduce weight to allow space for a sound decoder and speaker. But the Atlas RS-11 (also reviewed) had a pull of 2.0 oz with less weight. And the Walthers RDC pulled 2 oz with only one truck powered. Aside from this, Athearn has created a great model.