I came across a bunch of these (new in box) on sale at my LHS. They are the older ones I beleive, item #48304 if that helps. (They only come with the rapidos installed) Do these compare to locos like the Atlas “CLASSICS” RS-1 I have…runs like a top, crawls and is quiet. I wanted to know where they rate and if they are worth the 49.00 the LHS is asking. Thanks ----Rob
The older GP9s by Atlas aren’t DCC-ready, if that matters to you. They need to have their frames milled to fit a decoder. I got one of their new run of GP9s with a DCC decoder onboard for about $85 at First Hobby. They carry the DCC-ready ones for about $65.
This series was released in 1996. As Dave already mentioned, it’s not DCC ready. No doubt a good runner (all Atlas locos are), but it doesn’t have the newer scale speed motor.
As far as prices goes, I’d keep in mind that this loco was recently redone with DCC, a scale speed motor, and Accumate couplers. The older one may be NIB, but it’s 10 years old. I know of at least one place were you can get the new GP 9 releases for $60 (DCC ready - no decoder). So you have to ask yourself if the $10 or so you would save is really worth it?